spritzer

I guess I'm doing that by warning people off overpriced crap...? I do miss the guy sometimes. He took drunk posting to a whole new level...

-12dB most likely. Since this is the Stax thread what about the He90 specs, 10-100,000Hz...

...and HF is???

Double... triple... it's only money... I can't see why the tubed output would be a turnoff as the single ended transformer coupled triode is the holy grail of amplification. The cheaper players have a balanced capacitor coupled output stage though I'm not sure if it is SS or based on the ECC99. I've never heard of that mod but there isn't much you can do with the 007t. They sure are a great little headphone when you get the kinks worked out. Keep us posted Since the output voltage of SE is half that of a comparable balanced output stage you have more range on the volume control but thats all. Since all electrostatic amps are push-pull most can accept XLR input but not all.

Just buy a used APL 3910 for around 4k$. The former owner of my unit compared it, just before he shipped it off to APL for the newest upgrade, to a dCS P8i and a ARC Ref3 preamp and it was no comparison. The APL walked all over them in every way and the new output stage and DAC are supposed to be a huge leap forward. I WANT MINE NOW!!!! A direct drive amp on the cards for me and it can drive my headphones as well. I'll likely start with something similar to the Morgan Jones design based around huge current sources and a 845 outputs. It's a very complex amp and needs specialized tools to test it with voltage well in excess of 1kV but there is nothing better then a direct drive electrostat. A good compromise would be to have a lower ratio transformer built and hooked to the back of a good tube amp. I'd love to see what a BH does to the ESL57...

That sounds great. If you aren't going to do much tuberolling then the pots should be on the PCB. Tuberolling mine is a bit of a pain since I can't remove the top due to the Black Gates... I've been doing some thinking on a small KGSS and using the ebay heatsinks you linked to cut to 10" would make good side panels and allow me to make the amp about 15*20*25cm (H-W-D). Since this is a non crucial amp I'd use the stock BH psu and a small PSU to feed the DAC, both housed externally. Those DAC's look great but space is really an issue. The Opus with USB and SPDIF option would work and sound good enough for this role.

I think the only speakers that could come close to the OII's are the Sound Lab U-1 since they are designed from a similar standpoint i.e. build the strongest frame you can with a single radiating area and no crossover. Still they'll never match the astounding detail since they are most likely to be used with tube amps and that involves two transformers, one stepping down the voltage and then another stepping it back up again. After hearing a set of A-1's it's clear that Sound Lab speakers are my ultimate target but settling down with a single set of speakers is just boring.

I know but it can be compensated for even if it will be a bit of a hassle. You could also use chassis mounted tube sockets with the bias pots on the outside... and use some exotic pentodes I've been brain storming on my computer amp situation as I need a good amp with a USB dac but it has to be small. I could make it really small by stacking the KGSS PCB's and place a USB DAC underneath with side mounted heatsinks. The PSU can be hidden away and no nasty AC heater voltage to deal with. I think I need to do some designing....

I think you need to try out a G-0s or what ever version they are up to now... Finding a speaker rig to surpass these headphones will be very hard indeed. I'm going to start with a modernized Quad ESL57 with completely rebuilt Quad II amps but I can see Sound Lab U-1's or Majestic's in my future. I've never quite got the fuss about dCS. It always sounds like good digital to me but not much more. It's the same with the EMM gear. All this source talk is pretty bad for my spending habits as my APL hasn't shipped yet and the Meridian G08 is long gone so I'm forced to use my old Rotel RCD-971 and sony DAS-R1... Why did I have to return that Wadia 861 so damn soon....?

Are you using them with side mounted heatsinks or like Justin did with the older BH's?

Who doesn't... It's good to get a different perspective from time to time but sinking as low as Grados is simply going too far... Show off... For me you only need one SR-Ω to completely crush the HE90 and then the SR-007 to surpass the SR-Ω. Just don't let the volume differences fool you. Does the master clock make a big difference?

You need to run them with the 4.5v PSU as the batteries just can't power them. I haven't spent much time with the SRM-001 variant but with my SR-003 I can get mad bass with an improper fit and when fitted just right they don't lack bass at all.

2007 was a very good year for my electrostatic rig. I finally stepped up my electrostatic collection and bought a SR-Omega, HE60, 4070, Airbow SR-SC1, SR-404, Lambda Pro, Lambda Nova Signature, SR-Sigma, SR-5NB, SR-3, SR-3N, Gamma, Gamma Pro, Alpha Pro Excellent and SR-X Mk2. Add to that all the other phones, amps, adapters, cables, tubes that I've bought and sold and it is a small fortune... I have the nasty habit of buying every great deal I come across so I often have multiples of something or I'm forced to buy the headphones I want bundled with something I have no use for. This can lead to some interesting collections such as 3 Lambda Signatures, 5 SRD-7 Mk2's and 5 SRM-T1 amps all at the same time... The main rig has remained unchanged for the most part since 2004 but I sold my Meridian G08 in December and I'm waiting for APL to finish updating my player. I did continue to work on my cable designs in 2007 so now my rig is ready for major upgrades in 2008. I'm going to finally invest in a good rack, upgrade my Blue Hawaii (or just build a new one) and rework my power situation by building a new all silver distribution block for the second dedicated line and finish building cases for the two huge transformers I use with all of my 100v and 117v gear. All in all 2008 should be a lot cheaper the 2007 unless I start to collect electrostatic speakers as well.

It's an EL54 so similar to the 34 but not the same. Might work in the ES-1 but the BH would have to be modified.

I doubt it will surpass the original BH but it could. The 6S4 is a good tube and well suited for this role but it hasn't got the power of a triode connected EL34.

They really know how to roll...

When you don't know what the benefits really are it's hard to sell them as improvements. The Valve Art tubes that you shipped with my amp started to discolor early on but my main Mullard XF2 quad doesn't show any signs of wear even after 2 years of much use. The delay helps the new production stuff a lot. It's true that the case isn't too sturdy but it doesn't ring too much. It's still a lot better then the horrible Hifi2000 cases as I used two for my KGSS. They ring like crazy and required a lot of damping to sound good. I still love the silver look of my BH and it will match the silver SR-007A perfectly...

What they don't know, won't hurt them.

I meant it sounds great as there are some updates going on. I'm not a big fan of the "lets make it prettier and charge more" way.

In Icelandic: Eg aeldi a barn Guds Stupid forum software doesn't allow the Icelandic characters I had to dumb it down.

That's only on ebay as they are pushing Paypal.

Who needs a XONO when I have my very own modular Stax phonostage in the SRA-3S...??

Nelson Pass is indeed one of the greats. A skilled designer that is willing to try new things, doesn't hide behind some marketing BS and shares his designs when he's done with them.

I haven't had many transactions there yet but all have been good so far, both buying and selling.

That's not what I meant but comparison in build quality with Pass Labs is a great honor, something Justin fully deserves. Sounds great. I've never been completely happy with the sound of the stock KGSS I built though it has many redeeming qualities. I take it will be built on a single PCB with the everything incorporated such as the Aristaeus and the KGBH SE?