Sherwood

Those binding posts look like solid brass as well. Not that it surprises me, but I'm glad they didn't just stick some WBT clones on there.

I'll likely get flamed for this because the price truly is outrageous, but those things look like heaven inside. They anneal their own wire. It's probably not worth it, but it IS dedication. The material costs are astronomical, and I'll bet it sounds incredible. I've never had the opportunity to hear one, but I'd really like to. The amp doesn't seem to follow the copper Faraday cage principle that the preamp does -- any reason you can think of?

Troymypatience ... Sovshiller ... you guys sound like Rush Limbaugh.

Unfortunately, you will soon destroy your headphones. This is inevitable. All I suggest you do is send them to me, and I will take care of them for you.

Were I him, I'd figure out a way to trickle one of these out every three months or so, and start selling them by proxies and through various outlets.

I bet $4k ABSOLUTELY makes a difference in John's bottom line. The materials are all proprietary, and the assumption is that these are NOS pairs, meaning their production expense is on books that are years old. That's almost pure profit. I bet he makes about $20 on a pair of SR-60s, if that. That works out to, what, 200 some odd pairs of SR-60s? He's not moving enough units to write that off as a novelty -- that's rel money to anyone with a mortgage. If he's making the things out of tweaked GS-1k drivers and milling new housings, all the better. At that price I'm never buying one ever, so more power to him.

Incidentally, it'll likely outperform most of the $300 portable amps on the market, so in that sense it will be a success. Really getting down to the nuts and bolts of this thing, there's little he did that I don't expect out of almost any manufacturer of mid-fi gear. Real legitimate theft is not off the table, and this is hardly that bad. I'm certainly not buying his version, but I can comprehend a real market that would and their decision is fine with me.

*POOF*

I've tried the Cleartops and the Toshiba, and I definitely preferred the Toshiba. I can't speak to extension, as it seemed decent with both tubes on my (your) Lambdas, but the clarity was much increased with the Toshiba. The amp got out of the way better. The necessary 45-minute warm up made A/B comparisons difficult, but I had a blind preference for the Toshiba.

The answer to your question is no, there is no consolidated post. There is also no consolidated opinion. Use the links others have given you, and click the little "<< First" on the top of this thread.

As of yet, the Ken behind the curtain remains moot on why his amp is worth double what Thrice is charging. We wait in rapt attention.

I'm pleased with the thrashing he's currently receiving over on HF. Everything from "it's overpriced" to "why are you putting caps in the signal path" to "why are you stealing someone else's amp?" Expect that thread closed.

I'd offer to sell it to you, but what's the point? Your BHSE will run circles around it, and I kinda like having it around. Your SRM1-mk2 would probably tide me over forever had I not heard the SRM-T1, though.

Now seems like a great time to buy an ESP950 if you use the pseudo-sketch 30% off anything at ebay m$ cashback.

Though it's not in the same league as the Pico, Headroom's Total Bithead has a built in DAC and two separate headphone jacks. They're tied together internally so they share a volume control, but it's a reasonably elegant option for ~$150.

3 words: Mikhail. has. those.

So are you saving your remaining T2 funds (after paying off the BHSE) for pasta or something, Birgir? From what I've been reading about Iceland, it would appear that Kaupthing is on the verge of repossessing people's organs and wills to live.

Soloz, I love the selection of mid 90s Christian pop highlighted in your CD cabinet. Audio Adrenaline? check. DC talk? check. Pan right for some Newsboys and Petra.

If you're staying in a hotel, you're not actually seeing Phish. Phish requires you to sleep in a tent in a makeshift potemkin village littered with gooballs, NOS balloons and guys who only make burritos from 2AM-5AM. I'm confident that is not fully booked yet

That just tickles me.

Asr, If you'd like, I'd be happy to loan you my SRM-T1 in place of your SRM1-mk2 for awhile, so long as yours isn't the PP (pro jacks only) model. It's bone stock, save for the upgraded Japanese Matsushita tubes / RCA cleartops. From what I understand, it's Birgir's favorite o2 Stax amp, save the SRM-717. He'll no doubt chime in here with how superior the KGSS is, and how superior the BHSE is to that, etc. but I have neither of those for you to borrow. I have my ulterior motive, of course, in that I'd love to hear the O2 for a few days... I'll be at RMAF all weekend -- if you're there we can swap

You got scooped, Stealth. They make their cables out of carbon nanotubes or room temperature superfluids, though, so there's probably still room for good ol' magic copper.

That, and blowing 10 grand on two amps

Hey Spritz, What kind of mods have you performed on your SRM-T1? Anything aside from rewiring the input/output and replacing the panel jacks with something better? I ordered some NOS raytheon japan tubes, but I'd love to get the rest of the parts ordered before the stock market bottoms out and they repossess my lungs.

Well, no pics but I recently retuned from Sigur Ros at Red Rocks, my local ampitheater. Unlike their previous tours, they were utterly without accompaniment, which complimented Red Rocks' incredibly clean sound quite well. The energy was compelling, the crowd interaction was surprising, and the whole thing kicked ass. Highly recommended.