HemiSam

the negative camber hurts to look at.... HS

I was in Peru last week and had an old-school cocktail (pisco sour...pisco is a South American brandy for those that have not tried it) at a hotel in the Sacred Valley. The use of bitters and nutmeg and the presentation was spectacular. I expect the rejuvenation of old school bartending spurred by Mr. Petraske influenced that experience. RIP, sir. My liver salutes you... HS

Yes, Leve. I found the cooper o-ringed gaskets to be too much work...leaked too often in my application. I push a bit of boost through a 406 C.I. motor. HS Those are some great pics, VPI. Particularly like the shot of the Cobra knock-off, aftermarket...whatever they're referred to as these days. HS

Some work done on my heads HS

God bless America....RIP, Ms. Craig. Flashbacks from my youth. HS

The KGST is easy to live with while putting out quite a bit of mojo (400v swing) in a relatively small package. Runs pretty darn cool too...thanks to Geoff. I haven't run it any longer than 12 or so hours straight, but I'm pretty confident it could wrong longer w/o drama given how well the temps are managed. At the moment I'm listening to Duane Allman - an Anthology....Loan Me a Dime is the tune which he plays with Boz Scaggs. All kinds of goodness. Song just rolled and now it's Dave Meniketti's - On the Blue Side; song: Until the Next Time. I'm sippin' rum and smiling after a looooong day... HS

Interesting. Maybe a bored 343?? I'm no expert. I'll defer to swt61. I know my MOPAR's better. HS

I'm gonna take this back....you are correct. It's an AMX. Thanks for clarifying. HS

Those Javelins are under appreciated. Would love to do a restomod of one or the coke bottle shaped ones like Donohue raced in the Trans-Am series. Great pics. HS

That's a tough one and I don't think I could honestly say yes. What I can offer is mine dissipates heat very well and I have left in one for 12 hours at a time w/o issue. I've never let it run much longer than that at one go, but after 12 hours I could comfortably lay my hand on top of the case. I think heat management and tube longevity are the two variables in the equation. Different executions of the same basic design so I'd start by asking about how hot it gets. That's my simple two bits. Best of luck with your search. HS

If it's a nicely built one for a fair price, I believe it will do you a great job with the 007A's. HS

I have spent a lot of time with a 400v KGST and the 007A. Great combination. I think 350v would be fine, but if it's being built than see if you can do the upgrade. HS

The 007A is super enjoyable out of the KGST. Listening to Earnest Ranglin - Surfin' off of Below the Bassline at the moment....tasty. Sadly I had a channel imbalance incident with the first 007A, but FromJapan made it right with some shoving. HS

That's gonna leave a mark... HS

Thank you, mulveling. I would be lying if I said I was anything but pleased as punch with my KGST. It's a relatively small footprint for one of these beasts and the build quality is exceptional. Many hours on it with nothing but a smile on my face. I can get it plenty loud for me, although I'm not the head banger I once was. Still like to crank the rock and blues guitar tunes at times though... HS

That is helpful, purk. I tried to get my hands on a MkI from the UK but the deal fell through...dip. The KGST I am using was kindly made for me by Geoff. He afforded the option to swing 400v and I am glad I signed up for that. To my ears, although the KGST is a tube amp it's got a lot of hybrid/SS characteristics. Similar in that regard to the Woo WA7 I use for my TH900's. I've spent many an hour in the recliner with the 007A/KGST combo and it never seems to fatigue me. HS

Thank you for that, purk. HS

Anyone compare the KGST to the Carbon with 007's or 009's? Curious if there is much difference. Absolutely impressed with the KGST thus far listening with new run 007A's bought directly from Japan (streaming FLAC files to Ygg DAC balanced out to KGST with nothing special cables). HS

First I've seen that, purk. I have read nothing but good things about the BHSE, but there's been a lot of good about the KGST. In hindsight, no outright comparisons though. Personally, I think I'd be better off just trying the 009's with my current rig than ordering a BHSE. I really enjoy my relatively new KGST and I'm not up for the Bataan death march that is ordering and waiting for the BHSE. I may be a lot of things, but brutally patient isn't one of them...LOL. Very much appreciate your and Hopstretch's insights all the same. They give me context I did not have previously. Perhaps I'll be fortunate and get to listen to someone else's BHSE at a meet or the like one of these days. HS

This is useful info. Thanks, purk. s I've been deliberating about the 009s. Basically where I stand is that the Fostex TH900's out of the Woo WA7 (i.e. dynamic setup) sound as good as my SR007s out of my beloved KGST. The 900's are a bit more forward up top (some might call brighter), are undoubtedly V shaped in signature, and definitely pack a bass punch which I like (bass goes lower/deeper than the SR007's although the 007's are no slouches), but I'd argue that they stand up to the more costly 007/KGST rig. They're both fantastic, but to my surprise they're a lot closer than I'd ever have guessed. It took me a week to appreciate the 900's and after the second week I was gobsmacked at how good they are. This has me wondering about the 009's...damn. The current price point for the 009's out of Japan direct if you're paying in dollars is really good...I agree. HS

and to think, I might have missed out on all of this.... HS

LMAO! I saw that...the man has definitely drank the koolaid. I found when I rubbed two sticks over my KGST, the midrange improved and I started a fire If you keep taunting me like this, Laowei, I'm going to have to go and buy another pair of headphones. The 009's do look way sexy. It's a sickness... HS

Thank you for sharing Laowei. I am very curious indeed about the 009's in the ygg > KGST chain and your early reflections are most helpful. I may just have to break down and purchase a pair so I can see for myself. Your description as "distant" is likely what I am hearing as well. HS

I fear posting in here after that entertaining head-on collision and the fact that this will be boring as hell after that comedy, but...I've had my South American coffee so here goes. Please be gentle... I've been listening to the Schitt ygg DAC into a KGST into 007A's purchased not long ago directly from Japan. Zero mod's on the headphones. Listening to the chain for weeks now. Previously I was using a Beresford Caiman MkII DAC which I thought was pretty darn good for the price point and definitely better than the DAC in my Woo WA7 DAC/amp. There is gobs of detail, the highs are definitely there and if the source file is peaky then the sound is that as well. The bass, holy crap is it there in spades. It is all good, very good. The one thing I can't help but feel/hear is a bit of veil that resulted from the ygg (I'd likely get hung for suggesting this on the other site so I figured I'd brave this post). I'm wondering if perhaps the Beresford was "bright" or is it perhaps that the ygg that's supposedly more like "analogue" that is resulting in the veil? I have the same experience with the ygg into my dynamic rig (Woo WA7 to Fostex TH900's) which is V shaped but a hell of a lot of fun. It's an extremely enjoyable chain, but it's not altogether what I was expecting. Thinking about trying 009's with this chain as it might be a nice combination. I listen to guitar blues / jazz, classic rock, and I like trip hop stuff like Nightmares on Wax and Gramatik, Zero 7, etc... Thoughts? Soz for the rambling post... HS

I must say, my KGST built by Geoff runs surprisingly cool. He made it to swing 400v's and added some smart heat management. I can lay my hand directly on the cover, over the tubes, after it's been running for several hours without discomfort. It's warm but not at all hot. I've been super pleased with his execution of the KGST design. My living room stays between 75 and 80 degrees F. HS