The Stax Thread III

[rubenpp]

  My current favorite is my own SR 3n with 5n membranes driven by a Wavac 572 50 watt single ended amplifier using 572b tubes with a normal bias Stax SRD 7 using new production dyna z565 trannies.
 
For my taste this setup is much better than the 009/blue hawaii/cavalli combos or the Abyss/Cavalli Liquid Gold setups I have heard many times now at shows.  Deep, rich, fast, nuanced bass, transparent midrange, lovely upper mids and highs. It is reminiscent of HE90 sound but faster and deeper.
 
 I think I like the Abyss/Cavalli LG better than any of the 009 setups I have heard, I just could not bond withe the 009/Blue Hawaii sound for some reason.

Would be nice if you could bring it to the SF Bay area meet this coming Feb 16.

 

[cjfrbw]

I did bring my Manley neo 300b preamp with SRD 7/Stax 507/ultrasone Ed8 a couple of years ago.  I still use that setup, but the 507 were defective with holes in the mylar, which I discovered later.  I replaced the mylar myself, modified a SRD 5 with old iron Stancaor trannies, and use the 507 with normal bias and the Manley neo 300b now at another location,  That is also a great sound, but the Wavac setup is more luxurious sounding, bass-ier and more powerful.
 
The Wavac setup is in Santa Cruz and I really don't know if I want to dismantle it and lug it up there this time.  It might be redundant, anyway, if messr. Cooter is bringing his 845 rig. 

 

[Audio Jester]

This ( http://www.technologyreview.com/view/512496/first-graphene-audio-speaker-easily-outperforms-traditional-designs/ ) was posted in the HD800 thread.
Might be the start of a new Stax product??

 

[dude_500]

This ( http://www.technologyreview.com/view/512496/first-graphene-audio-speaker-easily-outperforms-traditional-designs/ ) was posted in the HD800 thread.
Might be the start of a new Stax product??

 
It says this driver's diameter is only 5 millimeters, so this would be more IEM sized driver. I wonder if the graphene material can be tensioned sufficiently to keep a large electrostatic driver stable. I've only heard about these tiny little drivers thus far.

 

[Audio Jester]

It says this driver's diameter is only 5 millimeters, so this would be more IEM sized driver. I wonder if the graphene material can be tensioned sufficiently to keep a large electrostatic driver stable. I've only heard about these tiny little drivers thus far.

True, it is in its infancy. The scientist in me gets a bit excited by this sort of thing.

 

[rubenpp]

 
The Wavac setup is in Santa Cruz and I really don't know if I want to dismantle it and lug it up there this time.  It might be redundant, anyway, if messr. Cooter is bringing his 845 rig. 

 
I understand . 

 

[DefQon]

Defqon, I think I read in in the LCD2 thread that you will be getting a pair of 009s. You've tried out so many headphones, so I'd be wipe curious to know your impressions. Do you plan to share them?

 
Yep pretty much, have already heard the 009 and liked it. Debating on whether or not to order a BHSE through our local dealer or direct from Justin but our currency exchange is so crap so I'm just waiting for the timing to be right. Was originally planning for a BHSE + O2 MK1 but I think I'm closer to getting some speakers with that amount at the moment, any spare $$ will go into my unfinished KGSSHV and the Megatron amp (which is right up on the same tier as the BHSE/DIYT2 straight from KG's mouth) but LilKnight seems MIA and he does the board runs. 
 
I will probably share some impressions but most likely not as 100 others have done so here already, my goal is to rid of myself from this place. Too much unnecessary noise and I need peace.
 
Would love to see the day Schitt get's into the electrostatic market, one of the few and truer manufacturers doing things just right.

 

[DefQon]

Here's a semi-hypothetical: if you had to choose only 1 combo, what would you rather have, a well driven 007 Mk2 ( not Mk1, just because the Mk2 is the current production and more readily available, and driven by a KGSSHV or BHSE) or a 009 with a mid-tier amp (for all available e-stat headphones, that is) , something like the 323s, Woo GES, srm-007. If you get either headphone from PJ then I think the prices are similar (1800 + 2500-5600 = 4300- 7400 for 007 setup, and 3800 + 700- 2000= 4500-5800).

