The Headcase Stax thread

[spritzer]

I'm pretty sure that Justin has no desire to me mistaken for Pass Labs.

That's not what I meant but comparison in build quality with Pass Labs is a great honor, something Justin fully deserves.

The current sources will be replaced with the IXYS parts in the amp & PSU, and I might try a few other devices that KG has suggested for the output devices. The 1st 2 stages will become a small surface mount module, with 2sa1156 replaced with the higher voltage 2sa1413. the 2sk389 will be the lsk389 from linear systems

Sounds great. I've never been completely happy with the sound of the stock KGSS I built though it has many redeeming qualities. I take it will be built on a single PCB with the everything incorporated such as the Aristaeus and the KGBH SE?

[n_maher]

comparison in build quality with Pass Labs is a great honor, something Justin fully deserves.

Agreed, his work is phenomenal.

[kevin gilmore]

I'm pretty sure that Justin has no desire to me mistaken for Pass Labs.

I would think that being compared to the greats such as Nelson Pass,

James Bongiorno, Dan D'Agostino and Charles Hansen would definitely be

a good thing.

[spritzer]

I would think that being compared to the greats such as Nelson Pass,

James Bongiorno, Dan D'Agostino and Charles Hansen would definitely be

a good thing.

Nelson Pass is indeed one of the greats. A skilled designer that is willing to try new things, doesn't hide behind some marketing BS and shares his designs when he's done with them.

[n_maher]

I took the comment to mean from an aesthetic perspective, not design.

[postjack]

I took the comment to mean from an aesthetic perspective, not design.

well its true then. nate is brilliant.

[n_maher]

well its true then. nate is brilliant.

I agree, completely.

[deepak]

[me=deepak]wishes he had monies to have one of the MoTs build him a Pearl phono [/me]

[Salt Peanuts]

[me=deepak]wishes he had monies to have one of the MoTs build him a Pearl phono [/me]

Sell your kidney.

[justin]

[me=deepak]wishes he had monies to have one of the MoTs build him a Pearl phono [/me]

Why stop there, build the Xono

There was a group buy on boards on diyaudio years ago

maybe here? http://www.r-stens.de/diy/AlephOno/diy_aleph_ono_en.php

[spritzer]

Who needs a XONO when I have my very own modular Stax phonostage in the SRA-3S...??

[luvdunhill]

Why stop there, build the Xono

yup, I've built one of those

[luvdunhill]

The current sources will be replaced with the IXYS parts in the amp & PSU, and I might try a few other devices that KG has suggested for the output devices. The 1st 2 stages will become a small surface mount module, with 2sa1156 replaced with the higher voltage 2sa1413. the 2sk389 will be the lsk389 from linear systems

justin:

My vote is to try the Analog MAT02 for the front end. I think it sounds fantastic, if you lower the input impedance a tad. I cannot get any LSK devices, or I'd love to try them... Linear just ignores me :( I thought Newark was picking up the entire Linear line, but they don't seem to be selling them ... sigh...

Also, this is strange (perhaps Kevin can comment) but in the KGSS it seems that the 2sa1156 positions sound better when closely matched. I matched all of my transistors like +- 2 hfe across both channels (yes, I had a lot of devices and even more spare time).. I swapped out the 2sa1156 for some 2sa1968 that weren't matched at all and then played around with a matched pair and went back and tried unmatched 2sa1156... i swear I could tell the difference... very strange.

[luvdunhill]

Quote from: justin on Today at 02:09:09 PM

... The 1st 2 stages will become a small surface mount module

Quote from: spritzer

... Sounds great.

[spritzer]

I meant it sounds great as there are some updates going on. I'm not a big fan of the "lets make it prettier and charge more" way.

[justin]

I meant it sounds great as there are some updates going on. I'm not a big fan of the "lets make it prettier and charge more" way.

It can be hard to sell the idea of overall engineering improvements, like time delays and slow turn-up of the high voltage to allow tubes to get warm first, or safety fuses on the high voltage lines. They will be built much better than the original electrostatic amps, the industrial looking enclosures such as what your KGBH is in are some of the best off-the-shelf enclosures but they aren't very solid.

[luvdunhill]

the industrial looking enclosures such as what your KGBH is in are some of the best off-the-shelf enclosures but they aren't very solid.

I really love the look and feel of these enclosures. I have been battling with a similar thing with the hifi2000 cases. In my opinion, they look great, but the top and bottom are steel and the sides and panels are aluminum. What I ended up doing with my KGSS is coupling the PCB to both the top and bottom of the case. This made a huge difference. I used a 1.5" female->male hex standoff under the board, then a 1/16" hard plastic washer than a 1.5" female->female hex standoff on top of the PCB.

Granted, a custom case would be much nicer, but this was a simple DIY fix Maybe one day I'll try a copper bottom / top

I'm going to try FPE new "design-a-case" for my DIY BH, and we'll see how that goes. Hopefully I can measure the board holes properly... that's what I'm working on now.

[spritzer]

It can be hard to sell the idea of overall engineering improvements, like time delays and slow turn-up of the high voltage to allow tubes to get warm first, or safety fuses on the high voltage lines. They will be built much better than the original electrostatic amps, the industrial looking enclosures such as what your KGBH is in are some of the best off-the-shelf enclosures but they aren't very solid.

When you don't know what the benefits really are it's hard to sell them as improvements. The Valve Art tubes that you shipped with my amp started to discolor early on but my main Mullard XF2 quad doesn't show any signs of wear even after 2 years of much use. The delay helps the new production stuff a lot.

It's true that the case isn't too sturdy but it doesn't ring too much. It's still a lot better then the horrible Hifi2000 cases as I used two for my KGSS. They ring like crazy and required a lot of damping to sound good. I still love the silver look of my BH and it will match the silver SR-007A perfectly...

[Voltron]

I am digging the sound of my "shallow end of the pool" Stax rig, with some Bill Evans and Jim Hall right now. Or is it a middle of the pool setup? Not sure. Maybe I will still be enamored and will want to move up to one of Justin's new offerings when they are available. When will that likely be Justin?

Oh, and Nate, I understood you to be referring to the aesthetics from the beginning and wish I could have jumped in sooner but hadn't seen the follow-ups until just now. You've had my back, and I would have liked to return the favor. And of course I agree that Nate is brilliant as well.

[thrice]

[me=deepak]wishes he had monies to have one of the MoTs build him a Pearl phono [/me]

Huh, I'm working on one of those right now. Not for sale though, but there's a guy on DIY Audio that had boards and kits awhile back...promethis i believe. The kit price was reasonable...like $200 euros or so.

[luvdunhill]

is this the newer version that's MC/MM or MM only? They're both great designs, I've built both

[thrice]

It's MM with an optional MC daugther-board, I did not get the MC board though.

[luvdunhill]

ah. The MC section is basically the same as the Xono I believe. Anyways, a great design by Wayne Colburn

[boomana]

Well, I finally got to open up my Christmas gift, the baby Stax, from my now ex-semi-boyfriend. I'm listening to them now and don't much like them: no weight to vocals, saxophones sound like toys, tones are off, but damn, snares and cymbals sound great! They're surprisingly comfy since I expected other, but you have to mess around to get them placed just right to sound okay. I'll play around with them a bit, but so far, I'm not hearing much that would make me want to keep them.

[Dusty Chalk]

Yeah, positioning is crucial. I don't remember exactly, but I do remember Dave telling me that it was very important. If you're not getting any bass, you probably need them in deeper, or more aimed straight down your ear canals or something. I forget.