Would the figures you’re quoting be of cost price of parts and manufacturing or is it the price that you perceive it to be worth? I’m also curious as to how you came to those figures and the rationale for bringing up those figures.

It wasn't side by side but the owner of the Carbon made by Soren tested both Carbons side by side on another occasion before he bought and his impressions match what I observed.

I had the chance to demo a Carbon built by Soren and then I bought a Carbon by Mjolnir. My impression is that they do not sound the same even out of the same DAC and both using the 009. The Soren build while it has strong and fast bass, treble was a little harsh and soundstage is narrow and...

Since you've built your own DACs possibly using different DAC chips and that you're also possibly stating that these different DACs sound different. Maybe you might be able to shed some light on a burning question I have about how much the actual DAC chips impart to the overall sound...

I've heard a SRD-7 based set up before and it really depends a lot on your power amp. It definitely won't drive 007/009 properly. Far too little power. Loses the high frequencies and bass is loose. It'll probably fare better with the Lambda series but probably still require that your power amp...

One of the most noteworthy builder is located in Europe. You can check Mjolnir Audio

It seems like Electro Mod is revamping their site so you'll have to contact them directly. https://www.electromod.co.uk/products/stax-spares/ I'm not sure if you can purchase directly from Stax Japan. https://stax.theshop.jp/items/7561124 Also, one of my friends confirms that the German L700...

The Japanese price for 009 is 370K JPY while the 009BK is 380K JPY so you can estimate costs from there.

It doesn't tell you a lot since the 009 has the "super engineering plastics" too but it is described a bit differently

The easy way is use a volt meter. Measure across the left channel then measure the right channel and try and match the trimmer that adjusts the balance. Repeat the measurement till its as close to a match as possible. If you have 2 volt meters and are able to put the probes in, it’ll be easier...

My 353X makes no audible noise when it is in operation

Could it be just your set up warming up and after it's warmed up, it sounds better? Like for example R2R DACs require warming up to sound good.

Stators are the 2 external layers in the diagram that Wikipedia has on how an electrostatic driver looks like. There’s still the diaphragm which is not the same as the L700’s driver. This is why they claim it is similar and not exactly the same as the L700 driver.

Thanks Kelvin and wink. I thought I'll be able to convert the voltage natively. I'll just use a step down since it'll be easier and likely cheaper in this case.

I have a SRM-353X 100V and I don't think it can be converted to a 230 or 240V based on the primary only having 2 wires. Is anybody able to confirm this?