Headphone Amplification

Just picked up a DIY Kludge headphone amp. The base circuit came from a Vacuum Tube Valley #11 on page 24 and 25. Here is the link: https://web.archive.org/web/20131122141643if_/http://www.jumpjet.info/Pioneering-Wireless/eMagazines/VTV/VTV11.pdf A few minor mods were made to improve the performance, such as additional power supply filtering, HEXFREDS, DCed all filaments, etc. This amp sounds great. Has NOS Tung-Sol 6080 and 6SL7 tubes. Has plenty of power. Easily drives Abyss 1266 phi.

Raffy is looking for a pair of TS 5998's for his SP and I have a pair that are supposed to be NOS. I would be happy to help him out but I don't know how to test these on my tube tester. I have a B&K 747B. I tried testing them with the 6as7 settings but they both test low this way. Since they are not equivalent to the 6as7's, I am not so surprised (I think this has happened with every pair of 5998's I have tested this way). So can anyone help me/us out? Pretty please.

Info about an upcoming electrostatic amp from Bottlehead. https://forum.bottlehead.com/index.php?topic=12157.0

Has anyone ever tried to measure whether tube-rolling the blue-hawaii or GG for that matter, actually makes an objective difference?.

In 2011 I bought everything needed for a D.I.Y. T2 ( except the chassis and the 4-gang attenuator or pot for level control) and had every intention of building the thing... but then I became disabled and unable to build it.... though I still fantasized that I would build it- somehow. Well, that clearly is never going to happen, and due to the situation I find myself in, I need to get the money back that I spent on these parts. I offered them to Birgir (Spritzer) but he doesn't need them; he suggested I offer them here. I have attached my T2 Bill of Materials with part numbers, prices and etc. Have a look and if you are interested, make an offer. FYI I will on…

Recently I sent an e-mail to David Berning asking whether he has any intention to build a headphone amp and he offered to build me a 6V6-based amp for around $2K based on one of his low power (7 watts per channel) stereo amps. He would customize the amp to add a volume control, RCA ins, and a headphone jack. He says the final amp would sound better with low impedance headphones than high impedance headphones because it was originally designed to drive speakers. I know Berning is highly regarded for his power amps but don't know if that reputation extends to headphone amps. I know he used to make the his "micro ZOTL" headphone amp but it was discontinued a few yea…

Made an impulse buy for this intriguing 300B SET, which is turning out to have great resolution and bass definition for a 300B SET, through speakers, headphone amp, AND driving electrostats via Stax transformer! https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-27-elekit-tu-8600r-amplifier-kit 1126191526a by drjlo2, on Flickr

Recently i acquired a SRM1/MK2 (B series) Stax amp and a pair of sr404 which is bought for a sigma/404 conversion It comes with an imbalance issue. I first thought it is the headphone , but after several switches of equipment(amps,headphones etc） im certain that its the AMP. By observation there is no burnt resistors,measured some of them ,the VR seems to be functional........I tuned the offset and balance But the + to - voltage of the lower-volume channel doesn't change when i rotate the balance pot which is abnormal, it stays on 8v dc While all other balance and offset pots is fine. Have anyone once had the same issue ？Any thoughts?I need help…

This is a long time coming, but with the corona virus, I've finally got time to do this. This is my review of the KGSSHV Carbon I had commissioned from @joehpj (thanks!). I've purchased a pair of Stax L300 Limited to replace the Stax Lambda Pros I had been using for some 25 years before Hurricane Harvey flooded my house and destroyed my old headphones. I've upgraded the pads on the L300 with L700 pads--these make a noticeable difference for me, as the thicker pads allow me to get a decent seal even when I wear headphones. I've been driving them with a Stax SRM-252s, and it has become apparent to me that the amp was the weak link in the chain. After seeing photos …

I have a stand alone Koss E90 box and a Stax SRD-7 transformer box. I am just curious which one every one prefers and why? iFi has their eESL trans former box, which is as about as universal as one can get, and there is of course used Stax transformer boxes. There is also a plethora of electrostatic amps, stax, Woo, Mjolner and so on. Just curious as to what every one likes for their Stax or other electrostatic headphones.

