spritzer

29 sets of Stax earpads of various types. I was running low and wanted to stock up on SR-007 Mk1 pads in case Stax will discontinue them...

Less then half (230 vs. 580) but no, not really. The bias is just an optimized figure for that diaphragm/stator gap and the drive voltages present. If you lower the bias you will still get sound but it will be "softer" as the stators do not have the same grip on the diaphragm due to the lower potential. Since the electrostatic force drops by the square of the distance the designers have to ramp up the bias voltage in ever growing increments to make up for the increased gap space for greater dynamics.

Not that long ago... Nice catch. Those are SR-5's

Not knowing what hell they are doing would be a better description then drama but I'm going to stay away from the HE1.2b unless something drastic happens. The risk involved shouldn't be ignored but they are even "better" with SR-007 drivers. The housing will always have the largest impact on any planar design and the sharp angle of the original pads create a wider soundstage. These are just normal fuse holders so a 4A 20mm fuse should do the trick. The pins are 20mm long and 5mm across. The BG's do make a difference but whether it is worth the price is another matter.

SR-Omega it is then but be prepared to pay dearly for one if you should find it. Going rate in Japan is close to 400kYen and even more here in the west. Think of it as a rounder and slightly woollier version of the SR-007 with a larger soundstage. Like I say later on this is due to the amplification. What I've been banging on for 5 years now is that the SR-007 needs a shit load of power to wake up the bass but all that power will not act as a bass boost. What will increase the bass is playing around with the arc's by making the phones slightly looser on the head. The angle is also important but it matters less then the pressure. Ditto. The HF way is to blame everything on burn-in but some gear just doesn't work as it should and we are simply not kidding our selfs. I know what I like and how a SR-007 should sound and the Mk2 just isn't that. The modded unit is better but still not there. Very easy to do most of the time. Remove the 4 screws which hold the top cover, remove the screws which secure the back panel and tilt it so you have better access to the jumpers. For 240v they should be jumpers at 2 and 5 but for 120v you need to have jumpers at 2,4 and 6. If you are missing one jumper then a fuse should work if it has a large enough rating. It's most definitely the amplification. You have to remember how electrostatics work (lower impedance into bass and treble) and the SR-007 is a current hog into the lower frequencies. I guess the built in damping was the only way for them to overcome the upper midrange colorations found both in the He90 and SR-Omega but it creates a very tough load on the amps.

Very good comparison you've got there. I'm with dvse on preferring the smaller, more precise headstage of the Mk1 but I also like the more rounded soundstage of the SR-Omega. The Mk2/A with the latest round of mods does sound pretty similar to the Mk1 though more forward. I quite like them though and now the hard part is to modify the Mk2 pads... As for the comfort then the elastic band on the Mk2/A is much stronger so I'm not sure it will loosen up over time. I do how ever prefer the material on the bottom of the headpad on the Mk2.

Sure thing.

If you want an impressive DAC get a Zero and listen to all the reasons why it costs only 100$...

The name is even more of a facepalm. Thor (which is my middle name ) or

Wuss!!!! ... Impressive will never last and can often become annoying in the end.

Amps do need to warm up and same goes for sources but headphones at these power levels?? I know it is a common misconception with RSA customers but that's not surprising...

I haven't tried a whole lot of DAC's but the AudioZone DAC1 is here to stay in my computer rig. It retails for 1400$ but can be had for much less used. It does only have one BNC input but a RCA adapter is cheap or you can use something like the Trends UD-10.1 which I just ordered. It's smooth, extended and doesn't suffer from the horrible digital haze of the Benchmark or so many other new digital products all out to impress.

Same here, couldn't care less about it.

Same here.

It makes sense to me if one is for a passive preamp and the other for the ES-1, hence the question.

NICE!!!! That reminds me to finally get off my ass and rebuild my server...

I'll wait for the pics then. That makes more sense but can you control the volume of the ES-1 (electrostatic portion that is) with both controls?

We have a winner!! It is possible to put a transformer on the electrostatic output to bring the voltage down again but I can only see one reason for doing so and that has nothing to do with preamp duties. Pics please as it is most likely just a shared connection of the stepped attenuator. From the pics I've seen of the exterior of your amp it has no extra tubes like that SP dual purpose amp which does indeed have a preamp in the same box.

Nope, Ray is just copying others as usual...

It works as a passive preamp but I doubt many amps would appreciate the high voltage output...

Kind of reminds me of this picture: V-Caps in the bias supply? Not that the other caps pass signal either... Sounds interesting. Will this be RSA and MarcE only system or will it expand later on?

Ditto...

That's not a bad idea. When can I order my MarcE special edition?

Without knowing why they were added I'd leave them in place for know. What output sockets are connected to that bias supply and is the one in the PSU populated?

Adding resistors after the bias supply only makes sense if you want to go up to 10Mohm to better suit the HE90 or install a dividing network to drop the voltage. The latter makes no sense with the pot already there...