[chocolates]

edifier is totally hands-off stax: https://www.edifier.com/int/en/blog-news-press/edifier-acquisition-headphone-brand-stax

they acquired them 9 years ago, and none of the high-end offerings seem to have been particularly affected by the acquisition

 

[JLoud]

That's good to hear. I did like the idea of a new Omega. Of course what they will cost may change my excitement.

 

[joseph69]

So only the 009 not 009S was discontinued?

Both, the 009 & 009 Black Limited Edition are available at HeadAmp.
I was told by the Stax rep at the '19 CJNYC show that the 009 would be discontinued at some point.

 

[JLoud]

Well that stinks. Was hoping to pick one up in the future. However as I purchased joseph69's WA33 and ordered a HeadAmp BHSE in the last 3 months, I'm tapped out.

 

[joseph69]

Well that stinks. Was hoping to pick one up in the future. However as I purchased joseph69's WA33 and ordered a HeadAmp BHSE in the last 3 months, I'm tapped out.

Have you received the BHSE?

 

[JLoud]

Not yet. Received shipping notice Tuesday. Expected arrival says Friday. Probably Saturday or Monday the way shipping is now days.

 

[joseph69]

I asked because I see it listed in your signature, but haven't read any posts about it paired with the Voce

 

[DougD]

Stax don't need to try and push out the best cost-no-object gear in the world, they just need to fix their own issues and update their amps to be able to drive their own headphones. If you can CCS mod the 006t and 007t to be higher output, why don't Stax do it from the factory? If you can easily feedback mod the 727 and improve the sound, why don't they do it from the factory?

That is insane, and I think the only good explanation is that Stax-Japan as a small company was so resource-constrained that they just couldn't spin very many plates at the same time.

You'd kinda think Edifier mgmt would have already made some headway on that front. The old "we bought your company because we think you have great products, but ALSO because we have big company resources and expertise to help lift you to even greater heights" speech, followed by some executive decision-making. (But with care, you don't want to piss off a small cadre of people with irreplaceable skills and knowledge.)

Why do their headbands for the L300 split in half, the L700 mk1 y-forks break, the fit on the new Lambdas be significantly worse than the old? Yes they've taken a few steps with the Mk2 Lambdas to fix these issues but they need to be doing more.

More of the same. "We understand that fixing these nit-picky problems hasn't been your top priority, but we have people who can help with QA, design, manufacturing process improvement, etc. In fact, here's some of those people right here ... meet Daquan and Jing-Sheng and Qi ! We can take this problem off your shoulders, so you can concentrate on the fun R&D stuff where you have the rare talent."

This isn't the 90s when they were the de-facto leader in the high-end space. There is much more competition now and frankly they need to get a move on or be left behind.

<< snip >> This sounds angrier than intended, but I've been using Stax for over 15 years, I'm something of a fan and I just don't see things currently heading in the right direction.

There is a lot more competition and alternatives in the high-end h/p market now, but the worldwide demand for the high-end stuff is also up tremendously. You gotta think that Edifier bought Stax as a business with upside, not as a vanity project. We grasshoppers need a little patience, I guess. Edit: I see the acquisition was in 2011 ... guess we need more than just a little patience.

 

[gurbina93]

900 USD for a SRM-727A a good deal? Is it a good amp? Directly from Stax Japan.
I was looking for an amp earlier on, I still am as the one I was eye'ing got instantly bought by someone else.

 

[Mach3]

That's the first I heard a 009S failing that early.
Does anyone know if any of the 007 series have good record on driver failure rate? I've got 2x very old 007 Mk1.

 

[catscratch]

The biggest issue I know of with the early Mk1s is insufficient strain relief where the cable attaches to the driver, and some of them fail at that point. Mine's gone intermittent there though admittedly after years and years of heavy daily use. The drivers themselves are pretty robust afaik. Mk2s fixed that issue.

 

[elton7033]

900 USD for a SRM-727A a good deal? Is it a good amp? Directly from Stax Japan.
I was looking for an amp earlier on, I still am as the one I was eye'ing got instantly bought by someone else.

One of the best that offer by stax is for many years
Not as good as the stax t8000 obviously
And you might want to check out my for sale listing, I got one for sale now for about 780usd+shipping & PayPal, 100v version

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/for...one-energizer-amplifier.947328/#post-15994910

 

[Mach3]

The biggest issue I know of with the early Mk1s is insufficient strain relief where the cable attaches to the driver, and some of them fail at that point. Mine's gone intermittent there though admittedly after years and years of heavy daily use. The drivers themselves are pretty robust afaik. Mk2s fixed that issue.

I'm aware of the strain relief issue with my Mk1 but both has been well looked after and I don't have that issue with sound intermittently cutting in and out. Also I noticed using most headphone doesn't help as they not tall enough causing the weight of the headphone putting a lot of pressure on the cable. Worst case scenario I can always purchase the cable for the 007 mk2 and have them install on the Mk1 for a piece of mind.

 

[6PANDEMONIUM6]

Stax don't need to try and push out the best cost-no-object gear in the world, they just need to fix their own issues and update their amps to be able to drive their own headphones. If you can CCS mod the 006t and 007t to be higher output, why don't Stax do it from the factory? If you can easily feedback mod the 727 and improve the sound, why don't they do it from the factory? Why do their headbands for the L300 split in half, the L700 mk1 y-forks break, the fit on the new Lambdas be significantly worse than the old? Yes they've taken a few steps with the Mk2 Lambdas to fix these issues but they need to be doing more. This isn't the 90s when they were the de-facto leader in the high-end space. There is much more competition now and frankly they need to get a move on or be left behind.

I probably shouldn't get into tuning issues as that is subjective, and lots of people are totally fine with how Stax voices their headphones. But I'm not. Over the last 5 years I bought the L700, L700 Mk2, and 007 Mk2 and they all have tuning issues to the point that I have to EQ them to make them listenable. When you can pick up a pair of $220 Sennheisers that's better tuned than your $1k+ headphones, that is once again a real problem.

This sounds angrier than intended, but I've been using Stax for over 15 years, I'm something of a fan and I just don't see things currently heading in the right direction.

I'm not impressed with the "advanced" lambdas in general. They aren't advanced at all. The older lambdas were much better. The 009 and 007 have pretty much always been the same though.

It would be interesting if Stax came out with a new Sigma but that probably isn't financially viable for them at this point.

 

[timb5881]

I'm not impressed with the "advanced" lambdas in general. They aren't advanced at all. The older lambdas were much better. The 009 and 007 have pretty much always been the same though.

It would be interesting if Stax came out with a new Sigma but that probably isn't financially viable for them at this point.

If they use existing drivers, then a Sigma model would only have the shell and headband assembly. There is a guy in Hong Kong who makes the shell and headband's and can put your Stax Lambda drivers in it.