[Mr.Sneis]

Just thinking about the 009 gets me all hot and bothered.  I really do wish I could get a pair even now.  All it takes is my credit card
 
From a USA retailer chances are you could have worked directly with the vendor to arrange a swap OR if not worked directly with Stax USA to arrange a warranty repair or exchange.  It would cost less to ship and turnaround probably quicker.
 
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for saving money and would have gone PJ in a heartbeat myself.  There are 009's that come up used and everytime a part of me yearns.

 

[marcoarment]

  Just thinking about the 009 gets me all hot and bothered.  I really do wish I could get a pair even now.  All it takes is my credit card
 
From a USA retailer chances are you could have worked directly with the vendor to arrange a swap OR if not worked directly with Stax USA to arrange a warranty repair or exchange.  It would cost less to ship and turnaround probably quicker.
 
Don't get me wrong, I'm all for saving money and would have gone PJ in a heartbeat myself.  There are 009's that come up used and everytime a part of me yearns.

 
Well, wait a week or two and you might be able to get a great price on mine!

 

[complin]

This experience is very unfortunate for you but as a Stax user (and other top brands) for over 4 decades I can honestly say I have never had any serious problems with a Stax headset. I have found them at least if not more reliable than most other brands. I tend to have more issues with amplification or energisers, particularly where they are 20 or 30 years old.
There are lots of theories about what is causing this issue but its not clear if its a mechanical or electrical fault, but more possibly environmental. I would let them settle for a few days and give them another try. They may need a good charge up for a couple of days. I do hope you will persevere as I'm sure you will find your efforts rewarding, as I think you will hear once the issue is resolved they are superior to the hd800. I have both of these myself and would class the 009's ahead in every way, even though the HD800 are very impressive.
In fact the HD800's I believe can only be sold by Sennheiser Orpheus Club retailers certified by and limited by Sennheiser, so not available everywhere. That's the situation in Europe, if not they have probably come via the grey market.   
 
Quote:

   
I'm skeptical. I can't help but think I just spent over $6,000 on a custom amp and an unreliable headphone that I'll soon be selling at a huge loss when I can't get these issues worked out. And I absolutely cannot recommend to anyone else that they take the plunge into Stax gear when it's such a big risk and prone to so many problems.
 
Yes, it sounds better than the HD 800. But not better enough to be worth these headaches. Nearly every other flagship headphone can be bought normally from Amazon, Headroom, etc. and almost never malfunctions after 4 days — and if it does, you can return it quickly and easily.
 
 

 

[marcoarment]

For people who have had SR-009 channel imbalances, did they ever recur after the first instance was resolved, or was it a one-time thing?

 

[gepardcv]

Sorry to hear about the imbalance on your 009s, @marcoarment. Judging by post 270 on this thread by Spritzer (http://www.head-fi.org/t/555908/stax-sr-009-channel-imbalance-trouble-driver-problem/255#post_9876641), you might get faster service through PJ than Stax USA.
 
Following the thoughts in post 318 (http://www.head-fi.org/t/555908/stax-sr-009-channel-imbalance-trouble-driver-problem/315#post_10505796), could something in your listening environment be causing a stray charge to build up really high in the drivers? For example: is there a carpet in the room? Are you sitting on a chair with a cloth cover? I'm asking because I once had a car with cloth seats, and I would often get a wicked shock after getting out and touching something.

 

[georgep]

 For people who have had SR-009 channel imbalances, did they ever recur after the first instance was resolved, or was it a one-time thing?/img/forum/go_quote.gif

 


Certainly interested in hearing more than anecdotal responses to this question.

 

[marcoarment]

FWIW, since they'd only been boxed up for a day and I probably have another 4–6 days before the second amp arrives, I just unboxed them to see if it was any different.
 
At first, they sounded almost perfectly balanced — only very slightly off. Over 15 minutes of use, the imbalance grew significantly greater, and now it's right back where it was.
 
