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Kugino wrote: "Any thoughts? should I return to the seller and get my money back?" Return to seller and buy one of the project-cased versions of the KGSSHV on Birgir's website for the low price of 2K plus shipping. You'll be happier, and more importantly, your 007s will be happier. For my HV, it took longer to unwrap his mondo packaging than it did to set up the amp; better chance of it getting to you safely.

I was recently directed to Birgir's website to look at one of his well-priced prototype-cased KGSSHVs, ended up with the KGSSHV Mini. Have wanted this size stat amp ever since Justin created the short run of smaller KGSS way back when. Along with the Opus 21 I purchased new in '06, I have the small overall footprint (~10"sq) I need. And with the spankin' new 009s, really exceptional sound. When not spinning CDs, this is part of my PC rig; digital-in to Opus, listen to everything from Foobar lossless to watching Netflix to, for the hell of it, a redux of Doom 3 in 3D (devil is truly in the details; extra spooky....). Down the road, this will be a perfect rig for a cottage porch or similar small-area setting. No runs-hot issues; the top plate gets just a tad warmer than the 727II this little jewel replaced.

Salty - I have a Decimo (slimmer version VP) and have used a cartridge adapter exclusively. If you end up going the adapter and bottled ink route, the latest CON-50 converter has a sliding metal tube inside the body that really helps with ink flow (prevents vacuum, maybe?). There are so may colors of ink out these days; it's half the fun. Try Goulet Pens for parts and ink; they are great folks. Favorite mechanical pencil - Uni Kuru Toga Roulette .05 - it has a ratchet in the tip so it rotates the lead a tiny increment each time the tip touches writing surface (more effective for printing, obviously...). Even with HB lead, have never boken the lead while writing. Section is knurled with a decent diameter; very comfortable in hand. Favorite (fountain) pen - Nakaya black urushi Piccolo with broad cursive italic nib. This zen-like instrument is in my shirt pocket every day for work and on keyboard on weekends. It is a joy to use; absolutely effortless writing and ink flow with very cool line variation.

I can see where road riding might be better with less/no float; better straight-line energy transfer. For technical terrain, I found that having some float makes track stands and other technical technique easier (ass all over the place to maintain balance); not to mention easier to disengage during a blown hill climb or technical section. Justin's question was which was easiest to disengage; still think Frogs are the answer. Agree that trying various brands is a good start; reads like we all have spares of various sorts. Justin - I have a spare set of Frog platforms I can send you; just need to order the cleats. Cost you 35 bucks plus the cost of a good pedal wrench (which you'll want anyway). PM if interested. Disagree that you should wait. I've taught a good number of folks technical riding and got them into clipless fairly quickly. Better use of energy (pull up while pushing down); ability to unweight the bike on rubble and float over, bunny hop stuff; loft front wheel over logs and unweight back; list goes on. And yes, you will come to a stop and fall over at least a few times, we all did. Find a cheap trainer/stand to get used to the feel and engage/disengage without looking down. Cages or straps on regular platforms are deathtraps on tech terrain, and other riders will laugh in your general direction.

The easiest-to-release pedal (IMO) are the Speedplay Frogs; I've been trail riding with them for a decade or more. To release, you simply turn your heal out and lift; there is literally no spring tension to pull against (biggest issue with other types). Entry is the same as other clipless types. I have a roadie friend that was new to clipless, tried several spring release versions and hated them all; resisted riding. Put these on her bike and she was on the road and comfortable in no time. The cleats are all universal and fit any biking shoe with a cleat receiver, so just find any shoe that's comfortable and fits the performance profile you are looking for (stiffer equals better energy transfer, etc.). I'm trails-only so use more of a hiking boot design with ankle protection; velcro closures. Speedplay also makes a road version, but the cleats are huge and hard to walk in.

