spritzer Posted November 19, 2011 Report Posted November 19, 2011 Needing to turn down the volume regularly has become annoying (even though I have a remote control for it now) so I do think Stax took the voicing too far on the 009. I'm a huge fan of the over all design but thicker diaphragm material/less diaphragm tension would have made this the ultimate transducer. Still there are rumors about a SR-011 so I might just get what I want there... Still the SR-009 does a lot of things right but it's hard for me to overlook the fact that it costs twice as much as any other headphone Stax have ever made. I was expecting the SR-Ω to be really bright, they are pretty nice tonally. Interesting phones, I haven't figured out how they have that "big" sound without any upper mid or treble emphasis. They can be a bit edgy at times but it is much less of an issue with a Blue Hawaii etc. driving them. It's not due to the voicing though but rather the driver outputting too much energy which the chassis can't handle. The big sound is very much thanks for the external screen. Let's just say it's not there just for decoration. Do not remove it and try to use the headphones since it holds the whole assembly together...
complin Posted November 19, 2011 Report Posted November 19, 2011 Needing to turn down the volume regularly has become annoying (even though I have a remote control for it now) so I do think Stax took the voicing too far on the 009. I'm a huge fan of the over all design but thicker diaphragm material/less diaphragm tension would have made this the ultimate transducer. Still there are rumors about a SR-011 so I might just get what I want there... Still the SR-009 does a lot of things right but it's hard for me to overlook the fact that it costs twice as much as any other headphone Stax have ever made. They can be a bit edgy at times but it is much less of an issue with a Blue Hawaii etc. driving them. It's not due to the voicing though but rather the driver outputting too much energy which the chassis can't handle. The big sound is very much thanks for the external screen. Let's just say it's not there just for decoration. Do not remove it and try to use the headphones since it holds the whole assembly together... I've never heard the SR-Ω but as you say are reputed to have the best head-stage of any headphone. The thing that bothers me about the SR-Ω is they are supposed to have a fatal flaw of some sort so will fail. Given the price these fetch now and cant be repaired its a bit of a downer.
spritzer Posted November 19, 2011 Report Posted November 19, 2011 The fatal flaw has never been proved to exist but I do have an idea what it might be. Couple of candidates really, the whole housing becoming loose with time which means the drivers aren't aligned properly and that dinky little bias connector is bound to loose contact on some sets. Other than that I can see no obvious issues with the design.
deepak Posted November 19, 2011 Report Posted November 19, 2011 Birgir I hope you don't mind if I share what you PM'ed me. It is screws 1, 3, 5 that are the important ones that should be tightened (but not too tight).
complin Posted November 19, 2011 Report Posted November 19, 2011 (edited) The fatal flaw has never been proved to exist but I do have an idea what it might be. Couple of candidates really, the whole housing becoming loose with time which means the drivers aren't aligned properly and that dinky little bias connector is bound to loose contact on some sets. Other than that I can see no obvious issues with the design. I was told by my UK Stax importer Symetry, and one or two leading dealers, that there is a problem with the materials or fixing used in the deign of the SR-Ω driver . They just eventually fail which I why you see so many of the SR-Ω without their original drivers. Its a pin-wheel design like the SR-009 but using the state of the art almost 20 years ago which I think was copper and resin. From memory I think it was the failure of the resin in the design that causes the failure. It was rumored that Stax produced a later driver using different materials but this might just be fiction as I have no direct knowledge of this. Edited November 19, 2011 by complin
morphsci Posted November 19, 2011 Report Posted November 19, 2011 (edited) I was told by my UK Stax importer Symetry, that there is a problem with the materials or fixing used in the deign of the SR-Ω driver . They just eventually fail which I why you see so many of the SR-Ω without their original drivers. Its a pin-wheel design like the SR-009 but using the state of the art almost 20 years ago which I think was copper and resin. From memory I think it was the failure of the resin in the design that causes the failure. Did you buy that bridge he was selling also? Edited November 19, 2011 by morphsci
complin Posted November 19, 2011 Report Posted November 19, 2011 Did you buy that bridge he was selling also? Sorry but don't see the point you are trying to make
morphsci Posted November 19, 2011 Report Posted November 19, 2011 It sounds like a story without any real evidence. Do we actually know what the failure rate is? How many failures are due to owners and not the phones? Etc., etc. etc. He was selling you a load of bull and you seemed to buy it so I was wondering what else he sold you.
