n_maher Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 I will be curious to see if he used a male connector on the amp end of the umbilical again...
Duggeh Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Does it ultimately matter which way around the umbilical cable faces?
Smeggy Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Stop being so sexist, they're actually transgendered connections.
spritzer Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Does it ultimately matter which way around the umbilical cable faces? Yes. Most people don't realize that capacitors hold charge for a long time so once the equipment is off they believe it to be safe. Touching the exposed pins is just as bad as touching the terminals on the capacitors them selfs.
n_maher Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Does it ultimately matter which way around the umbilical cable faces? Considering the voltages that would be exposed if say the power supply was on and the umbilical only attached to the PS, yes, I'd say it matters. Or if the connector on the back of the ps has male pins and it was on and no cable attached, well, you get the picture. It's not hard to do it the safe way (IMO).
nikongod Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 I would say a singlepower amp with no fuse and random wallwarts in the PSU has a higher chance of causing a fire than the A-10. way to derail a thread, I thought we left head-fi to keep clear of this shit. there are plenty of threads here and there to muckrake in. Most wallwarts integrate the fuse into the transformer in various ways: saying "no fuse" is incorrect. what you meant to cut and paste was DR. gilmore's recommendation elsewhere that a fuse be placed in the DC rails to the actual audio stage. with alarmingly few exceptions, no wall wart is more likely than ANY manufacturered PS to cause a fire. The safety of rail fuses in an amp with bipolar supplies and whether they would even blow predictably in a class-A circuit and in a way which would prevent further damage to the speaker and amp is very questionable. in fact, you only need to look at the raptor to see a case where the B+ fuse blows somewhat randomly, although generally at NYC meets. fortunately, its a single supply amp with cap coupled outputs... on the other hand with a dual supply (+ and - voltages) when you blow one rail, the output goes to the live rail... good luck with that across your headphones. back to bashing RSA, its much more fun.
recstar24 Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 (edited) Well, (a) I was being snarky; ( attacking Singlepower at this point is like kicking a dead horse when it's down; © attacking Singlepower to throw off the attack of RSA is ... well, like beating a dead horse -- let's not compare oranges to apples that have fallen off the tree long enough ago to start to rot; (d) RSA has done nothing to reinstate my confidence in RSA -- fire, electrical, or otherwise. I didn't like the way he handled that, and I am particularly suspect when higher voltages are involved. I am merely stating my skepticism, which -- under the circumstances -- is apt. I understand where your coming from - I would say a fear for a very expensive out of production headphone is probably a more reasonable, logical, grounded fear than that of house or electrical fire, even with the higher voltages at play. Of course if the headphone itself catches on fire which then causes a massive fire that is another thing in and of itself. So I do acknowledge the skepticism that is present, I just think it should be more focused on the sound quality/circuit aspect, and not necessarily the UL listed certification/possible house burning aspect. EDIT: The above is assuming that most amp manufacturers actually do follow UL guidelines for electrical. I don't think its that much of a major issue and even if an amp manufacturers doesn't follow it by the book the possible chance of actual electrical fire I would imagine is very nil. Edited March 31, 2009 by recstar24
LFF Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 I agree. With the B52 costing $5,350 (mind numbing) it is tough to figure how he could possibly price the A10 lower than the BHSE. You mean to say that the B52 isn't worth the asking price? What is cheaper and better than a B52?
kevin gilmore Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Whoa, wait a minute... The burned components in the pictures of the SS1 clearly should have popped the fuses, if there were any. That is way more power than the amp should have pulled. With respect to the rest, amb did a very nice circuit which i continue to use that monitors any dc to the speaker/headphones, and dumps them for safety. That kind of circuit should be in all otl amplifiers, tubes or solid state. OK, resume RSA bashing...
