Stax at Cloney Audio
No relation to the legendary soul label (though they certainly embody the soul of the music), Stax Audio is the premier manufacturer of electrostatic headphones - or earspeakers as Stax prefers to call them.
Founded in Japan in 1938, Stax broke new ground by developing the world’s first electrostatic headphone with the SR-1, introduced in 1960.
So what is an electrostatic headphone? Well, where most headphones rely on a drive unit that is effectively a miniaturised version of those found in a conventional loudspeaker, an electrostatic is something entirely different. In fact, an electrostatic headphone drive unit is effectively the same as the capsule found in the capacitor microphones used in all professional recording studios to record the music you listen to.
Why? It’s because the membrane an electrostatic uses to reproduce music (or record it) is astonishingly thin and light (less than 2 microns). For comparison, a human hair is 70 microns thick. As a result, an electrostatic headphone has unparalleled ability to reproduce all of the fine detail that is there in your recordings but rarely heard. Dynamics also benefit since the ultra light membrane can move ultra fast.
If you want to really hear what’s on your recordings, Stax earspeakers offer an extraordinarily clear window into the recording studio or concert hall.
Because of their unique design, electrostatic ‘phones need a dedicated energiser/headphone amp. Stax makes outstanding companion electronics for their earspeakers, with a range that is compatible with the different price points of the earspeakers themselves.
At Cloney Audio we have been supplying Stax earspeakers for many decades. With the explosion of interest in personal listening, a whole new audience has opened up for audiophile headphones. Back to the record label, the Staple Singers’ hit “I’ll Take You There” could just as well describe the extraordinary realism of the Stax Earspeaker experience.
For more info on Stax, visit their website stax-international.com or visit us for a demo!
SR-X9000 is the new flagship Earspeaker that marks the pinnacle of Stax electrostatic headphones production