deepak Posted November 19, 2011 Report Posted November 19, 2011 I was told by my UK Stax importer Symetry, and one or two leading dealers, that there is a problem with the materials or fixing used in the deign of the SR-Ω driver . They just eventually fail which I why you see so many of the SR-Ω without their original drivers. Its a pin-wheel design like the SR-009 but using the state of the art almost 20 years ago which I think was copper and resin. From memory I think it was the failure of the resin in the design that causes the failure. It was rumored that Stax produced a later driver using different materials but this might just be fiction as I have no direct knowledge of this. Birgir has taken apart many a set which is why I am led to believe him over hearsay.
complin Posted November 19, 2011 Report Posted November 19, 2011 (edited) It sounds like a story without any real evidence. Do we actually know what the failure rate is? How many failures are due to owners and not the phones? Etc., etc. etc. He was selling you a load of bull and you seemed to buy it so I was wondering what else he sold you. Birgir has taken apart many a set which is why I am led to believe him over hearsay. I had forgotten this reference http://www.head-fi.o...5/stax-sr-omegaspritzer The other Señor Stax Very few units are sold here in the west so a clear going price is hard to come by but the last few sets have sold for about 300k-400k Yen in Japan. You should be aware that there is something wrong with the driver design which causes them to fail and the only way to repair them is with SR-007 drivers. I have one set like that and love the sound but it slashes the value to bits... Edited November 19, 2011 by complin
deepak Posted November 19, 2011 Report Posted November 19, 2011 Very few units are sold here in the west so a clear going price is hard to come by but the last few sets have sold for about 300k-400k Yen in Japan. You should be aware that there is something wrong with the driver design which causes them to fail and the only way to repair them is with SR-007 drivers. I have one set like that and love the sound but it slashes the value to bits... Yes I am aware, but see my post and Birgir's posts with the screw info. It's the bias pin losing contact with the driver when the screws become loose. Regularly tightening them should make them just as reliable as any other electrostat headphone. I don't care if you chose to believe a Stax dealer with no real evidence as to their failure over someone who has taken apart and repaired many pairs. I'm just stating what he told me in PM. The Japan price is way over inflated compared to what you can get them for on Headfi. (The Japanese are hardcore collectors, they love vintage electronics and vinyl, like old mono Blue Notes)
complin Posted November 19, 2011 Report Posted November 19, 2011 (edited) Yes I am aware, but see my post and Birgir's posts with the screw info. It's the bias pin losing contact with the driver when the screws become loose. Regularly tightening them should make them just as reliable as any other electrostat headphone. I don't care if you chose to believe a Stax dealer with no real evidence as to their failure over someone who has taken apart and repaired many pairs. I'm just stating what he told me in PM. Thanks I would love to try a pair, but I would say at least 50% of those I have seen for sale have had their drivers replaced, which is why I have left them alone and stuck with my SR-007 Mk1's. I would be really interested from those on Head-Case who have the SR-Ω how long/much have they used them and what if any problems experienced. Personally I've used various Stax for over 40 years, and have found them to be extremely reliable. Edited November 19, 2011 by complin
complin Posted November 19, 2011 Report Posted November 19, 2011 (edited) It sounds like a story without any real evidence. Do we actually know what the failure rate is? How many failures are due to owners and not the phones? Etc., etc. etc. He was selling you a load of bull and you seemed to buy it so I was wondering what else he sold you. Yes he sold me his Stax T2 amplifier as the SR-Ω he used with it had failed, otherwise I would never have prized it away from him. I can only repeat what I was told and as he provided Stax repair service for the whole of the UK I think he should be in possession of the facts. As there were so few units made and exported to Europe (cant say for the US) its very difficult for me personally to quote you a failure rate. All I can say is that a high proportion of those I've seen for sale in Europe don't have their original drivers. Edited November 20, 2011 by complin
swt61 Posted November 19, 2011 Report Posted November 19, 2011 I only got to listen to the Omega for a short time at a Dallas meet, then for a short time at Al's, but I think it's probably my favorite circumaural headphone.
