The Stax thread (New)

[jjinh]

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Has anyone purchased any Stax products through "Alibaba.com," or a company named "Adi Dinamika" in Jakarta?
 
They're prices are great - perhaps, to good to be true. 
 
No matter how great their prices, I won't be buying anything from them, unless I can do so with PayPal, or MasterCard with full buyer protection. 

I dunno about that. It says you need to buy minimum of 2 sets and that they get 120 sets a week. Looks pretty sketchy

 
It says minimum 1 unit.
 
NB: I know nothing about buying from Alibaba.com and Adi DinamikaI. If it was my money I'd buy them from somewhere 'more reputable'.

 

[wind016]

My bad. http://www.alibaba.com/product-free/100457163/Stax_SRS_007ii_Omega_Headphones_W.html
 
Wrong seller.
 
If it's too good to be true...

 

[mralexosborn]

Has anyone compared the Lambda normal bias against the SR-404? I know the SR-404 has a more forward upper midrange, but what else? If price was not an issue, which would you get?

 

[Asr]

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KGSS lead time is 2 YEARS???? Blue Hawaii is out of my price range. Stax 717 is tough to get. This is pretty depressing for having spent so much money and no good amplification options.

As already indicated earlier, the HeadAmp KGSS lead time is not 2 years, and neither is the BHSE's for that matter. I waited about a year for my BHSE - ordered it in 2008 and got it approximately a year later. Actually now that I think of it, I'm pretty sure I waited less than a year.
 
There's also the Woo GES, which they apparently still make, but don't expect that model to really drive the OII well - but it might be ok for lesser headphones. I have no idea though, as I have very limited experience with Stax headphones in general and have never heard a GES.
 
Also, HeadAmp KGSS units sometimes show up on the FS forums, so you don't have to necessarily order a new one. Even more rarely, other DIY-ers' KGSS amps show up too, and even more rarely than that, DIY KGBH amps (the original Blue Hawaii, not the SE).
 
And as already mentioned, the Stax SRM-727 (which is readily available) can be improved through a simple modification.
 
So there are a few options but at the same time I'd also say that getting good electrostatic equipment isn't exactly cheap at least as far as the OII is concerned - I'd consider relatively high cost as part of the package when it comes to the OII.

 
Oh, and lest this post give the wrong impression, I'm obviously not an authority of actual lead times on HeadAmp products, just speaking from my own experience and others' that have been observed. The only lead times that are always going to be reliable will be posted by Justin himself, of course (and by that I don't necessarily mean on his Web site, moreso on Head-Fi).

 

[mrmarbach]

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That is bad about the price changes.  That did not happen with me when I have dealt with EIFL.  Possibly due to the appreciation of the Yen vs the US $.  
When I bought my 007A from them it was $1,820.00, shipping included, but that was in 2008.

 
I have bought from EIFL (most recently two years ago) and also recommended them to a friend. Koji always wants to quote in US Dollars (even to me in Europe) and so the prices change all the time because of the exchange rate. The price I got for my 404LE 2 years ago was still the best I could find at the time, and it arrived safely and quickly.
 
My friend bought two complete Stax sets from EIFL and was totally happy. When one of them went wrong (he is no DIYer) he returned it to EIFL and they organised a warranty repair quickly (probably technically against the rules).
 
 
They don't always answer very quickly though. I called once and spoke to Koji, he was friendly but his English is obviously really bad (but better than my Japanese...) so simple emails are the way to go, if you want to deal with them.

 

[spritzer]

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umm...whats wrong with their stuff?

I think the assembly and layout is done by drunk monkeys.  It makes even the worst Single Power amp look well designed and safe...

 

[DaveBSC]

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There's also the Woo GES, which they apparently still make, but don't expect that model to really drive the OII well - but it might be ok for lesser headphones. I have no idea though, as I have very limited experience with Stax headphones in general and have never heard a GES.
 
Also, HeadAmp KGSS units sometimes show up on the FS forums, so you don't have to necessarily order a new one. Even more rarely, other DIY-ers' KGSS amps show up too, and even more rarely than that, DIY KGBH amps (the original Blue Hawaii, not the SE).
 
And as already mentioned, the Stax SRM-727 (which is readily available) can be improved through a simple modification.
 
So there are a few options but at the same time I'd also say that getting good electrostatic equipment isn't exactly cheap at least as far as the OII is concerned - I'd consider relatively high cost as part of the package when it comes to the OII.

 
Oh, and lest this post give the wrong impression, I'm obviously not an authority of actual lead times on HeadAmp products, just speaking from my own experience and others' that have been observed. The only lead times that are always going to be reliable will be posted by Justin himself, of course (and by that I don't necessarily mean on his Web site, moreso on Head-Fi).

 
The WES is more suited to the O2 than the GES, and there's also Ray Samuel's A-10 Thunderbolt. I imagine either of those is much faster to arrive than the BHSE. It's really solid state options that are so limited with on the O2. If Headamp or another co. picks up the KGSS-HV as a commercial product, that would improve the situation a lot.
 

