Well the brown pads aren't being made anymore either - though you can find NOS ones - so if you're SOL and can't return, you can get Mk2 pads, black headband and arcs and be fine lookswise at least. IIRC Mk2 headband has stiffer elastics and won't be as good for team melonhead.

They aren't ? Then Stax must have have old stock because the Uk dealer still orders it.

Looks like these guys still have the brown arcs. http://staxusa.com/P...7-Headband.html

whoa! when did that site go live?

Jesus Christ, nevermind:

STAXUSA.com is maintained by Yama's Enterprises, Inc. (YEI) an importer of fine audio products. We focus our attention on bringing High-Fidelity, High-Performance, High-Quality products. Such exquisite products require very high degree of skills and are almost hand built and do not utlize mass production system. Therefore, production volume are limited and only available through STAXUSA.com and restricted number of High-End Audio stores.

I'm not sure whether they have those items in brown, but you can try http://www.audiocubes2.com/category/Headphone+Accessories.html?osCsid=f776f8462b62484dbe466388d6c741a7

Still, I guess I'd pay $1000 for an O2 in that condition provided I could get the replacements for less than around $600. Sounds like a good deal to me.

One has to wonder what those headphones have gone through, though...

Having gone through something similar (due to smoke smell), I will tell you that replacing the headband assembly and arcs can be a pain in the ass. It's not necessarily hard, just time consuming and tricky.

Having gone through something similar (due to smoke smell), I will tell you that replacing the headband assembly and arcs can be a pain in the ass. It's not necessarily hard, just time consuming and tricky.

Really? That's surprising, it seemed fine looking at it, but I'm unaware of how it's actually assembled. I wouldn't hesitate if a pair like that showed up for 1K, but it's good to know it's not as simple as I thought. Maybe it's just easier to drop another one or two hundred and get a mint pair. There's been a lot of MKI O2s for sale recently btw, 009 effect?

Edited February 25, 201214 yr by Leonardo Drummond

Just have a second, but seller says he did no wrong so I've got a battle on my hands. Serial number is 70671 so it is fairly old. The serial and the real condition was not volunteered. Took him at his word that the other parts were in decent condition.

I'd guess these are from 1999/2000 so fairly old and using the old material for those parts. I have one of the first 007's ever made here and the parts have a similar wear but not nearly as bad. The drivers on that one were missing all but one of the dust covers though...

He is refusing return. Paid by check. Going to chat with some of the HF staff when I get home.

Do you mind telling us who the seller is?

and link to the ad.

Not yet, but soon. It was a pm in response to my wanted ad.

I finally had a chance to compare my KGSSHV (500V version) with Kerry's KGBH with both 009s and 007mk1s.

Our testing wasn't all that stringent, but in what was a very close race the BH won by a nose. Maybe its the extra current (18ma @ 400V vs. 5ma @ 500V) but Kerry and I both thought that the BH drove each of the headphones with slightly more authority.

While the BH sounded a tiny bit better, its immediately clear that both the KGBH and KGSSHV are a big cut above the production level Stax amps.

Very cool, glad to hear the two amps are pretty close and a cut above.

I can say as you drive that current number up on the BH it gets better. 25mA is as high as I pushed it but it's another notch up.

I've got the BH running around 24mA x 4 and about +/- 405V. The heatsinks run just under 130 deg. F.

Is there a simple way to understand this current spec you're talking about? Is it like the current available if you were to drive a typical load at full voltage swing? Also, how do these 10-25mA figures for your BHs and over KGSSHVs relate to something like the stock 727 amp? I thought, I may have read somewhere it was more like 5mA for such amp but I don't quite recollect it.

Edited February 26, 201214 yr by arnaud

See Kevin's post here: http://www.head-fi.o...voltage-ratings

Edited February 26, 201214 yr by TMoney

I thought teaching the headband assembly was pretty simple. Ask you need is a small jewelers type screwdriver. Replacing the pads on the other hand is a pain in the ass

Fucking auto correct. That should be *replacing

See Kevin's post here: http://www.head-fi.o...voltage-ratings

There you go, that's what I very vaguely remembered, thanks...

I thought teaching the headband assembly was pretty simple. Ask you need is a small jewelers type screwdriver. Replacing the pads on the other hand is a pain in the ass

In theory, yes, but those screws can be really locked down and are somewhat easily stripped. Admittedly, I did not approach mine with the most patience, though. Replacing the pads makes me want to smash things.

Finally settled with the seller with him paying for the arcs. Not quite what I hoped for when I started this whole thing, but at least I got a better deal and by paying he admitted wrong. Won't name names publicly to protect myself from lawsuit, but if you want to know, pm me. I've sent pms to the few who have asked already.

On a brighter note I really discovered Stax and classical music today. By far the best classical I've heard from headphones. In the peace and quiet of my home the tiniest orchestral details made the experience quite a bit nicer than when I tried stats at RMAF. Other genres sound pretty much the same as I heard there. Can't wait to get proper leather on this so the pads are proper. The drivers are too close to my ear currently so things probably don't sound their best.

And on a darker note, found my Pioneer SX-9 receiver has a protection circuit interfering with SRD-7 operation so I'm thinking 323S. The Harman 5.1 cheapy receiver I have it on now has substantial hiss (and always did with speakers before).

And on a darker note, found my Pioneer SX-9 receiver has a protection circuit interfering with SRD-7 operation so I'm thinking 323S. The Harman 5.1 cheapy receiver I have it on now has substantial hiss (and always did with speakers before).

I wonder if that's a similar issue to the one where I can't use my SRD-7 Mk2 with a T-amp (common ground?), but the SRD-7 Pro works fine. Anyway, hope you get the amping all worked out. Glad I could turn you onto the O2 Mk1 after hearing mine at RMAF, but sorry the guy sold you a worn out pair without full disclosure.

I've never seen any Stax box with a shared ground.

But they are a heavily inductive load, and that definitely pisses off some power amps.