[2Erly]

Hmmm. I've been looking around and have been entertaining the idea of picking up a pair of 009s. I'm more of a plug and play guy and don't know much about the technical side of things so excuse my ignorance, but I was looking at picking them up with a Woo audio WEE and using a pair of vintage Nikko Alpha 230 SS speaker amp I found around my house... googled the name and turns out it is a pretty good powerful amp. I also have the matching preamp to go with it. I found some specs and was wondering if someone could make sense of it and whether it would do something decent for the 009s til I can pull a stax amp.... or maybe keep that rig if I like it

 
Stats for the Amp From Amazon:
 
http://www.amazon.com/Nikko-230-Stereo-Power-Amplifier/dp/B000E304YA
 
"Continuous Power Output 120w + 120w Min RMS per channel into 8 ohms from 20 to 20,000 Hz at rated T.H.D both channels driven Both Channels driven at 1,000Hz - 8ohms 120w +120w - 4ohms 130w + 130w Total harmonic distortion at 8ohms at rated power 0.008% Intermodulation distortion 0.008% Power Bandwidth (T.H.D. 0.05%) 5 - 70kHz Damping factor - 8ohms 70 Slow Rate 100V/uS Input sensitivity/impedance Main In - 1,000mV/50kohms Signal to noise ratio Main in - 110dB Frequency Response Main in (5-100kHz) +0/-0.5 DB Power AC 120v 60Hz Power Consumption 480W 620VA"  

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[livewire]

Seems good enough, you will probably like it.
Most high end Stax amps are better than a Woo Wee.
If I had the dosh, I would rather opt for a Blue Hawaii Special Edition or an Eddy Current Electra. (tube amps)
If you know someone who does DIY ("do it yourself"), the KGSSHV is an excellent choice for a solid state amp.

 

[glorkaglickflic]

I've done my due diligence and decided to order the Stax SR 507 and Stax SRM 323S from PriceJapan.  I've decided on the Stax SRM 323S because of Spritzers recommendations stating that this is the best amp that Stax currently makes.  Is PriceJapan the best place to order them as I see that the prices are quite low.  Although, there are some Amazon sites where the Stax SR 507 is fairly inexpensive:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004YSHA5W/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new.  As I live in the United States, will I need a step-down transformer?  I see in PriceJapan  that a Churi CSW 100W voltage transformer is listed as an option with the Stax SRM 323S?  Would you recommend this or would other brands be recommended?  
 
I'm grateful to this site for letting me focus eventually on the electrostatics and making my final decision.
 
Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[visualguy]

  I've done my due diligence and decided to order the Stax SR 507 and Stax SRM 323S from PriceJapan.  I've decided on the Stax SRM 323S because of Spritzers recommendations stating that this is the best amp that Stax currently makes.  Is PriceJapan the best place to order them as I see that the prices are quite low.  Although, there are some Amazon sites where the Stax SR 507 is fairly inexpensive:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004YSHA5W/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new.  As I live in the United States, will I need a step-down transformer?  I see in PriceJapan  that a Churi CSW 100W voltage transformer is listed as an option with the Stax SRM 323S?  Would you recommend this or would other brands be recommended?
 
I'm grateful to this site for letting me focus eventually on the electrostatics and making my final decision.
 
Thanks in advance for any help.

 
Yes, you need a transformer. The Churi is good, but you can get less expensive ones, like from PowerBright.
 
By the way, the SR-507 are very bright in general, and particularly with the SRM-323S. I had this setup, and wouldn't recommend it unless you love bright sound. Also, the SR-507 are somewhat uncomfortable.

 

[glorkaglickflic]

Would you suggest the PowerBright VC100J ?

 

[visualguy]

  Would you suggest the PowerBright VC100J ?

 
Yes - that worked fine for me with the SRM-323S.

 

[justin w.]

the Stax SRM-323S from PriceJapan is $640 + you have to buy a voltage converter (costs money + takes up space) + you have no U.S. warranty + no return policy or extremely expensive to return it + harder to resell the amp + Stax sees a sale to Japan, not to the U.S., further lessening their interest in this market. or, a 120V model SRM-323S is $875 shipped.
 
as a U.S. Stax dealer, i think this is a pretty poor deal

 

[eric65]

  Seems good enough, you will probably like it.
Most high end Stax amps are better than a Woo Wee.
If I had the dosh, I would rather opt for a Blue Hawaii Special Edition or an Eddy Current Electra. (tube amps)
If you know someone who does DIY ("do it yourself"), the KGSSHV is an excellent choice for a solid state amp.

