spritzer

I think it is time for an electrostatic amp build thread... Yup missing the comma but not being at CJ you don't get the context either i.e. me drunk as a skunk yelling at Ed while holding the camcorder...

I seriously doubt it. I've met a lot of bakers from the US over the years and they are shocked at the range of products we can get. One guy from Vermont who makes pancake mixes and the like was bowled over that we have 4 different types of fresh yeast to choose from, flown in every week. Now Ireks might be in the US since they are by far the largest supplier of this stuff in the world.

I'd send you some but somehow I don't think customs takes too kindly to some white powder (well slight yellow tint) in a bag being shipped... The manufacturer bags are also too big since you could make about 1000 pieces from a 30pound bag.

Have you ever even looked at the KGSS PCB pictures Justin posted? All values are printed on there and the majority are easy to find on Mouser simply by looking up the RN60D's and selecting the right value or doing a search. I mean 180K/5w isn't hard to find nor is 300K/3W etc. I could also post the whole email dialogue between me and Robert (rbarth) which would be a complete noob guide to how one goes about building a KGSS, down to the smallest detail such as the K after a resistor number is really important... There were three individuals who contacted me with blown PSU's. Always the same problem, it ran without a load and blew up. Then there is the whole issue which is probably down to flaky bias supplies which I will test once I get my PCB's... Now the KGSS supply can run for days without a load and even if you do something really stupid (like I did, mixed up the wires) only a single resistor blew up and the PSU worked just fine without it.

Ireks Hvedebag as it is known in the Scandinavian market. Basically wheat sour dough in powder form.

It's ciabatta, you can always just burst the largest gas bubbles and it will still rise. That said our dough has something which makes it a lot easier to manage...

NICE!!!! Very nice price too if you bought it from Richer Sounds...

Exactly!! Knowing Fairchild though they've probably discontinued it already...

Mmmm ciabatta. Ambient temp is a real issue for me as well since we let ours settle for about 4 hours each morning before cutting it up and it can get a bit big...

So you think any of this gets posted on the forums? I take it you just registered on HF yesterday? Once people realize the main thread is just one major wankfest with idiots like NoNoNoNoNoNo acting like experts they turn to people like me and KG. Hyperbole or not this design falls way short of the intended target. It was never supposed to be the end all amp design but to come up with something that measures far worse then the Stax designs it is ripping off while being about as expensive in parts alone is simply retarded. Hell much more expensive considering what I just paid for that SRM-1 Mk2 P.P. Ahhh a good quad at 7-8ma wasn't a problem but at 10ma+, not so much...

Try two months... Not happy about that but it is mostly fixed now. Oscillations and wild drifts are the nature of the beast when you use 1970's era PCB's and cutting all the wrong corners on the design. As for problems, what about unstable PSU's and the need for 50+ jfets to get a good quad which seems a bit silly given that this is supposed to be a budget design. Now all of this is gone once the new PCB's will land as they are probperly designed and no matching is needed. Plus the whole buisness of distortion being a few orders of magnitude lower and all that... Stax bitches!!!!

You would have to do quite a bit of modding to the main board to do the newest upgrades and using the old PSU isn't really an option IMO. Personally I'd just build the KGSS stock and then sell it. It's a great project and going by the exstata thread on HF, a hell of a lot less trouble then building the Exstata. I didn't have them both at the same time sadly. A used 323 would be a good budget option though and the A model I had was easy to change the voltage on...

First off, take the top off the amp. You will notice two PCB's standing upright in the amp, one for each channel. These have pots marked TVR1 and TVR2 which you can adjust via holes in the side of the chassis. Now the TVR1 pot is the balance and the TVR2 pot is the offset. What you have to do is take a voltmeter, set it to about 30VDC range (or if you have an auto-ranging unit, just set it to DC) and measure at the Stax sockets on the front. Use the diaphragm above and put the red and black probes into + and - for one channel and adjust the balance pot (TVR1) for 0VDC. Now remove the probe from the - output and hook the lead to any exposed part of the chassis for a ground connection. Now adjust the offset pot (TVR2) for 0VDC. You will have to go back and forth between the two adjustments a few times and then repeat for the other channel. Normally it is best to do this after the amp has warmed up for a bit (say and hour or two) but you can set it instantly after power on and then readjust later on. Now there is a relay bank on the output of the amp (the soft "tick" sound you hear when powering up the amp) and if they don't engage then you can't measure at the Stax sockets. This makes things just a little bit trickier though...

