[starting rig for hd600]

Well, you generally don't want amps going up in flames and setting your house on fire and/or zapping you with a couple hundred volts.

There's at least one amp builder that didn't get that memo.....

[Moving to Monitors]

Regarding amps.....see if you can score an old Threshold S/300..............absolutely awesome......................on and IMHO pre-SST Brystons can be a little brutal.........in the mondo bargain bin, the B&K ST-140, ST-202 and ST-202+ are giant killers!

I had a St-202. It's rolled off high end didn't cut it. I've still got it's polar

opposite here, the Rotel RB980. Too bright. The Aragon, or it's cheaper

cousin the Acurus, would be a much better choice. I've seen the A250

go for as little as $300.

[Moving to Monitors]

Ended up going the no-hassle approach and did a partial trade with Sherwood for his PSB M2's. Amplification is with a Nakamichi AV7 integrated atm, and I love the sound already. So much so that I'm very prepared to spend another $6-700 for a solid state power amp.

Currently looking at:

- Nakamichi PA-7

- Odyssey Stratos

- Emotiva UPA-2

- Emotiva XPA-2

- Aragon (not sure which, I've seen a couple different *used* models priced in my budget)

- DIY Pass F3 (might have a lead on a builder)

D-Sonic would be nice, but too expensive. Anyone have any experience with these amps or any recommendations for the M2's?

The Aragon amps are good. The NAK PA-7 is also a good pick.

Emotiva? Not even in the same class. How about adding Bryston to

the list? Or this? AudiogoN ForSale: Belles 150A

You can find about a zillion great amps in that price range.

[Moving to Monitors]

There's a lot of small floorstanding speakers out there.

And they really are a better choice than bookshelves/stands.

Rega, Totem, old Linns, Spendors, and god knows how many others.

There must be a temping set of towers up on the local Craigslist

every day here in Dallas. Just like a bus, if you miss one, wait a little bit

and another deal pops up.

[Calling Team Arcy Sparky: Need Some Advice for a Friend re McIntosh Gear]

I've had experience with smoke/water damage and electronics.

Even if it works ok at first, the combo of moisture and smoke causes

all sorts of corrosion in switches and controls. In a couple of months,

it gets real nasty. I'd sell it as is, and buy something else.

It will be nothing but trouble for years to come.

[New Outlaw compact subwoofer.]

this is the right way to do this

Wilson Audio: Audio Excellence, High-quality Audio Components, Luxury Speakers

30 watts will blow the windows out...

Or build one yourself.

At over 400 pounds, I'd need piano movers to bring it in. At $21k

I'd need a second mortgage. But if it performs like it looks, it

would be quite an experience. I always liked Wilson stuff.

My used SVS 25-31 PCI was $200. That will have to do until I

hit the lottery!

[Speaker Porn]

I just got a 10 year pile of stereophile mags from a local guy here in Dallas. The print was so small, I finally broke down and got a pair of reading glasses. But there's lot of pictures. IF we ever finish with speakers, there's always some of those high end turntables, too.

Here's a couple sets I can reach out and touch in my office! Damn, I can't find the pictures of the Rega R3's. But's here's Hales, Proacs, and PI's

[Tannoy Kensington SE]

For preamp I've gone back to the little Headamp Gilmore V2, as its clean sound combined with 2 switched inputs, dedicated preamp out, and smooth volume pot (can't stand a stepped atten w/ speakers) is hard to pass up. Dirt cheap, too for the $200 I paid - much better to have that preamp cash for other stuff

Sounds like I sold it too cheap:rolleyes:

I'm glad you're enjoying it. What are you going to do with the mc2100?

[Investigation into possible mods for the Stax SR-404]

The sr-202's are glue, not sticky tape. That might explain why

the 202's sound a bit different than the 404's, along with the smaller cable.

The highs are less aggressive.

My experience with woodies and damping on Senn's was that it's hard

to find a medium. Anything that helps one end of the spectrum really

screws up the other end.

I did not glue the driver to the front mounting plate. I used sticky tape.

I looks like the only way to really improve the newer series Stax is an

enclosure change, or a change in driver contruction.

[The Headcase Stax thread]

Boy, some DIY guy I am. But I got one housing open on the 202's.

Same two sided sticky tape. You can see some of it on the inside mounting plate. I hope the rest of the assembly is glued. The inside

charged pieces look glued, but I cant tell if the screen that faces the plate is glued or sticky taped to the driver assembly. I'll wait for daylight

to look. Do I need to wipe off everything and white glove it on re-assembly?

[The Headcase Stax thread]

Anyways, since I had this SR-404 open I thought it was time to find out why the hell this headphones sounds like crap. The drivers are excellent in the SR-Sigma 404 and the 4070 is no slouch either. I put on my detective cap and I think I might have located the issue though it will take some days to prove it. \ It appears that in an effort to save money (or just to annoy me), Stax have stopped gluing the metal protection grill to the drivers with urethane (or what ever it is they use) and just use double sided tape instead. The metal grill isn't really part of the driver but added on afterwards (with the other dust cover on the flip side). It has always been glued with liquid glue, even on the Sigmas. What Stax have done now is simplified the driver design so they are identical on each side then just use some adhesive and mount the grill on that. The adhesive is pure crap as the earpads mounted with it will drift in place over the years and the drivers on this set aren't straight as they should be.

This makes perfect sense as the Sigma drivers are mounted backwards so the metal grill is just for decoration and not used to mount the drivers. Therefore the crappy adhesive has no bearing on the SQ and the Sigma 404's shine. I will try to confirm this theory by gluing the drivers and see if they turn out to be something better then they are now.

One caveat though. This set is very old so things might have changed. If the experiment works then I'll buy a new set to verify.

You have my attention with that find. Nothing like the company screwing with a proven design to save time/money. Good news, it would make

many sr-404 owners happier. Bad news, it would spoil the resale value of a lot of vintage Stax gear. I've got both a 202 and a 404 here to

play with. I'll have to pull one of them apart next week when I get a chance. Im scheduled to work this weekend:mad: