HemiSam

I fear posting in here after that entertaining head-on collision and the fact that this will be boring as hell after that comedy, but...I've had my South American coffee so here goes. Please be gentle... I've been listening to the Schitt ygg DAC into a KGST into 007A's purchased not long ago directly from Japan. Zero mod's on the headphones. Listening to the chain for weeks now. Previously I was using a Beresford Caiman MkII DAC which I thought was pretty darn good for the price point and definitely better than the DAC in my Woo WA7 DAC/amp. There is gobs of detail, the highs are definitely there and if the source file is peaky then the sound is that as well. The bass, holy crap is it there in spades. It is all good, very good. The one thing I can't help but feel/hear is a bit of veil that resulted from the ygg (I'd likely get hung for suggesting this on the other site so I figured I'd brave this post). I'm wondering if perhaps the Beresford was "bright" or is it perhaps that the ygg that's supposedly more like "analogue" that is resulting in the veil? I have the same experience with the ygg into my dynamic rig (Woo WA7 to Fostex TH900's) which is V shaped but a hell of a lot of fun. It's an extremely enjoyable chain, but it's not altogether what I was expecting. Thinking about trying 009's with this chain as it might be a nice combination. I listen to guitar blues / jazz, classic rock, and I like trip hop stuff like Nightmares on Wax and Gramatik, Zero 7, etc... Thoughts? Soz for the rambling post... HS

I must say, my KGST built by Geoff runs surprisingly cool. He made it to swing 400v's and added some smart heat management. I can lay my hand directly on the cover, over the tubes, after it's been running for several hours without discomfort. It's warm but not at all hot. I've been super pleased with his execution of the KGST design. My living room stays between 75 and 80 degrees F. HS

My replacement SR-007A finally showed up from Japan (landed in Chicago at about midnight and showed up at my door in TX midday...pretty impressive considering the EMS is USPS domestic). I get to use the KGST with a Stax again....woot! Love this damn amp...really I do. If it turned into a pizza and beer at 2am, I might marry it. HS

That looks fantastic...and that small footprint. Gobsmacked. I have to say, my KGST is that cat's arse. Only wish my damn SR-007A's didn't present a channel imbalance within a week of receiving them new. Oh well. The Koss ESP's and a closed set of dynamics I bought recently are holding me over. Can't say enough good things about the KGST design. I'm no expert, but paired with the 007A's.....oh my. HS

xianghao, It would be great if you posted your thoughts on A/B'g different tubes. Best of luck and I hope you have some fun with it. HS

That's a fair point as the single connector does have R+/R1 and L+/L-...thanks for enlightening this electrical dummy. I'm feeding the KGST the analog signal from a single ended DAC although it's via R/L RCA's to Neutrik connectors. I do not possess the golden ears some seem to on another forum, but the rig sounds very nice, especially with streaming FLAC files. The KGST has clearly taken the Koss to another level. Their limits at right there with this amp. I'm pleased as punch. HS

So far all my cans and my DACs are single ended so I've not gone balanced (personally or with my audio ). Sounds so darn good to me single ended I haven't felt the need, but I'm no expert on balanced vs single ended. HS

The heat sink is extremely effective. I live in Houston, TX so having something that runs cooler especially during the summer is a big bonus. I've run the amp for several hours at a time. My DAC is sitting back on the KGST as can be seen in the pics above. The DAC is relatively small and I lay a thin magazine under it away from the cooling vents on the amp. DAC stays comfortably cool...no problem. HS

Photobucket is giving me a hard time with the rotation of pictures so hopefully these come out OK. As I didn't make this beautiful amp I'm guessing, but it looks like the finish on the face plate is a satin silver powdercoat. It is very nice and feels substantial. Here are a few shots that should provide a better idea of texture on the front and rear plates, as well as, give a view of the connections and how I'm using it currently. Thanks for all the kind words. KG, Birgir, and Geoff deserve the acolades. All I had to do is buy and enjoy. The Koss cans are now all they can be in my estimation. HS

Thank you, purk. I will take some pic's tomorrow of the arse end and post them up. I do have some shots of the internals, but I'll leave those for headinclounds to post if he so chooses. It's his baby. I'm just a caretaker chinsetta - I am listening with a pair of Koss ESP-950's using a Koss to Stax adapter cable. The DAC is a Beresford Caiman MkII...nothing terribly fancy, but I find it's a very good converter especially at its price point. HS

I'm a happy camper... headinclouds FTW.... HS

That smacks of wickedness....I'm jealous. KGST should land shortly as it's now in TX and I'll see what she brings. HS

That's a good size for those with space challenges. I'm not too bothered about height but the lateral dimensions I need to manage. Cheers. HS

Very neat design. What size footprint do you figure on the box, realistically? HS

Sadly that's not the only thread with a lot of the issues described. There's been some fairly useful tests as well proving it's not a bandwidth on the user's side issue. I love the idea of a streaming higher res service. Once they work through the issues, it will be great. I figure a model whereby they charge more and they can't deliver is not sustainable for long... HS

El amplificador te salio super bien, Jose. Felicidades! Saludos, Sam

Yummy chow! HS

I love the idea of 4070's. Heavy and lack of adjustability kept me from buying a pair that sold local recently. They were in stunning shape. HS

That's going to leave a mark.... HS

Damn that looks nice! I can't wait to get my hands on mine. HS

Bienvenido Fernando. Saludos, Sam

ChrisX, I can only share my experience with the Koss ESP-950's I purchased directly from Koss during one of their sales late last year. They arrived in great shape and were perfect. Very plasticky...LOL, but no issues whatsoever with either the leather carrier, the cables (both those on cans and the extension), or the E90 amp. By the look of it, yours got beat up in transit, perhaps before they even left the seller. I expect you could bend the headband, but I would be extremely careful if you want to do so given the plastic that holds the cups. Perhaps remove the cups first and then you can try to adjust if you elect to go that route. Best of luck. HS

I did read the opening email and lurked as directed. Gently waded in when I needed a bit of technical help and was greeted kindly. Have been enjoying the posts and the forum as it reminds me of a niche muscle car forum I belong to. Sorry I missed the Cuban sandwich title. I don't always get it right....move too fast sometimes. Just got excited seeing Cuban food as it's my heritage. I'll step out of the thread as I seem to have irritated the natives. My bad. Sam

Didn't realize I needed to explain myself, but I obviously missed the opening line. Did I piss in your cheerios? Sam

Those pics were making me hungry but the Cuban with the black beans in the background put me over the top. I guess there's more to Sliddel than I would have guessed. HS