Headphone Amplification

I'm looking for some advice on a new headphone rig for work. I currently have a 2004 vintage Total Bithead, 10-year old Grado SR-80s (with new pads), and a pair of Etymotic ER-4Ss. Output is from a Mac via USB, CDs not ripped files. I recently purchased a Slim Devices Transporter and Onkyo 9555 for home, and the quality of those two combined bury the Bithead with the Etys. (The Bithead has actually had issues from day one: background his and a slight channel imbalance which I never quite believed until I had something to compare it with. I'm also pretty sure it just deosn't have enough power for the Etys. It's always sounded pretty good with the Grados.) I'm looking for a…

Hi everyone, I'm about to enter the world of tubes. My Acoustic Zen's arrived, and I'm going to be powering them with one of these http://www.gini.com/index.php?id=250. I heard the combo at a local dealer and really fell in love with it. Can someone explain me the difference between 'triode' operation and 'ultralinear' operation, and also recommend some really great tubes. I'm a complete newbie in this field so go easy!

Hey Guys: I have a chance to get a pretty good deal on a SFT built Dynamight from a person that I've known for a long time and trust. The only issue that he has disclosed to me about the amp is that on the lowest gain setting, there is some crackling when changing the volume on the stepped attenuator. But on all other gain settings, there is no crackling. Is this something of a major concern? Because I don't anticipate on using the lowest gain setting, having heard this amp before. Thanks.

This amp just showed up on "the other web site" Does anyone have an opinion on this amp? What are the other tubes worth? http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f42/fs-singlepower-mpx3-slam-269408/ For the same money i could have this.. http://www.headphone.com/products/headphone-amps/the-desktop-line/2007-headroom-portable-desktop-amp.php thanks for putting up with the stuuupid newb. Lee Ross

I have a 2nd hand headamp aristaeus, the background noise follows the volume pot. I measured ac between L+/L- and R+/R-, the left is 3.48v when volume pot is turn to max while right is 1.74v, I swapped ecl84 and 12ax7 but still same value. Also I tried to adjusted vr p1, p2+,p3- but it didn't help, same value. May I ask how can I solve the issue? Thank you in advance.

Hi, First post here. I am curious about building an electrostat HPA as I only have an SRD7 Mk2. I am interested in some of Kevin Gilmore's designs like the KGSSHV variants and the T2, but the legend about the KGSSHV seems to ring true that it is hard to build and hard to learn about. Is there somewhere I can read about these different designs in white paper format like Nelson Pass does with the First Watt amps? I can't even find schematics or a BOM. It's truly a nightmare, and I don't want to endlessly bother spritzer with questions. Frankly, I am not totally sure of the "authorship" of each of these amps which makes it harder to research. I was considering firs…

My MPX3 in the toaster variety isn't turning on. Any suggestions?

.. has competitors around ( sound wise ) as an all in one portable / laptop nice sound solution ? My concerns are mainly about SQ.. what Dac hide inside ? I just read Jude preliminary review on head-fi and it seems it's nice improvement(sq) over the previous bithead.

I have a CCS modded Stax SR-006t from Mjolnir Audio that stopped working back in September. For a few weeks I would get no sound until I turned it off and on, but now I get nothing. I've tried multiple sources and cables but no dice. I tested the DC offset between + and - of both channels and between the bias and both channels' - line. After that I tested the AC voltage playing a 1khz signal and followed it from the inputs to the vol control and got nothing. Spritzer repaired it back in April of 2023. The HV- line wasn't working due to a failed resistor and a capacitor was starting to fail. At the time the left channel was much quieter and had a buzzing noise before …

Just found this article on the web: http://inearspace.com/2015/05/22/questyles-cma800p-breathes-magic-into-stax-a-munich-high-end-show-2015-report/ Stax themselves comissioned Questyle to design the preamp. Info and internal pics of the preamp: spam deleted What do you think? Price is rumoured to be around 3k usd. PS: They also did a "golden edition": spam deleted

I have a 007tA that lost the -350V. Looks like the 150ohm filter resistor between the two HV caps is open. There also seem to be something loading the bias voltage. The voltage before the 4.7M resistor in series with the output socket measure 300V after the resistor but 400V before the resistor with nothing connected. Searching thru the forum seems like there is a 007t schematic available somewhere but all the links in previous posts are no longer valid. It would be most helpful if a schematic is available. Would like to find out what causes the 150ohm resistor to open before replacing it. thanks.

