spritzer

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.

I'm with Marc, this is a basic chip amp from the looks of it so the competition is something like the RSA HR-2 or Rudistor, not B22. Interesting volume control though, possibly some vintage USSR stuff?

Who me?? Looks like I'll get an ES-1 before Justin ever gets to my amp...

The BHSE certainly exists because Justin has a passion for electrostatics, not to make money. One can also safely state that the BH circuit is one of, if not the most complicated headphone amp out there and the BHSE just builds on that with even more complexity. This all takes time and then there is this thing called a Pico which I'm sure takes up a fair chunk of Justin's time... I've been waiting roughly a year now and I'm fine with it. I do miss having a BH around a lot but the 717 has done a good job and the mini ES-1 is looking promising. I say, hang in there Michael and take up DIY to pass the time.

Cheese cake would be more in line with cream cakes and such rather then normal cakes or pies. What do I know though... I'm just a baker. As for the OT, I'm spending a lot less time then I did and the hobby has also changed for me.

Nope, that would be self bias electrostatics which have a bias supply but that is powered by the secondary of the audio transformers. The ESP6 is just that. OTOH electrets use a diaphragm which has been treated so that it has a "built in" bias charge. There are variations from this (Toshiba back electret) but the concept is the same, materials inside the drivers are treated to give them potential so no need for a bias supply. The condenser marking on the headphone means they are electret and if somebody could post a pic I can probably tell you who made them.

A bit of an homage to the HEV90 there, Al? I like it... There aren't any wallwarts in the typical ES-1 though. ES-2's on the other hand...

Since we are on the subject, the mini ES-1 aka. The A11 is up and running. It's not yet running at full power (+/-260v instead of the +/-350v it should be running on) but that's just because I'm lazy and already had a the PSU ready to go. Somehow I always forget about my old KGSS supply which is ideal for this stuff... I'm getting some channel imbalance so I'll have to check all those connections and swap out the tubes but I'm letting the caps discharge for now. DC offset was pretty high at roughly 20-35v per phase so I need to put in some adjustment for that. As for the sound, I spent some 40 minutes listening to it and even crippled by crappy parts, a low voltage PSU and using the Lambda Pro's, it's better then the Egmont.

I believe the term is to go berserk... I do seem to remember a certain Aristaeus being a tube only amp. There are diodes in the PSU and regulators but all the amplification is done by valves.

First off, don't buy a soldering gun. They are for large scale soldering and not for electronics. A cheap soldering station will be more then enough, plus some good solder and a desoldering pump, basic manual one is just fine. We really need pics to see how this amp is configured so pop the top off and it would also be a good idea to loosen up the back panel as well. The Stax amps are all built on an internal frame so all the panels are easy to remove. Those are 6BL7GTA's I believe.

Well, Kane did send some my way already, including a set of XF2's and vintage 6CA7's. If I ever get one of these amps to work well enough that it can be sent out on loan the you are welcome to try it out. It's just easier to stick with the 230v area's since I'm too lazy to put in a voltage switch...

I also saw that Skylab is going to review it it. A clueless fan of barfbeyers which has no 'stat experience or any technical knowledge. The word on the grapevine is that Ray is having a lot of issues with the A-10 and that's not surprising. If he's trying to eek 600v p-p out of those tubes then they will probably self destruct. It would also account for the lack of internal pics which were promised a long time ago...

That's not surprising since they haven't been made for 50 years...

I don't know how it is in the US but in the UK, Clearaudio has some package options where they include some of their own pickups when you buy a table/arm. It would be worth checking out if you have your heart set on one...

There are are even sets I've never been able to find...

If you want the transport in any player to last, never push on it.

Better not say anything more until after I get the amp... Speaking of caps, I was looking for some ES-1 pics and I stumbled across some pics of the HEV90. I never noticed it before but it has Wima MKS4 coupling caps. Sennheiser didn't even spring for the polypropylene units in their "TOTL" design... How are your soldering skills? If you are up for adding a couple of wires, some light desoldering you could just switch the amp over to 117v. Stax have been known to mix things up so we need a picture of the inside of the unit to be sure, but changing the voltage should be easy to do.

Preamp functions (be they passive or not)+power amp.

[DIY drone mode]Must solder parts into empty spaces!!!![/DIY drone mode]

Trust me, I've tried. I suspect meth and crack would be easier habits to kick. Cheaper too...

Hmmm looks like we have a new contender for the magic tweak crown. Just serial connecting some Wima caps will not get you the crown since one cap has to cost at least 400$ and the other less then 1$. Otherwise you are just being practical...

Blah... there is no escaping the clutches of DIY!!!

I thought you were done with DIY amps...?

That can very well be the reason why we like them in the Stax amps. A normal 6CG7 application doesn't have voltages anywhere close to the Stax amps.

A change of tubes will make the amp sound better but not give it the extra power it needs.