Could also be the slightly over reactive protection circuit. Listen for the output relays... Yup and I'm guessing Larry didn't bother to check the offset/balance either... There are number of designs cooking, all of which are better then the Exstata. As for being easy to build, I for one think an amp could be made a lot easier then the Exstata but that maybe just me... I had the 323 once and it is indeed great.

How about adding some simple regulator like a 317HV to the stock PSU? One could use shorter caps and place the whole thing above the stock PSU inside the box... Happy to help and I'm pretty sure the SRM-Monitor is a SRM-1 Mk2 with the EQ added. Certainly appears to be the case with the SRA-14S as well but without great pics one can never be too sure.

...and your point is? Does any iron made today match the quality of for instance the old Peerless iron? I certainly don't think so...

SRM-1 Mk2 schematic. This includes the Pro bias supply in case somebody wants to modify a non Pro unit...

You would be correct as the exstata version which measures properly is very similar to the SRM-1Mk2 design. Now the PSU lacks regulation in the Stax amps but with fresh caps and a stable line voltage it shouldn't be a big deal. You certainly will get a lot cleaner, more transparent sound from the Stax amps. Now speaking of the SRM-1Mk2, it appears I've just bought one and the tasty P.P. version at that. I see some mods in its future, adding balanced inputs and I might even try to add some regulation to the PSU...

The only "real" hurdle with any of these amps is getting output transformers good enough. With that sorted you can build almost anything you'd like.

As Kevin has pointed out, we aren't normal but I for one don't get the point of 3rd party amps if aren't getting any real improvements for your money. My SRM-Xh has the same voltage swing and a lot less distortion in a tiny box. The SRM-1 Mk2 (not the Mk1, very different design) is mostly identical to the SRM-313 except different parts used. This isn't a bad amp but comparing a stock unit to anything modern is madness since the PSU caps will be way past their sell by date. As for the SRM-T1, it's a good circuit built on the cheap and with the wrong tubes. The ECC99's should solve some of the compression issues but the real "fix" is the KGST. 6S4A tubes with a 10M90 CCS which I should have up and running as soon as I place a new order with Mouser. I'm as you all know certifiable so I'm running it at +/-400V for added effect...

Your best bet really would be to sell the boards and wait for the next release as it will be far, far better. The short story is that KG and I both built our P-P versions of the amp (not using the stock PSU which is IMO rather terrible but rather a known benchmark which is the BH supply) and we were not happy with the results. Now KG measured the build and it wasn't pretty, distortion many orders of magnitude higher then the KGSS (1%!!!!!) but until an amp had been built using the stock boards we couldn't be sure what was going on. Now fast forward to this weekend and Kevin finishes a bone stock amp exactly like the BOM on the stock boards and exactly the same results. Throw the circuit in a sym and the SRM-212 circuit absolutely thrashes the Exstata let alone the more advanced versions of the same circuit. Now KG gets tinkering and modifies the Exstata circuit so it is far, far better. Alex will then supposedly make those changes to the next board run. In other news, we are also working on quite a few things right now, including a +/-500V capable SS amp which isn't quite as insane as the KGSSHV. Cheap to build too...

Amen brother... The stators are pretty fragile too as they are fixed to the molded plastic frame via tiny plastic pieces which could melt pretty easily. Shouldn't happen but then again nobody should be able to melt an XLR plug while trying to solder to it but it happens all the time...

Yeah, the cable certainly is damaged and knowing this fucknut soldered directly to the drivers doesn't inspire me with confidence...

There is a metal grille on all the Lambda/Sigma drivers and I've seen dust covers tear over the years even with the grille in place. As for the arc's, just sitting on them is enough to break them.