[ikkx]

Yes, he does go over the top with most of his reviews. Like it or not, he does have quite the following, and after his video was posted, all the lower priced SR-2170 systems were snapped up fast.

On one of the the other sites, they claim the SR-207 headphone are used in a few pro studios, because of the more neutral presentation compared to their more expensive Stax siblings.

so how good are they? compared to >$60 headphones out there 

 

[JimL11]

  I too tried the Nezzar amp with my SR-007A and it sounded much better than the SRM-006t and SRM-323S, both of which I have recently sold. The Nazzar amp provided much better bass extension without the appalling treble response of the SRM-323S. The Nezzar's sound can be characterised as sweet, powerful and well suited to a variety of genres. Whereas the SRM-007tII may lose composure at higher volume levels, the Nezzar amp remains tightly focused and acts like a SRM-727II without the treble glare which can be ruinous for female vocalists. All this is subjective, but I miss the Nezzar. A factor which influenced my decision to try the Nezzar was that the 4 triodes can be replaced without rebiasing - Stax take note. Apparently the current versions have three sockets so an electrostatic threesome is possible!
 
Despite being entirely triode powered electronic music is no obstacle. Sadly hearing loss means high end headphones are no longer relevant to me, so my SR-007A will be sold soon. 

Thanks to martyn73's ad for the Nebuchadnezzar for showing the internals of this amp.  As best I can tell based on the photo, it appears to be similar in topology to the Gilmore all triode stat amp, which is also the basis for the Woo GES.  The 6N17B dual triodes are similar in performance to the 12AX7s in the Gilmore design, and the output stage uses the same output tube and the identical output resistor load as the Gilmore, so I would expect the performance should be very similar.

 

[Quixote79]

Originally Posted by Quixote79 
 

 
That is never going top happen. As regards failure rates, the only numbers are those posting on here or at dealer repair centres. Dealers don't want to shout about it, neither do Stax, so kinda a dead end street.
 
TBH I have also had this issue with my 009s and got them repaired under warranty. I have no idea what caused it, but is was 22 months in from purchase.
My only thought was I used to leave the amp on all the time with the phones plugged in. I have no idea if that was the issue.
 
It would be most useful if someone could get hold of the damaged drivers of their own imbalanced headphone, and have a techie take it apart.
 
So it's a mystery IMO. To stop the drama, I think there are maybe 5% failures? That is off the top of my head and based on the posts I have read and serial numbers (units sold). I don't think Stax is alone though, I have heard the LCD range have more problems and some owners have gone through 3 sets. I know of nobody with the 009 who has had it happen twice. I am hoping I haven't encouraged fate there....

 
 

   
There is zero chance that the rate of this problem is 50%. There are at least a dozen of us here who have purchased the 009 in the last few years. There are hardly any reports of channel imbalance problems on Head Fi in the last couple years. astrostar59's issue developed after owning his 009s for nearly two years. That is totally atypical in how the issue has been reported in the past, so it seems likely that his headphones developed an unrelated channel imbalance issue, as can happen with any headphone. 

 
might be that astrostar59 kgsshv built by headincluds is damaging to the phone as the wee is ... only explanation really

 

[astrostar59]

 
might be that astrostar59 kgsshv built by headincluds is damaging to the phone as the wee is ... only explanation really

Rubbish and untrue. I have used my 009 with a Stax 717 as much as the KGSShv as I have a spare amp for when I am not at home.
 
I have used my 007As 2015 model with both amps and had no problems.
 
Actually the bias is more accurate on the KGSShv than the 717 amp.
 
Also read the posts on the imbalance thread, there are many owners who have used Stax amps with the 009 and it has still failed.

 

[Michgelsen]

  so how good are they? compared to >$60 headphones out there 

 
Stax 207 and 202 with the small amp are both better than the Sennheiser HD800 in my opinion. They are, to me, the best bang for the buck in the audio world if you can get them for €500, for example from Japan.

 

[Quixote79]

  Rubbish and untrue. I have used my 009 with a Stax 717 as much as the KGSShv as I have a spare amp for when I am not at home.
 
