[lextek]

Is it worth it to get one of the Stax amps?

007T or 717 solid state or go for a Blue Hawaii? Who would build one for me?

 

[Hirsch]

I happen to love the 007t I bought from bozebuttons. I think it's a great amp that tends to get overlooked in the current frenzy to get a Gilmore design. With good tubes, it sounds wonderful. I think the problem is US pricing, which takes the Stax amps out of the price range in which they are competitive. However, AudioCubes and EIFL are able to provide the amps at reasonable cost, and also provide good customer service.

I can't compare to the other amps, as I've only heard the 007t.

 

[bozebuttons]

I also thought the 007t amp is a good amp and is underated on this site. Having lived with it, Really works well with the Senn phones as I used the HE60 & He90s as well as the Stax Omega IIs & Srx MKIII with it.
And enjoyed my time with it, I will have to go by memory once I get the gilmores
to see how it stacks up against them.

 

[Hirsch]

Quote:

Originally posted by bozebuttons And enjoyed my time with it, I will have to go by memory once I get the gilmores to see how it stacks up against them.

Once you get the Gilmores, I'll be happy to bring the 007t up to help refresh your memory

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Bob,

The KGSS is somewhat expensive, costing a little over the import price of a Stax SRM007t or 717 amp. So far very few people have ever heard a KGSS, much less sat in the same room as one along side a Stax amp. This summer I'm bringing my KGSS back to the states to sell, and I, AC1 and smokey plan to get together to have an all Stax meet to compare the different variations of amps. AC1 is getting a KGSS with a microprocessor controlled DACT and some Jensen 4 pole caps. Smokey should have his Blue Hawaii any day now. Now if only we could borrow a Stax amp or two with which to compare all this Gilmore goodness life will be complete.

The Weebl/Blue Hawaii is supremely rare and so far I only know that zzz has built about 3-4 himself already, Mikhail from SinglePower is building one for Tom (boze), and Justin may end up building one if someone orders it. It costs roughly twice the price of the KGSS when you include a tube rectified power supply like zzz offers. If you go with a standard Weebl from zzz they run a few hundred less.

I'm not sure I can post how much each one costs, but I do know that an email to zzz with a little patience will yield an answer to any questions on pricing. Justin can also inform you how me he charges so you can get a comparison.

 

[bozebuttons]

Quote:

Originally posted by Hirsch Once you get the Gilmores, I'll be happy to bring the 007t up to help refresh your memory

You can count on it

 

[droido256]

Finally did it, finally sprung for a electrostatic. Just had a Stax Srs-3100 delivered. I’ve never had anything electrostatic before. It sounds excellent. Just wondering what are the quirks, care tips and what not about electrostatic? Do these degrade over time like electrets? Unlike dynamic, balanced and planar. Totally new territory for me. Totally stoked tho.

 

[mulveling]

Finally did it, finally sprung for a electrostatic. Just had a Stax Srs-3100 delivered. I’ve never had anything electrostatic before. It sounds excellent. Just wondering what are the quirks, care tips and what not about electrostatic? Do these degrade over time like electrets? Unlike dynamic, balanced and planar. Totally new territory for me. Totally stoked tho.

This 18 year thread-necro deserves a sincere reply lol.
I remember getting into Stax (with 009 and a KGSShv) circa 2014, and it was amazing. Like hearing high quality headphones all over again for the first time.

Keep dust and debris away from these headphones. Anything that gets on the stators / diaphragm will cause noise. A lot of us used the Stax wood headphone stand with a plastic dustcover when not in use. You can't throw these around in filthy environments like you could with dynamics. And keep these away from moisture!! Also, mechanical shock is bad; don't drop them.

The electrostatic amps are running VERY high voltages internally (up to 500V rails). They're designed to be safe with the box intact, but running with the lid off is much more dangerous that with normal amps. Don't poke around in there. The amp choice also makes a bigger sonic difference than in the dynamic headphone world. The best sounding amps are gonna be built from the "DIY" community (many of which were designed by Kevin Gilmore), and it can be a GREAT deal to buy some of these, but there's also a lot more than can go wrong here. For example: heat dissipation has to be adequate or those high voltage transistors are NOT gonna be happy. Another example: wiring carrying high voltages must be properly insulated or it will short out.

Have fun, don't fry yourself

 

[paradoxper]

It took him 12 years to dip his toes into STAX. He deserves the necro.

 

[droido256]

This 18 year thread-necro deserves a sincere reply lol.
I remember getting into Stax (with 009 and a KGSShv) circa 2014, and it was amazing. Like hearing high quality headphones all over again for the first time.

