[Rednamalas1]

All right, I admit that I don't have a clue at the moment for an electrostatic rig.

Me and my gf have been talking, and it seems that staxs rig is next up in to-do-list. http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f11/do...o-much-369593/


Key points are neutrality, soundstage, accuracy -> will be mostly playing classical.
I have no idea how much I can invest at this point, as this rig will most likely be a Christmas gift to myself, most likely.

I was thinking vinyl, since I can just borrow my gf's dad's excellent vinyl collection for sources, for extended period of time.

What's a decent rig that won't leave me wondering "what if....I got an omega instead?"

so on my rough sketchpad, it looks like this: Vinyl -> amp (no idea) -> Stax
My budget would be most likely be 7000$ to 9000$ (still not sure though).

any ideas or suggestions for a rig?

Thanks in advance,
Kris.

EDIT: it seems that upon some research, Omega might not be the best choice with vinyl. Therefore, I would like some suggestions for non-electrostatic rig as well.

I could keep my AD2000 and balance them - and use a balanced b22....and perhaps balance K701/or get W5000 instead.

This is still months away, so any suggestion would be great.

 

[powertoold]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rednamalas1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif All right, I admit that I don't have a clue at the moment for an electrostatic rig. Me and my gf have been talking, and it seems that staxs rig is next up in to-do-list. http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f11/do...o-much-369593/ Key points are neutrality, soundstage, accuracy -> will be mostly playing classical. I have no idea how much I can invest at this point, as this rig will most likely be a Christmas gift to myself, most likely. I was thinking vinyl, since I can just borrow my gf's dad's excellent vinyl collection for sources, for extended period of time. What's a decent rig that won't leave me wondering "what if....I got an omega instead?" so on my rough sketchpad, it looks like this: Vinyl -> amp (no idea) -> Stax My budget would be most likely be 7000$ to 9000$ (still not sure though). any ideas or suggestions for a rig? Thanks in advance, Kris.

Dang, $7000-$9000 is banking! You must have a really nice GF

With that much, you can easily get a nice turntable, Stax SRM-717 (highly recommended amp for Omega 2), and a Stax Omega 2!

 

[Rednamalas1]

^ unfortunately, she won't be paying a penny for it (

), and I have to forfeit my new laptop, glass for my leica and a new leica!!

 

[Killercrush]

Well with that budget you can easily try to find a used pair of Stax Omega II MK I with a used HeadAmp KGSS / KGSS DX but that would require a lot of time and efforts to find. If you want something currently available, a pair of Stax Omega II MK II paired with the Stax SRM-717 amp would be no slouch either.

I've heard both amps, albeit with different sources and only with the OII MK1.
They're both worth it but the KGSS brings a lot more to the table than the SRM-717 does, it's really worth the wait, if you can find one.

Make sure you have at least 2K invested in your vinyl setup, the 007 is really really really source dependent.

 

[Rednamalas1]

^ thanks! Although I would doubt that I would be able to save 4500$ for a leica M8....

 

[catscratch]

I'd avoid the O2 Mk2 if you want neutral. I'd go with the Mk1 instead. Tracking down a used pair shouldn't take you long, there were plenty made and the prices on them haven't skyrocketed - yet. If you do want the Mk2 you should be able to audition one from a local Stax dealer, if you can find one. The Mk2 is more lively and forward, but its midrange tone is colder and generally wrong.

717 is the minimum to get started, but with your budget I'd go for a KGSS DX or something similar. 717 won't give it the dynamic range and bass control it really needs to stop sounding like an electrostat and start sounding like music (though in most other respects it's quite nice). A new KGSS DX runs $3k-ish, I think, and will probably take a very long time to put together. Used ones are as rare as honest politicians though so going with a new one may be a more sure-fire way to proceed. Blue Hawaiis are ever more rare, though you may want to talk to Justin at Headamp to see if there will be another run of BHSE's made. The current run is pretty much sold out. The Woo GES doesn't have the balls, and not much else does either. However Woo Audio are going to release a new amp that should power the O2 quite well, from what I've heard.

Source likewise will play a gigantic role, and you want absolutely nothing but reference quality if you're going for a rig this nice, but you already know that. The O2 is transparent and neutral, and will very much sound like your source. The 717 will soften it up a little bit and make it a touch warm and laid-back, but it's still quite close to neutral if anything. Certainly not enough to cover up source weaknesses - I can hear digital glare and upsampling artifacts in my 840c clear as day. Like the 717, the 840c is the absolute minimum I'd use with the O2 but is hardly ideal, so that should give you an idea for just how revealing it is.

You may want to talk to some people about alternatives like the HE60, which I have no experience with, but which from the sound of it will give you a more forward and lively presentation. There's also the new HEaudio stat on the horizon, but I'd wait until some reviews come in and some at least short-term reliability reports are around. It looks promising but it has had issues in the past in the prototype stages. Despite that, I'm keeping a very close eye on it (and some funds stashed just in case).

 

[vcoheda]

getting an O2 or a decent source to pair with it won't be a problem. the hard part will be finding a suitable amp. there are some new stat amps coming to the market (RSA, Woo, HeadAmp). hard to say when they will be available for purchase.

 

[krmathis]

I suggest you pick up an SR-007 or SR-007BL, and look no further for headphones...
Then you need a suitable amplifier. How about a used KGBH or KGSS, or even the upcoming RSA A-10?

 

[Rednamalas1]

thanks guys! I should have an idea about amp and O2 now... I should ask for a turntable at the source forum?

 

[cantsleep]

or just use the search feature

 

[Rednamalas1]

I suppose that I could, but I like attention

EDIT: also came up with gazillon results when I typed vinyl, and I don't think I saw any threads coupled to staxs :S

 

[krmathis]

You're most welcome!
Hope you got enough ideas to pick up a pair of electrostatic headphone and a suitable amplifier.

Turntable I have no ideas of, but I am sure someone else have some suggestions.

 

[Rednamalas1]

on a second thought, would surface noise and dust problem (skips etc) be accentuated by clarity and transparency of stax? what are your thoughts on this? Am I better off by going digital? Is this why I have not seen vinyl+ stax combo in head-fi too much?

what are your thoughts?

 

[cantsleep]

i would recommend digital over analogue for headphones.

i can live with some surface noise on my speakers but i dont want to hear that when im on a headphone.

 

[Rednamalas1]

which means that I need to start buying SACDs....

I already have collection of vinyl that's pretty much loaned out for me free - that's why I wanted vinyl.

Okay, how about going away from stax? are there any good headphones that can handle both classical and rock well?

So many choices :S.....I need to re-think my choices...