[Audio Jester]

Quote:

 




Hello 
 
The questions are: why these dysfunctions ? (unbalance or loss of definition on a channel)
(NB : partial malfunction or may become total which apparently concerns potentially a part of the production current Stax (10% of headphones?)
What is the mechanism by which these disturbances occur, sometimes several tens of hours after buying the Headphone?.
Is it related to a too thin film too fragile tearing the long run?
Is it a problem of poor contact between the electrodes?
Is it a problem of impurities?
So many questions!
Solutions?
 
Eric

I believe there has not been a definitve answer to that question.  As you probably have read there are several theories going around, but I don't think that Stax has "officially" addressed the issue.  From my experience with other Japanese companies I get the feeling it will be a long time before we get a direct response from Stax.

 

[spritzer]

We will never get anything official about this from Stax but humidity, ambient temp, large metal stators etc.  all play a large role in this. 

 

[paradoxper]

So is one to assume it's a crapshoot at this point?
 
The backorder makes for a long wait just to potentially have to send them back for repair.

 

[spritzer]

There are no news about this other than Stax sending sets back without any repair being done (pointing to there not being a design issue) and even sending the wrong set back. 

 

[tremolo]

I was about to pull the trigger. This is making me re- think.

 

[paradoxper]

  There are no news about this other than Stax sending sets back without any repair being done (pointing to there not being a design issue) and even sending the wrong set back. 

Well, something just isn't quite right. 
 
Safe to say I'm too afraid to pull the trigger on a pair at this time.

 

[arnaud]

If you're intending to purchase through gray market, you'll have to wait longer to get your can serviced considering shipping, but you'll get service nevertheless.

If your going through authorized retailer, I am not sure what the issue is. Anyone who has had issue has been treated in priority as I understand.

Also, Stax has significantly upped their QC in fate of early batch failures. If there's one company you can trust in terms if stat gear manufacturing, it is stax. They've been making these things for 50 years, and I am pretty sure they don't like having to service faulty brand new units...

They're shipping in the range of 20-40 pairs a month since spring / summer 2011. How many faulty units have been reported here already? Five or ten? Of course not everyone reads this forum and even fewer post but I sense there's a tiny bit of overreaction in this thread .

 

[paradoxper]

Most people go through PJ considering the prices. I can see how the whole situation may result in overreactions, however
it's just not very clear what's going on. As Spritzer said Stax hasn't said anything officially, all of this reminds me of Audez'es QC issues,
great CS, fast turn-arounds, yet problems persist. With the kind of money on the table for 009's it's a bit different, along with the already long wait 
with ordering and their repair turn-around is far slower.
 
On top of that there's now the potential that refurbed units are being sold. At the other place someone reported some interesting 'issues' with their pair.
Seemingly his pair were an easy fix, but nonetheless that kind of issue is even more off putting.
 
I was initially just trying to get a sense of the situation. Spritzer says some sets that were sent back weren't repaired so it's a bit confusing being in the market..
coupled with the recent report of a less than stellar 'brand new' pair raises more questions.

 

[e19650826]

Also, Stax has significantly upped their QC in fate of early batch failures. If there's one company you can trust in terms if stat gear manufacturing, it is stax. They've been making these things for 50 years, and I am pretty sure they don't like having to service faulty brand new units...
 

 
hmmm not sure about that.
I just received my pair yesterday and new out of the box, the left driver has severe hissing.... after taking off the earpad and the metal mesh underneath I found quite a bit of debris on the driver assembly. After blowing it off, the hissing was gone. However, it's not the only problem. The right cup has two very visible scratch right out of the box.
The set is from PJ. They assured me it's a factory sealed pair and it was indeed sealed with the magic plastic bag in the box... no idea how they got that in there....
I'm not planning to service it at the moment because of the possible long wait period, (unless it develops channel imbalance.)
 
