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chinese company purchases stax?


cobra_kai

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One of my sources told me that because CRTs are going extinct, the need for certain high voltage transistors has disappeared, and many of these parts are becoming unavailable. These transistors are used in the high voltage sections of electrostatic headphone amplifiers. My guess is that Edifier will find a way to manufacture these parts themselves, and this will create a strong market barrier to others who might otherwise compete in electrostatic headphones.

http://www.innerfide...ker-stax-page-3

Does that mean no more DIY? embarrassed.gif

Electrostatic drivers do have some significant advantage for high-end applications. The planar wave front they generate lends itself to superior imaging, as does the speedy transient response of these drivers. But the technology also has the drawback of typically having a hard time delivering deep bass notes --- something the popular culture desires greatly.

http://www.innerfide...ker-stax-page-3

001MK2.jpg

Did the SR-001MK2 system used to have neutral bass response?

Sorry asking that, but I have never heard it.

Edited by jgazal
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Edit: I just read the article and one thing stood out, the bit about lack of Stax dealers in the US. What I've been hearing is that Yama's simply hasn't been able to supply said dealers with products making them look bad in the eyes of the consumer. To further support this, the number of Stax dealers in the UK appears to be growing and there is real marketing going on there. The distributor is also responsive to service issues and the like.

Does that mean no more DIY? embarrassed.gif

Without access to high voltage transistors then we are stuck with using tubes. Toshiba did just kill all of it's high voltage BJT's except one....

Edited by spritzer
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You can be sure that there will continue to be DIY amplifiers.

The current transistors will continue to be available for at

least another year.

ixys has 1500 volt n-channel mosfets that sound just fine.

The only difference will be a stronger drive circuit to drive

the extra gate capacitance. I'm playing with this now.

Its really just the 3rd stage voltage gain section.

Standing power will go up a few watts per channel.

Whats a few watts among friends :D

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BTW, I did change some wording on the Yama's paragraph on page three. Tats called me and said the reason for the squeeze is the strengthening Yen against the dollar over time. Wish he'd have said that when I talked to him instead of saying they were trying to reduce the price of product when that wasn't what was happening.

Rookie maneuver on my part for not thinking of it, though. The Yen/Dollar has changed a lot.

Still, Justin, I heard only one good statement about his service.

Edit: Ah. Just saw Nates post.

Edited by Tyll Hertsens
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Tyll, This sentence "The notice states that Edifier will use its manufacturing capacity to reduce manufacturing costs and to bring product to market at more broadly acceptable prices." Is probably in reference to the fact that they will be introducing a new brand of electrostatic headphones in china, so it doesn't really contradict that stax production will be kept 100% in Japan.

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Rookie maneuver on my part for not thinking of it, though. The Yen/Dollar has changed a lot.

That's true. I believe Stax lowered their USA prices several years ago...it used to be really outrageous, like 2x the price in Japan. Then it dropped to around 1.5x, or even 1.25x if you knew a dealer and could get a bargain. Since that time, the dollar has dropped 20% against the yen and Stax has not raised their dollar prices (to end users -- i have no idea what goes on behind the scenes with dealer pricing)

Edited by justin
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You can be sure that there will continue to be DIY amplifiers.

The current transistors will continue to be available for at

least another year.

ixys has 1500 volt n-channel mosfets that sound just fine.

The only difference will be a stronger drive circuit to drive

the extra gate capacitance. I'm playing with this now.

Its really just the 3rd stage voltage gain section.

Standing power will go up a few watts per channel.

Whats a few watts among friends biggrin.png

I don't know if this will help, but SemiSouth has added a 1700v SiC JFET to its 1200v offerings. Maybe good things are ahead.

Nelson Pass has been fiddling around with static induction transistors from the same company, designed to his specs. I have no idea when they might be generally available at an affordable cost.

Edited by Clarkmc2
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