 

[Gradofan2]

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My bad. http://www.alibaba.com/product-free/100457163/Stax_SRS_007ii_Omega_Headphones_W.html
 
Wrong seller.
 
If it's too good to be true...

Yeah... I've only found one bit of feedback on them (Adi Dinamika) on Alibaba.com, which indicates they are a fraudulent seller. 
 
I would never pay via wire transfer in advance anyway (T/T).  I would only pay via PayPal, or Escrow service after receipt of product.  So, I doubt I'll be buying anything from Adi Dinamika in Jakarta.
 
As they say... "if its too good to be true..."
 
 

 

[kgreene]

 
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@ Pabro -  I cant speak firsthand about your proposed system, but I know you are gonna love it!
There has been much written about the SRM323 and the 404's, do a search.
 
@ kgreene - If you are willing to spend ~$400 and have a little patience and are quick with the trigger finger,
one could find a used Stax SRS-2050 system (what I have) best bang for the buck. Sounds awesome!
Recently, one just sold here at HF for $350. Other places to look are Audiogon and ebay.
Another alternative in that price range would be a used Koss ESP950 setup.
 
This is just my opinion, I would stay away from the really old stuff, such as electret models.
They just dont hold up over time. When they break, there are no repair parts out there
other than another old unit to serve as a parts donor. I'm also not a fan of the transformer "energizer"  boxes.
They are well built but dont have the sonic capabilities that the more modern (and higher priced) amplifier boxes do.

I have been thinking I'll just need to save and wait.  I suppose if I could luck out on one of those deals that would be good too. 
 
Interesting, it seems that some people like the energizers and some don't.  Though it seems to be dependent on a high quality amp with an energizer.
 
Another thing I've been considering, maybe I can pick up some version of the lambdas first and then get an amp later.  Or maybe the lambdas + a really cheap energizer to start with with plans to upgrade that part later.  Or, maybe build an amp/energizer.
 
Are there are reasonably priced diy ones?  I've seen several listed (KGSS, eXStatA, BH) but none seem particularly inexpensive to build.  I was looking at the exstata for a while but it looks like the parts themselves cost $300+.  Are there any simple ones for less as far as parts price goes?  I'm proficient enough that I think I could point to point solder up something if needed (though of course boards would be easier...)  Reminds me of wire wrapping things when I was younger...

 

[mrmarbach]

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It's really solid state options that are so limited with on the O2. If Headamp or another co. picks up the KGSS-HV as a commercial product, that would improve the situation a lot.
 

How likely is that, do you think?

 

[ujamerstand]

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[les_garten]

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Yeah... I've only found one bit of feedback on them (Adi Dinamika) on Alibaba.com, which indicates they are a fraudulent seller. 
 
I would never pay via wire transfer in advance anyway (T/T).  I would only pay via PayPal, or Escrow service after receipt of product.  So, I doubt I'll be buying anything from Adi Dinamika in Jakarta.
 
As they say... "if its too good to be true..."
 
 

 
 
Everytime I see that that website is called Alibaba, it cracks me up!
 

 

 

[catscratch]

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I think the assembly and layout is done by drunk monkeys.  It makes even the worst Single Power amp look well designed and safe...

Pretty much this. Mine looks like a hand grenade went off inside.
 
If you want instant gratification, stay away from the O2. Good amping options will require you to be patient, and even more than that, good source matching will require you to swap sources or track down stuff that is actually good, for which you will once again need patience. Any truly transparent transducer will sound like the upstream components, and plugging it into any old system is just going to make you disappointed in the upstream components most of the time. That's part of the reason IMO why there are so many conflicting reports on the O2.
 
Lambda-style phones are a lot less picky, and if you have a transformer box, you have an infinite selection of speaker amps to play with and tune the sound to your preference. Also the ESP950 is thoroughly awesome and completely underrated when it's liberated from that horrible piece of junk of an amp it comes with.

 

[rgs9200m]

You know, I also had the Koss ESP950s for a few years in the early-mid 1990s and I remember enjoying them a lot, even with their strange little box amp that looked like a toy.
They had a nice natural sound that never offended, even if there was not a lot of detail. I later got a Headroom Max with Senn 600s and preferred the openness and
clear sound of the Koss's, even though the 600s had more detail and depth.

 

[pachku]

The way the Chinese are coming into the market, and not being shy of offering really high end stuff (or at least high end priced stuff), I wouldn't be surprised if one of them tried to mass produce a KGSSHV or similar design. Jade is obviously working on emulating the HE-90, so no lack of ambitions over there. Perhaps Justin will decide to do a KGSSHV of his own, build quality will probably not be the same 

  From what I've read, the best price/sound ratio in amping the O2 would probably be a 007t with the 6S4 mod - you can get the amp < 1000$ around here and the mod is said to be pretty easy. And the KGSS is not that expensive. Of course, for those with acute upgraditis, the BHSE will always loom behind the horizon