prof - Our 'other' listening room was my victorian farmhouse living room, where the company began. That room was 10' high x 15' deep x 17' wide plus a bay wall adding another 3' depth with 45° clipped corners. It also had a door in each wall except behind the speakers. I never heard the room overpowered, mostly because of the doors to relieve standing wave buildup and the non-resonant plaster on wood lath walls and ceiling. Good rooms are at the heart of good playback.
unsound - I love that amp. We met Nelson Pass early-on and had the Stasis 500 for all our development work from about 1980 (pre-production). That amp was still there when New Thiel bought the company. I don't know the Series II, but the basic architecture was state of the art at the time, plus it had gone back to Threshold for service. The Stasis variable bias was brilliant and effective. I would consider using that amp today.
Time for a story? OK.
Nelson developed Statis, and patented the technology. Nakamichi who dominated the car-audio / cassette player market at the time, wanted in to the emerging high end market. They contracted Nelson to develop two Stasis amps for them. He did so for the then princely sum of $quarter-mil. Nakamichi took it home and in true Japanese-culture fashion proceeded to remove any and all traces of the novel Stasis technology. Those of you who Japan - 1985 know that signing off on anything not in the textbooks might require ceremonial death. Forward 1.5 years. CES introduction of the Nakamichi Stasis. No one cares; it doesn't sound exciting. Nakamichi challenges Nelson. Nelson buys some amps on the market and evaluates them to contain NO Stasis stuff. Nelson objects that his reputation is being impinged. Nak doesn't get it. Nelson sues in international court that his reputation is being damaged via the failure of his Stasis technology in the Nak amps which contain no whif of Stasis. Nelson looses. Court says that Nak paid for and is free to use any of the assets, even if just the Stasis name. Nelson has bigger fish to fry and goes on to his brilliant career.
