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Well...these arrived this week via the Gilmore express and to make it easier for anybody looking for info on them, a new thread it is. As Kevin documented before, the amplifier is a dinky little thing and a direct clone of the Stax SRM-001. The amp is pretty much useless though as it doesn't have any volume control and you can't use it from a portable device as it needs a full 2Vrms input signal to reach usable volume levels. Here is a picture of the entire system plus what Kevin Posted: Opamp feeding a quad of fet's and into the output transistors. All AC coupled... Yet again another clone of older Stax stuff but onto the headphones. The build quality from the outside is pretty mediocre, flimsy plastic everywhere and the creek and rattle like a 50$ set of headphones. The earpads are actually leather on the important parts so that is nice. The cable is rather nice though, a bit stiff and microphonic but a far cry better than what Hifiman and Mr. Speakers include with their sets. I was first a bit puzzled as to how the phones were put together as nothing came loose with minimal force. I stated by removing the back of the drivers which just popped off: That revealed this very minimal damping foam: Now that got me to the back of the drivers but nothing budged. Then I go medieval on it and the earpads do pull off... there is just a lot of adhesive holding them on. I did take the pics afterwards which is why the pads are there in the previous pics. The adhesive is nice though as the pads are securely fastened and can be put back as the adhesive doesn't fall apart. Now we are onto the baffle and this is after I removed the first dust cover stuck to the front there. I'm rather impressed with the build quality and the attention to detail. The drivers are on the small side but that does mean there is room to raise the baffle and get away with flat earpads, Audio-Techica style. Now the money shot, the back of the drivers. Now, when I opened it first up it didn't look like that as there is custom cut, black tape covering all the connections and around the perimeter of the drivers as well. Really impressed by the attention to detail here. Now I did open up the drivers but the angle was really awkward so I couldn't take any good pics. The stators are PCB though and this was a well thought out design. I first though King Sound might have a hand in this design but this is leagues ahead of their crappy drivers. Now some notes, there are only woven dust covers here, two on the front and one on the back (plus the foam) so dust will be an issue. Both drivers on this set have started to squeal though that is at Pro bias levels. More on that later... On the whole though I just don't get this package, the cable on the headphones is too short so are they supposed to be portable? Sure but no normal DAP can drive them properly so it kinda doesn't work... The sound with the stock amp is pretty bad too, no bass to speak of and it is all compressed to hell. I fed it with a preamp to help with the silly low input impedance but it doesn't really help. Now the specs for the headphones are close enough to Stax (well...they use a Stax amp after all) so it is adapter time. The headphones use a bog standard 5-pin DIN plug (nowhere near to be rated fort the voltages involved though) so a quick trip to the local parts store and 2$ later I had a socket in hand. 10 minutes later I had an adapter and off the Carbon CC...well these are quite good. The 50mm drivers will not produce any meaningful bass output compared to larger units but over all, yeah their sins are of omission rather than adding something that shouldn't be there. To me these remind me of Stax SR-X Mk3 Pro's in some ways and what I've been doing with those drivers converted to Pro bias in different shells. The imaging is nice and tight with a solid sound stage, nice midrange presence and a nice neutral sound signature. The bass doesn't go deep but it's tuneful and fun and the treble is nice and extended without ever being bright. The lack of bass depth and bloom does make them a tad thin sounding at times but that is rare. Feed them well and these are very fun headphones to listen to. Bottom line is that the amp is crap and there are issues but there is also a lot to like here. The Massdrop Koss ESP950 setup is probably a better deal at 500$ but these are fun to play with.

Well, mostly into custom speakers these days with Mivera Audio Icepower 1200AS2 Amp. Occasionally Stax SR009/007. 7K2speakers by drjlo1, on Flickr 0124180848b by drjlo1, on Flickr

I just got back in touch with my inner 500mm mirror lens. I've had a 500mm f/8 Reflex Nikkor since, basically, forever. For years, well decades, it rode around in my trunk. Eventually - like twenty, twenty-five years ago - the old mirror lens was supplanted by more "practical" long lenses, like a 400mm 3.5, and a 300mm 2.8, then a 500mm 4, 400mm 2.8, and a 600mm 4 when I needed it. You get the idea. The old mirror lens eventually moved from my trunk to the back of my camera cabinet at home. Which I am now trying to civilize. I'm selling old and stupid stuff, putting things in order, getting stuff repaired - the kind of thing you do every ten years or so, whether it's needed or not. And I pulled out the old mirror lens. So I marched outside to the creek with it and sat on the bank and photographed whatever happened by for five minutes and six seconds (according to the Exif data) And this thing is just so damned cool! It used to be that you had about three choices for exposure level for any given film speed (1/500th, 1/1000th, and 1/2000th. Well, and 1/250 most of the time.) Neutral density filters made the lens unfocusable. On a modern digital camera, you've got two more shutter speeds and four more instantly changeable ISOs. The lens fits in a bag, weighs nothing, and is hand holdable to an easy-ish 1/250th. Close focus is very reasonable. It's sharp and contrasty. Not 400 2.8 sharp, but 300 4.5 ED IF sharp, easily. It's "practical" all of a sudden! And now with everybody all about bokeh, those annular highlights are the bee's knees. I checked on eBay. You can grab these things for less than $300 (for the newer series no less) Mr ibis here was shot at 1/250th, handheld, at ISO 400. I don't know if anybody else will find this intriguing, but I'm all (re)excited.

The 80s were more or less ambitious?

I'd go Flor de Caña 7yr as it's my all-purpose go-to rum... Smith & Cross is too funky for nog...El Dorado might be good...Kilo Kai if you want vanilla-y...

Thanks Ric - good read - listening to lovely tones now...

1) Install 5 megohm safety resistor in the bias supply following the last bias cap if there isn't one or it is a different value. 2) Toss the output chokes and install good constant current loads with appropriate heatsinks. 3) Install 5 kilohm safety resistors in the output if there aren't any. If you are in the mood, put in a somewhat higher voltage transformer that will allow you to install a regulated power supply. That should fix the major issues, don't know if there are others.