spritzer

I'm with you there. I really would have liked the programmable stuff back when I was 8 though...

Yup, you do more then qualify. A triple stacked ESL must have been something else as I was mightily impressed by a double stack. Who needs meets when you have the best...

That is a very nice and expensive amp you've got there. There is at least one published DHT amp design for electrostatics. It was in the second edition of the Morgan Jones "Valve Amplifiers" book and aptly called "The Beast". The whole chapter is a great read as he talks about how scary it was to test it and how none of his equipment was meant for 1kV+... The cost is a major obstacle so I went with a new BH instead as 15k$ for a headphone amp is insane. A properly designed DHT amp will drive the Quad ESL57, KLH Model Nine and Stax F81 directly with ease so it might be justified for a hardcore ESL nut...

That kind of stuff can land you in jail up here but it is easy to do. Not that I have ever done it or anything... This is the reason why I offer buyers from EU the option to declare the package lower if they want to and assume all the risks involved.

He would have to pay VAT of the import price but making him pay it of the original retail price is insane and they have no right to do that. Still it is only the VAT as we have a nice collection of fees up here that add to about 70% on hi-fi and televisions.

This sucks ass!! I take it the system was insured at full value so why do you have to pay more then the VAT of that? If something is bought inside the EU but the buyer is outside (Norway, Iceland, Switzerland etc.) then there is no VAT added as buyer is supposed to pay it in his home country. I does seem odd to me that they are asking for the VAT of the retail price as there is none (EU rules) and you have documentation showing how much money you sent. That should be more then enough. I assume that the same system is used in the rest of Europe where businesses pay the VAT on products and services they buy but it gets deducted from the stuff you sell on the report you file.

That is a very impressive amp and I like the stab at the SP gold plated nonsense... It's expensive but quality iron costs a lot and it was wise to use the 7n7 instead of the 6SN7.

Make sure you are using a good amp to drive the HE60 or they wont stand a chance. Properly amped I do prefer them to the He90 despite all their flaws as the bass is much cleaner, midrange better focused, so is the soundstage and they cost 1/6th of the HE90.

It's tough to recommend just one combo but a SRM-1 Mk2 Pro amp with either a SR-Lambda or SR-Lambda Signature makes for a very good combo.

Cool. Mine was reterminated with a Stax plug so that adds something (150-200$) to the base price.

Around 1500$ shipped.

The 404 is simply brilliant after it's been transplanted into the Sigma housing but I'm not a big fan either of the stock model. The SR-Lambda is one of the best headphones you can get at any price with very few flaws. The bass could be deeper, the treble more clear but the musicality is hard to deny.

Here is a pic: Having something made wouldn't be too hard but simply buying the 4070 arc would be even better.

Ok, didn't know that.

Ask EIFL or Yama's. Just so you know there are no forks to attach to a housing due to the different design of the SR-007. What is included is just the two metal arcs, headband and the plastic pieces that hold it to the base plate on each side.

The SR-303, 404, SC-1 and 4070 all use the same driver but the 303 uses the older PC-OCC cable and the SC1 is cryo treated. While all of the Lambdas look alike the drivers are very different and there are some subtle differences. I wouldn't do this mod with anything less then a SR-404 The glue I use I found at some local store and they have no idea where it's from. It's not marked in any way but I bought up everything they had so I have enough for some time. The glue with the yellow backing that I used to mount the damping material is also good and you should be able to find it at a local crafts store. One thing that you need to know is that this is far from easy and you need to be able to do repairs to the drivers as it is guaranteed that you'll rip a dustcover (or two) or even rip one driver apart. Working with electrostatic drivers takes a lot of practice and there is no room for error. One slip and you can throw the driver in the garbage. I'm not trying to discourage you but you should know the risks involved.

If it all goes haywire then a new arc assembly costs 100$ and that includes the headpad. Find a used SR-404, that is the best way. Second best would be to buy a new one from Japan and cut it up. Please be aware that the success of this mod is in the glue used to mount the drivers. I've spent a lot of time to find the best one as it needs to be strong, no mess and very thin.

It great that you guys are liking the Stax experience... Bending the arcs on the SR-007 is absolutely crucial for them to reach their full potential. It's a bit sad how many have dismissed the SR-007 in favor of other phones just because the fit wasn't right...

That price is all kinds of crazy.

Plenty of them actually.

Yeah, it is called the KGSS... Being serious there isn't a whole lot that can be done for the Stax amps as you really need more power rather then new PSU caps. New RCA inputs and wiring help but will not fix what it wrong with the amp in the first place.

Like I told Andy it must be my Nordic minimalism talking. I also wonder why they didn't hide the screws behind a fake front panel. It would have cost another 40$ but the amp would have looked much better. I don't see how this amp can be considered cutting edge without huge CCS for each channel sinking more heat then a 200w AB amplifier. You need a lot of current to keep electrostatics happy and make them reach their full potential. The new BH I'm working on will have four 0.27

This is one of the ugliest contraptions I've ever seen but Neil'a amp is worse. I also wonder where the massive heatsinks are to keep it cool... \

First off the disclaimer. This is live AC voltage you are working with so do this at your own risk. If you do not know what you are doing have somebody that does take a look at it. While I've tested the 240v version and it works fine this is posted without any responsibility on my part for any damage due to Stax changing the design at some point. This works with my two C-series SRM-1 Mk2's and my B-series SRM-T1. This is only intended for those amps that didn't ship with a voltage selector plug. If it did come with one... then use that then! The picture above is how the rear of the socket should look like but Stax often changed them around to have the component only for one voltage. If it reads 100v (or 117v, 230v etc.) only on the back and there is no plug in the voltage selector socket odds are that the socket is wired differently. It needs to be changed to the above configuration or the amp can catch fire or worse. Since there are two white wires I marked them on the picture, AC power in and from transformer. The AC power comes from the power switch and is in the upper row. It is connected to 3 pins while the other white wire is in the bottom row and only connected to one pin. That one is connected to the primary of the transformer. The only other pin that has more then one connection is the gray one. You can connect to any of the joined pins as they are all the same. Here is the list. You need to put a jumper wire between different colors where the + sign is. There are always two different connection per voltage with either two or three different colors. 240v configuration Gray + Purple AC power in + Blue 220v configuration AC power in +Green Blue + Gray 117v configuration Blue + Purple + AC power in White + Green 100v configuration AC power in + brown Green + White

You could also lower the bias voltage with a resistor to ground. I don't know the exact values for dropping 80v but I'm sure Kevin does.