Only thing I haven't heard in that list is the GES, I'd take a Balanced Dynahi + HD800 over any of those. The 009's are easy to drive but if your goal is spend cheap on amplification say a 323S which drives the 009 just fine but lacking in areas when you move up to a KGSSHV or so with the 009's you may as well not buy the 009's but this is if you plan on keeping the cheap amp as a permanent solution. I'd think you have to pay more attention to your source for the 009 than amplification due to the neutral bright tonality. O2 MK2 I found has too much boom and bloom with the mids and is uncalled for on some genres that have just a tad bit of mid bass going on. Now I've only heard the MK2 once at my dealer and completely far apart to the first time I heard the MK1's so I'm not so sure if the MK2 are as hard to drive properly as the MK1's. 

 

[arturo71]

Here's a semi-hypothetical: if you had to choose only 1 combo, what would you rather have, a well driven 007 Mk2 ( not Mk1, just because the Mk2 is the current production and more readily available, and driven by a KGSSHV or BHSE) or a 009 with a mid-tier amp (for all available e-stat headphones, that is) , something like the 323s, Woo GES, srm-007. If you get either headphone from PJ then I think the prices are similar (1800 + 2500-5600 = 4300- 7400 for 007 setup, and 3800 + 700- 2000= 4500-5800).

I concur with negura: 009 plus mid-tier amp. I reported about a 4-way comparison of mine before in this thread. However it all depends on which sound signature you like best, the 007 or the 009 one. The ampli will not change that.

 

[RiStaR]

   
Yep pretty much, have already heard the 009 and liked it. Debating on whether or not to order a BHSE through our local dealer or direct from Justin but our currency exchange is so crap so I'm just waiting for the timing to be right. Was originally planning for a BHSE + O2 MK1 but I think I'm closer to getting some speakers with that amount at the moment, any spare $$ will go into my unfinished KGSSHV and the Megatron amp (which is right up on the same tier as the BHSE/DIYT2 straight from KG's mouth) but LilKnight seems MIA and he does the board runs. 
 
I will probably share some impressions but most likely not as 100 others have done so here already, my goal is to rid of myself from this place. Too much unnecessary noise and I need peace.
 
Would love to see the day Schitt get's into the electrostatic market, one of the few and truer manufacturers doing things just right.

 
IMO just focus on the Megatron... apart from sounding better, you'd probably get it up faster because there're a lot less parts to worry about. Additionally, do go offboard for the PS instead of the onboard sinks (I would recommend this as it can get quite hot in Oz, too).
 
If you do buy the BHSE, I'd be very interested for you to do the comparison, too

 

[mangler]

Thanks everybody. I'll track down your shoot out arturo1, it sounds like it would be quite helpful.

 

[mangler]

Id love to hear about your Megatron as well, DefQon. I was following that thread but it was dead for a while and I just stopped checking. It's been a while, so I should go back It sounds like you'll be over there more than here though, which seems to be a move being made by many stax owners.

 

[3X0]

Yep pretty much, have already heard the 009 and liked it. Debating on whether or not to order a BHSE through our local dealer or direct from Justin but our currency exchange is so crap so I'm just waiting for the timing to be right. Was originally planning for a BHSE + O2 MK1 but I think I'm closer to getting some speakers with that amount at the moment, any spare $$ will go into my unfinished KGSSHV and the Megatron amp (which is right up on the same tier as the BHSE/DIYT2 straight from KG's mouth) but LilKnight seems MIA and he does the board runs. 

I will probably share some impressions but most likely not as 100 others have done so here already, my goal is to rid of myself from this place. Too much unnecessary noise and I need peace.

Would love to see the day Schitt get's into the electrostatic market, one of the few and truer manufacturers doing things just right.

Not going back to your original Omega?

 

[mangler]

...
Would love to see the day Schitt get's into the electrostatic market, one of the few and truer manufacturers doing things just right.

Bad news on that front. Just yesterday I asked Schiit about whether or not they ever plan on making an amp, and here is the response I got:

" Nope, no plans to do a stat amp. Too small of a market, too many politics."

Bummer

 

[AManAnd88Keys]

Bad news on that front. Just yesterday I asked Schiit about whether or not they ever plan on making an amp, and here is the response I got:

" Nope, no plans to do a stat amp. Too small of a market, too many politics."

Bummer

Electrostatics are the niche of the niche, I can understand them...