spritzer

Cool!

I'm also looking into some form of Stax amplification that is less compromised then the Stax amps at a similar price. THe SRM-Xh is Pro only though there is a normal solder tag on the PCB but I didn't test it. Stock it was available without a bias supply and Pro only as a part of the Spirit system. The one without a bias supply was marked as "Electret Energizer" or something like that.

If you can post pictures of the insides of both adapter and headphones I might be able see what's what. If they are normal electrets then they can be used with a Stax transformer but the low output driver could also be near death.

The SRD-7 has it's own colorations but they have many positive traits over the cheaper amps, namely dynamics and they are much smoother. Plug in the BH and the transformers become a distant memory... The 313 and 252 share some of the circuit but the PSU in the 313 is of course much bigger with higher voltage swing. The new amps are much, much better and can be had for 150$ or less from Japan. They are almost always in the combos but selling a SR-202 wouldn't be too hard.

You should always start at the wall with a good PC and then try some of these filters. I've tried a bit of them (PS Audio, Shunyata, Chang, BPT) and none were as good as a direct connection to the wall or connected though my silver wired extension box. While they are there they do more harm then good but can have benefits when there is a lot of pollution on the mains. The EMM gear all have a switching PSU so they will benefit from some power filtering/regeneration as it filters out some of the noise the player is pumping out. The HEV90 could also benefit from a filter as if memory serves me, there is a switcher in there. Cables will make of break most systems but this becomes a big issue when it reaches a certain performance point. This is pretty far from being subtle and they only way to stay sane in the cable world is to stay away from the "major manufacturers" and either go with smaller companies or DIY.

Neil is just going through the motions of using a CDP with a linear PSU instead of a switcher. Removing all power filters is a necessity.

You need to access the player from each side and some plugs would be nice for the holes. Even a simple metal plate with the tubes and inputs engraved into it.

Those mistakes are there to learn from. I've blown up 1 KGSS board and a PSU all because I soldered in the wrong resistor in the wrong place. It was really impressive when it went up in smoke...

There is no best while some tubes are better then others it mostly depends on the implementation. The ECC99 is a very linear tube with a lot of power as it was designed for 300b driver duty. I would gladly use either a ECC99 or a 6H30 instead of the normal text book stuff most companies use. You are the only one... The only reason most modders mount the tubes through the top plate is because they are using PCB's and want to minimize the p-p wiring as it is more expensive.

I doubt they could relocate the tubes as there wouldn't be any way to open up the player with the tubes on top. Some internal structure could be made but I just don't get the point. The 6H30 is good but the ECC99 is a better tube in many regards.

The DACT is the only choice at it's price level though you could maybe buy a switch and do it cheaper but it's so much more work. The next step is P&G then there is the RK50 and a Shalco fitted with some esoteric resistors like Riken or AN Tantalum.

You are both nuts...

I would call him reckless as he put the fate of his company in the hands of fragile electronics with no backup. All electronic components will fail and it is pretty irresponsible to assume otherwise even if it was for only a short while during upgrades.

Ahhh, so you've received it. Congrats! These small Stax amps are perfect for office rigs.

I think the upgrade was something like 1200$ over the stepped attenuators but I'm not sure. They can be found for about 900? and the 2 deck units for 400?. It sounds cleaner then anything I've ever heard. The RK27 is very grainy and colored by comparison and so are the DACT steppers. For me it's mostly that I can't deal with the steps as there is never the right volume level and that gets old really fast. Yes, they are Black Gates WKZ caps. If you have to use electrolytics then they are on the short list of candidates.

The electrets work with any Stax amp or adaptor, 5 or 6 pin. Just be careful with the volume as excessive level aren't good for them.

Nope but I have borrowed one from a friend to try out. Massive beasts. It's the same that Headroom uses in their amps if you don't want the steppers (and pay the premium)

Hehe didn't see your post. Funny that we both used the same picture as I had to dig around on my server to find it. + Those are my very beautiful NOS Sigma Pro's. My first Gamma Pro's were mailed to me today... The RK50 cost around 1000 Euro's but it's worth it.

The SET wasn't supposed to be there. My bad! The input stage is single ended and all triode but it could use some work.

I think this one is since 2005, back when life was a whole lot simpler. Justin...

The pictures are in the HF photo gallery. I'll try to find one and upload it here.

An OTL amp will always sound better then running through one or even two transformers and for most amps you can use something like the Mundorf Silver-Oil caps with their 900vAC rating and they are very good caps indeed. I've always been meaning to buy some Chinese kit amp and fit it with a Stax output and some other features. I have one in mind but time is always a problem and so this remains untested in the long term. A simple switch on the front panel that would disconnect both legs of the output transformers while the Stax socket is active should create a good all rounder as you would have a p-p DHT SET for some speaker use.

Producing a split L&R level control with the ELMA switches isn't possible AFAIK but it could be possible with some other switches. Shalco maybe? The KGBH sure is pretty but it really needs a quad RK50 pot...

We need pics! These have to be stellar headphones when you can get the SR-007A for 1650$ shipped in January.

There is only one plus to the separate L and R volume controls and that is balance control. Steppers are shit at that anyways so just give me a quad pot and I'll be happy.