Now that this amp has been released and we finally have an internal pic, it is time for a dedicated thread. Here is some info about the launch event: http://hifilounge.tumblr.com/post/162193518708/trilogy-h1-energiser-for-stax-earspeakers-launch So 5000UKP... and nothing else which is relevant at all. The usual HF retards claiming this was the second coming and all that BS but here are the internals...enjoy: Not the best quality but good enough to know what is going on. In before Jim and yup...this looks a lot like an SRX. Some Russian dual triodes for the input and those look a lot like 6N6pi's to me. Two plate resistors as well. So over a…

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 thought the King of all headphone amps would deserve his own thread. This is a beast of epic proportions, 11 power supplies, an overload of CCS and it draws close to 300W from the wall. I'll be updating this post later on with more specs about this monster. Well, here are some pics for your viewing pleasure. They are huge so may take a while to load.

Greetings since I am new to stax world, my current set up is 007Mk2 --- 007TII---chord hugo2 I wonder if buying a good power cable would be beneficial than the cheap one I am using now What is the best price/ performance power cable to buy that will not cause a big dent in the wallet to offer a noticeable sound improvement, and could you please explain what buying a power could would be a benefit for

Greetings I was wondering if I am missing out big time using my 007 mk2 with srm 007TII I never will be able to audition the Carbon or any of the electrostatic amps mentioned here, so kindly please can you put in perspective what will I gain in terms of sound by buying for example a Carbon, and what bout using the the ifi iesl with my ifi ican pro as Ifi claim in that combo it can swing out 730 vrms which is more than what other amps output. That is ifi claim not mine Also besides the Carbon just in case the budget will not allow for buying it, are there other options that really offer a big upgrade in sound compared to my 007TII

Ok, am wanting the SR-L700 model and am TOTALLY confused as to which damn amp to get, we have the SRM 006ts, 353x and 727 mk 2 . Are tbere any other brands that can be better suited up to this price ceiling?

The title says it all. My SRM-252S seems to be failing, indicated by hum. (It’s the 120V version.) I’ve been discussing it on the Stax thread in Headphones. While I lack the expertise & all of the tools to troubleshoot the amp, I do possess the tools & enough skill to refurb a working SRM-1/Mk-2, a unit I’d get from eBay. I understand the primary work is to replace the caps. Any experience?

This is something I've been wondering about for a week or two. Why can't I find a class AB design by Kevin Gilmore ? Am I missing something. I know the difference between A and AB, but am still interested as to why. Is switching so bad that one of the best engineers stay away from it all together or is it simpler than that: "Why AB when you can A" PS: I am a n00b so please be gentle :) Oneminde

Would like to hear some thoughts from the experts here? Most commercial boards are thrash just looking at the head-case forum posts. or you guys are super sceptical or both. No picture of backside PCB (yet) though. Thanks for any insight Cheers

Get your orders in, folks, don't miss out: https://www.monoprice.com/product?c_id=120&cp_id=12008&cs_id=1200801&p_id=33305&seq=1&format=2

I finally picked it up and it doesn't disappoint... Jesus this is bad and one funny thing, the surface coating on the chassis is very different from the CarbonX. Same quality parts, ZWEE output socket and the "legendary" SANNI volume control i.e. crappy Alps clone. Now the chassis is the same one as the CX but much better surface finish. The other one scratches very easily (as in I've already scratched it) but this one seems more resilient. One funny thing though, the hole for the tube doesn't quite line up. I tried to take a picture of it but it might not be as apparent as in real life. The space on the right is quite a bit bigger than on the left... N…

Hello to all, I am looking for the original SRM 717 circuit diagram and could not find it with quick search - anybody can help ? Philipp

I've been the proud owner of a Cavalli Audio Liquid Lightning for over a month now. Now as most will know, this hasn't been exactly a dream of mine but the owner practically begged me to take it and the price was low enough to waste money on it. The normal market price on the Mk1 model has dropped well below half of retail (2400$) at this point and this one was even cheaper. What finally made me buy it is the very unhealthy discussion about this piece and the clear attempts of the manufacturer to kill any negative discussion about it. My views will be questioned because of my history with Cavalli but that's exactly what should be done to any impression that is read. …

Anyone here has one of these singlepower solid state amps around? I know they were made in a balanced configuration? I remember at some point there were a few units around

Does anyone know what’s the best amp and dac for the utopia excluding the cavallis?