~18 inches in my area. Heavier variety of snow so it felt much like digging through our previous 30+ inch storm. My goofy cat has to inspect each time I shovel; must get ultra curious watching out the window. She's at the door to go out the second I finish; makes a bee-line out the fence and down the path. Scratches in any tiny patch of dirt when she's not digging through snow.

Also mucho interested in this one. Space constraints is why I went with the 727II and constantly looking for tweaks to improve performance.

That really stinks, Justin. Having a local, trustworthy, and fast-shipping Stax dealer is what helped me pull the trigger on cans and amp; I hope it all balances out for you in the end.

Answer from Stax: Their proliferation of much better value-to-performance electrostatic amplifiers tripled our earspeaker sales and increased our pre-purchase valuation by 30%. Must remember to send them each a case of best quality sake.

Bit over 30 inches where I live (Lake Boon; Stow MA). Shoveled for 3 hours; 4-Runner was completely buried with drift on one side almost to top of truck. Was breathtakingly beautiful; snowmobiles out on the lake were tearing it up. Same here, Haj, now thinking a snowblower would be a good investment. At least the power stayed on this time.

Dudes! This may only exacerbate the late-night add-to-cart compulsion at your local quick-shipping Stax vendor (Justin...), but another good paring:

If you do and decide to spend a bit more, how about these: http://www.roleaudio.com/windjammer\ Or: http://www.roleaudio.com/sampan I've had the Sampan FTLs in my desktop rig for several years; surprising amount of bass; very nice detail and imaging; drove with a Trends 10.1. Looks like all would fit on either side flush with the screen. I actually just pulled the FTLs out of the rig to fit a headphone amp; could send to you to audition if you go this route. Small DAC with remote volume (or pre-amp); T-amp or similar with pot bypass; above speakers. Have used this in tv rig in the past and it was slick. Also had a universal remote with volume punch through, so one volume control for dvd, tv/cable, or game console.

After taking a break from full-size headphones for a speaker rig, plus a general exit from the merry-go-round for a while, I opt'd for the 407 and 727 combo to ease back in (plus it's off-the-shelf available gear). The O2s by themselves seemed pricy for hopping back into the fray; would have needed to drive them with a SRD7Pro/T-amp combo. My 'plan' also involved spending a bit more for an amp now and then upgrading the headphones down the road; another amp upgrade at some point afterward. This included perhaps building a big-girl stat amp after learning how (multi-year endeavor; total DIY amp noob). I do have decent soldering skilz and can read a schematic, layout or trace a PCB; component-level replacement, etc. After spending the evening with the new stat rig (up till effing 03:00 lost in the music and bibes), my 'down the road' plan turned into waking up and re-reading the entire stat thread, looking for intial reviews of the O2MkII, port mod, etc. RE: contemplated shooting Stax USA an email about trading up to the O2; see if they'll waive the restock fee. Or, pay the restock fee and sit tight for a used O2MkI. Moral of the story: I'm as bad with this shit as when I exited the scene; just shoot me. Good part is that overall, I am enjoying the headphone listening experience more than ever. Someone sell me a mint O2MkI for a thousand dollars, K? I'll even throw in a '79 Guild D50 (repaired crack in neck/headstock junction; non-structural). Lovely sounding acoustic with perfect action.

Just finished the resistor mod on the 727. Spritzer was right; those little glued-on surface mount resistors were a pain; however, I was able to get them off without lifting a pad or burning anything. Pared with SR-407s, so far (really just buttoned up), less fatiguing at higher volumes, less euphoric-leaning, more focused; better layering. Still slightly rolled off up top, which I attribute (at least in part) to the Opus 21. Otherwise, detail out the wahzoo; clean and resolving; nicely musical. Running balanced out of Opus, more for the 5v out. Amp pot disabled, more for remote control. Still need to try other volume configurations. Good+ paring with the 407; smaller amp profile better fits my desktop space, which is why I went this route. Happy happy with the rig. K and B, really couldn't have done it without you guys.

Here, friend, let me take that pain away from you.