complin Posted November 20, 2011 Report Posted November 20, 2011 (edited) Yes I am aware, but see my post and Birgir's posts with the screw info. It's the bias pin losing contact with the driver when the screws become loose. Regularly tightening them should make them just as reliable as any other electrostat headphone. I don't care if you chose to believe a Stax dealer with no real evidence as to their failure over someone who has taken apart and repaired many pairs. I'm just stating what he told me in PM. I'm not saying I believe one opinion over the other as I respect Birgir's experience with Stax, but I would guess there is some truth in both versions. Perhaps as Birgr says it my be the loose bias pin connection that is the issue, and the Stax service engineers haven't figured this out which is why they replace the drivers? Edited November 20, 2011 by complin
spritzer Posted November 20, 2011 Report Posted November 20, 2011 I've been keeping a rather close eye on the global SR-Ω market for 8 years now and I can safely say that very few units have had the drivers replaced, quite a bit less than 5% of the 600 or so units made. As for there being some design failure that will cause all units to be fubar at some time is just utter BS. Stax did change the cartwheel design to etched aluminum but only once production had ceased. The cartwheel is the most fragile part of the driver so if a violent shock breaks or even distorts it slightly then the drivers are toast. Makes sense to strengthen that part but the resin version is by no means defective. What we have to look at is the reason why Stax swaps out drivers. Channel imbalance being the main reason but they never look into what's causing it, they just scrap the drivers on the spot and use what ever current replacements they may have. Most of the time the channel imbalance is just temporary and will go away with use or just a change in the weather. Now a tiny amount of drivers have suffered permanent damage due to arcing or from amps where the builder didn't know how to do bias supplies, i.e. Ciuffoli and Rudistor.
complin Posted November 21, 2011 Report Posted November 21, 2011 (edited) I've been keeping a rather close eye on the global SR-Ω market for 8 years now and I can safely say that very few units have had the drivers replaced, quite a bit less than 5% of the 600 or so units made. Well that's interesting Birgir, what sample size of the potential 600 have you based your conclusion on? How were you able to verify which of the units had their original drivers still installed? Do you know if all of your sample tracked were unique serial numbers, or were some the same units being re-sold again every few years? It would be good if you could share your data Edited November 21, 2011 by complin
Duggeh Posted November 21, 2011 Report Posted November 21, 2011 Whats your data for the claim that the number is 50%?
Voltron Posted November 21, 2011 Report Posted November 21, 2011 100% of my 1 pair of SR-Omegas have the original drivers and sound wonderful.
spritzer Posted November 21, 2011 Report Posted November 21, 2011 I have opened up some 10 units that have passed through here but I have a folder which I've stored photos of every individual unit I've come across for sale. There I put the date and location of the sale and how much it sold for. These are about 115 units or so dating back 8 years. The serial numbers were naturally logged since they mean something with the SR-Omega. As for seeing whether they are original or not, a picture of the side is all I need.
swt61 Posted November 21, 2011 Report Posted November 21, 2011 Duggeh, whatever wrinkle cream you're using best be stopped soon!
wink Posted November 21, 2011 Report Posted November 21, 2011 Duggeh, You're starting to look like Currawong. Better see what Pabbi1 is using.......
ujamerstand Posted November 29, 2011 Report Posted November 29, 2011 Anybody noticed this? http://staxusa.com/
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