spritzer

Blasphemy!!!!!!!!

These are not drop in replacements for either stock Stax sockets or the WPI stuff we have been using. They are fastened by a screw or collar from behind the panel but these teflon ones will need screws for mounting. On a thick panel it isn't an issue but on thin panels like the old KGSS boxes or most of the Stax stuff it needs visible screws.

Looks like the cable curse holds true. Gotta love mad design moments coming back to haunt us.

It could be done but will require quite a bit of work.

Just so you all know, a brave young Stax extension cable had to die to make these connectors fit perfectly so keep it in your thoughts...

Cool. The price comes to 2.71$ each and the shipping should be 2-4$ depending on location. Btw. Here is a pic:

I've seen how the dough is made at Eldsmiðjan so I'll never eat there again. The note the management had left to the people working there about serious complaints from the health department was just too funny. I just kept it simple and went with Domino's. The quality has always been great (run by bakers from day one) but it's been getting even better lately.

Those heatsinks aren't really needed but certainly won't hurt. Normal thermasil pads will be fine at these voltages though. If anybody needs PCB's for the teflon Stax sockets I have some extras. The fab house made way too many but the cost was pretty reasonable, 2-3$ each.

This thread is making me hungry after finishing a whole large pizza...

There was a brilliant piece I read about these less common tube circuits back when we were rebuilding the ES-1 but I can't find it now. It should be here somewhere but I have the annoying habit of just throwing everything in one folder and not sorting it... I want everybody to be able to build it so focusing too much on how the circuit works might put some people off. Some basics are necessary (why you can't adjust the DC balance at the output etc.) but I still remember reading the KGSS article all those years ago and trying to gleam something useful from it in that wall of stage this and feedback that.... I also like the idea to have the boards fully self sufficient so one doesn't need the BOM or any documentation to finish building it. All the necessary info should be on the boards and no stupid vertically mounted parts.

The bug will live on forever. A family friend just restored his and there were replacement parts available for pretty much everything.

Makes MSB and dCS look cheap by comparison.

It has magic glowing shiny things which makes loud become moar loud?

I've done my darnedest to give Stax transformers a fair shot but in the end they are not for me. They do offer bang for the buck though...

SG being a clueless idiot? Clearly the end of days...

Yes and no. It will always be way over spec just to be safe.

I'm only talking about using the basic ESX circuit so the output tubes will be ECC99 with ECC81 drivers. The psu will be something simple which does the job but follow the same lines as the latest stuff from Kevin. I like the idea of using a separate psu for the bias supply with it's own regulation and it would be easy enough to just add a couple of voltage divider spots onto the board for 230V and 500V output so no adjustment necessary. Since we are probably going to need a custom transformer then we can do pretty much anything from the simple N- and P-channel affair in the old KGSS article to a version of the BH psu with split secondaries. A delay line could be added but it just adds cost and really isn't needed.

A ESX would be simpler to build than a BATE and the lack of capacitors would make all the crazy people out there happy. I like the ESX because it uses so few parts and while the whole cross coupled thing looks complicated, it really isn't in a way and people never need to know how it works. Well that and it sounds amazing once it is up and running properly. The balanced inputs are "free" here and having guided dozens and dozens of people through amp builds they have never caused any issues. Not much difference between a dual pot and quad pot and steppers are cheap on ebay. The ESX amp circuit is cheap to build so only a few $ in resistors and tube sockets plus four 2$ caps and that's it. 10W plate resistors would be pretty expensive so a simple 10M90 CCS isn't that much more expensive with much better performance. A spud... yeah let's class that with KG's gas tube amp...

It's a speaker amp driving stepup transformers. Since they have no detail at all about the amp then it's probably one of those things which can't see the light of day. The awesomeness and magic would disappear once people know what a POS it really is...

30-40K Yen. We really need to beat some sense into them about those bloody AA's. Hello Li-ion...

I think Steve nailed it!! Paging Dinny, paging Dinny to the Mafia DIY section...

Think RWA with silver transformers and the snake oil piled on thick.

I've been giving this some thought and perhaps the best candidate for rework would be the ESX circuit. Three stages, mostly DC coupled and arguably, one of the finest tube circuits I've ever seen. The money we save on the various caps can be spent on a CCS for the output and even for the front end as well. With a C- supply there will be no offset issues and with a PSU of say +/-300V it will be a very capable amp. This is naturally a Stax circuit so I see no better way for the Mafia to show it's gratitude for 50+ years of great products but by reworking one of their designs. Here is the basic design: http://www.bonavolta.ch/hobby/en/audio/hdgsta.htm Now the issues, there is no transformer out there which meet the required specs, two filament windings, bias tap and the right HV voltages. Not a big deal though since people like SumR and Edcor could have a fixed design on their books which people can just order. Same wires every time etc. The second is what parts to use. ECC81 and ECC99 are the obvious choices and the resistors can be what ever that fits but the CCS is a bit of a challenge. I'd really like isolated parts to make assembly easier (no high voltage pads etc, required) but I'm coming up empty. 2SA1968 is an obvious choice but there is very little stock left and I'm not dipping into my stock to supply a group build. Any ideas for a suitable part?

Yeah, it's just too stupid. Only the T2 and BHSE can dig up this level of detail. What other top amps though, the WES with way too many caps in the signal path and a horrible design or the A-10 which reaches 5% THD a low levels and just keeps on rising? Fucking idiots...

I'm not the biggest fan of "balanced at any cost" but it really must be balanced for the audience but also being able to be used SE. No half-assed designs here like the WES and A-10. I'd really like to take a crack at "the ultimate" diff amp but it looks like 3 stages is the minimum we can go for. Even with a ECC83/ECC99 combo it simply doesn't have enough gain. Less volume means less good amp to a lot of people... Edit. You wouldn't believe just how much willpower it took to keep my Baldur SE only when the balanced input is better in every way.