spritzer

We need comparisons to other new production EL34's, such as the SED, Mullard or JJ. Back in 2004 I utterly hated the Valve Art (absolute crap and they showed burn marks after a few weeks in the BH), the EH's were ok but the SED's really stood out.

Ditto. There is no way in hell for those tiny transformers to make the Mk1 shine, no matter what amp you use to push them.

This is an audiophile forum but what you are looking for is an audiophool forum filled with people that buy anything without questioning it. That's what HF is, so go there to ask stupid questions like this...

This wouldn't be the first time Sony added the XLR outputs as an afterthought since they did the same with the DAS-R1a and the SCD-1. At least they used a transformer on the DAS-R1a...

The SR-404 pads work great on the Signatures so go for it.

How can it be mean when it is the truth? Just look at the PCB and tell me that the amp is any better then all the other basic chip amps being sold? RSA products are badly designed (even dangerously so) and overpriced but he's no Rudistor, I'll give him that...

Did Frank ever fire up the smaller KT88 amp? That's a rather more "sane" approach to a SET electrostatic amp. Ohhh and Andy, you need a new arc on those SR-Omegas or use some plastic/vinyl cleaner on it. Autoglym Vinyl and rubber care has worked wonders on Stax arc's for me in the past.

I've never had to open up any of the new drivers (or seen pics for that matter) but from the outside it looks like the SR-202 uses the old style drivers with an etched copper plate for stators encased in plastic supports. These are then bonded to the metal rings used to support the diaphragm and carry the bias voltage. The new drivers are certainly different and appear to be some form of plastic with a conductive layer on the bottom. There is no way to be sure and I won't split open a working driver just to take a look. It takes a lot of delicate work to get them back together but if somebody had a broken set that's another thing...

Franks amps are stunning to look at and the impressions I've got via PM's are WOW and more WOW. The non sealing pads on those Audeze phones may account for the lack of bass. Planars really like an infinite baffle or the bass begins to roll off.

The BHSE looks stunning. Have a great time you guys and know that I hate you all...

Bingo!!!

It's better then the G08 but not by much. It was a bit shocking when I hooked up the Sony DAS-R1 for the first time and heard just how much better it was compared to the G08. Sure, the Meridian had a bit more extension but it made an utter mess of the rest. 1987 tech FTW!

That's a totally new design from Ray... Given just how crappy Meridan CDP's are, I'm not surprised.

Damn cancerous Neotech wires...

Something simple I assume?

The Woo6 has output transformers so you are switching between multiple taps.

Pure win.

The PSU used by Rudi is an absolute turd, a simple voltage doubler and it runs at a much lover voltage (+/-260v) then I'm running the basic KGSS PSU at (+/-350v). I was pretty much stuck with the KGSS PSU due to space issues and that I wanted to use my 30$ R-core transformer which didn't have split secondaries. I could have used a similar PSU as Justin is using in the BHSE but that would be overkill in every sense. Now given the design and tubes used by Rudi he would have had to use two PSU's to be able to use any higher voltage then +/-260v given the limitations of the ECC83 input tubes. The ECC99 is pin compatible, can handle much more voltage but has less gain but I could live with it. It's also in current production, sounds great and I have a bunch on hand for use in the APL. The largest flaw of the Egmont amp circuit are the 6SN7 output tubes. These are almost the same as the 6CG7's used by Stax in their amps so have all the same issues. Not enough power or voltage handling (though there are higher rated versions of the 6SN7 available) plus they are far from cheap. The 6S4A is a much better fit with more power handling, higher voltage rating and they are cheap since nobody uses them. The biggest problem with the Rudistor amps is the bias supply. It's a fuckup of epic proportions with huge caps that aren't going to be kind on the resistive coating on the diaphragms.

I can't imagine going back to unwieldy commercial cables. I can wrap my cables around two fingers and they weigh next to nothing.

I would rate it on par with the SRM-T1 so not bad but not great either. It has a bit more extension then the Stax amp but it's also not as smooth with a slight edge in the midrange and treble. I'm not done with it as I'm going to add feedback (a cap and a resistor per phase) and swap out the plate resistor for the 6S4A's. The 47k/5W units run at 70-80

Woot I made a thread without even being logged on! Fear my Norse god powers you mere mortals!!!

Ehhhh no, and I've tried all the possible models except two. I miss mine badly and it's almost been a year since I sent it off to Justin. Lack of time, other projects and our crumbling economy are slowing down my plans to build my own versions so I'm stuck with the Egmont (soon to be fitted with some feedback) and the 717... :'(

The Fostex sure needs serious power so don't try something like a HD600 in Marc's amp.

Hmm, 400$ for two amps plus headphones and a CDP? That's a bargain compared to the highway robbery Fedex are charging for just the amp to Iceland.