[ericohgb]

Dear Friend,
 
I have two STAX SR-009. S/n 1013 and s/n 1145. One is for sale now (1145).
I prefer it over the 007 but I'm selling selling just because I don't need another pair of expensive 009.
Regards,
Erico

 
Quote:

Dear Erichgb,   
    If I am not mistaken , I saw you post an ad of SR009 for sale.
    don't you like it or because of other reason besides the sound quality,
channel imbalance or noise.
    Mine is still OK but I use it less than SR Omega and HE90 now.
    Could you elaborate more on your SR009?  not so many people outside
Japan will have that experience and especially with the BHSE?

 

 

[ericohgb]

Dear friend,
This does not apply to me I I think...lol). I can tell the difference between phones. That's why I keep spendind money on earspeakers and amplifiers, because each one has their own strenghts and weakness. Nowadays my main rig is a MAxxed WES + SR009, which I think is great albeit some pitfalls. Hope it'll change when my BHSE finally arrives. By the way, do you think Karry still builds DIY amps like the T2? Dave Derek told me good things about his work. If so, could share his e-mal so I can get it toucu with him? Thank you very much.
Regards,
Erico
 
Quote:

If youu can't tell the difference between Skull Candies and an medium to high end to medium headphone in a bind taste test then maybe the isn't the right forum for you!
And I'm not being facetious when I''m saying this. Seriously.
Especially on a Blue Hawaii thread which is one of the finest amps made in the electrostatic world.

 

 

[cat6man]

Well, I just finished (over 3 days) reading this entire thread (and a few links it took me to).
I'm getting close to making an order but thought I would check some of my conclusions with
you folks.  I was at my 3rd North NJ canjam recently and heard the O2mk2-modded and O2mk1
headphones and was most impressed by the soundstage, imaging and instrument separation
compared with my 404LE/SRM-T1S combination today.  I love the 404LE and have had Stax
since college 40 years ago (my college stax rig did NOT have bass)  and love the Stax presentation
of music (folk, classical, rock, blues, jazz).  Other parts of my system need upgrading (mainly
the loudspeakers) but I think the time is right to begin that headphone upgrade (aka canjam induced virus).
 
I have two questions:
 
1.  Since it will take 6 months or more to get a BHSE, I'll keep my current rig, then sell the
SRM-T1S (and maybe some other stuff as well) to help pay for the BHSE.  I assume from
what I've read above that the BHSE will be a noticeable improvement for the 404LE as well?
 
2.  Once I have the BHSE, I will most likely be in the market for one of the O2 units you folks
will all be selling off to pay for your 009 headsets.............but that is down the road post-BHSE
arrival.  I haven't heard/read anything good about the O2 running with the lesser stax hybrid amps
like the T1S.  Any feedback on how the O2+T1S would sound (if a too good to pass up deal for an O2
comes up before the BHSE shows up at my door)?
 
Regarding the cost/benefit ratio, I have so say that this comes up all the time for anyone in our hobby
but every time I've taken the plunge in the past, I've been happy afterwards for a long time (plus,
I don't collect headphones or amps, which could get very very expensive).
 
Thanks for the advice and helping me deplete my bank account.
 
 

 

[Anders]

cat6man, that will be an excellent end of a long Stax career (BHSE + O2). I have them and they are very good. I think i will keep them for the rest of my life (similar age as you).
 
I don't have the 404LE but O2 is a big improvement over 507, much bigger difference between O2 and 507 than between 507 and 404 with BHSE.
 
I have not heard the T1S + O2, but it should be far from optimal and similar to the Stax amps I have heard. I suspect it is very personal if one regard it as fairly good or fairly bad with the dark tone and diffuse bass. Works rather well in the midrange but bass heavy music can become frustrating with the floating and undefined bass.
 

 

[mikenyc]

cat6man,
 
I have the O2 mk1 currently paired with the 323s.  I initially used the mk1 with my t1s.  At first, I was just blown away by the improvement of the mk1 over my 202's.  But then I started to notice that the bass was off.  I always wondered what people meant by flabby bass.  Now I understand.  It was still better than most headphone rigs, but definitely suboptimal.  
 
