smellygas Posted August 17, 2009 Report Posted August 17, 2009 Can anyone suggest the dirt cheapest amp that will adequately drive the O2's? Will the SRM-252 work?
HeadphoneAddict Posted August 17, 2009 Report Posted August 17, 2009 Can anyone suggest the dirt cheapest amp that will adequately drive the O2's? Will the SRM-252 work? No, and they told you that at the other forum too. The answer is the same here. Sorry to disappoint you. You need a minimum of a Woo GES, SRM-T1 or SRD-7 Mk2 with an 8-12 watt speaker amp, and those are still not optimal (GES is the best of those three). An RSA A-10 at the local meet 3 weeks ago did do a slightly better job than my GES with the O2 Mk1, but there are concerns here at this forum that the tubes are over driven (still sounds good with O2 Mk1, not Mk2). The SRM-717, KGSS or KGBH are the typical recommended starting point for "adequate", and the new Woo WES seems to do a good job as well (I heard it at CanJam and it was very nice with O2 Mk2). The Headamp KGBH SE was the best I've heard with the O2 Mk1 no question about it.
smellygas Posted August 17, 2009 Author Report Posted August 17, 2009 No, and they told you that at the other forum too. The answer is the same here. Sorry to disappoint you. You need a minimum of a Woo GES, SRM-T1 or SRD-7 Mk2 with an 8-12 watt speaker amp, and those are still not optimal. LOL. Anyone try the SRM-1 (normal bias) or the SRM-3?
Deadneddz Posted August 17, 2009 Report Posted August 17, 2009 Didn't you already receive an answer at the other forum regarding the srm-252? I think that it was pretty clear that those who have listened to the O2s with the srm-252 thought it was very inadequate. Im using the srm-t1 as a transition amp for the moment and imo it doesn't do the job either. After about 9 o'clock on the dial images start to solidify and it runs out of juice quickly. If I was going your route, I would think about investing in the srm-717 as a baseline and possibly think about investing in an aftermarket amp later on. Skimping on source and amplification with the O2s just doesn't make sense and is not going to give you good results price to performance wise imo. If you want to go dirt cheap look elsewhere, not the O2s.
cetoole Posted August 17, 2009 Report Posted August 17, 2009 Why would you use a normal bias amplifier with the SR007? That said, the SRM-1/mk2 is pretty good I feel, at least as a stopgap. It is what I am using right now.
atothex Posted August 17, 2009 Report Posted August 17, 2009 I hope this is a temporary thing. Otherwise, why bother with O2s?
cetoole Posted August 17, 2009 Report Posted August 17, 2009 Until I can build a KGSS and some stuff.
atothex Posted August 17, 2009 Report Posted August 17, 2009 Until I can build a KGSS and some stuff. Oops. Not directed at you. I know you can actually build stuff. OP can't.
catscratch Posted August 17, 2009 Report Posted August 17, 2009 This has been answered many times before. The search engine won't bite you if you ask it politely. IMO you need at the very least a 717, or an SRD-7 Pro/Mk2 transformer box - which is more difficult to find - and a decent speaker amp behind it. You could get something weaker but then you're wasting your money since you'll get better sound for the same $ elsewhere.
smellygas Posted August 17, 2009 Author Report Posted August 17, 2009 Okay, thanks for the info. I think there were only 2 or 3 people who heard the SRM-252 + SR-007 combo over in the other forum, and 1 of them thought it was fine. So far nobody here. Perhaps one of you knowledgable people can explain what makes the bigger, more expensive amps sound better with the SR-007? Electrostatic headphones are predominantly an capacitative load and the current draw is on the order of ~100microamps. What electronic/electrical aspect of the pricey amps makes them superior to the less expensive stax amps?
Tachikoma Posted August 17, 2009 Report Posted August 17, 2009 Generally the pricier amps swing more voltage and can handle more current... or thats what I hear anyway. I wouldn't say that the SR-007 is particularly BAD on the T1. Even with the T1S supposedly holding it back, it handily trounces everything else I have (SR-X Pro, SR-Xmk3, SR-3, Lambda Sig). Ok fine that wasn't reaally relevant but the T1 is relatively cheap for an O2 amp.
padam Posted August 17, 2009 Report Posted August 17, 2009 I tend to agree completely. But after hearing it with a 717, one can instantly tell that it is an amp that was designed with the O2 in mind.
Guest gilency Posted August 18, 2009 Report Posted August 18, 2009 Is this the same guy who raised a raucous at the other site? WTH?
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