 
Disagree.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/681814/amplifiers-shootout-for-stax-009-eddie-current-electra-audiovalve-rkv-wooaudio-wee-stax-srm727-srm007t2

 

[DefQon]

Well technically that's cheating, the Woo Wee is an adaptor, connects to an auxilary amplifier to get its juice. 

 

[glorkaglickflic]

Justin
 
What you have stated makes sense.  The voltage converter would take up space----since you stated that you were US Stax dealer, where is your website?  Seems I have to do some more due diligence here.  Therefore, the 120V model SRM-323S needs no converter.....

 

[glorkaglickflic]

That brings up an interesting point, too.  Have many people from the United States  on the forum bought Stax products directly from PriceJapan or did they order locally?

 

[darinf]

  That brings up an interesting point, too.  Have many people from the United States  on the forum bought Stax products directly from PriceJapan or did they order locally?

We looked at becoming a Stax dealer, but the main reason we didn't do it was that the margins in the US were so low that anyone could buy from PriceJapan for cheaper than dealer cost. With low margins and little incentive for people to buy locally, we didn't know how we could make any money selling Stax. Yes, buying from Japan only gives you a warranty that works in Japan, but I am not sure how many people are willing to pay 25% or more just for a US warranty. For Stax 009, the US price is $1141.00 more.
 
I am not condoning that people should buy from Japan or not, but when it comes to price, many people will buy for the cheapest price regardless.
 
BTW, I bought all my Stax used from fellow Head-Fiers... I could not afford them new. I did buy a used Stax 323 amp from a Head-Fier in Japan and use it with a step down transformer. I don't have a US warranty, but it was out of warranty anyway.

 

[mikek200]

  We looked at becoming a Stax dealer, but the main reason we didn't do it was that the margins in the US were so low that anyone could buy from PriceJapan for cheaper than dealer cost. With low margins and little incentive for people to buy locally, we didn't know how we could make any money selling Stax. Yes, buying from Japan only gives you a warranty that works in Japan, but I am not sure how many people are willing to pay 25% or more just for a US warranty. For Stax 009, the US price is $1141.00 more.
 
I am not condoning that people should buy from Japan or not, but when it comes to price, many people will buy for the cheapest price regardless.
 
BTW, I bought all my Stax used from fellow Head-Fiers... I could not afford them new. I did buy a used Stax 323 amp from a Head-Fier in Japan and use it with a step down transformer. I don't have a US warranty, but it was out of warranty anyway.

90% of all my gear,has been bought from other head-fiers,and,I've never had a problem,and still is the first place I look.
However,now,I'm in the market for the 009's ,and,the $1100.00 savings,is making my decision to buy from PriceJapan,,very tempting,despite,no USA warranty.
 
Has anyone had any problems with PriceJapan?
Is there a way ,to send them to the USA seller,if a problem should arise?,and just buy whatever it costs,or,must I ship them back to Japan?

 

[darinf]

  90% of all my gear,has been bought from other head-fiers,and,I've never had a problem,and still is the first place I look.
However,now,I'm in the market for the 009's ,and,the $1100.00 savings,is making my decision to buy from PriceJapan,,very tempting,despite,no USA warranty.
 
Has anyone had any problems with PriceJapan?
Is there a way ,to send them to the USA seller,if a problem should arise?,and just buy whatever it costs,or,must I ship them back to Japan?

I have never used PriceJapan, but I was tempted too when buying the 009's.
 
It's my understanding that Stax USA will not do any repairs on products purchased in Japan. You will have to send it back to Japan for warranty repair or even non-warranty repair.
 
That's just the luck of the draw. Even if you did send it back to Japan once for repair, I am guessing it won't cost $1100 in shipping.
 
For some it's worth the risk, for others it's not.
 
One other factor that is the main reason I bought used is that I wanted them right away. It looks like most of the US dealers have them in stock whereas with PriceJapan it looks like you have to wait for them to arrive from the factory which can be a 4 month or longer wait. As a potential dealer, Stax USA also told us that to buy a pair of 009's for demo/stock, the wait from the factory was 4 months. I am not sure what the actual wait time is, but that's potentially a long wait. I guess the factory can't build them fast enough or they are doing their stocking dealers a favor to get people to buy from the dealers who have them in stock.

 

[DefQon]

The Stax SRM323S voltage can be changed to 100,120/220,240vac very easily and requires only 10 minutes worth of soldering.