STAX SRM-D50

[Rob80b]

They both sound about the same to my ears but the D50 looks a lot more modern.

That's what I've been reading.

The onboard DAC is decent but is easily surpassed by sub $500 dedicated DAC.

Yep, superfluous for me might come in handy for some.

 

[purk]

That's what I've been reading.

Yep, superfluous for me might come in handy for some.

It’s a beautiful unit honestly.

 

[newbluesuit]

I was just looking at your other post, it's quite possible the darker color is attributable to the lighting or the layout artist took liberties or maybe it is grey now, let us know.
I'm also considering the a 353 or 400 but like the form factor on the D50.

The unit I've received is closer to this picture than any other promotional picture on the web. I have posted a picture of my unit next to a silver MacBook Pro in the other thread here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-stax-thread-iii.677809/page-1817. Apparently, Stax claim that there has only ever been one color for the D50, and that the color in question is ‘silver’. If the color of the unit I have received is indeed the only one that's ever existed, it's really strange that no one has ever pointed out that the promotional pictures and the ‘silver’ attribute are very misleading.

 

[purk]

Gotta be the lighting. Mine is silver.

 

[newbluesuit]

Gotta be the lighting. Mine is silver.

Mine isn't, as you can see in the picture I posted in the other thread. Could you post a picture of your D50 next to another silver device, similar to the picture of my unit next to a silver MacBook Pro? That would confirm that not all D50s are the same color.

 

[Rob80b]

The unit I've received is closer to this picture than any other promotional picture on the web.

Thanks for the pic, sorry misunderstood misread that you actually received the unit, yep, definitely grey.

So maybe any recently made ones are all grey.
https://stax-international.com/products/srm-d50/

 

[newbluesuit]

Thanks for the pic, misunderstood that you actually received the unit, yep, definitely grey.
So maybe any recently made ones are all grey.

According to the reseller, Stax says that all D50s ever made are the same color. So either there has never been a silver D50 (but I find that unlikely), or Stax themselves are clueless about the color variations. I hope that someone here can provide a picture that confirms that silver D50s do exist!

 

[Rob80b]

According to the reseller, Stax says that all D50s ever made are the same color. So either there has never been a silver D50 (but I find that unlikely), or Stax themselves are clueless about the color variations.

You'd be surprised what misinformation I've heard from resellers over the years. lol

I hope that someone here can provide a picture that confirms that silver D50s do exist!

A few came up in the classifieds.
https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/stax-srm-d50.43477/

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/stax-srm-d50-amp-dac.11883/

 

[newbluesuit]

You'd be surprised what information I've heard from resellers over the years. lol

A few came up in the classifieds.
https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/stax-srm-d50.43477/

Most of the pictures I see online look silver to me, and very different from my dark grey unit and the pictures on the Stax International website, but unless the D50 is pictured next to another silver device for comparison, one can always blame the lighting, camera, screen, etc. for chromatic distorsion. We can't prove anything unless someone posts a picture of a silver D50 next to another silver device (such as another silver Stax energizer, a silver Mac, etc.)…

 

[purk]

Why the color is so important? Just curious.

 

[newbluesuit]

Why the color is so important? Just curious.

It's fairly simple. I like silver. I don't like dark grey. I ordered silver and received dark grey. So I'm not happy and I'm trying to figure out what is going on.

I also think that it can be helpful to others to know that even though the D50 is pictured (and often described) as a silver device on every online reseller's website other than Stax International, you may still end up with a dark grey unit when ordering from them.

 

[Rob80b]

silver device on every online reseller's website other than Stax International, you may still end up with a dark grey unit when ordering from them.

Looks like the mystery may be solved, as per yaluen ,

Headamp has a photo on their D50 page that features a macbook in the same image that shows the silver finish.



Searching for a more definitive answer, Wayback Machine would suggest there was a change made between January and April of 2023, the January capture being the last to show the original colour.


https://web.archive.org/web/20230129162728/https://stax-international.com/products/srm-d50/


https://web.archive.org/web/20230403015751/https://stax-international.com/products/srm-d50/

I'm guessing a decision was made to change the finish to align with the SRM-D10MK2 which was likely in development at the time. Original D10 on the left.



As @SolarCetacean mentioned previously, the D50 doesn't exist in Stax's domestic catalogue and could be it's not even a product managed by Stax HQ in Japan, but by Stax International/Edifier. Perhaps news of the change was lost in the shuffle somewhere and was never properly relayed to distributors, or even internally for that matter it seems.

 

[Jonny451]

I had one in my setup for testing in June 2022, looked like this (whole upper casing had the same silver tone):

 

[newbluesuit]

I had one in my setup for testing in June 2022, looked like this (whole upper casing had the same silver tone):

Many thanks for your input! So would you say that the D50 was close in color to your Pro-Ject boxes? I have a silver Pro-Ject Stereo Box S, and my D50 is definitely a very different color ‘in person’.

@Rob80b @yaluen The MacBook in that picture looks ‘space grey’ to me, and it's getting much less light than the D50, so I'm not sure that that picture proves that silver D50s do exist. I've also noticed that the current pictures on the Stax International website are odd: the input switch and the frames around the VU-meter and volume knob are clearly a different color from the cover, while on my unit (and every other picture on the web) these elements are all the same color (regardless of what that color is). My guess is that the Stax International pictures have been ‘doctored’ to make the color closer to ‘real life’ (i.e., not silver but dark grey), but they forgot to ‘fix’ the elements on the front.

I've now noticed that my D50 can look very close to silver on photographs, depending on the angle and lighting (although ‘in person’ it's always dark grey), even when placed next to an actual silver device like the Pro-Ject boxes in @Jonny451's picture or a pair of SR-009s. So I'm starting to think that all units may in fact be the same dark grey color as mine, as claimed by Stax according to the reseller (although that color is definitely not silver—it just photographs that way under certain conditions for some reason).

Im attaching a new picture I took of my (dark grey) unit together with my SR-009s. As you can see, on the picture the unit is pretty close to the SR-009s in color. In real life it absolutely isn't, even under a strong light.

 

[Jonny451]

Yes, i would say, that the "color" was very near to the Pro-Ject boxes, maybe a little darker and more dull, but the surface was a litte bit finer in structure.
For my eye totally ok.
(As I remember, had the unit over 2 years ago, only for some days)