The Headcase Stax thread

[cobra_kai]

Anybody noticed this? http://staxusa.com/

Not very cheap...

[spritzer]

Ahh the joy of dealing with Yama's directly, a company mostly known for not picking up the telephone... ever!

[Kerry]

Now that's cool

Not the best prices, but very interesting shift.

[morphsci]

Meh, it's still just Yamas.

[ujamerstand]

yeah... but It's interesting that they now call themselves stax usa. Here's hoping for a little corporate restructuring.

[morphsci]

Oh I totally agree that at least it's something, just not sure what yet. Here's hoping.

[seacard]

I've never used an energizer, but was wondering if, with good amplification in fronth of them, they would compare to Stax amps like the 717/727. I'm trying to decide which direction to go in with Stax-terminated HE60s. I have a solid speaker amp (Usher R1.5) and would prefer to use that to drive the Woo WEE or the SRD-7 rather than having another amp in the chain, but am I sacrificing something (sound-quality wise) if I do that?

[spritzer]

With a energizer you always sacrifice a bit of detail but gain slam and extra voltage swing.

[Clarkmc2]

That explains why I prefer my SZ3s driven by a world class amp through a modified energizer. My alternative is the Stax SRM007tII, which is OK but not a top tier amp. I suspect my high frequency diminished geriatric hearing has something to do with my satisfaction with the rig.

[deepak]

Does anyone remember the Engrish Stax SR-007 mk1 description on the old Stax website back when it was the flagship?

There was some blurb about how the Omega 2 was developed for a car company to test low bass. By chance is there a cached page of this?

[Duggeh]

That was the reason for the Lambda Pro wasnt it?

[Spychedelic Whale]

Does anyone remember the Engrish Stax SR-007 mk1 description on the old Stax website back when it was the flagship?

There was some blurb about how the Omega 2 was developed for a car company to test low bass. By chance is there a cached page of this?

Try this http://www.archive.org/web/web.php

[John Buchanan]

That was the reason for the Lambda Pro wasnt it?

That was what was mentioned at the time. It was Mercedes-Benz.

Edited December 13, 2011 by John Buchanan

[spritzer]

Yup, Merc pushed for the Pro bias design to have accurate monitors when they listened to how the cars sounded (rattle, squeaks etc.). This was back in the day before Merc decided they spent too much on their cars...

[luvdunhill]

Well, I have to say.. Well recorded music rocks. Listening to Takacs Beethoven Sonatas -> Krell SACD Standard -> Blue Hawaii front end -> my CCS -> Masushita EL34 tubes -> SR-007 mk1. Doesnt suck, though I really like Kempf's Beethoven.

[shellylh]

Just noticed this at TTVJ:

"They're back - Stax! After a short absence from TTVJ, Stax is back. Look for their whole product line on our site in the coming days. This includes the new SR 009 headphone!"

I only see the SR-009 listed at this point.

Edited January 3, 2012 by shellylh

[Spychedelic Whale]

I have been waiting for the dealer accessory restock to replace my 007 headband and pads. He has the old and the new pads/headband. I was going for the old brown just match but I remember reading something about the new ones being better is that true?

[spritzer]

The parts are better quality but I prefer the fit of the later Mk1 parts. I'm a proud member of team melon head so the extra tension in the elastic bothers me a bit.

[Spychedelic Whale]

Thanks I'm going for the new then, I have exactly the opposite problem, team peanut head.

[deepak]

I've been using my SR-007BL again and I think these remain my favorite headphones, the honey moon phase with the SR-Omega has worn off. But they are still great. Loving the O2 even more with my new turntable

[K3cT]

Hi guys, reading the last couple of pages gave me an idea. Since I've always felt that the O2 MK1 is simply too warm/dark for me, would getting a MK2.5 sounds like a better course to pursue instead? And how to make sure that we're getting these newer MK2.5 instead of the older MK2?

Lately I barely have any time to actually sit down and listen to my headphone setup so saving that dough for the SR-009 begins to make less and less sense with each passing day...

[spritzer]

All the Mk2.5 sets have a serial number that starts with SZ3-xxxx, the older Mk2's start with SZ2. To these ears the Mk2.5 sounds more forward but also a bit strained in the midrange even though it is quite subtle. If you are interested in a set then I'm going to sell my Mk2.5 soon. Currently with the port plugged but it would be easy enough to remove the plug.

I've spent the last couple of days refurbishing a very beat up set of SR-007 drivers with 3 of 4 dust covers missing and the drivers full of dust and debris. I'm guessing somebody tried to vaccum the drivers or some such stupidity. One just has to admire the build quality of these drivers even though this was Stax doing it on the cheap. They still crackle and pop even after a good cleaning so I'll have to take drastic measures to try and save them.

[Spychedelic Whale]

I was searching for used O2s and I came into a stereophile article where Michael Framer states this

On the other hand, even as earpieces firing into tiny canals, their dynamics were somewhat limited compared to the best moving-coil headphones, such as AKG 701s

As I kept reading I was telling myself mm ok,probably gonna say something like hd800 but no.. K701. How bizarre..

[spritzer]

Well Fremer is borderline retarded so this doesn't surprise me.

[swt61]

I will say that the people who like the K701, seem to like it with a passion. Not much middle ground with that headphone.