The Headcase Stax thread

[graben]

009S and a new DAC got announced (SRM-D10). Can't wait to give it a listen next time I'm in Japan.

 

They are both expected to be for sale in the middle of June.

460,000 yen for the 009S and 90,000 yen for the DAC. 

 

https://stax.co.jp/2018/04/24/009s_d10/

 

https://stax.co.jp/products/sr-009s/

 

https://stax.co.jp/products/srm-d10/

[spritzer]

https://stax-international.com/products/sr-009s/

Here it is in English.  I do find them funny, gold stators like the 007's and the same round protection mesh as the 007's as well... 

[padam]

I wonder if the plan was to have it like this from the start of the C32 project, only it was not as cost-effective / more troublesome at that time. Or they always wanted to go ahead like this, do it in two stages.

Toyota did the opposite with their supercar (LF-A)

First, they wanted to use aluminum for they body, then they scraped that (too heavy), started all over again again using carbon fiber. But at least some of that aluminum development probably found its way to their newer, cheaper sportscar (LC 500)

The naming implies that it won't be night and day different, but we'll see.

Sometimes that little extra bit makes all the difference (that's what she said)

Edited April 24, 2018 by padam

[screechowl]

 

I have always found it intriguing that Stax often does not properly translate their literature into English.

There must be someone within the company capable of handling that job.  If not, they can utilize writers

not affiliated  with Stax or have one of their English speaking Distributors help them out!

[SeaWolf]

You would be shocked at the amount of companies do half assed in house translations.

 

[Oneguy]

I see this all over Asia. 

[tumpux]

Nah, it makes them sounds more exotic. Also encourages people to learn japanese. 

[spritzer]

Stax with proper English would not be the company we all know and love... 

[screechowl]

I guess it is time for me to order Rosetta Stone!  Voicing a new product like the SR-009S must be a nightmare with so many variables to tinker with.

[Whitigir]

Can we not get the Silverplated cables ? Lol

[catscratch]

I've emailed Stax in the past and gotten a response in English. So either someone speaks it over there, or Google translate does. But the sad truth of being a small company is that you never have enough time, people, or money to do everything that you need to do. So them simply not having gotten around to translating everything, or not wanting to spend the money to hire someone to do it, is pretty understandable.

[padam]

Although I can only speak from e-mail exchanges, I can also tell that Japanese people are every interesting. They have some weird principles (in my perception) that they are sticking to wholeheartedly. I don't understand them and they probably don't understand me. I also have a lot of respect for them with certain things. There is a lot to learn from each other, it is just not possible to go through these virtual barriers with using only these types of communications, which is a shame.

Imho one thing is for sure, they could be a Lot smarter with marketing a product like this, and the new ownership hasn't seem to change that. And no, it almost wouldn't need anything in terms of extra cost in today's world. But if the product is really good, then it will sell itself well anyway (thanks for forums like these).

[Whitigir]

Are you suggesting that Stax shall do more marketing and advertising to sell more ? Perhap, and if they do, these phones won’t be at this pricing.  It will leave Susvara and Shangrila pricing In the dust.  This is from what we hear about HFM build quality on thesE expensive headphones, I guess all of their crazy pricing is simply not only “because it sound good” but “because we advertise good” together 

 

i appreciate Stax just the way that they are.  Also this very awesome community 

Edited April 25, 2018 by Whitigir

[padam]

It's not how much marketing you do, it is how you do it (and for the whole brand, not just one product) so no, it wouldn't change the price. Like mentioned just now, a proper English press release wouldn't hurt either. And their attitude, for instance removing the transformer windings from their amps (but not doing it on the T8000) is just showing us the finger basically.

There will be some changes probably, just very slow and gradual.

[spritzer]

Stax are still stuck in the distributor model but slowly embracing e-commerce.  There is a certain comfort level in only dealing with a limited amount of customers world wide and having them be your reps with anything customer related. 

Things are changing though as Stax now has a proper online shop in Japan where everything they sell is listed, including the spare parts. 

[powertoold]

I was surprised when I saw Stax's sales numbers, assuming they are true. $1.3 million a year is only 325 SR-009.

[Whitigir]

1 hour ago, powertoold said:

I was surprised when I saw Stax's sales numbers, assuming they are true. $1.3 million a year is only 325 SR-009.

325 a year is a lot, considering not many BHSE / Carbon is made a year LOL!

[Hugo]

They are really small. I’ve visited their factory last year. It’s tiny. And they said that only 2 of their employees have the experience and skills to handle SR-009 drivers.

[powertoold]

It's quite a shame, considering the Stax high end sound is basically "perfect" and "worth it" if you take care of the equipment to last 10-20 years. You can spend ~$6k on a system that provides 15 years of enjoyment, granted no technical issues appear with the headphones heh

I guess headphones will always be niche because it messes up your hair 

Edited April 25, 2018 by powertoold

[ktm]

13 minutes ago, powertoold said:

It's quite a shame, considering the Stax high end sound is basically "perfect" and "worth it" if you take care of the equipment to last 10-20 years. You can spend ~$6k on a system that provides 15 years of enjoyment, granted no technical issues appear with the headphones heh

I guess headphones will always be niche because it messes up your hair 

By the time a lot of us got to the point of owning Stax, there was a lot less hair to deal with.

Other than maybe ear hair?

[gepardcv]

19 hours ago, padam said:

they could be a Lot smarter with marketing a product like this

If Stax currently sells every unit it has the capacity to manufacture, then it might not make sense to do any more marketing. Also, it's far from clear that Stax can scale up manufacturing if demand increases (and we definitely don't want it to respond to rising demand the other way, by raising prices).

[padam]

As I wrote I didn't write more marketing. I just wrote it can be done better and not necessarily to sell more SR-009S but to put them on the map more firmly as a brand. And it if generated a waiting list extending for a few months, that's not a bad thing for them either, no need to raise prices (but they need to give some discount if the stocks get filled up). But again, this is just my opinion and I could be wrong.

First impression article in Japanese is up:

https://av.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/topic/1117613.html

[padam]

Basically, it is a smoother, more relaxed sound compared to the SR-009, which will remain available for those who prefer its more aggressive character. It concentrated more on the technical side, we need to wait a little for more impressions.

They also mention (once again, they did before) that if the transducer fails when an aftermarket amplifier is used that can overdrive it (in their opinion), they won't repair it under warranty. I would have been much happier to get transparent information about what made some SR-009 fail in the first place (and afaik some didn't needed driver replacement to fix it), I doubt it was the amp used...

[tumpux]

16 hours ago, Hugo said:

They are really small. I’ve visited their factory last year. It’s tiny. And they said that only 2 of their employees have the experience and skills to handle SR-009 drivers.

Hugo, I wonder how can we get a factory visit to Stax factory?

[Buzzlulu]

1 hour ago, padam said:

I would have been much happier to get transparent information about what made some SR-009 fail in the first place (and afaik some didn't needed driver replacement to fix it), I doubt it was the amp used...

Is this still an issue today or has it been rectified?