recstar24 Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 You mean to say that the B52 isn't worth the asking price? What is cheaper and better than a B52? Damn man, for a couple of hundred more (which is minimal at that point you probably can afford even more expensive) the TTVJ 307a is a no-brainer. I have no idea what Craig asked for his Balancing act but I think 3200-3500 tossed around. Even looking outside headphone amps I could probably get a killer preamp with remote AND power amp for that price figure. If you wanted to source a SP XLR from a reputable source and if it was part of the series when Mikhail actually did quality safe work (a la Voltron's) then I believe that would still be cheaper. I think even if someone wanted to take that $5000 and break it down to a quality preamp with remote and a quality headphone amp separate you would still be looking at stellar performance for under the price of the b52
LFF Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Damn man, for a couple of hundred more (which is minimal at that point you probably can afford even more expensive) the TTVJ 307a is a no-brainer. I have no idea what Craig asked for his Balancing act but I think 3200-3500 tossed around. Even looking outside headphone amps I could probably get a killer preamp with remote AND power amp for that price figure. If you wanted to source a SP XLR from a reputable source and if it was part of the series when Mikhail actually did quality safe work (a la Voltron's) then I believe that would still be cheaper. I think even if someone wanted to take that $5000 and break it down to a quality preamp with remote and a quality headphone amp separate you would still be looking at stellar performance for under the price of the b52 WOW. I'm so out of the loop.
Dusty Chalk Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 (edited) I understand where your coming from - I would say a fear for a very expensive out of production headphone is probably a more reasonable, logical, grounded fear than that of house or electrical fire, even with the higher voltages at play. Of course if the headphone itself catches on fire which then causes a massive fire that is another thing in and of itself. So I do acknowledge the skepticism that is present, I just think it should be more focused on the sound quality/circuit aspect, and not necessarily the UL listed certification/possible house burning aspect.When I said, "it's not even my house", what I meant to say was, "I don't want to listen to it, much less subject my headphones -- expensive or otherwise -- plus a house that's not even mine -- to the (admittedly unknown) dangers". I'm not worried about fires, I'm worried about the unknown. If I had more confidence in him as an engineer, then I wouldn't; but I don't, so I do. Edited March 31, 2009 by Dusty Chalk
n_maher Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 You mean to say that the B52 isn't worth the asking price? What is cheaper and better than a B52? Is that an earnest question? If so, I'll answer it.
LFF Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Is that an earnest question? If so, I'll answer it. Yes. I don't know much about the DIY scene or many other alternatives. A little over a year ago I was saving up to buy an Apache.
Dreadhead Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Yes. I don't know much about the DIY scene or many other alternatives. A little over a year ago I was saving up to buy an Apache. If you're looking at SS then the GS-X is kick ass. The balanced ultra desktop looks pretty good too.
justin Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Whoa, wait a minute... The burned components in the pictures of the SS1 clearly should have popped the fuses, if there were any. That is way more power than the amp should have pulled. With respect to the rest, amb did a very nice circuit which i continue to use that monitors any dc to the speaker/headphones, and dumps them for safety. That kind of circuit should be in all otl amplifiers, tubes or solid state. OK, resume RSA bashing... All of the wall-warts in the SS1 had fuses soldered to their boards, but they were too large to blow
justin Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 edit: but we dont know if the wall-warts were the original PSU
krmathis Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 have you read krmathis's demands on this? It must also be the same size as the Pico, which can't even fit a Stax jack on the front panel, creating difficulties. Well, Justin. I actually said ... Ideally as small as your Pico". But I understand such a small size would mean too many compromises when it comes to sound quality and battery time. So something bigger, like example the Stax SRM-252II, would still do it for me. I understand that it can't be made as small as your Pico and have a Stax Pro bias jack built in. So either it has to be bigger or use some kind of adapter cable to/from a smaller jack.