I have used my 007As 2015 model with both amps and had no problems.
 
Actually the bias is more accurate on the KGSShv than the 717 amp.
 
Also read the posts on the imbalance thread, there are many owners who have used Stax amps with the 009 and it has still failed.

VandyMan points to your imbalance has other cause since it developed over almost two years. also you have not had your 007 for two years yet so you cannot say it is just rubbish.

 

[astrostar59]

 
VandyMan points to your imbalance has other cause since it developed over almost two years. also you have not had your 007 for two years yet so you cannot say it is just rubbish.

My point (and nobody knows as nothing is coming back from Stax) is the cause and visible damage. It needs an autopsy to know. It could be ants, static, heat, or simply a failure due to manufacture. Many electrostatic speaker manufactures such as Quad and Martin Login have also had problems for various reasons.
 
My view is if there was an amp related reason for the failure, it would make sense it happened earlier rather than later to me.
 
This question may never be resolved, and as I say there are failures with only Stax amps on the 009s, so to me there is a recurring issue albeit in limited numbers.
 
Mine never had any distortion, no high pitched squeal like that video, no static noise. They just lost output level on one side. This seems to be the main symptom everyone posting here has experienced.
 
I would personally buy the 009s again, they are that good IMO. Washing machine fail inside warranty and I don't now hand wash everything....

 

[Quixote79]

 
My point (and nobody knows as nothing is coming back from Stax) is the cause and visible damage. It needs an autopsy to know. It could be ants, static, heat, or simply a failure due to manufacture. Many electrostatic speaker manufactures such as Quad and Martin Login have also had problems for various reasons.
 
My view is if there was an amp related reason for the failure, it would make sense it happened earlier rather than later to me.
 
This question may never be resolved, and as I say there are failures with only Stax amps on the 009s, so to me there is a recurring issue albeit in limited numbers.
 
Mine never had any distortion, no high pitched squeal like that video, no static noise. They just lost output level on one side. This seems to be the main symptom everyone posting here has experienced.
 
I would personally buy the 009s again, they are that good IMO. Washing machine fail inside warranty and I don't now hand wash everything....

could be your amp develop a failure over time but it should not stop you from washing hands - imo it is taking it too far

 

[AnakChan]

The issue of the Stax channel imbalance is not limited to only those who drive their headphones with 3rd party amps. The's been at least one case I know of someone whose brand new SR-009 developed the channel imbalance off the SRM-323A. The percentage of Stax headphones developing channel imbalance is not known.

 

[paradoxper]

  The issue of the Stax channel imbalance is not limited to only those who drive their headphones with 3rd party amps. The's been at least one case I know of someone whose brand new SR-009 developed the channel imbalance off the SRM-323A. The percentage of Stax headphones developing channel imbalance is not known.

And just how many 007 (other Stax favorite) imbalances? Regardless of the amps used. Yea...

 

[Quixote79]

  And just how many 007 (other Stax favorite) imbalances? Regardless of the amps used. Yea...

your point being that the 007 does not develop imbalance or only very rarely regardles od amp used?

 

[astrostar59]

 
your point being that the 007 does not develop imbalance or only very rarely regardles od amp used?

Yes as far as I can see re postings over the years. There are cases though. 

 

[paradoxper]

 
your point being that the 007 does not develop imbalance or only very rarely regardles od amp used?

It's not the amplifier as your aspersions eloquently imply.

 

[Quixote79]

  It's not the amplifier as your aspersions eloquently imply.

what is the matter with the woo wee then?

 

[Ali-Pacha]

I still don't understand the point there.
 
Yup, imbalance (as sh**) happens, 009, vintage, Lambda, 007, whatever...that's the very nature of e-stats. You want to be absolutetly sure you won't eve be struck by that ? Go elsewhere, that simple.
Yup, some gears have crappy bias supply, and they're obviouysly NOT Stax amps. This is overdocumented all over the interweb, so read the stuff about it, and make what you think is the good choice.
 
BTW, what's new about Stax today ?

Ali