I've seen a few Cary SLI 80s go for pretty decent prices on audiogon lately. Been thinking about picking one up to use as a headphone amp and to drive a pair of monitors in a secondary rig. Does anyone have experience with it as a headphone amp? Is it good with all phones? Or just low or high impedance phones?

The Fidelix Staccato There seems to be a Japanese maker of high-end audio equipment that makes his own Stax driver. Looks very cleanly-made, but I don't know how much of this is a unique build versus knowledge already known in the Western Stax community. I'm particularly interested in hearing the DIY group's thoughts on the simplified schematic he's posted. Is this anything unique/interesting? Or just a rehash of existing designs?

Just wondering, what are some good tubes for an MPX3 for metal? It sounds really good and realistic on most things so far, but the liquidic presentation doesn't lend itself to metal so well. Or should I just get a grado? Also, any recommendations for the W10LTD? I know not that many people have heard it, but it's one of the AT's that leans a bit more to the w100/2002 side, but not too much. My sonic preferences would probably be at least a realistic amount of bass, and "searing soaring highs"/

Well I was a little bored last night so I opened up my PrimaLuna Prologue One and was very impressed by the point-to-point wiring so I took some pictures. Lower res versions here: http://head-case.org/photos/thumbnails.php?album=6

My M22 will not power up. I worked fine earlier in the day yesterday. I shut it down for an hour and it would not power up again. I took off the bottom and the fuse seems to be intact. Did not see any issue with the power cord connection inside. Any suggestions on where to send for repair? Thanks.

I came across this on DIYaudio. 200,000, that's right, 200,000 tubes going for the low price of $5000. That's like 2.5 cents a tube! Transporting them all is going to be a bitch though, but seriously, 200,000 tubes.

Hey i have read some about the b22 and who'd want to know if some one have heard whit a pare of GS1000i. And want to share the conclusion.

I swore that I would never buy a portable amp, but the Zen Vision M's headphone output just doesn't supply enough current for the D5000s. So guess where my first paycheck on the job went? To an used AE-2 in Virginia. But at least I've heard the AE-2 with the D5000s and the combo sounded very nice, a very groovy type of sound. I'll probably sell the AE-2 once the summer is over though.

Another electrostatic driver. Anyone seen/heard it? https://ifi-audio.com/portfolio-view/pro-iesl/

With my SP K1000 power amp nowhere to be seen, and with a potential need for a budget power amp for my Epos ELS-3 that I have setup for TV/Cable/DVD purpose, I've been reading about some gainclone amps. Most posts/threads about them are favorable and they seem to be great bang-for-buck. With that, anyone here has any idea how well (or not) gainclone amps will work with K1000's? My thinking is if it works well enough, I'll get one and use it to tide me over until SP power amp shows up, after which I'll use it with Epos.

Just ranting aimlessly. So I have a GCHA now. At first it sounded exhillirating; the amazing soundstage that is. But after listening to it for a while, my music just sounds so slim and uninspiring. I'm sort of a quiet listener, but it still sounds lean even when I turn up the volume. Maybe I'm just realizing the true nature of the K701 I'm using. (I also purchased the K701 recently and haven't tried it out of an amp other than the GCHA before.) Maybe I should have gone with a tube amplifier in the end after all despite having always thought I was a SS guy myself (high speed and punch). Female vocals are totally dry but I guess that is expected from a SS amp. However, I h…

AudiogoN ForSale: Moth Audio S2a3 Ready for horns.

Okay, maybe not, but can anyone who's familiar with the Extreme topography suggest a reasonably affordable tube combination for a fast, neutral presentation? Stock or with ECC adapter? Any help would be greatly appreciated. The Extreme Plat may not end up working with the HD800s, but I want to give it a shot as it works well with my other phones.

Well a couple of evenings careful experimentation has resulted in no explosions, I'm still reluctant to leave the H2 connected continuously to the SRM-717 until longer term verification that nothing bad is happening to the headphone or the amp. There's not a huge amount of difference between direct drive from the 717 and the Pass Labs/TR-2 drive. I'd give the nod to the 717 overall though. A big nod once you look at the difference in price between an adapter cable and the TR-2 of course. I also plugged the H2 into the SRM-212, and at anything other than the total bottom of volume control there's a mass of distortion and scratching sound as the H2 tries to suck every…