Stax Interview and Factory tour 12/12/12

[Currawong]

Yes to all the posts after mine. I just received my work schedule for next month so I can plan things now. That doesn't mean anything will happen soon though. 

 

[analogsurviver]

Quote:

Might I suggest Mr [size=small]Takei of the Tatet H2+ and BAT super tweeter  You can ask him also if he's made any progress on an amplifier for the H2[/size]
[size=small]I think [/size]Currawong had suggested another local electronics co they might collaborate with
[size=small]He is ex Sony I believe so may know of previous headphone developments like the Qualia/R10 or may have some contacts inside the company who could be useful. [/size]
[size=small] [/size]
Fostex would be interesting too - They do a lot of OEM stuff for others like AT & Denon I believe 

I second TakeT  ( I love BAT super tweeter ) and Fostex. I would add ViV Laboratory - perhaps one day their amazing speaker can trickle down to something that can be used as headphone. http://www.vivaudiolab.com/E-home.html No corporate layers of layers protection to be penetrated in order to get permission - company is small but inovative ideas are worh
the journalistic effort.

 

[Scottsmrnyc]

LETS DO IT AGAIN.  I SAY!   I will be back in Japan from December 5, 2013 to December 12, 2013.  This trip will find me in Osaka, Kyoto and possibly Hiroshima.  I am not against the idea of a day trip to the Tokyo area.  I have contacted two Osaka based audio companies- Onkyo and Zander Audio. I  await a response from them.  I did enjoy visiting the very high end audio shop in Akahabara, who's name I have now forgotten. It was located in the multi floored building that housed the large headphone shop and the Mcintosh dealership.  I think it would be really cool to interview either the Headphone Shop or the High End store.  I don't want to make things too complicated, but perhaps we could do a video interview for the next one?  This might cut down on the cost to translate text. 

 

[vicjohn]

Thanks for nice report and l

ong live Stax!

 

[Surge74]

Great review, thanks for posting!
 
I am a bit skeptical on where the earspeakers are made, as the answers to this question were quite vague.  But... clearly, they are at least checked and final assembled(?) in Japan.

 

[spritzer]

All Stax products are made in Japan.  Most of the plastic bits used to be made by Sato but I don't know if they have switched suppliers. 

 

[specialspartan]

more thanks for doing this interview. it's great to get a glimpse of how a company like this functions. i'm more excited than ever to hear the SR-009! it's great to see that there is still demand for quality and craftsmanship, even if it's a little more expensive than some spare wal-mart earbuds. coincidentally, it's also interesting to learn Stax is a japanese company, as i'm a fan of many japanese products. keep up the great work, Stax!

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Great review, thanks for posting!
 
I am a bit skeptical on where the earspeakers are made, as the answers to this question were quite vague.  But... clearly, they are at least checked and final assembled(?) in Japan.

 
As far as I could gather, all parts of the earspeakers are manufactured in Japan by third party suppliers. The parts are then checked individually before assembly, and then again afterwards and during testing. The earspeaker drivers themselves are actually made by Stax from the components (eg: membrane material and parts).
 
Quote:

more thanks for doing this interview. it's great to get a glimpse of how a company like this functions. i'm more excited than ever to hear the SR-009! it's great to see that there is still demand for quality and craftsmanship, even if it's a little more expensive than some spare wal-mart earbuds. coincidentally, it's also interesting to learn Stax is a japanese company, as i'm a fan of many japanese products. keep up the great work, Stax!

 
What a coincidence! I just started playing Halo 4 the other day....if that is what your name is a reference to. 

 

[specialspartan]

Quote:

 
 
 
What a coincidence! I just started playing Halo 4 the other day....if that is what your name is a reference to. 

lol, yeah, i started using this screenname back when halo 2 came out and i first got internet. i've been using it for everything ever since. the local high school sport teams are called Spartans, and myself having been in special education as a child (for behavioral problems), i decided to use the name because that's how the "special" kids at the high school were referred to. i've an odd sense of humor, obviously. unfortunately, i sold my xbox to a friend, who then changed the name instead of making a new account, and within the 6 month period i didn't have a box, someone else took it! makes me sad, even 5-10 years later. haven't played 4 yet as i'm back on the playstation bandwagon, but halo is one of my fav scifi games of all time. hope you enjoy it!

 

[disastermouse]

The interview was small, brief, and understated. I can't think of a company that is so much the opposite of what the consumer headphone scene has become. Stax is the anti-Beats. No bravado, no slick outward styling. Certainly no celebrity endorsements!

I think it's awesome that they've let the enthusiast audience reach out to them and I also wonder if they realize the relative pull that Head-Fi has that may be able to pump at least a little more life and longevity into their endeavors. It would be a sad world if a company this dedicated to quality sound simply died out. I'm sure some of the electrostatic fanatics would DIY to pick up the slack, but it wouldn't be the same.

Well, I've pretty much decided that I will have a Stax set-up when I'm out of debt.

 

[Sweden]

You don't get the sense of being a little underdressed there in Japan?

 
Are they working on a SR-010 headphone?

 

[rataplan]

Awesome to read that. Hope to own a pair of Stax one day!

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

You don't get the sense of being a little underdressed there in Japan?

 
Are they working on a SR-010 headphone?

 
No. They only work on one product at a time.

 

[Magick Man]

According to my informal gorilla maths, going by their past release cycles, the next flagship will be out in 2016ish.

 

[291079]

dang, crazy stuff! ty for the interview