These work really well and are some that I try occasionally. Any 100mm pads would work, I would just avoid any that are donuts with an opening in the middle, otherwise you lose the internal dust coverage. The inside may be more sensitive to the dust than the outside, since the inside section of the mylar is what is directly energized and also gets some ear action.
Also try these: the 95mm works for the Pollinator, the 100mm should work for the Hive.
Also there are a LOT of the existing substitution options for the BRAINWAVZ earpads:
I found brainwavz round don’t fit my ears right and get uncomfortable either at the very top or bottom of my ear. I’ll try out the other 2 you listed since the ear holes seem slightly more ergonomic for my ears
Just read the what’s in the box thread. Welcome @BondDaBoom to the Nectar Hive club.
Yeah, I know I still need to do my full review. And I still have a box unopened that has mesh wi-fi stuff in it that I’m not looking forward to setting up. Because I like to run an open net (Information wants to be free) and they usually enforce security now.
Tried these pads out and they don’t alter the sound much, which is a good thing, but allow me to have my ear fully in the pad without getting pinched. I am enjoying them a bunch.
I haven’t listened to these in awhile since getting a bunch of new toys such as Starlett and Verite, but listening to them now and really I think they trade blows with the Verite. It is a different presentation but the airiness, speed, detail, and tonality really make it compare up against the Verite. Very impressive and I am really enjoying them.
I found that using the sponge cover acts as a great dust cover even while listening (in addition to storage). It may help maintain the longevity of the headphones from dust. Since the sponge is so incredibly acoustically absorbent it does not reflect any of the waves back into the diaphragm thereby not changing the sound. My measurements as well as listening show this to be the case. Also what I found interesting was holding the sponge in my hand and talking into it, and you can feel it vibrate as it absorbs the sounds. Contrast this with an open headphone and hold your hands even close to the opening, and you can easily tell there is a sound change. If you bring the sponge close to the opening and blocking it completely with the sponge however, there is no change in sound at all. Also I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!
Thank you Sajeev. Have you tested the different pads to see how/if they change the sound? Any recommendations regarding the lambskin or the hybrid, or the perf vs your stock?
I know you’re not in the packaging business. I just ordered one of the Geekria cases because @MRHifiReviews may eventually do one of his YouTube channel reviews, if we figure out how to drive it, as I’m reluctant to send my tube amp out along with it. And maybe there are some folks with STAX to compare it to.
Anyway, my thought was that you might look at case/packing options for people who buy from you as an add-on.
Quick comment. I was going over @MRHifiReviews 's now playing Symphonic from Tievery Corporation.
And I’m going back and forth between the Hive’s with from the STAX SRM-T1S and the Hifiman HE-560 from the Lyr 3. Both coming from Bifrost 2 and Tidal. There is some similarity in that they are both fast, and similar sized diaphragms.
The Hive has much more life in the cymbal and bells/triangles. They just seem to shimmer in the air as they do in person. Soundstage is wider. Bass is more similar. This surprises me as earlier I thought the Hives had lacked some bass, but as I broke them in, they got better and better.
Really enjoying this battery powered amp I’m developing. It’s the second prototype and hopefully getting closer to being a final robust design. It’s a very efficient amp driving two transformer pairs in series and a bias circuit. Works off a 12V 3000mah battery and the amp and bias supply only draws about 160mA when playing music. Surprisingly I like it much more than my desktop amps and with the added benefit of being able to move it around the house with me. I’m enjoying some Muse and the imaging, speed and range is fantastic. Need to determine if it’s worth it for me to build and sell something like this or if there is interest. Thought I’d share and maybe some things for me to put out into the world for 2021. Hope everyone has a wonderful and safe New Year.
This is something I’d be very interested in. I asked Birger (Spritzer) if he might build one or if he knew of any. He says that he thinks the market is quite small, and it would be a big challenge to build one of adequate quality. SHURE makes one for their e-state headphones, but the bias voltage is quite low. A number of people don’t care for it. The STAX model SRM-D10 Driver — Stax also gets rather low marks - apparently quality isn’t there.
I would love to see a good working portable amp - not just for my HIVE, but also for the STAX IEM
and even (if you can also handle normal bias) my old STAX headphones. That last is just a wish.
It would be nice if the batteries were externally chargeable, possibly removable or with an external battery that could plug in to extend life. Let me be first in line to volunteer test.
Good idea @pennstac. The one I have now is externally rechargeable. With a few extra inter-connections I could make it more modular such that someone can very easily replace the battery. The size may increase for ease of build. Perhaps gives me more room to add features such as normal bias or adjustable bias.
The external battery mode will prevent the circuit from electric pollution in the best possible manner. It will also make the usage of this amp possible in any country in the world with little adaptation.
If Sajeev has a similar price policy as with the Hive, no doubt it will be a big step forward for the audiophile community. Today, quality alternatives to Stax energizers are most of the time expansive. Sajeev’ initiative and entreneurship is likely to open up the e-stat market.
Great news, Sajeev. Do you plan to release the design for diy’ers?
If not, can you let us know what transformers you are using?
I have a new pair of Pollinators and can’t make up my mind which amp to buy or build.
Thanks!
I was originally going to put out some plans for DIYers but the ‘off the shelf’ DIY job got a little more complicated with the mods needed, to the point where the complications / adjustments would make it too discouraging for more people to relative to the amount of time I would have to spend creating instructions and just helping each individual person. So I ended up just trying to design some of my own stuff. I settled on just creating a boost circuit that can take 12V in and output 600V. I decided I would just build it to order. I am still waiting on some parts but I actually really like my first prototype. It had worked for a while and I’ve charged it a few times and I use it every day. So I’m pretty excited about it. If you have an immediate need by the way there is an SRM1/MK2 on ebay right now for $500 and it comes with another pair of vintage stax headphones. Looks like a pretty good deal to me honestly if the amp works properly.
