[wualta]

I've achieved my life's goal and won an auction for an SR-X Mk 3 with an SRD-7 and an extension cord for less than $100. Cross your fingers and hope they're not peed on by cats or something.

 

[smeggy]

Woah, big-ass score! Congrats on the new toys, I hope they are catpee free too

 

[Carl]

I'm after another auction (which for now shall remain nameless), but things aren't looking good.

Taking on audio otaku in bidding wars is the realm of the brave and the foolhardy...

 

[wualta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl Taking on audio otaku in bidding wars is the realm of the brave and the foolhardy...

Excellent term for characterizing those... characters. Airhats is good too. What scared them off "my" auction is anyone's guess. I'm hunkered down in anticipation.

 

[edstrelow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wualta I've achieved my life's goal and won an auction for an SR-X Mk 3 with an SRD-7 and an extension cord for less than $100. Cross your fingers and hope they're not peed on by cats or something.

That was a good deal. I was watching that auction but didn't want to pay for the cord (I have 2 already) and the adapter.

 

[Carl]

Thinks are not looking good. Those Japanese play serious hard-ball...

 

[Carl]

I stand before you a defeated man. A man who took on Japanese audiophilia at its own game, and was defeated in spectacular fashion.

orz


http://page9.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k32493709

Already up to 241,000 en (that's US$2000), and there's still 17 hours left. That puts it into the same league as the Edition7 and R10 amoung Japanese fans.

 

[johnmatrix]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl I stand before you a defeated man. A man who took on Japanese audiophilia at its own game, and was defeated in spectacular fashion. orz http://page9.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k32493709 Already up to 241,000 en (that's US$2000), and there's still 17 hours left. That puts it into the same league as the Edition7 and R10 amoung Japanese fans.

I guess the japanese love their stax, huh?

 

[wualta]

Carl, what are the strong points of the original Omega?

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wualta Carl, what are the strong points of the original Omega?

I haven't yet heard them, but they're supposed to have a massive soundstage and great sense of air, and be less layed back and flabby in the bass than the Omega IIs. I've also heard that they are less detailed/defined than the other top-tier electrostatics. Oh, and they're also an exceptional piece of industrial design. Simply gorgeous looking headphones.


Chasing after the HE90s is so passé, so my goal is the SR-Ω. Not this auction though, unfortunately. The quest continues...

 

[Carl]

The Omega's ended up finishing at 331000円, or about US$2380. By comparison the Omega IIs can be found for under 170000円 (US$1450) in Japan with some shopping around.

I've only ever seen one headphone get more on Yahoo Japan (a solitary Sony R10). Just goes to show how scary bidding wars between headphone "enthusiasts" can be.

Still, the HE90 has been sold for three times that figure plenty of times, so that kinda puts things into perspective.



There was also another auction from the same seller for an SRA-14S with all three phono amplifier cards (!) that went for 90000円. If it wasn't for the thought of the shipping costs (the 14S is pretty huge) and deputy service fees I would have bid on that and probably won.

http://img207.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/u...13sra-14sf.jpg
http://img207.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/u...24sra-14sr.jpg
http://open.sesames.jp/audio_ark/userfile/SRA-14Sh.JPG

 

[wualta]

Well, they're here, having come all the way from 1976 or so, by the look of them. Actually, after a good cleaning they should be just fine, although the wonderful skin-like original wrinkly fake leather on the earpads is almost all gone, just as it is on my Signet TK33.

No cat pee, though they do smell like they've belonged to somebody.

They're pretty much as I remember-- a little more bass than the SR-X Mk 2, but the bottom 2 octaves are weak. Channel balance is perfect. EQ brings up the bass but there's a limit beyond which even EQ won't help. I suspect Stax tensioned the diaphragms high to avoid nasty disasters when the phones were driven hard, which they seem to beg for. Highs are juuust verrrry slightly elevated, but smooth and flat. Strangely, the top of the top end seems rolled off, but that could be some old equipment that's still connected to the SRM-1 Mk 2 Pro. There's a lot more cleaning and swapping and general audio fussing to do before this is a fair test, but you can tell that these are 'phones that will let you hear everything that's on a recording, as long as it's above 80 Hz or so.

What was interesting was the comparison with the Stax electrets, the SR-30 Pro. Not as much difference as I expected. There's a broader hump in the mid treble as might be expected with the weightier diaphragm. You wouldn't want to crank these loud without some EQ to flatten those highs, but they're very pleasant and obviously from the same company that made the SR-X 12 years earlier. Significantly more bass from the 'trets too, and less of a closed-in feel.

Can my damped Yamaha YH-100s give either of these a run for their money? I intend to find out.

Haven't tried the Stax extension cable. Since I don't really need it I'll probably sell it to offset the cost of the 'phones. It's made of interesting materials-- the outer jacket feels like silicone rubber.

 

[Tachikoma]

How much are you going to sell that extension cable for?

Edit: fine, my grammar isn't the best

 

[wualta]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tachikoma How much are you going to sell that extension cable for?

I don't know yet. Some incredible amount. Probably less than most brands of fancy speaker cable, though. I've never sold anything through the classifieds here on Head-Fi whilst in the grip of lethal greediness. But I can learn.

 

[Lloyd297]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wualta They're pretty much as I remember-- a little more bass than the SR-X Mk 2, but the bottom 2 octaves are weak. Channel balance is perfect. EQ brings up the bass but there's a limit beyond which even EQ won't help. I suspect Stax tensioned the diaphragms high to avoid nasty disasters when the phones were driven hard, which they seem to beg for. Highs are juuust verrrry slightly elevated, but smooth and flat. Strangely, the top of the top end seems rolled off, but that could be some old equipment that's still connected to the SRM-1 Mk 2 Pro.

What amp were you driving them with?