spritzer

I'm not a bass freak either so I'm more concerned with it being reproduced faithfully than anything else. I'd recommend a good SR-007 Mk1 over the 009 as to these ears it is simply a better transducer. The 009 has its momenets but it also annoys me quite a bit... No too shabby. Pair matching is good too given how poor the matching was at Quad.

Happy Birthday!!

I guess I'm very lucky to have a place that powder coats even one amplifier lid for me and does it well enough for my crazy standards. As for removing the old paint, just have the case sandblasted.

Build the 100$ amp Kerry drew up, makes the objective look like the garbage it really is. Price doesn't include the heatsinks, transformer etc. but this is one performs way past it's humble pricetag. I'm also sure you can build a Dynalo for silly little money simply by being frugal and using a simple 317/337 or 317/317 PSU (depending on the transformer used).

Happy Birthday!!!

To me the 009 bass has certain limits where it just stops dead in its tracks. It's almost a cutoff point, not unlike the HE90 but far more subtle. The 007 doesn't have this and neither does the SR-Omega (or LCD-2r.1 for that matter). Messing with the source or amp to suit one transducer is a no-no in my book but then again I'm a purist.

No, that one uses ECC83's and only for the driver stage. They are run off a +300V supply so once you factor in the loss in the plate resistors the valves are well within their limits (they can indeed be run quite a bit harder than that). The output stage of the GES uses 6S4A's run off +600V.

I just checked my schematic and they did indeed use ECC82's. Not that it matters really since we are still dealing with a small signal tube with a max Va of 300V, driven way past its limits and asked to push what, 300pf? Pure madness... Also, that balanced input is really just single ended (notice the dual section 10K RK27 pot) and the input drivers are BC639. It's also fully AC-coupled.

I have my issues with the 009 bass as well...

Brighter than the HE-5? That was one truly dreadful headphone...

The parts are better quality but I prefer the fit of the later Mk1 parts. I'm a proud member of team melon head so the extra tension in the elastic bothers me a bit.

I got mine from FrozenCPU but you can also find them in China. 250VAC/5A so they should be ok but I haven't really used mine since fitting the switch. One of the K216's shorted out and I'm still waiting for the PEEK screws. I think new bushings are just what I need and stick with stainless.

Happy Birthday Jacob!!

I'd recommend repetitive blows with a hammer. can't get much worse really...

Happy Birthday Andy!!

Glad it all arrived in one piece.

The military is indeed exempt from the RoHS directive. To me the RoHS was decided by people who had no understanding of how this stuff works and just thought Pb=BAD!! Well that and a new way to moar moneyz...

Merry Christmas!! A holiday best spent with a soldering iron in hand...

Happy Birthday Ken. Now I wish I'd sent you a cake...

Lamm needs to be introduced to a lead pipe up close and personal in my book. Selling a 110K$ amp with stock Hammond iron is just a bit too much. Do people pay extra for the shitty design? Speaking of design, since Captain Clueless was asking where the "Spritzer" amps are, well there are a number of designs ready but I don't see the need to release something just for the sake of releasing it. I released the SRD bias supply because it was sorely needed and took up selling complete units to people once I saw the average skill of the buyer. If I ever get something resembling free time then I'll probably release my ultra compact version of the Egmont as a poor mans 'stat amp. There is also a 100% triode version of the HEV90 that I've been working on forever using a tube nobody has any use for (unlike the very scarce ECL86), a simple circuit to be able to use the HE90 off any Stax amp without risk and at the correct bias voltage and a self biasing transformer box with readily available transformers that allows most dynamic amps to power Stax sets. One thing I'll say about designing though is that I don't believe in the whole BS of working in shadows as some lone wolf. Kevin is all too aware of me asking for feedback as that's how we come up new breads/cakes/pastries etc. at my bakery. Four eyes always see better than two and pooling different experiences wins out in the end. The first version of the Scintilla was indeed 1ohm nominal but later units were fitted with transformers for a 4ohm load. Only Krell and similar insanity need apply... The Quad's have a huge impedance range but the transformers were setup for 15ohm which was the standard at the time.

What, the number system or the bribes?

Edit: I just read the article and one thing stood out, the bit about lack of Stax dealers in the US. What I've been hearing is that Yama's simply hasn't been able to supply said dealers with products making them look bad in the eyes of the consumer. To further support this, the number of Stax dealers in the UK appears to be growing and there is real marketing going on there. The distributor is also responsive to service issues and the like. Without access to high voltage transistors then we are stuck with using tubes. Toshiba did just kill all of it's high voltage BJT's except one....

I don't think you have bad ears, just crap taste. Even mild mannered people like "DannyB" openly joke about just how bad the Cavalli amps are. He naturally doesn't name them but it is quite clear what he's referring to. Now neutrality isn't for everyone but I do think that it is something designers should aspire to while working within the confines of the chosen topology. Running tubes way below recommended voltages, starving stages of current and then throwing bunch of feedback at the mess to try and get it to behave isn't a good way to go at it in my book.

I got an update from Mouser and the 2SC4686A's should be in stock on Feb 13.

We do have evidence to back all of this up but making it public isn't up to me. There is still a desire to just make the shilling and backhand deals stop and leave it at that so we'll see how it plays out.