[RVD]

I saw this player on Audiogon and curiosity got the best of me and I decided to buy it. I ended up not putting too much cash into the deal by trading in my speakers.

I received the player yesterday and I thought I would post a few brief impressions of it. The build quality is nice, the player is fairly heavy at about 28lbs and the top of it is made of metal and the bottom wood. Here is the specifications and a picture of the Stax:

http://babelfish.altavista.com/urltr...g.htm&lp=ja_en

I compared the player to a Sony NS500v and my first listen was that the Sony was more forward sounding to me and the Stax more laid back. The more I listened, the more I realized that the Sony was harsh and bright sounding in comparison to the Stax. The Stax also had better detail and bass. Now granted the Stax sounded better to me then a $180 DVD player, but I have no clue how it would compare to the more expensive cd players.

I only spent about 3-4 hours comparing the players, so this is in no way a review, just my very brief impressions. I would have spent more time comparing, but I had to return the Sony to Circuit City, because the unit developed a defective display.

 

[TimSchirmer]

The stax is MUCH, MUCH, MUCH more well-made than the sony. The quattaro is an early audiophile unit. What i would do, is buy the quattaro, and connect it to an outboard DAC (such as the Art Di/O, and Viola, you have an amazing digital front-end that kicks the arse of sony's mass-market mid-fi crap.

 

[kerelybonto]

Does Stax still make CDPs?

kerely

 

[RVD]

Quote:

What i would do, is buy the quattaro, and connect it to an outboard DAC (

I wanted to do this, but the Stax has no coaxial or optical out.

 

[TimSchirmer]

hmm... i would hold out for something with a coax output then. I think this stax was like the "thorens 124" of cd players. Awesome then, still awesome now, but outdated.

I know that older meridians can be found for a decent price, so can CAL transports.

 

[TimSchirmer]

I also think mission might have made a cdp back in their glorious 774 days.

 

[kelly]

kerelybonto
Stax presently makes only earspeakers and drivers (headphones and amps) unless you count the cables, covers and stands. The current edition of the Stax company has never made other products. The old company that was Stax before they died in the 80s made loudspeakers, CD players, etc. There is a Stax history page on their web site but the product list is incomplete.

I almost purchased a Stax Quattro 2 from Audiogon but decided against it. At the time, I too, thought of using it with a coax out and a good DAC--didn't realize it didn't have one. I'm kind of glad I didn't make that purchase now. I just thought it was a cool looking transport.

 

[insanefred]

Do Trichord or some of these other companies that sell and fit mods for CD players offer a digital coax mod? I'm pretty sure I saw this somewhere. Of course, the chances that they sell one specifically for a Stax player are pretty slim.
Andrew

 

[RVD]

Quote:

Do Trichord or some of these other companies that sell and fit mods for CD players offer a digital coax mod?

I was wondering if the sites that mod cd players offered this mod, but I did not research much to find out. I went on Trichords website and they offer an optical upgrade to make a cd player into a transport. I am going to send them an email about modding the Stax. Thanks for the tip insanefred.