Torpedo

Are you planning to use the Sowters for the PS and the balanced to SE conversion or just for the second? I can't say myself, I need Picaudio or Hitori to show up. On the other hand it depends on the savings and what Sowter says about sending some trannies to Spain directly, maybe it doesn't make it any more expensive for you, so it saves us the risk of paying custom duties for an European product and the sure cost of shipping from US. Trannies are heavy

Precisely that's one of the reasons I'm not very sure about trying damping just parts of the driver. I'm not sure this driver produces more bass or treble in some areas of its membrane, I imagine it behaving as a piston moving back and forth, floating into the field created by the two sandwiched magnets. So if I damp its vibration only in some zones, maybe I'm creating resonating nodes and breaking points on the membrane, which could affect negatively its performance. I see damping it just as a way to limiting its backwards motion to increase its stiffness, so it can respond faster to the changing signal and also has less excursion (hence less delivery) on low frequencies. This is what I think I'm hearing now, a faster driver, having less bass output so the treble shows off better. I think I didn't get as a good result with the single 6mm felt layer because I didn't use any glue or tape to attach it to the back of the driver. Just adding 3 small pieces of tape to hold the felt in place against the driver, has provided better damping still in that good point where dynamic impact, frequency distribution and midrange clarity meet a quite good balance. Maybe I can bring out the upper treble a bit more, but then I'd be very close to make them sibilant or suffocating them dynamically. So perhaps before trying more damping or reflex dots, I'd better see what happens using bigger circumaural pads when I get them.

Oh no, not more options please hahaha I think I'm just going to try an additional layer of the medium density, and then using the phones for a while if this works well. Then if I still feel it can be pushed beyond, I might try a smaller disc of the high density felt. The damn thing is really dense.

Well, I think I've got quite a decent result by using the 6mm medium density felt in a single disc which I keep held against the driver using just 3 small pieces of tape at 120

Well, not a big problem, just need to change wires

An update. The high density felt is too high density, it damps the driver too much and while the treble shows off better, the midrange is still good and the bass is less present, I get dead dynamics. All the fun factor and jump into the music character I love in the T30s is gone Looks like I was very lucky on the first trial with the medium density felt using a thick 6mm layer, which provided the right amount of damping. I'm afraid that I can't get much better than yesterday just damping the drivers and the enclosure. Time to try other scheme. I hope the threads for the screws holding the drivers can stand such back and forth.

Does it have any selector to let the signal out to be only SE or balanced, or can you use both outputs at the same time? If you can use both outs at the same time the only "problem" with such circuit could be that the hot out in the balanced output, and the SE active would be "seeing" the input impedance of the two preamps/integrated/headamps you were using in parallel, while the cold rail of the XLR output would see just the balanced pre/amp input impedance. While this is quite a minor concern, it could have some audible consequences. To avoid this it would be advisable to use only either the SE or XLR outs and having only one pre/amp connected to the chosen one.

Yesterday night I listened to a couple of CDs damped just with the one layer of 6mm thick medium density felt. The sound is damn good timbre wise, voices really sound to die for, bass is deep, still excessive but damn fast and very resolving kind of "that must be a Fender Jazz bass and that other one a Fender Precision" completely separated from the kick drum and all other bass sources including synthetic ones. However the treble still lacks some shimmer and "air". Considering previous experience with other cans like Grados using flats, bowls, etc and the L3000 adding spacers under the pads, I'm not sure at all that placing the drivers further from the ears just brings out more treble. For sure it will do, but it might spoil the spot on timbre in the midrange. I tried other supra-aural thick pads I have around over the stock modified ones and midrange went away, not a good result, however with circumaurals which left the driver closer to the ear, it could be a spot on change. I'm going to try more aggressive damping with the high density felt closer to the driver and using the medium density one for the enclosure. We'll see, perhaps I lose some deep bass (just having less won't harm) but if midrange stays as is and I get more extended, shimmery and airy treble, I'll be done for damping. The T30 are my first and only pair of orthos. I'm liking them enough to try more, but not sure what. Maybe the T50V2 (Nad, etc) are too bassy for my taste, so I'd be better served with the newer T50RP, or I just keep an eye wide open for T50V1 or YH-1000 Kabeer, thanks for your observation about the reflex dots. I don't think I'd be using them so far. IMO reflecting the backwave back to the driver, which is a membrane completely separating the back from the front side, would cause more cancellations and trouble than benefits, maybe that explains why you find them congesting the sound. My intuition says that having a bit more damping on the driver by using more dense felt, can make it even faster and perhaps decreasing a bit the total amount of bass. If this works as expected, I'll be quite happy

