spritzer

Ohh so true. Give me BJT's or give me death!!!

Ok, I think I've found a good set of earpads for these and they were dirt cheap, the Brainwavz HM5 pads. They were a bit too small so some force is needed to attach them but the material is quite nice and they are very comfy. The sound seems to strike the correct balance so lively yet about as neutral as they can be. The really good bit... they cost 17$ shipped for the pair.

Well the schematic being wrong doesn't surprise anybody, this is Stax after all. They always leave errors in the schematics. This amp was also in production for a long time and during that time semiconductors came of age so to speak. Ohhh and you can still buy the design today.... it's called the KingSound M-10 and is fucking awful.

Happy Birthday!!!

Most excellent as I just got way too many of these boards.

Yup, that and the - voltages all over the datasheet means PNP.

This shit is like tuberolling, people want to do that on the fly as well.

No, scrap that. I was working from the second oldest version of the PCB and it didn't have these changes. Now I see what Kevin did... All the parts labeled A should not be used with IXYS parts.

Not sure why that LED in the corner is labeled A... shouldn't be. Uninsulated diodes on the HV are not recommended. I'd remove them and fit the correct ones, the ones printed on the PCB. Ohh and one more thing, never... ever try to change the feedback with the amp running.

Time for an update. The well worn SR-007 pads were an upgrade but made the bass too anemic. Distance from the driver and the chamber size being the most likely culprits. It's more linear but just... too bland. Today I got the W3000ANV pads and they are lack a bit in comfort compared to the 007 pads but I can live with it. Mmmm leather... The sound is better with them too, bass has a bit more bloom and the top end is smooth. Still these have serious issues and that echo/phase issue hasn't been resolved. I'll probably have to take the drivers apart which is not something I look forward to.

Well my MSB is not DSD upgradeable so this would work for me. That said if I'd care about DSD one bit...

They are optional so feel free to leave them out. The smaller layout is completely the same as the bigger boards.... just smaller.

Yeah,,, missing 20K units would make no sense as it sets the output voltage. 3900pf should be 1000V or more.

Could be worth a shot to ask these guys: http://www.garrard501.com/

Well this was in 2003 and they were cheaper back then. The Ti knob has been done, it's on my T2.

You can do that if you like smoke rising from the amp.

Truly not sure how to fix this as there is no space to work with or any good through hole pads. A first glance I thought they had stacked two 300V supplies as that would make perfect sense. Then I saw it had just two diodes...

400V or 450V will work and two PCB's? No but you need to modify the one PSU to output more current.

That was the point.

Well I'm one to talk, I don't think I'd ever be called petite...

Now that's a watch!!

They sound ok now and I think new pads might turn them into something good. Running them right now off this 007tA that is just now running 6S4A's and it sounds very nice indeed. One thing that has come up are the bias issues. I don't doubt that these were designed for 450V as they really don't like Pro bias after a while. This is just off the KingSound amp though as it runs just fine off both Stax and our DIY amps. I think it has to do with the PSU in the M-10 as it is just fucked. They pop like mad when I turn it off...

Yuo, 0.5V is the first production version and that one is 100% correct albeit huge.

Well the dust cover is stretched tight onto the back grill so it's not helping matters. It's needs to be thin and wrinkled to work properly and right next to the driver.

Those might work and as it happens, there is a Hifi-Man dealer that I know...