[AudioCats]

thanks! so the cable routing in mine was done wrong.

Now I have a 727, I can finally do the select-able feedback mod on the circuit cards. with either a switch or a jumper plug.
I will post put mod related stuff in the DIY section.

 

[zomkung]

thanks! so the cable routing in mine was done wrong.

Now I have a 727, I can finally do the select-able feedback mod on the circuit cards. with either a switch or a jumper plug.
I will post put mod related stuff in the DIY section.

If you don't mind, can you make a review about comparing the modded 727 with carbon?

 

[AudioCats]

I don't have a carbon. I have an old style (fat pizza box enclosure) headamp KGSS, however it is being modded, after the mod it will not be representative of a stock kgss any more....

 

[AudioCats]

my first Stax purchase experience from yahoo.JP auctions, via Buyee:

7-23: saw the 727 on yahoo.JP, placed "sniper bid" (Buyee will place the bid 5 minutes before the auction ends)
7-25: won auction, final bid 69000 jpy. Buyee fee 1000 jpy. Buyee took $655 out of my paypal right away. (actual conversion rate 106.8:1, while the market rate was a little over 110:1)
8-1: Buyee message, "your package has arrived at our warehouse". I was still waiting for the result of another auction so I did not tell them to send it to me right away.
8-3: completed shipping steps, total shipping $88 (~$10 domestic, rest international). Buyee took $$ out of my paypal.
8-4: Buyee message, "package has been shipped"
8-9: Package arrived. giant box, extremely well-packaged. Buyee must have repacked it for the overseas shipment. Amp was wrapped in blue bubble sheet (this is probably the original seller's packaging), then a layer of clear bubble wrap, and taped well. The "727A mummy" was put in a large thick-wall box, with liquid-foam bricks above and below. this large box was then put into a huge outer box, with clear bubble wrap in between the boxes. Lots of nice packing material, well worth the $80 shipping price.
Which makes me suspect Buyee is not really an internet company. It is a company that makes $$ mainly by selling packing material (liquid-foam, ultra sturdy cardboard boxes, etc).

Amp condition agrees with auction photos; powers up and sounds fine.

total time, auction end to package arrival = 2 weeks; total $$ 655+88= $743, not bad for a 727A.

 

[arjuna93]

OK, I am purchasing 009 then

Have you considered ESLabs ES–1 Alpha?

 

[arjuna93]

my first Stax purchase experience, from yahoo.JP via Buyee:

7-23: saw the 727 on yahoo.JP, placed "sniper bid" (Buyee will place the bid 5 minutes before the auction ends)
7-25: won auction, final bid 69000 jpy. Buyee fee 1000 jpy, Buyee took $655 out of my paypal right away.
8-1: Buyee message, "your package has arrived at our warehouse". I was waiting for the result of another auction so I did not tell them to send it to me right away.
8-3: completed shipping steps, total shipping $88 (~$10 domestic, rest international). Buyee took $$ out of my paypal.
8-4: Buyee message, "package has been shipped"
8-9: Package arrived. extremely well-packaged, Buyee must have repackaged it for the overseas shipement. Amp was wrap in blue bubble wrap (this is probably the original seller packaging), then a layer of clear bubble wrap, and taped well. The "727A mummy" was put in a large box, with liquid-foam bricks above and below. this large box was then put into a huge outer box, with clear bubble wrap in between the boxes. Well worth the $80 shipping price.
Which makes me suspect Buyee is not really an internet company. It is a company that makes $$ mainly by selling packing material (liquid-foam, ultra sturdy cardboard boxes, etc).

amp condition agrees with auction photos; powers up and sounds fine. The sound is kind of thick.

total time, auction end to package arrival = 2 weeks; total $$ 655+88= $743, not bad for a 727A.

I can confirm that Buyee is very reliable. And Yahoo JP sometimes have great deads, but make sure to check also Mercari and Rakuma (available with Buyee).

On Yahoo JP the best grabs are "junk" items with unconfirmed operation (not with listed problems) – usually it means that a seller is lazy to check operation or doesn't have needed environment. Of course, there is a risk of an item actually being junk, but so far I did not encounter such case personally.

For Stax, check also Airbow, it shows up once in few months. Both their amps and headphones are level above original Stax models. (However only few models had been modified by Airbow.)

 

[arjuna93]

I personally would get a SRD7 pro ( no SB version, those are crap). I have gone through a bunch of STAX amps and they all seem to have a problem delivering enough power especially if you want to rightly EQ your headphones. Or drive a 007.
For a long time SRD7 pro were held back by the dedicated amplifiers they were hooked to. It’s hard enough to find a speaker amp combination which doesn’t hiss (black background noise).
But the headphone amps of today can deliver more than enough power to drive SRD7 box if you create a 4 pin balanced jack with the 4 colored input wires coming out of SRD7 pro, and connect it to something like a topping a30 pro which delivers 6watts into a 16ohm load. You will have total transparency with more power (more clean rail to rail voltage) than all stax amps including blue Hawaii. It’s a no brainer.

Do you know if SRD-7mk2 is inferior to Pro-only, identical or better?

 

[432789]

Do you know if SRD-7mk2 is inferior to Pro-only, identical or better?

As long as it’s not SB, you’re good.

 

[Menkau-ra]

Have you considered ESLabs ES–1 Alpha?

Never heard about.
I already have 009 now.

 

[arjuna93]

Never heard about.
I already have 009 now.

Cool, how is it?

 

[Menkau-ra]

Cool, how is it?

I am pre-amping SRM-252S with Lyr using Philips Heerlen tubes. It sounds like magic! I don’t even know if I need a better stax amp now. I probably will buy 717 or so, but even now I am very happy with 009.
Last week I was using RCA tubes and 009 did not sound good at all, I wanted to sell 009 asap. But with Philips Heerlen tubes it’s a magic.

 

[BenF]

I am pre-amping SRM-252S with Lyr using Philips Heerlen tubes. It sounds like magic! I don’t even know if I need a better stax amp now. I probably will buy 717 or so, but even now I am very happy with 009.
Last week I was using RCA tubes and 009 did not sound good at all, I wanted to sell 009 asap. But with Philips Heerlen tubes it’s a magic.

You don't. Enjoy the magic!

 

[graben]

So what is everyone's opinion on the Blue Tac mod for the L700s? It is needed or useless?

 

[arjuna93]

I am pre-amping SRM-252S with Lyr using Philips Heerlen tubes. It sounds like magic! I don’t even know if I need a better stax amp now. I probably will buy 717 or so, but even now I am very happy with 009.
Last week I was using RCA tubes and 009 did not sound good at all, I wanted to sell 009 asap. But with Philips Heerlen tubes it’s a magic.

Wouldn't imagine tubes' brand can make that much difference.

 

[KDS315]

If you wanted to ditch the SR-009 and with different tubes now all of a sudden it is soooo great - then there is “something” SERIOUSLY wrong!!