spritzer

Rip off the pads and there are 4 screws underneath. Remove those and the baffle is loose so proceed to remove the cable. I wouldn't put any other cable instead of the Stax one and send them in like they are.

Ditto.

Yeah, the +350v connection for the bias supply should come from the emitter and not straight off the rectifiers. I've done pretty much everything I can think off to fix this (two separate PSU's, changed the diodes to UF4007's, removed the bias supply entirely, changed the caps used, tried two different but identical transformers) but still no change.

It could work and provide some nice damping characteristics at the same time.

Thanks. I could have done a much better layout if I hadn't set this up as a recession amp, made only from parts I could buy locally or I had at hand. I'm really going to regret those carbon pots soon... Still it has a lot of bling with silver and gold plated cables. It isn't easy to work on these amp contraptions with my god-like hands.

Here is a picture of the Egmonts guts. The problem I'm having is with the PSU (the old KGSS design) which I had already and was the only thing that fit the chassis. While the - side of the supply is fine the + side has a lot of AC on it (some 800v ) which I can't figure out what's causing. Kevin has offered to take a look at a PCB to see if they are the cause or that he can mimic what I'm experiencing.

I would take a SRM-1 Mk2 over the SRM-212 any day but 250$ isn't a bad price for a system that costs 550$ new (though with the 252 amp).

That's what you get when the damping layer is removed. I'll have to check but I could have some mineral wool I pulled from a Lambda. Just PM me if you need some and I'll check. No SMD soldering needed

Ditto. Has the KT77 even been tested with a BH circuit?

Construction appears to be very similar to my old Svetlana branded set (Winged C Svetlana before they split up). Now if I could remeber what those cool black glass EL34's were called...

From the pics I've seen they were SED but it's the new production Mullards that will be included with the amp. The SED's were by far my favorite new production tubes when I tube rolled the old BH (2004/05) but they pale in comparison to the old XF2's. Just did some digging and there is a new version of the SED's out. Not cheap at 90$ a pair but could be very good...

I would get an anti-static one if you have the chance.

The 717 and the Egmont w/a BH PSU aren't up to the BH level but more then good enough for that crap.

That would be a transistor then... Buy a solder sucker is all the advise I can give you. In a pinch you could take a small piece of wire and place it next to all 3 legs and heat the wire with the soldering iron.

How the diaphragm is tensioned and the glue used to hold the drivers in place are probably factors as well. I have a vintage SR-404 on the way that I'm going to rebuild with different types of glue to test that theory (and have a new test headphone for amps as well). It is quite astounding how 11 phones which are almost identical can sound so different.

What sets them apart isn't all that much in the grand scheme of things but to my ears it's a big break for the character of a Omega headphone. For the first time they have "a sound" which is super imposed on everything (like the Jade, He90 etc.) and that is a deal breaker for me. As another example, lets compare the LNS and the SR-404. Both phones are nearly identical except for the diaphragm material yet sound completely different. Throw the SR-SC1 into the mix and there is the third type of sound, all from the same ingredients. All of the Lambda phones sound very similar to one another but a small change goes a long way.

Just give me a shout if you need some BH PCB's...

No dissing the glorious Lada!!!

Ditto. If that said amp would have two Stax sockets then that's just golden...

Yup. The only thing that has to be verified is which lead on the transformer is which but that is easily done with an ohm meter.

This is the largest one I've found. It's quite clear though that there is a lot of wires entering the transformer on the right. That means the amp should be easily configured for 120v and 230v use.

Stop torturing me, I've been without a BH now for 9 months... :'(

Me thinks Micheal is working for Stax to try and rebuild some of the Mk2's reputation!!! What headphones will they return to you once you are finished?? My point exactly. I'm a very picky and can obsess about the smallest thing so to me they are very different but to a layman they are pretty much identical. Even Yama's claims that is the case to Stereophile (latest issue, Recommended components) and that the changes are merely cosmetic.

Most Japanese gear for their domestic market isn't grounded since there is no standardized ground connection over there. The gear is double insulated instead (so a live wire can never reach the chassis).

You know it is all about perceived bass and being impressive which is what the Mk2 does well. It's impressive at first listen (something the Mk1 definitely isn't for most first time users) yet with time those aspects which impressed become tiresome. To somebody who hasn't had these phones on his head for the last 6 years the difference between the two is small and easy to over look but the same could be said about any of the Lambdas. To a large extent they all sound the same but the devil is in the details and once you notice those details, they stick out like a sore thumb. Once I heard just how much bass detail the He90 drops/skips over they were useless to me. Great headphones but the flaws far outweigh what they do well. I just realized one thing... why didn't Justin send the Jade along? With both Fang and Aaron there it could have been interesting... Ohh and it is Mj