Stax 12S (circa 1975–1977)
Little is documented about the Stax 12S apart from its period advertising, where it appears as the SRA-12S - a preamp pitched at both home listeners and studio users. Stax's own ad in Audio (October 1975, p.47) introduced the SRA-12S as a new all-FET preamp that could also drive Stax electrostatic headphones directly. The ad called it "state of the art for $500." A later promotional spread in High Fidelity (April 1976, p.97) billed it as "the listeners' instrument" and touted low distortion and accurate RIAA equalization.
The studio angle was a real part of the pitch. The SRA-12S was said to add 20 dB of gain on two line input channels without overload for monitoring, while also feeding a two-channel power amp. In the US it was sold through American Audioport Inc., a division of Discwasher Group of Columbia, Missouri. That company was also importing Stax's SRX/SRD electrostatic headphone systems of the same era.
No independent test report has surfaced in the archive, so what survives is essentially the manufacturer's own claims. Known basics:
- All-FET, solid-state preamp design
- Two line input channels with an extra 20 dB of gain
- Direct-drive output for Stax electrostatic headphones
- Simultaneous output to a two-channel power amplifier
- US list price: $500 (mid-1970s)
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