I think waiting for Todd sounds like a good idea. I doubt elusivedisc or needledoctor will sell out of them if we wait a week or so. Most interest in this headphone at launch seems to be overseas. During that time there should also be more options to buy from in Japan. Since PriceJapan is, to my knowledge, similar to kuboten/rinkya/abidko with regards to stores, it is no wonder they don't do group buys as that'd make no sense. They don't actually have the items themselves from what I understand. What I did was track down one of the places they use to directly buy Stax gear for people from and then sell with commission.

http://joshinweb.jp/audio/5348/4996476000674.html

Price is about $4300 and that should be buying direct. If they speak English and are willing to ship to the US I'm sure they'd consider a group buy which should give us a pretty terrific price if so.

I kinda doubt we are going to do much better buying in Japan after all is said and done. I feel much more comfortable, considering the amount of money involved, buying from a known US seller.

i would wait for the 2nd shipment, anyway. let any production issues get worked out first

$4725 isn't enough savings to jump on it right away. If the price was better I'd say go for it but right now it makes sense to wait. Especially since this is not - as I understand - a limited edition headphone.

Well it really depends whats going to happen to the Yen exchange rate.

Its has been strengthening a lot of late that will no doubt increase the sale price in the US and Europe. Depends if the intervention by central banks intervention manage to reduce or stabilise the value of the Yen.

I understand the retail price in Europe will be around €3300 or £3000, so not exactly a cheap buy. So with the poor economic situation across Europe I cant see them flying off the shelves.

i would GUESS that dealer price is around 3700, in the U.S. but that guess comes from old information

Woo Audio are quoting $5250 but dont know what sort of profit margin Stax or their importer offer to retailers

Well it really depends whats going to happen to the Yen exchange rate.

Its has been strengthening a lot of late that will no doubt increase the sale price in the US and Europe. Depends if the intervention by central banks intervention manage to reduce or stabilise the value of the Yen.

I understand the retail price in Europe will be around €3300 or £3000, so not exactly a cheap buy. So with the poor economic situation across Europe I cant see them flying off the shelves.

I am loving the USD exchange rates with the Yen and Euro

Short impression by Sasaki

In Europe the expected retail price will be more in the 4400-4900 euros range if imported though a distributor. If purchasing directly to Japan, even including shipping, taxes, VAT then I'd expect it to be a bit under 4000 if you manage to by-pass Customs. Otherwise...

It is great that Stax are not reusing the SR-007/4070 flight cases and instead using a wood box

Same type of wood as with the SR-Omega, I am sure it will look great.

i would wait for the 2nd shipment, anyway. let any production issues get worked out first

Wise words my friend. My set will be from the first batch so Stax will have one angry viking on their hands if it isn't up to snuff...

Maybe inappropriate to ask, but how likely is the disaster in Japan to affect prices and exchange rates?

My set will be from the first batch so Stax will have one angry viking on their hands if it isn't up to snuff...

Hopefully the first batch will turn out solid. Although the HD800 for instance, had initial issues we are dealing with Stax not Sennheiser so i'm not sure how that factors in. The chassis design looks simple and sturdy so heres to hoping everything will turn out great. So Spritzer, can we count on you ripping these apart once you receive your set?

Yup...

I had been avoiding this thread. For good reason it turns out. fffuuuu

You're in then?

Edited March 26, 201115 yr by blubliss

Yup, Dinny makes 8!

Maybe inappropriate to ask, but how likely is the disaster in Japan to affect prices and exchange rates?

Its pushing up the value of the Yen which is why the central banks are intrveining to try and bring it down in price. Otherwise the price of Japanese exports will rise which not what they want. Could make 5 to 10 % difference in price.

It now seems that Fujiya has them up on their website for $4300: http://www.fujiya-avic.jp/products/detail6910.html

They are one of the more reputable Japanese dealers out there, but I'll try to contact them about shipping to the US and the possibility of a group buy. But either way $4300 sounds quite a bit better than $5250 retail in the US.

Would be cool if Todd can help us out with a group buy.

I got an email from Todd not too long ago that implied he was restructuring his business' presence and not accepting new orders at the moment. If we tried to negotiate something with him I think the point of contact should be someone he knows well.

I got an email from Todd not too long ago that implied he was restructuring his business' presence and not accepting new orders at the moment. If we tried to negotiate something with him I think the point of contact should be someone he knows well.

I already initiated with Todd and I know him well.

^^

Go figure