stax

The Complete Stax-Volt Singles 1959-1968
$99.98
Others have stated what Stax meant to the world of music in better words than what I'm capable of, but I'll say this: if you like music that has warmth, mood, feeling, and is alive, and not over produced and under sung as much of today's music scene is unfortunately, then this 9-CD set is for you. Besides the legends such as Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Booker T. And The MG's, you'll get to hear the one shots such as Gorgeous George, whose "Biggest Fool In Town" is one entertaining song from the first time he sings, to when the song is finishing up. Other singers such as Albert King, William Bell, and Judy Clay are given their due on this set as well.

Along with the CDs is a 82 page book describing the beginnings of the label, when it was co-created by a white banker that was more familiar with country than R&B (and he was a semi-pro country fiddler to boot!) along with how by being located in a black ghetto, this actually helped the Stax sound that was to emerge become authentic, stirring the heart, and vibrant. The book also details what the Stax/Volt years were like when they were distributed by Atlantic, and the factors that led to them terminating their relationship in May of 1968.

Still, if you're getting this set, I'd recommend to save up and purchase the other 2 sets to complete the Stax triology (I've just ordered the 2nd set while I'm doing this review, and will get the other set in a month or two.)

Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration
$19.98
This CD is outstanding because it has so many old songs on it and for the price it is well worth it if you are into old soul songs. It will really bring back the memories!!!!!!!!!

The Complete Stax-Volt Soul Singles, Vol. 2: 1968-1971
$124.98
I purchased the Complete Stax Soul Singles Vol. 2 to prepare for a 1970-1971 party. It provided me with a fabulous collection of songs from the period I was interested in, and a few standouts for me were "Wade in the Water" by Little Sonny, "Do the Push and Pull" by Rufus Thomas and "That's what love will make you do" by Little Milton. These tracks were upbeat and grooving. I did not care for all of the songs but overall it is a great collection. I also enjoyed the booklet inside- the pictures and the entire backstory of the record making process at Stax during that period provide an amazing time capsule. I believe I now want to purchase Volume 1.

Koss ESP-950 Electrostatic Stereophone
$999.99
It's hard to properly review this headphone system since Koss had an awful little $10 budget portable CD player hooked up to it at CES. However, it definitely sounded far too bright. There's no way it was the CD player causing that, I don't care how crummy it was. I also found the construction of the Koss to be very cheap: lots of plastic and a feel of low cost mass production. The volume and balance knobs are imprecise and inconveniently placed on top of each other. The mini 3.5mm TRS input also should have been supplemented or replaced with individual RCAs, possibly TRS 1/4" balanced inputs, which are cheap if you're tempted to think that's too "exotic". It's not. I really doubt balanced would make that much difference, but since the headphone is sending signal to the transducers with separate lines, it's a bad idea to share a ground on the input. RCA inputs are the bare minimum any amp needs, even a portable one as this energizer is marketed as. I'm sure the diaphragm probably is indeed very fast and revealing, but I can't say I was impressed beyond that. On the plus side, Koss has the best warranty possible. So the construction quality is perhaps moot, but that's doesn't change the tonal imbalance problem. You will need to use this with an EXTREMELY warm DAC or phono cartridge/preamp to get a neutral sound out of it. Maybe the old Burr Brown 20bits or Grado, respectively?