There was no such recovery when I had them off but connected overnight, so there's definitely something about being either disconnected, boxed, or both that temporarily fixes the imbalance.
 
What I'd like to know is whether anyone's imbalance has ever been fully fixed and never recurred long-term.

 

[arnaud]

The problem is that there's a good chance the imbalance will be over by the time the unit makes it way back to stax through pj and it'd be unfortunate to get shipped back the exact same product.

You don't seem very committed in the first place / this looks like an impulse buy and buyers remorse partly affecting your judgement.

As such, you probably found a good reason to talk yourself out of this expensive purchase and there will soon be takers for either products so maybe it's worth considering.

Arnaud

 

[paradoxper]

Shipsupt sent his pair back to Stax and reported no repair was done, however, he said his imbalance was gone. That was in December btw.

 

[marcoarment]

You don't seem very committed in the first place / this looks like an impulse buy and buyers remorse partly affecting your judgement.

As such, you probably found a good reason to talk yourself out of this expensive purchase and there will soon be takers for either products so maybe it's worth considering.

 
On the contrary, I only have some remorse because they're not working well. My goal is to have them working reliably for many years to come, not to be rid of them after only a few days.
 
But I'm also not stupid, and I know that as time goes on, my options diminish for getting them repaired, replaced, or returned.
 
(I definitely do regret buying them from PJ now, since they don't accept any returns. I didn't read the policy before buying, which was unwise.)

 

[arnaud]

Ok then, then jist bare through the pain and get them fixed. Once they work, they work, imbalance seems to occur after a few days or never for the most part. My 009 have been flawless from spring 2011, we get huge humidity swings here and it wasn't an issue.

Arnaud

 

[jackskelly]

Ok then, then jist bare through the pain and get them fixed. Once they work, they work, imbalance seems to occur after a few days or never for the most part. My 009 have been flawless from spring 2011, we get huge humidity swings here and it wasn't an issue.

Arnaud

 
I agree, I've never had a problem with them since I bought them over a year ago from Price Japan, but I understand his frustration. I would be very upset if I had this sort of problem and it didn't resolve itself after several days and after checking/testing all components. It seems like marcoarment must just have been unlucky, it's unfortunate, but I would imagine that STAX would be able to fix the headphone, it's worth sending it back to them and having it fixed. It's really in STAX's interest to have this fixed, otherwise this sort of predicament doesn't help Price Japan or STAX at all in terms of their reputation.

 

[marcoarment]

Got the KGSSHV. It's nice-looking, great-sounding, and massive. But the channel imbalance remains — I've now ruled out all other components, so it's definitely a problem with the headphones.
 
The 009s were in their box for the last few days, and sure enough, they were pretty well balanced when I first started playing them today on the KG. But within the first 15 minutes, it started gradually drifting off balance, and now it's right back to a very strong leftward imbalance. (I don't have proper equipment to measure the imbalance accurately, but it sounds like the music is coming from about 60 degrees left of center.)
 
PriceJapan advised me:
 
"Similar cases (imbalance issues ) happened so many times as your case, but Stax tends not find problems from them. Most of customers wasted round shipping cost and their previous time (2 months on average) for sending their Stax headphone to Japan."
 
But I'm out of options. I'll eat the shipping cost, but it will be pretty disappointing customer service if Stax Japan can't repair or exchange a week-old, defective flagship headphone in a reasonable amount of time.

 

[gepardcv]

@marcoarment: Before you ship them to Japan, I really think you should try letting them discharge again, and then set up the amp and headphones in a different room. Maybe take the rig to a friend's house, preferably one without carpets, cloth curtains, or other sources of static electricity. It may seem crazy to suggest that the listening space affects the equipment, but I'm sure you've seen crazier programming bugs.

 

[paradoxper]

I've wondered why PJ or even Yama's or whoever else don't offer to exchange the pair. Say after a trip or two for 'repair' and the problem persists...
why not switch 'em out and keep the customer happy.
 
I'm sure there are reasons, but going that extra mile for the customer could go a long way.