Jon L

What's the price on Ray Samuels B-21? Just to get perspective on Eletrostat/Dynamic combo amps out there.. Audio Valve Solaris $4900 https://www.headamp.com/products/audiovalve-solaris Mal Valve Head amp three Mk 4 6000+ Euro https://www.malvalve.de/Headamp3-E.htm Linear Tube Audio Z10e $6950 https://www.lineartubeaudio.com/products/z10e-electrostatic-headphone-amp-integrated-amp

Makes ME feel good about my soldering skills at least 😁 Shouldn't this Viva STX stuff be posted to Head-Case Viva STX thread so that other people seeking wisdom can find it in google search?

Why does Devore O/96 sell for $16K when it's a copy of the Audio Note copy (some say pirated without paying license) of Snell type E/III?

I sure hope this Topping EHA5 transformer box turns out to be reliable and good-sounding, not causing harm to 'stats, etc. The masses need a 'stat transformer box that is readily available from a "big" company. BTW. Why the heck did Stax stop making tranformer boxes anyway?

ZMF has many fanboys, but take a look at this (for measurements): "Heavily boosted upper bass lack of energy in lower treble" https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/zmf-atticus-review-headphone.24191/

He said in an interview he has the driver manufactured to his specs from China. Then again, where else?

I love these types of speaker designs. 1.4" compression driver is a nice touch. I assume Reflector Audio and this top module can be used without subwoofers, in which case what are their useful low frequency response?

Which "PC" are you powering? I've tried quite a few different power supplies for my PC/server, and the largest difference in SQ seems to occur when better power is given to the very end of the PC signal chain. For example, if using USB out, giving decent power to the USB card. Giving good power to an outboard usb-to-spdif converter makes a large difference also.

I noticed both Nahre Sol and Jimindorothy are Korean musicians. K-Pop is not all there is...

At least there is light at the end of the tunnel with the T2!

Controversy stemming from ASR and Reddit...always a fun read 😄 Another fun read: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/audio-science-review-review.9827/

I had a similar quandary in the past in a tube amp trying to bypass the "evil(?)" Alps Blue velvet. Used the amp with the pot just bypassed completely. Later, Alps was changed to better-reputed TKD for sources that needed volume control. These days, I mostly use the TKD with volume open all the way to "effectively" bypass it. To be honest, I wouldn't want to bet any amount of money I could consistently identify sound quality differences in blind testing, in any mode above. 😥

The well-heeled Phi TC owners seem to eventually declare the Woo WA33 (10 watts at 32 ohms) their favorite, but this is probably not because of the power output but the flavor.

Cavalli Liquid Platinum on "50% off" sale at $399.99. Is this a legit sale or is this always on 50% sale?? https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=33305

I have been listening more and more to Raal SR1a, and it really is a beautiful thing. I do have to wonder about how this little Jotunheim R's balanced, differential "Nexus" gain stage is claimed to deliver "up to 13 amps" into Raal's low impedance, and how this cheap raal direct-drive amp will compare.