It is suffice to say tho, their QC has lowered due to the inundation of 009 orders. I highly suspect that my pair used parts from refurb units to save time. It's inevitable given the situation. They've cranked out more than 500 units in the past year. The serial number on my pair is in the 2200s. Around the same time last year, the serial number was still in the mid 1000s. You can do the math. They are way behind even using damaged or refurb parts on new pairs, so it will likely be the norm from now on, so if you wish to buy a new 009, keep that in mind.
Anyway, STAX's positive image and reputation are all moot for me now.

 

[arnaud]

Honestly, the PJ business is clearly grey market and Stax is absolutely against this type of activities (hence the mandatory registration of the owner to get under warranty service).

I would not be surprised that PJ has no direct access to Stax (they aren't an authorized reseller) and thus don't always get factory sealed units. One thing I am convinced: absolutely NO way stax will get a 009 out of the door with the scratches and dust problems you mention.

 

[e19650826]

Honestly, the PJ business is clearly grey market and Stax is absolutely against this type of activities (hence the mandatory registration of the owner to get under warranty service).

I would not be surprised that PJ has no direct access to Stax (they aren't an authorized reseller) and thus don't always get factory sealed units. One thing I am convinced: absolutely NO way stax will get a 009 out of the door with the scratches and dust problems you mention.

 
well... as I said, as far as I can tell, it is factory sealed, unless you know how to put that migical plastic seal thing over the box and still stuff it into the paper box.
You can keep saying that to yourself, but the fact is there is QC problem here. As I said, otherwise they would probably not have enough parts to keep up with the production need.
Also just in case it wasn't made clear enough. PJ does have full warranty from STAX, it just has to go through them as STAX Japan will not deal with anyone outside of Japan. I'd have no problem sending them back for service if not for the long turn around time due to backlog and the problem Spritzer stated above and the possibility of just getting another one just like it or what not.
Anyway... what made you think there would be no way they would have lower quality control when they are cranking out at least 3~4 times the said annual production capacity? I'd be surprised if they can keep up their QC under stress like this. Just because it's a Japanese firm, it doesn't guarantee 100% QC when it's under abnormally high production need. I'm no genius here, but logic is certainly working against you on this one.

 

[paradoxper]

IF PJ was somehow able to magically put the plastic seal over the box. What then? Could these problems all be from refurbed units.
I guess I'm asking if there's any traction between these current issues being from mostly PJ units, or if there are reports from elsewhere as well.
 
I also understand PJ being grey market, however they will repair/look at your unit when sent back and that just may well be faster than trying to go through Yamis.
 
 
Edit: I also see Authorized sellers such as elusive disc offer a 1 year parts/labor warranty where as PJ offers a 
"protected by 1 year warranty in Japan" Do future repairs differ from each after the 1 year is up?
Meaning, does the registration process cover after year repairs and if so, at what costs?

 

[e19650826]

  IF PJ was somehow able to magically put the plastic seal over the box. What then? Could these problems all be from refurbed units.
I guess I'm asking if there's any traction between these current issues being from mostly PJ units, or if there are reports from elsewhere as well.
 
I also understand PJ being grey market, however they will repair/look at your unit when sent back and that just may well be faster than trying to go through Yamis.
 
 
Edit: I also see Authorized sellers such as elusive disc offer a 1 year parts/labor warranty where as PJ offers a
"protected by 1 year warranty in Japan" Do future repairs differ from each after the 1 year is up?
Meaning, does the registration process cover after year repairs and if so, at what costs?

If it were a new unit... maybe it won't have these problems... don't know...
They will send the unit back to STAX when you send it back to them.
It's the same thing after one year manufacturer warranty. They will send it to STAX for out of warranty repair for a fee depending on the problem.

 

[georgep]

For out of warranty repair, why wouldn't you send it somewhere locally?

 

[spritzer]

Funny thing though is that it's much, much faster to have a gray market unit serviced than going through most of the distributors.  Only problem is that Stax will often say there is nothing wrong with the set as this fault isn't permanent.  There isn't anything mechanically wrong and shipping the sets will often make then problem go away or actually make it appear. 
 
After one year the repairs are on the owner, regardless of where the sets were bought.