After purchasing the 323s, my first impression was that the bass might be light.  After a few hours of listening I realized it was just the difference in sound and I really enjoy this pairing now.
 
You might consider picking up a an O2 and a 323s first, then put in the order for the bhse.  Like your are planning, I picked up my mk1s from a member who purchased the 009s.  Definitely thrilled with the purchase.  Best luck!
 
 

 

[verjuno]

Justin,
 
Is there any good news which is related a BHSE?

 

[justin w.]

 
Quote:

Justin,
 
Is there any good news which is related a BHSE?

All parts have been machined.  All that is left there is polishing/anodizing/laser, and powdercoating.  All electronic parts are acquired.  PCB assembly can begin.  

 

[kiertijai]

Dear Justin,
    When can we expect the Aristaeus to be completed?
    What set of tubes should we prepare for the best use of Aristaeus?
    I don't think we can stack the PSU or the Aristaeus with other, if that's
the case how much space should we separate the two power supply unit?
    Have you ever tried the SR009 with the Aristaeus vs BHSE or which one
do you think it better?   Again for the HE90, which one is better?
thanks,
Kiertijai

 

[n3rdling]

Aristaeus comes after these BHSEs are finished.
Don't know about tubes, haven't really read up on them yet.
I don't think it's going to generate tons of heat, but I wouldn't stack the amp/psu.  I'm going to have the amp on one shelf and the PSU a shelf or two below.
Justin hasn't received his SR009 yet.
For HE90 I'm expecting the Aristaeus to be a better fit since it is specifically made for that headphone IIRC.

 

[ericohgb]

Well,
If Justin accepts as part of the payment for my BHSE, I've got one SR009 left... (s/n 1145).
Regards,
Erico
 
Quote:

Aristaeus comes after these BHSEs are finished.
Don't know about tubes, haven't really read up on them yet.
I don't think it's going to generate tons of heat, but I wouldn't stack the amp/psu.  I'm going to have the amp on one shelf and the PSU a shelf or two below.
Justin hasn't received his SR009 yet.
For HE90 I'm expecting the Aristaeus to be a better fit since it is specifically made for that headphone IIRC.

 

 

[Elysian]

Quote:

All parts have been machined.  All that is left there is polishing/anodizing/laser, and powdercoating.  All electronic parts are acquired.  PCB assembly can begin.  

I have a quick question, based on Justin's post, for anyone familiar with an amp manufacturing process.  Approximately how far along is this in the entire manufacturing cycle?  From what I've read, it seems like acquiring the parts is arguably one of the most time-consuming stages for the higher-end gear?  I remember an earlier post where Justin detailed how he manually tests every amp before sending it out, so I'd imagine that also takes quite a bit of time.
 
Anyway, I'm just curious what this means relative to the full manufacturing cycle
 
Edit: Just found Justin's earlier post stating:
 
Quote:

I started sourcing the parts for those 45 last October.  I'm about 6 weeks from having the last parts that carry any lead time.  After that it is just assembly time, which I will be minimizing by having some wire + chassis assembly done by the PCB assembly company.

 
10 months to source parts!  Wow!

 

[TheAttorney]

Earlier this week, I got an email from Justin asking me for my colour preferences etc. Which means 3
things to me:
 
1. He did indeed receive my order a couple of weeks ago

 
2. I must be one of the "45"ers

 
3. I have some chance of getting a BHSE this year instead of next

 
So I've temporarily taken off my "extreme patience" hat and have gone looking for a new hifi rack in preparation.
 
PS. Choosing the colour was really hard, especially as silver would have matched my Nagra CDP, but in the end I went for all black, for that total Darth Vader look.
I was about to ask the forum some tube rolling questions, but having gone back through this thread, just about everything has already been answered.

 

[CodeScripted]

Did someone drop out for Aristaeus? Just wondering because I don't see the (sold-out) sign on ordering page of Headamp website. So available for sale?

 

[Elysian]

I noticed that a few days ago, too.  I could be hallucianting, but I thought the KGSS used to be listed on the order page, too.  Maybe Justin is cooking up a Headamp version of the KGSSHV to replace the KGSS?

 

[ManBeard]

Well I bit the bullet and put a deposit down on one of these bad boys earlier this week. Hopefully I made it into this batch of 45 that Justin is producing.