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Posted

You're not gonna find many stats for under 200 bucks. Ratty old lambdas (normal bias) SR-5, SR-X or Gamma. Any of them with a transformer like the SRD6 can be had for that price if you're willing to be patient and look around.

Posted

yea, it seems that I'll have to up my budget to get something decent. :P

Oh well, I'll put off stats until I can afford it :)

I got some 404s for $350 and a 313 for $250, so while it's not outrageous it's still a good chunk of change and only $150 less than one of my K1000s which I felt was much better sounding. I got an old set of gammas with energizer for about $130.

Posted

ebay.de Germany is good for Stax and even though they don't usually advertise it, they mostly speak decent English and will ship to the US if you write and ask. I've never been refused so far and I've asked a lot of them and bought a few cans from there and ebay.uk

They even have a Lambda sig with busted frame that may go cheapish.

http://audio.search.ebay.de/stax_Kopfhoerer_W0QQcatrefZC11QQfromZR8QQsacatZ19646

Posted

:o JJ ECC83....?? No wonder it sounded bad. I don't like Telefunken, period, since they are way too warm and mushy. Siemens and Mullard are the way to go but Amperex could also be a good option.

Btw. When are you going to have Justin upgrade those coupling caps? Some Mundorf Gold caps would be a huge upgrade and much more stable then the stock Solen caps.

Yeah, I haven't had good results with any JJ, Electro-Harmonix or Groove Tubes ECC82 and ECC83.

I've got various types of ECL86 and ECC83, Mullard, Telefunken, Valvo, Siemens mostly. I don't know why I need them, because the all-Siemens set sounds very good with Senn or Stax. Also, a pair of Sylvania 5751 I tried sounded really clean and crisp, very nice!

The Aristaeus coupling caps can be upgraded? I'm interested, but I'm afraid of sending away amps for upgrades, who knows when it'll come back.

Posted

I would love to spend a day playing with all your toys. Admittedly I'd probably make a huge mess with tangled wires and bits all over the place but *I* think it would be worth it ;D

I would trade many toys for some DIY ability and knowledge about amps. I'm envious of the people who keep their amp covers off all the time. :)

Posted

Yeah, I haven't had good results with any JJ, Electro-Harmonix or Groove Tubes ECC82 and ECC83.

I've got various types of ECL86 and ECC83, Mullard, Telefunken, Valvo, Siemens mostly. I don't know why I need them, because the all-Siemens set sounds very good with Senn or Stax. Also, a pair of Sylvania 5751 I tried sounded really clean and crisp, very nice!

The Aristaeus coupling caps can be upgraded? I'm interested, but I'm afraid of sending away amps for upgrades, who knows when it'll come back.

The Siemens are very balanced tubes so not too warm like the Tele's or sterile/bland like the new stuff.

The coupling caps are the weak point of all capacitor coupled amps. The Aristaeus uses Solen caps which are, while not that good, dependable so many manufacturers use them. An upgrade to something like Mundorf silver or gold caps would be a huge step forward. V-caps are also an option but at a price an the A-N silver caps are for those that have left their sanity behind.

I would trade many toys for some DIY ability and knowledge about amps. I'm envious of the people who keep their amp covers off all the time. :)

Start tinkering and it will come. You learn most by doing and second most by seeing others do it. Buy a cheap tube amplifier kit and assemble it for some good experience without the real bore of diy, the case work... :o

Posted

An upgrade to something like Mundorf silver or gold caps would be a huge step forward. V-caps are also an option but at a price an the A-N silver caps are for those that have left their sanity behind.

LOL. You might want to let him know the cost of cap upgrade to Mundorf/VCap TFT given the number/uF of Aristaeus caps. It's not just AN silver caps that would be considered insane :stick:

Posted

What would I need to do to rig up a mock SR-007 electrostatic dummy load, a capacitor? ???

edit: preemptively, no Sprizer I don't have a spare HE-90 around

A capacitor with a resistor across the leads maybe? I've never really thought about it... ??? What is the impedance of a 120pf capacitor at 100v?

Doesn't everybody have a spare HE90?? I can't see no reason to use them... :D

LOL. You might want to let him know the cost of cap upgrade to Mundorf/VCap TFT given the number/uF of Aristaeus caps. It's not just AN silver caps that would be considered insane :stick:

I ran up the numbers some time ago but I believe the V-caps would be close to 800$ (less if you skip the input caps) and the Mundorf closer to 600$. Add to that Riken resistors, all silver wiring, RK50 pot and a new tube rectified PSU and the Aristaeus can reach new heights in cost...

Posted
The coupling caps are the weak point of all capacitor coupled amps. The Aristaeus uses Solen caps which are, while not that good, dependable so many manufacturers use them. An upgrade to something like Mundorf silver or gold caps would be a huge step forward. V-caps are also an option but at a price an the A-N silver caps are for those that have left their sanity behind.

Another possibility is the Solen film & foil teflon caps which are said to be very good. I haven't heard them myself so I can't say either way. One thing's for sure, they're a fair bit cheaper than those v-caps.

Posted

Since there is a $15k electrostatic amp now, I may have to consider an Aristaeus II with those upgrades :kitty:

For 15k I want a quad of 845's with 45's as drivers, all transformer coupled. ;D There is also the Morgan Jones 845 based design to consider aka. "The Beast". :D

Another possibility is the Solen film & foil teflon caps which are said to be very good. I haven't heard them myself so I can't say either way. One thing's for sure, they're a fair bit cheaper than those v-caps.

No teflon for me if I can get away from it. I'll take the slightly duller sound of oil over the sheen of Teflon any day. It's a shame Jensens are so horribly unreliable or they would be a contender.

KGSS+O2 MKI on its way.

Very cool... Welcome to the dark side!

Posted

Since I finally have some stands display my collection on I thought it would be time for a picture. I need about 20 extra stands to finish the job but I'll get there. The rest of the collection is scattered over the house.

main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=1343&g2_serialNumber=2&g2_GALLERYSID=4a41f31459af904ef25b081d9c625311

Pictured are from left to right, back to front:

Top shelf: SR-Lambda, SR-Lambda Pro, Lambda Signature, Lambda Spirit, Nova Signature, SR-404. The reserved space is for the SR-SC1.

Middle shelf: SR-Sigma, SR-5 NB, SR-003, He60, SR-Sigma Pro

Bottom shelf: Beyer ET-1000, Fostex T-50 Mk1, He90, SR-Gamma Pro, SR-Alpha Pro Excellent, SR-Gamma, SR-X Mk2, SR-X Mk3, SR-Lambda, SR-3, SR-5, SR-3 New

Posted

enjoy the KGSS and SR-007! I listened to this combination at length and it sounds pretty good. My biggest complaint is I wished things were more forward. The combination is very good at intimate musical settings without a lot of dynamic contrast, as then you can crank the volume a bit more and even this out. ;D

Posted
For 15k I want a quad of 845's with 45's as drivers, all transformer coupled. ;D There is also the Morgan Jones 845 based design to consider aka. "The Beast". :D

I'd buy that amp. It might involve selling a kidney, but somehow it would be mine.

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