Keep dust and debris away from these headphones. Anything that gets on the stators / diaphragm will cause noise. A lot of us used the Stax wood headphone stand with a plastic dustcover when not in use. You can't throw these around in filthy environments like you could with dynamics. And keep these away from moisture!! Also, mechanical shock is bad; don't drop them.

The electrostatic amps are running VERY high voltages internally (up to 500V rails). They're designed to be safe with the box intact, but running with the lid off is much more dangerous that with normal amps. Don't poke around in there. The amp choice also makes a bigger sonic difference than in the dynamic headphone world. The best sounding amps are gonna be built from the "DIY" community (many of which were designed by Kevin Gilmore), and it can be a GREAT deal to buy some of these, but there's also a lot more than can go wrong here. For example: heat dissipation has to be adequate or those high voltage transistors are NOT gonna be happy. Another example: wiring carrying high voltages must be properly insulated or it will short out.

Have fun, don't fry yourself

Cool thanks, sooo good idea to cover them with a clean cloth when I’m not wearing them. Currently I just have them lying on make shift pillow. I’ll look into the stand as well. Will the stators resting on my ears while They’re on my head affect anything? Doesn’t feel like it’s any kind of hard pressure and doesn’t irritate me, just not sure if it’s good for the stats.

 

[mulveling]

Cool thanks, sooo good idea to cover them with a clean cloth when I’m not wearing them. Currently I just have them lying on make shift pillow. I’ll look into the stand as well. Will the stators resting on my ears while They’re on my head affect anything? Doesn’t feel like it’s any kind of hard pressure and doesn’t irritate me, just not sure if it’s good for the stats.

There should be a stator dustcover, metal grill, and earpad cloth to protect the stator from your ear and vice versa. Just don't be soaking wet when you put them on. Cloth cover should be fine as long as it doesn't shed lint / fuzz. Don't stress too much about it beyond that!

 

[mulveling]

Oh I forgot there was also a scare about the dreaded L/R imbalance developing on Stax headphones. One of the "rain dances" some of us did to (hopefully) keep the Stax demons at bay was to always unplug the Stax headphones from amp after a session and to discharge the stators by pressing the cable plug's exposed pins against the back of your hand. You should hear brief scratchy/thumpy noise from the discharge. I liked to do this in the meaty area between thumb and index finger. Probably less oils/dirt on the back of the hand vs. palm.

Not sure what the status of Stax imbalances is these days, but my first new pair of 009S developed it within a week. I had it replaced and that pair was solid. Never had a problem with the prior 009 (two of them) or L700. In most cases, the problem would arise in the first 2 weeks after delivery.

 

[droido256]

Oh I forgot there was also a scare about the dreaded L/R imbalance developing on Stax headphones. One of the "rain dances" some of us did to (hopefully) keep the Stax demons at bay was to always unplug the Stax headphones from amp after a session and to discharge the stators by pressing the cable plug's exposed pins against the back of your hand. You should hear brief scratchy/thumpy noise from the discharge. I liked to do this in the meaty area between thumb and index finger. Probably less oils/dirt on the back of the hand vs. palm.

Not sure what the status of Stax imbalances is these days, but my first new pair of 009S developed it within a week. I had it replaced and that pair was solid. Never had a problem with the prior 009 (two of them) or L700. In most cases, the problem would arise in the first 2 weeks after delivery.

Good to know about unplugging, after trying them out last night, I just turned off the amp, and left them plugged in. Thanks for all your help!

 

[droido256]

How do you safely get dust or what not out, should it happen? Just for pre knowledge.

 

[droido256]

How do you safely get dust or what not out, should it happen? Just for pre knowledge.

Oh! One thing I just thought of what about vaping/smoking while wearing them? Would smoke or vapor(oil) particles be a detriment? Honestly never thought about this with dynamic or planar mag either. Good gawd electrostatics turned me into a ignorant child again .
One thing I got to say the L300 does sound amazing. Different from the lcd-2/lcd-i3. While the planar magnetics seem to be, um a war hammer in music, the electrostatics seems to be more a honed sword. The intricacy is astounding. The treble and vocal speed and attack is honestly nothing I’ve ever experienced before. I thought the planars were fast, and well vicious in attack. (Esp in metal) compared to dynamic, but jeez these almost outpace my own ears. Given I’m a murica made guy, how do the Koss electrostats compare to Stax? A honest opinion. I ask only because I was originally going to buy the drop Koss, but they never seemed to restock, never gave Stax a thought due to perceived cost until I found the 3100. Being only $100 more went with the Stax. I didn’t want to dump 1600+ if I didn’t mesh with the electrostatic sound.