spritzer

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...

It might be time for some drastic measures such as a sharp angle on top instead of the gentle curve. Both are great headphones and my current incarnation of the Mk2 mods bring them a lot closer to each other but that's with Mk1 earpads in place. Not really an ideal solution... ...and ohh I'm definitely nuts...

You may need to adjust the arcs for a better fit and sound. Btw. Thanks for the comparison, nice to know I'm not completely nuts...

Who uses Caddock's in a bias supply? I was also trying to figure out why they were there as the amp already has a HE90 output.

The cmoy is a great way to start but a Millet SS is also a good beginners project as it isn't very complex.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-100926089806656515&hl=en http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-100926089806656515&hl=en This was posted over on HF earlier today and it deserved it's own thread. It's a Swedish film about audiophiles with a guest appearance from a unique headphone. They turn up about 30 seconds in. A small teaser...

A separate PSU isn't always a good thing and can even cause more trouble then it "fixes".

Now that I've spent a week with the Mk1 springs in place there isn't enough of an improvement to call it a day. Next step was to modify the Mk2 springs so that they were 100mm across and so that they didn't lift the pads quite as much, basically make them like the Mk1 springs. It was relatively easy to do by hand and I fitted brand new Mk1 pads while I was at it. On a direct A-B comparison to the Mk1 the sound is much closer now with the A/Mk2 a bit more forward and the midrange a wee bit colder. There is still some honk but only time will tell if I can live with it or not. I also compared the Mk1 and Mk2 earpads while I had the phones open. The new leather used on the Mk2 pads is indeed very nice unlike the Mk1 units they aren't all leather. The lip used to hold the pads to the phones is now made of vinyl which is much looser with even less tensile strength. This makes the phones easier to assemble and the pads deeper but it's a clear compromise over the snug fit of the Mk1 pads. The new pads are stiffer then a brand new set of Mk1 pads (possibly to make the last longer?) and foam construction and materials are different. The angle of the pads is also smaller on the Mk2 compared to the Mk1. I will now run them like this for another week to see how it is but the next step is far more drastic, a driver swap between a mk1 and my A which is something I'm not looking forward to...