spritzer

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TC sounds right for a Sony deck. I have a TC-355 sitting on a shelf and I've never even plugged it in...

I'd take caps in the signal path over the danger of exploding Li-Ion batteries. Just imagine how crappy the other RSA amps are (such as the cRaptor) as they have coupling caps and cheap electrolytic output caps.

Ahhh so you were lacking the force of a nordic thunder god to push the connector home...

It's my old ECR400 cable.

I wouldn't mess with the socket personally, I would rather measure the socket/pins and make short jumper leads. Make sure they are properly insulated since there is a lot of voltage coming from those transformers.

Yup, the same olive green cable but only 4 conductors.

Both did since they were made of the same/similar material. You can read about this glorious new material on the ECR800 page on TVK which was supposed to sound so good but had broken down into some sticky mess when I got them.

The one on my unit had decomposed into some gel like material once I got them so no pics here.

Great tubes but those prices...

You'll have a PM shortly. What a great offer!!

It's the pink hair....

Thanks for the pics. It is certainly better made then some of the other clusterfucks, it even has heatshrink over exposed wire and the soldering isn't all utterly terrible. I don't know what's up with the coupling caps since they appear to be serial connected 0.01uF units which are way too small for this amp. The V+ for the last stage looks to be uninsulated (the left side of the large resistors towards the back of the amp) which is just asking for trouble. There is only a single filament supply (which drives the LED indicator as well) which means the amp will not be easy on the output tubes. If will be a pain to strip the chassis if mine is like that... I have the same problem.

Impressions will come and comparisons against the A11 (mini ES-1). Considering that it would be tough to make the A11 for more then 1k$ (if you stick with sensible parts) then it should be an interesting comparison. I need to increase the voltage in the PSU though and get rid of that channel imbalance but not enough time and I will be working the whole weekend...

I have to dismantle it first to see what parts need to be ordered and to know what I'm dealing with. The main focus is on the PSU (i.e. how much space I have in there) and how that digital output stage bias setup works. Odds are that it is a 20$ voltmeter with two pots but we'll see. While I have it open I'll change it over to 230v and then use it for some time, while parts arrive and I build all the upgrades. I have some cool things planned but that mostly depends on the space available in the PSU chassis. Let's just say there will be some small elements of the SRM-T2 in the operation of the amp...

Perhaps but Marc is right, short of the V-caps, BG's etc. crammed into those boxes there isn't much that is worth saving. The 45 step attenuators would be one thing but knowing I'd have to redo all of those solder joints just gives me a headache.

They are rather heavy those Plitron wallwarts, at least the Icelandic post couldn't accept the PSU and AMP in the same box.

Those fuckers are stealing my name and can't even spell Mj

We need moar pics!!!!!! Full res too!!!! I would especially want some of the transformer wires since that's the first thing I have to change... Looks like it won't be easy to squeeze a new filament transformer in there plus a small 12V unit to run a ε24 and a double delay line for the filaments. \

But...but...that isn't a real SR-Ω headband...

95$ for just the headband!!!??!!?? I paid slightly more then that (could be a bit less) for a real and complete SR-Omega arc assembly (though with the black headband as the brown ones are long gone) from Craig. He had to work long and hard to get it for me but pulled it off in the end. I know you had some issues with XF2's in the past so overdriving the tubes could certainly be an issue. The single filament supply is also a problem which should be address sooner rather then later. All you need to do so is a new 8A or more filament transformer and some way of getting that power over to the amp chassis plus rewiring the output tubes. I will do all of that and post links to parts needed and how to do all of that. I will how ever be scrapping those horrible umbilicals Mikhail used and going for a single 10pin connector instead. This will require some drilling but will make the amp a lot more safe. I'm going to use Amphenol sockets/plugs which cost some 200$ for the set but I found some Chinese plugs on ebay for 30$ shipped (which look a lot like the stuff Woo Audio uses) which I'm also going to try out. Now here's hoping I won't have any customs issues with the amp...

If a set would ever go wrong I'd gladly take a look at it before going to that chop shop, called Yama's. I'm even looking for broken sets to try out my theory as to why they break down...

Spare parts....

The T1W should be very easy to change, remove the bottom panel and the familiar Stax voltage selector plug/socket affair should be in the corner, next to the IEC input. They did indeed change the cartwheels from plastic to aluminum but AFAIK that never made it into a production headphone. The SR-Omega I lost out on last October (with the T2) was S/N:500 (one of the last ones made) and it was fitted with plastic cartwheels. I'm not sure why they did that mod though as the stock stators are very strong and adding a stiffer brace shouldn't make a huge difference. Who knows why they did it and after the SR-007 was released they stopped making replacement drivers. Another change Stax did was to fit those small rubber pads between the two external grills. Out baby elephant has one of the earliest sets and it lacks those pads.

I'm sure Michael is rearranging all his "Umbrella" remixes in anticipation... Not a chance, way too much work involved. Looks like I'll have to completely gut both cases to have them painted properly plus do all the chassis work and the silk screening. This will probably take weeks with the circuits sitting in a box. Depending on how hot the thing runs it may get a trip to the nearest laser cutter to have some nice vents installed. Then I have to make and prep the wooden side panels... No, not really.