[kevin gilmore]

All of the QUAD esl speakers i have ever seen, and i still own a pair, have a voltage switch built in.
That will be the least of your problems. The charging voltage is only a few watts, so for any of the
other electrostats, the smallest of 110/220 transformers would also work great. Things with
built in amplifiers (accoustats et all) are a completely different story.
 
If its buzzing you have holes in the diaphram. Or lots of accumulated dust.

 

[cat6man]

Quote:

 
As for the 30-hour dust cover massage, I guess it's kind of like Kobe beef, except you're not going to eat it.

 
 
love that comparison!  

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Can't dust cause buzzing too?

 
That is the main cause with headphones.  The voltages are too low and the safety margins too high for humidity to become an issue. 

 

[MrGreen]

The electrostat panel I am talking about is a Quad ESL 63 and also a stax ELS-4A.
The quad has very bad damage, the sta ELS-4A has "quiet buzzing in one panel".

I don't own the speakers so I can't comment - it's hard to find an ELS in perth that isn't thousands of dollars, so I am looking at cheaper options.

I was thinking maybe it could be the conductive coating in the 4A, because of its age???

Both speakers look fantastic, so I'm not sure how the panels could be damaged.
Is it just a good idea to stay completely away from buzzing ESLs?

 

[forbigger]

@morbid - try to haggle with jack. i have a feeling he can be flexible.
 
i seriously doubt any authorized stax distributor have a facility to repair any broken/problematic headphone. we are at the mercy of stax japan, they will just send the headphone to japan for repair. imho, buying from any stax distributor worldwide shouldnt make any difference as all of the headphone will end up @saitama anyway. its just that if you buy from distributor outside your country (and provided your country have distributorship), you may have to send it over to the distributor and in turn they will send it to japan, so double shipping

 

[justin w.]

Quote:

@morbid - try to haggle with jack. i have a feeling he can be flexible.
 
i seriously doubt any authorized stax distributor have a facility to repair any broken/problematic headphone. we are at the mercy of stax japan, they will just send the headphone to japan for repair. imho, buying from any stax distributor worldwide shouldnt make any difference as all of the headphone will end up @saitama anyway. its just that if you buy from distributor outside your country (and provided your country have distributorship), you may have to send it over to the distributor and in turn they will send it to japan, so double shipping

i dont think the ebay sellers from Japan are in the business of helping you with your warranty repair

 

[sridhar3]

Quote:

@morbid - try to haggle with jack. i have a feeling he can be flexible.

 
Yeah, about that... not so much.

 

[forbigger]

justin - then in that case ones can directly send the headphones to stax complete with warranty card for repair ? isnt that the case ? the warranty structure of stax is a very basic ones. or primitive should i say. and the distribution channel also a mess.
 
sridhar - if jack is not flexible then i have nothing to say. i have never heard people that i know buying 007/009 @msrp

 

[justin w.]

Quote:

justin - then in that case ones can directly send the headphones to stax complete with warranty card for repair ? isnt that the case ? the warranty structure of stax is a very basic ones. or primitive should i say. and the distribution channel also a mess.

 
not sure, but i don't know if Stax would accept your claim.  it would be considered a gray market sale

 

[forbigger]

beg to differ on that. it will be considered a gray market product at the service center in your home country. since stax did not (i assume) have any service center around the world and the only service center is at saitama, how can you say the product is grey market?

 

[vinyllp33]

Yes,
 
That is where it gets dicey.
 
Yama (the USA distributor) have had their issues to be sure, but at the end of the day if you have a pair of headphones purchased from an Authorized USA dealer they will be there to help you out; Even though this may facilitiate having them sent to Stax Japan for servicing.
 
If one purchases direct from Japan the USA distributor will not issue a Return Authorization so you would have to deal directly with Stax and the warranty card states that it is only valid in Japan so they may very well consider it a "gray-market" sale.
 
I am betting Elusive Disc will offer their all-inclusive 10% off come Labor Day, that would bring the cost to only about $100 higher than Price Japan (payment via PayPal); This was totally worth it for me for long-term peace-of-mind.

 

[Nebby]

Quote:

beg to differ on that. it will be considered a gray market product at the service center in your home country. since stax did not (i assume) have any service center around the world and the only service center is at saitama, how can you say the product is grey market?

 
They specifically state on their web page that the Japanese warranty card is only valid for Japanese market. If you ship a headphone directly to their service center it would be very obvious that the package did not originate within Japan, let alone arrive with a RMA.

 

[CDPlayer]

From http://www.pricejapan.com/front/e_warranty.php:
 
Quote:

Warranty is valid only in Japan for 1 year. It is not valid in your country.
International warranty or more than 1 year warranty will NOT be applied.
When machines need warrant repair, you should send machines to makers in Japan, via us.
Shipping cost of Item's round trip will be your burden(roughly $150-300 in case of projectors)
For first year after your purchase, our fee for item's repair in Japan is zero.
After 1 year warranty passes, we can serve as agent for repair in Japan.
( In latter case, our fee is $50 plus with actual repair costs.)

 
There are a few more interesting points there on that page; please read as they are, of course, important.

 

[Magick Man]

not sure, but i don't know if Stax would accept your claim.  it would be considered a gray market sale

AmEx has always supported claims that I've filed with them in those situations. No warranty at all? They'll give you 24 months from date of purchase. That's one of the reasons I pay $450 /yr for their platinum card (and the air miles, which rack up like mad).

 

[cat6man]

ditto on the AMEX platinum card, stax would not but amex would pick up from purchase..................of course if you buy in US, it is 24 months on top of stax warranty period.