spritzer

A stock Blue Hawaii is +/-400v so the KGSS is less then that or +/-350v though it can be run at 400v+. I would like to run the BH on 550v+ but capacitors are a problem at this level though I have some huge oil caps that can handle the voltage... ...and here I was thinking he was just a fucktard... I'm not a MOT so I don't work on stuff for others unless there are some very special circumstances.

Ahh I forgot that the stock KGSS runs on +/-350v and not 400v... No.

That is correct. Something like the BH will output around 600V RMS and the KGSS 495v RMS if my memory and calculations are correct. The small Koss amp can do 810v RMS according to the instructions manual... but sounds like shit and can't drive anything.

There are no special tracks I can remember now (been at work now for 15 hours so all memory is shot) but it's something you hear with almost everything. The SR-007A and He90 bass are similar in a way that they allude to some deep bass that the phones can't deliver in the end (all show and no go) while the Mk1 is the exact opposite. The SR-Omega is between as it can pull off complex and deep bass but the chassis can dissipate the energy so turn up the volume and you have some excessive midbass bloom.

These are the three exact reasons why I tore my 007A apart to try and fix it. Plugging the ports does fix the bass issues but they are still a bit shouty. It's clearly not the drivers though as the SR-Omega hybrid sounds great and it uses 007A drivers. The overly emphasized midrange could be caused by a number of things and I'm sure I can "fix" it but working on any one of the Omega's takes a lot of time. A small calibration and then 15 minutes of piecing them back together will get old very quickly. The bottom line here is that Stax made a bad call IMHO and made a more impressive phone that does sound good for a while but to those that love the Mk1 there is no comparison.

Anything is possible on HF. Just look at some of the crap that has been popular over the years...

They won't fit in the standard KGSS case so that's one reason and it's also a good idea to keep electrolytics cool so that they will last longer. Some of the KGSS amps did have internal Black Gates but they used a larger chassis.

Very dark setup you've got there.

How do you think one will fair in an Egmont.

It's a similar deal with the Fischer connectors so ease up on the cutting Marc.

You can try to remove one of the plastic "fins" in the strain relief and see if it helps.

This is strange indeed. I assume that you normal listening level is somewhere around 5 or less on the volume dial as T1's don't like to go much higher then that. The 6CG7's begin to distort more but it's nothing as obvious as you have described. Try it with other headphones if you can and try new tubes but other then that it's tough to see what's wrong. Stax will repair your amp but Yama's does a horrible job so it might be better to ship it back to Japan. For the record Stax will try and fix any of the amps that they have made.

Yup. There seems to be only one Sigma Pro version though as designs stabilized after the mid 80's.

I have not heard one so I was only commenting on the design. If you feel like the price you paid for a SP amp is fair than good for you but most of the customers don't know what's on the inside of their amps and how much it costs to make one. Value is always in the eye of the beholder and my view may be a little odd as to me a 100k Lamm amp is a rip off of epic proportions while a 100k Kondo amp isn't with a lot of things hand made such as the resistors and caps. Design matters as the sound can be altered dramatically with a few component changes. My point exactly.

I know, I know... I need to buy something new as there are 0 packages on their way to me now. The sound is all that matters but despite the normal audiophile thinking it is directly connected to the design. The SR-007mk2/A sounds compromised as Stax did something stupid with the design but that doesn't mean it isn't one of the best headphones ever created. Same goes for amps and everything else.

Good thing this has been moved out of the lockup. I don't doubt that as I love my Stax SRA-3S amp which is a pretty shitty design yet sounds great. Powerful? No. Transparent? Nope, but works wonders on the limited ability of the early Stax phones creating a highly synergistic combo. I always act like a child so it is to be expected. Just look at the rate of which I buy and sell headphones... Me like toys!!!! Why I called it a joke are the outrageous claims and the price level for the ES amps. It was supposed to be a better design then the BH when it obviously isn't. It's basically this design which Stax published in the Japanese SR-3 instructions manual back in 1969. It has been upgraded but charging 4.5k$ for this is nuts based on complexity, parts used and the outstanding workmanship.

The drivers are identical so I guess they all sound pretty much the same but there was indeed a 1977-1979 version with a round cable. Some of the phones (the two I've seen had a S/N around 5000) had a ribbon cable but instead of a solder connection it had crimp connectors which attached to the drivers. There was also more damping around the driver, basically they stuck some where ever it was possible. I've never owned a cloth cable Sigma so I'm not sure how the drivers are connected but it should be similar to the SR-X i.e. crimp connectors. That means there are at least 3 versions of the Sigma. Since all of my Sigmas are bought from Japan there might even be some local variations that were specially made for some distributors.

The ES-1 has been a joke from the beginning and that he's charging 20k+$ for the ES-2 is nothing short of a robbery. The amp in the pictures costs the same as DACT equipped BHSE or even more...

Sure but that's not given. There are quite a few versions of the Sigma and the crimp on connectors are hell to work with.

While those glue pads are pretty strong at room temp there is a reason for the hole in the middle...

Here is another one of the MPX. The fet has obviously been moved to the chassis as can be seen by the burn marks...

The short answer is no as it is so small you can't see it. It also requires a total disassembly of the drivers to get to the diaphragm which can be tricky or just impossible.

A buzz sound is usually due to some debris in the drivers shorting it out but the fart is more like a squeal generated by the diaphragms when air is pushed through them. That being said the baby Stax is very noisy due to the design.

Since the pictures are gone now I uploaded them to a more permanent location. Before: After:

Ditto. If this stuff isn't public then Mikhail can continue to blame it on anybody but him self. There are dozens of these stories and they drag on for years. To make matters even worse he's pushing the design even further now so it's no wonder those amps are breaking down.