Hi Kabeer, Thanks for your reply. For resonances and backwave control I think the thick felt is working irreproachably, I haven't noticed any of the minor resonances I was able to hear before, and the bass is as tight, fast and clean as I could wish. I hate to recognize it, but I'd say it's more proper bass than PS-1's quality wise, mostly for the unbelievable resolution the T30s have there. However I could try the high density felt closer to the driver and adding a second layer to fill completely the back chamber as it is now with the thick disc. I'm waiting to get some big pads to get the same effect than I managed when trying the CD3000's pads. I know it works wonders to bring out the treble and providing stage depth and "air". However the closer I can get to that just by damping the driver properly, the better will be the final result IMO. It's just that I'd like to save as many trials dismounting the driver as possible to avoid damaging the enclosure.

Blackmore, I find difficult to know if they're using every triode into the ECC82 for the output, so every tube can deal with both rails of the balanced path, or whether they're using just one triode and only one rail is "tubed". The late makes little sense, but who knows. I'm not sure at this moment if the SE outputs go tubed or not. Are they? In this case the whole balanced path could be not tubed and being fed by those 4 discrete transistors which we can see in your last pic, which are the same showed in the first and second.

Well, my first post as an official ortho club member I got the T30s from Faust3D and while I could appreciate many good qualities in them, they weren't sounding really astonishing or like a wonderful dynamic-electrostatic hybrid as I was expecting. At that moment I was using the Gilmore Reference. There was punchy, fast and quite clear bass, but excessive. There was organic midrange, with good timbre, and also fast clear treble, but recessed, not extended and kind of too fast decaying. I could anticipate there was speed and resolution somewhere, but overall they behaved like warm non fatiguing cans, though quite upfront and with no stage depth to speak of. At that point I started to do some trials with other pads and putting the CD3000's over them improved comfort -one of the weakest points of these cans- and made the presentation more airy, with deeper stage. The most noticeable and favorable effect was getting more treble and making the presentation more balanced. However using the CD3000's pads over them was quite impractical since there's no way to keep them in place unless I glued them. Then the Beta 22 arrived. Looks like a lot of power had the bass improved, being cleaner, clearer, faster, though still excessive. So I decided to work on the stock pads to see if I could get some of the benefits I noticed when using the CD3000's ones. I placed foam rings beneath the pads and the driver, and glued bovine leather rings over those 70's vinyl pads, so the contact on the ears skin is way more agreeable and managed to get the drivers slightly further from them. Nice improvement but not quite the same as using the thicker bigger pads. I suppose I'd need to find adequate pads to get where I'd like to be, but it's not an easy task. Fortunately I've spotted a shop where they have the 9cm of diameter ones which could fit. I would get them along this week. This afternoon we went to a shop where the only deal with felt of all imaginable thicknesses, densities, colors... I got pieces of medium density in different thickness, and also high density one, but they had just 3 or 8mm thick, so just got the 3mm one. As for now I've replaced the old stock fiber damping piece with 6mm medium density felt. Finally I've got the bass at a more sensible level, still a bit excessive, but not obscuring the midrange and allowing the treble to show off a little more. Since I don't completely trust my own ears when trying tweaks and "improvements" I've asked my wife to listen to the cans. She just had listened them when I made the pads more comfy and thicker, and she didn't like them, too much bass and too dark sound for her taste. When listening after placing the felt, her face looked more like this then like this Looks like we're going in the right direction. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the T30 enclosure. Its shape allows little space for damping, unless you want to compress the wire. I'm considering to change the single 6mm medium density disc for two 3mm discs, one of medium density felt and the other of high density. I'd be thankful if any of you could suggest what would be better to get a bit less bass and helping the treble to "develop" so the whole thing is more balanced. Would you use the higher density felt closer to the driver or would you use the mid density one in that place? Would you use some reflecting material (like aluminum foil) between them? I know I can try it myself and then reporting, but these cans are 30 years old and I don't think the old plastic frame will stand many unscrewing-screwing cycles on the two points the driver is hold to it, so I'd rather try first the things that should work better to get the results I'd like. Advanced thanks for your hints

- Coaxial connectors and wire to make the umbilical from the little Pinkie V2 to the X-Cans V2 which a friend who had them on loan lost. - Felt of 3mm, 6mm, 8mm and 3mm high density to start damping the T30 and see what happens. - A pair of shoes for the wife. She saw them in a shop window and looked so amazed that I couldn't help buying them

Ahmad Jamal - It's magic [2008]

I don't think that much. If the GS1000 are selling for about 1000-1200 euros (975 at an online shop in Spain), I guess the PS1000 will be at 1600-1800 euros, possibly less once the novelty calms down. Are they available for purchase and prompt delivery yet in the US?

