[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nextcube The SR-Omega box is not made of balsa plywood, but paulownia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paulownia

Oh, so it's made from Kiri? Thanks for the correction.

 

[Edwood]

You guys are doing a great job of pumping up and promoting Stax-i-nox's auctions, when he already had a thread closed in the FS/FT forums trying to pimp his auction.

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=198985

But it sure is a lot of fun to have at the expense of someone else's wallet, eh?

-Ed

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood You guys are doing a great job of pumping up and promoting Stax-i-nox's auctions, when he already had a thread closed in the FS/FT forums trying to pimp his auction. http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=198985 But it sure is a lot of fun to have at the expense of someone else's wallet, eh? -Ed

While I agree with you in principle, it's already out there now, and the people who know are all very serious about it meaning any person who is casually interested has little chance anyway.

 

[nextcube]

Just to comment on reliability issues regarding the SR-Omega, I think that strong reservations based on the deterioration of the drivers are somewhat misplaced (if not exaggerated to deter would-be buyers). I recommend them without hesitation if a pair should come your way.

For the record, I have a pair of low bias Stax Lambda headphones from the early 80s. Although quite old the electrostatic elements still look and sound very clean.

 

[edstrelow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood You guys are doing a great job of pumping up and promoting Stax-i-nox's auctions, when he already had a thread closed in the FS/FT forums trying to pimp his auction. http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=198985 But it sure is a lot of fun to have at the expense of someone else's wallet, eh? -Ed

True but mostly we are just watching the market. I would like to know what it will cost to replace some of my items or to complete my own collection.

There's not much variety in electrostatics, Stax makes 3 basic designs, the Omega, Lambda and the portable. Koss makes one model, the 950. If you want something different you have to go back to earlier designs.

For many years, there have been good buys in used Staxen. However this may come to an end as some of these models become more scarce. Omega 1's and Sigmas are not being made any more and if you prize the sound of these older models, you may have to pay collector's prices.

This kind of reminds me of the real estate boom (bubble) watching prices go through the roof. Unlike the the real estate bubble I think we are dealing with real issues of scarcity.

 

[spritzer]

I'm not all that certain they will break but if they would it will be very expensive since Stax will fix them with new SR-007 driver and they aren't cheap. I'm not so sure if this is a bad thing from a sound quality point of view since the SR-007 drivers are state of the art. The use of PCB stators is simply genius though Stax aren't the first to do it.

The Lambda/Sigma drivers are very tough but some Stax drivers are fragile i.e. SR-1 and up to SR-X including the OEM drivers Stax made for other manufacturers.

 

[nichifanlema]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stax-i-nox Latest "watching" count is: 34 for the Omega, and 25 for the Sigma.

I wonder how many of them are the real potential buyers.....

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer The use of PCB stators is simply genius though Stax aren't the first to do it.

I dislike PCB based stators in electrostatics.

 

[krmathis]

You don't know how much I want to get a hold of a Omega pair.
But the risk of buying a $2000 headspeaker with no repair option, is currently keeping me from going all the way.

I might follow Carl to the 4070 instead!

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl I dislike PCB based stators in electrostatics.

Why I might ask? They do not ring, are insulated so no arcs or contact burns, easy to mass produce to very tight tolerances, bond very well with the right glue, do not oxidize or tarnish and they are nigh on indestructible. Any pure perforated sheet metal is a terrible material for stators so designers have been using something else for 50 years, plastic, glass and fiberglass all metalized, and none as good as pcb.

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer Why I might ask? They do not ring, are insulated so no arcs or contact burns, easy to mass produce to very tight tolerances, bond very well with the right glue, do not oxidize or tarnish and they are nigh on indestructible. Any pure perforated sheet metal is a terrible material for stators so designers have been using something else for 50 years, plastic, glass and fiberglass all metalized, and none as good as pcb.

They're certainly easier to use and produce from a technical standpoint, but I don't think they sound as good with high voltage capacitive loads as metal wire, and require too much charging.

Of course, I welcome any scientific evidence that will make me change my point of view.

 

[J-Pak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer Why I might ask? They do not ring, are insulated so no arcs or contact burns, easy to mass produce to very tight tolerances, bond very well with the right glue, do not oxidize or tarnish and they are nigh on indestructible. Any pure perforated sheet metal is a terrible material for stators so designers have been using something else for 50 years, plastic, glass and fiberglass all metalized, and none as good as pcb.

Did you sell your HE90?

 

[akira]

Quote:

Originally Posted by braillediver “not very durable, not repairable,“ Is that statement true? If so then the auction is a huge Risk. Mitch

Unfortunatelly, I have to admit that is correct. My Omega, bought at e-bay, died after half year. And stax could not fix it and just offered replacement service to SR-007's sound unit. I asked it since it costs only 27000JPY!! What a nice customer service! (imagine, if they don't offer this, I may buy new 007.) Now it sounds quite nice, although it is not the same to Omega or 007. Some people prefer that mule and some not. I'll see how I like it.

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by akira Unfortunatelly, I have to admit that is correct. My Omega, bought at e-bay, died after half year. And stax could not fix it and just offered replacement service to SR-007's sound unit. I asked it since it costs only 27000JPY!! What a nice customer service! (imagine, if they don't offer this, I may buy new 007.) Now it soulds quite nice, although it is not the same to Omega or 007. Some people prefers that mule and some not. I'll see how I like it.

How do you enjoy your Omega 1 & 2 hybrid, incidentally. It sounds like a unique combination.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl They're certainly easier to use and produce from a technical standpoint, but I don't think they sound as good with high voltage capacitive loads as metal wire, and require too much charging. Of course, I welcome any scientific evidence that will make me change my point of view.

You do have a valid point there but that is not a deal breaker for me. If the copper layer is thick enough the charging issue goes away and you could probably get away with shrinking the stator-stator gap a bit meaning it is less capacitive. On the other hand a bigger voltage swing does wonders to all stats even making such bright monsters as the Lambda Signature more listenable

Quote:

Originally Posted by J-Pak Did you sell your HE90?

Nope they are still here. I'm waiting on some 6CA7's Fat Boys as per Hirsch's recommendation to try and improve them. They do a lot of things right but they can't match the SR-007 at all right now. Way to lean and polite for their own good.