[AnakChan]

Thank you for such a comprehensive report AnakChan. Would love to attend similar event in the future. Is it open for public or only for press member?
Ah, regarding your username, is it a malay word?

The Fujiya shows are open to the public. They'll have a mini one on 7th July and a big one again for the autumn fetival on 27th-28th October. Yes, AnakChan has it's Malay origins.

 

[tumpux]

Great, I should schedule a visit to Tokyo around October to attend one.Are you planning to attend those in October too?

 

[AnakChan]

Great, I should schedule a visit to Tokyo around October to attend one.Are you planning to attend those in October too?

Very likely. The Spring/Oct shows are the large ones that attract overseas visitors and manufacturers.

 

[Swiftfalcon]

So Stax finally woke up to the possibility that others might be catching up...good for us

 

[AnakChan]

So Stax finally woke up to the possibility that others might be catching up...good for us

This is just my opinion that’s derived from spending time with Stax in the past 6 years and with the Japanese culture, but I suspect you’re wrong that Stax has rocked up with the SR-009S to remain in competition.

Yes they do want to sell products, and yes they would like to make a profit, but they come up with new products cos they want to improve and challenge themselves - not to keep up with competition.

If you go up to them and say that you prefer the VOCE sound, or you prefer the BHSE to the SRM’s, etc they simply smile and thank you for sampling their products. I’ve never had them ask why I like some other competitor brand, etc. for them to match or supersede.

Stax and a lot of other Japanese companies have their own philosophy and design their products accordingly. They don’t do so for (re)gaining market share.

Again, this is my 2 yen worth. I could be well wrong in reading into their business philosophy.

 

[tumpux]

To be fair, it could be both. I am sure Stax always want to update their product lines periodically, but the development cost of a flagship product such as 009 is quite big for a Stax size company. Now that they have Edifier to fund the development they came up with 009S.
On the other hand I am sure that there is also some kind of expectation from Edifier for Stax to come up with something new to boost its sales. Now lets see if the improvement could be justified over the original 009.

 

[harris4crna]

Being my first Fujiya Avic show, I must say I was impressed. I did not have any trouble auditioning the equipment. Despite being a bit crowded there was plenty of booths to choose from. Found everyone polite and welcoming. Really enjoyed the exhibitor from Taiwan who represented Xi Audio. She spent time explaining the Class A aspect of the Formula amp. The highlight of the show was the Shure KSE 1200 and the disappointment would have been the Voce with the BHSE. Perhaps I had to high of expectations. Now, I did not find the Meze Emprean bland at all with the right amp. With the Chord Hugo 2, yes, I was truly underwhelmed, but with Re-Leaf not so much. It is interesting how you can increase each channel's volume separately with the Re-Leaf. I am not understanding why you would want to do this. Perhaps I am missing the concept.

Would have been great to meet other headphiers living the area. My highlight of the show was meeting Rob Watts and Rob Wong from Chord. Must have chatted with them for at least 10 minutes. Unfortunately, will be moving away and most likely will not make another. Oh well, been to shows all over the world, thus I cannot see this one being my last.

 

[tumpux]

the disappointment would have been the Voce with the BHSE

Would you mind to describe more about your impression of the Voce? Thanks.

 

[AnakChan]

To be fair, it could be both. I am sure Stax always want to update their product lines periodically, but the development cost of a flagship product such as 009 is quite big for a Stax size company. Now that they have Edifier to fund the development they came up with 009S.
On the other hand I am sure that there is also some kind of expectation from Edifier for Stax to come up with something new to boost its sales. Now lets see if the improvement could be justified over the original 009.

Last year, a few of us went to visit the Stax office and met with the senior leads, Douglas Ip, Nakata-san, Suzuki-san, Shimizu-san, and Sasaki-san (now retired from Stax). Asking the question to Edifier, (officially) Stax has autonomy to operate and design however I'm sure Edifier would review and approve various Stax proposals/submissions.

I was supposed to write a report of the visit to Stax but never really got around to it. Here are some pix of the visit last year :-

I think @jude really enjoyed the cleaning room :-

 

[tumpux]

AnakChan, thank you for the pictures of Stax manufacturing facilities. I wish I could visit it too someday.

Regarding the statement about the autonomy granted to Stax, I tend to take it as a 建前 one. It is expected from both parties in this situation.
Of course the longtime Stax consumers will stop buying if they say something else. What we need to observe as consumer is how 009S improves over the 009. Is the improvement justified or it is just a rushed product pumped out to reach sales target.

 

[Whitigir]

Stax facility is the state of the art! And even so, these Electrostatic phones can still have manufacturers defects. It can only give me chills thinking about how others could have produced their headphones for electrostatic headphones.

On the other hand, I am too very curious about 009S.

 

[AnakChan]

Stax facility is the state of the art! And even so, these Electrostatic phones can still have manufacturers defects. It can only give me chills thinking about how others could have produced their headphones for electrostatic headphones.

On the other hand, I am too very curious about 009S.

Don't need the sarcastic troll, @Whitigir. There was a reason why Stax revamped their production facility 2-3 years back.