Very Happy Birthday mate!!!! I wish you a great one indeed

LOL I would

Interesting new things... I wonder how Zanth has been able to determine how the soundwave gets nice resonances from the wood and then expands freely for the metal... If driver

Which were the others? just in case

Applied some mods to the T30 pads, then went to in-laws for lunch, spent the afternoon there... nice meal indeed my mom in law is a good cook. Gonna see if the mods improve long term comfort and make any changes in sound.

Yep, just for your information, when using the T30 I'm better served using the B22 in the no attenuated mode and I don't listen loud. Those things eat power like Apogees.

Start hunting Deepak. I only have the T30s orthos. They sound quite good from the Gilmore Ref, but the B22 really drives them, stopped thinking about damping them. If I could only get the right pads for these things...

Have a great one mate!!!!

You're going to make me feel a lucky guilty bitch Of course it's clear I was joking, this puppy doesn't suck at all. Probably the best headphone amp has visited this place so far. If overkill has a paradigm, a B22 definitely is.

Yep, I don't know if it's because it's good enough to make previous owners to wish getting a balanced one with "moar blackgates", or because it sucks and everybody gets rid of the poor thing

Recently I purchased a B22 from Spritzer. The unit was built by Nate, so it's a nice Nugget Audio 3 boards + 1 Sigma 22, single ended, 8x gain unit, made to work on 230VAC. Apart from exquisite care to avoid hum and lower the noise floor, it features a dual input to select from two sources from a rear switch. Spritzer had changed this feature to a loop, so the switch was disabled and while one of the inputs is used, the other one works as an output. I point this because that switch resulted a handy addition. The amp works very well and sounds great with all of my cans, but as time living with it passed, I started to feel annoyed for the fact that being my source 3V output and the gain 8x, it was very difficult to get a comfortable listening SPL when using phones with more than 97dB/mW sensitivity, so almost everything in my stash but the Fostex T30. The volume pot is a nice Noble which Spritzer used to replace the original Alps that Nate mounted, which had become noisy according to Spritzer. This Noble is a 10KOhm pot, quite well matched in all of its range but very low level when high attenuation is used. So my problem was that to get a comfortable SPL I had to get it working at a point a bit above the minimum, passing the point where the right channel sounded louder than the left one. But that was a very narrow spot, a bit above that, or when listening to recent recordings (the ones being very compressed and produced at almost 0dB all the time) sound became to be too loud for me. To be more descriptive, I'd say that my usable range with most cans was between 6:30 and 7:15, and with the T30 from 6:30 to 9:00 depending on the recordings. Otherwise I was listening too loud and after a couple of discs, tinnitus appeared I'm no DIYer and have little electronics knowledge, so I contacted n_maher and Spritzer to advise me about which of these choices would be preferable: - Lowering the whole unit's gain to 4x or 2x - Changing the volume control for a stepped attenuator which customized, provided more attenuation than usual in the 5-10 first steps of its range. - Adding extra attenuation at the input. The first choice, lowering the gain is a lot of work. You need to change 4 caps and 2 resistors on both channel boards, and then adjust a trim resistor to get 0 DC offset on each board. It's doable, but still could be not enough and would leave the unit less practical for speakers use or if using very insensitive cans like K1000. Not one of my plans but who knows. The second choice was quite interesting, but a custom attenuator would be rather expensive. So it seemed the third option was the easiest and more affordable. While thinking about it, Spritzer suggested me to contact Ti at AMB Labs so maybe he could advise other alternatives or how implementing them. Ti replied really fast and very helpfully that an interesting work around would be implementing a switchable attenuator, so in one position I would leave the signal untouched and the gain set at 8x, while at the other position, the signal would undergo attenuation provided by one in series resistor and other paralleled resistor. Their values should be calculated depending on the volume control's impedance and desired level of attenuation. The scheme is this: The explanation was posted by Ti at Headwize some time ago. I told all this to my friend Juan Ramon (Hitoridekimasu here) then he came to my place with some parts, his own diagram on how to implement it, and his multimeter which is way better than mine, to match the resistors and check everything was right. By applying this formula: . Rb At= -------------------------- *(see foot) . ( Rb