HeadphoneAddict Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 I like the way the sides look with those parallel bars. That's something I don't think I've seen on an amp before. Am I the only one that doesn't like when volume knobs are on the left hand side and headphone jacks are on the right? That always bothers me a little. It's not a deal breaker (I'd happily take the Wheatfield HA-2), but I much prefer it the other way. I also do not like the volume on the left and headphone out on the right, but that is something I'll have to live with on my ZDT - not a deal breaker. I have one of those and it runs about 9-10 hours on a charge, and the AD8599 opamp upgrade and caps upgrades really do help it sound wonderful. Audiocats is a wizard at modding the SR-001 (not shilling, I paid full price for my mods). HeadphoneAddict, I believe: Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio - View Single Post - Which is the best amp for the Omega II? Edit: is "A-10" not a valid search term at HF? & fail I promise I will not be turned into a shill for the A-10. I got my maxed GES and O2 shortly after I posted that I would get a review sample of the A-10, and even with my love for the GES I have posted a few times that sometimes a speaker amp and SRD-7 Pro is better with the O2 than the GES. But, I can still enjoy the O2 on the GES now that I have the right source for it - so what happens if I enjoy the A-10 as well? Total ridicule coming my way I suspect. I have no real knowledge about it, but my guess is that after most of the older, respected members at HF left or stopped posting, suddenly he found himself in the spotlight and it went to his head. Now he thinks that he's an important person in the headphone world and that its his job to build interest in it. And he takes his job seriously. You guys are so mean
krmathis Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Thats because he's a fucking idiot. Oh my! Why the bad language? What have I really done you wrong?
n_maher Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Yes. I don't know much about the DIY scene or many other alternatives. A little over a year ago I was saving up to buy an Apache. Ignore DIY, in this price bracket (up to $5k) I wouldn't bother with DIY. The choices for a high quality preamp are numerous, but having heard few I'd recommend having a chat with the likes of tyrion, Voltron, and a whole host of others before assuming that the B52 is the best money can buy. Something like the BAT VK3i springs to mind as costing less and including remote control as an option.
LFF Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Ignore DIY, in this price bracket (up to $5k) I wouldn't bother with DIY. The choices for a high quality preamp are numerous, but having heard few I'd recommend having a chat with the likes of tyrion, Voltron, and a whole host of others before assuming that the B52 is the best money can buy. Something like the BAT VK3i springs to mind as costing less and including remote control as an option. Thanks for the info! I got some reading to do!
mirumu Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 I have one of those and it runs about 9-10 hours on a charge, and the AD8599 opamp upgrade and caps upgrades really do help it sound wonderful. Audiocats is a wizard at modding the SR-001 (not shilling, I paid full price for my mods). You're using it with the supplied SR-001 headphones I take it and not one of larger Stax models? I've tried driving the SR-007 from the SRM-252A, but the amp is too underpowered to wake the headphone up properly. I promise I will not be turned into a shill for the A-10. I got my maxed GES and O2 shortly after I posted that I would get a review sample of the A-10, and even with my love for the GES I have posted a few times that sometimes a speaker amp and SRD-7 Pro is better with the O2 than the GES. But, I can still enjoy the O2 on the GES now that I have the right source for it - so what happens if I enjoy the A-10 as well? Total ridicule coming my way I suspect. If after listening you genuinely think the A-10 sounds better than the GES then say that. SRD-7 Pro comparisons are welcome too although of course will be dependent on the amp being used. If you have more to compare then all the better. Someone who isn't a shill will tell us the good, the bad and the ugly. I admit I'd be surprised if the A-10 is a good match for the SR-007 given what we can surmise so far, and given Ray's track record, but stranger things have happened.
spritzer Posted March 31, 2009 Report Posted March 31, 2009 Lets just look past how cheap and nasty the preamp section is in the B52 and there is a whole world of choice at this price point, either SS or tube. Many will easily drive headphones from the pre-outs as well. If you want some brands then BAT like Nate suggested plus vintage Krell, ML, Spectral, Pass, ARC, C-J etc. I promise I will not be turned into a shill for the A-10. I got my maxed GES and O2 shortly after I posted that I would get a review sample of the A-10, and even with my love for the GES I have posted a few times that sometimes a speaker amp and SRD-7 Pro is better with the O2 than the GES. But, I can still enjoy the O2 on the GES now that I have the right source for it - so what happens if I enjoy the A-10 as well? Total ridicule coming my way I suspect. If you start with any burn-in crap then the ridicule will come. If you like the A-10 then that's fine but you should try and find a SRM-717 to use as a comparison since it manages to do an ok job with the Omegas at less then 1k$ used.
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