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Well there is this new Fuji material released recently also. Initially aimed at speakers but would have thought possible uses in headphones too.# Fujifilm Unveils Bendable, Foldable, Roll-up Speakers Feb 1, 2013 10:47Motonobu Kawai, Nikkei Electronics A retractable speaker Fujifilm showed speakers of various shapes Fujifilm Corp developed a film that can be use as the diaphragm (vibrating plate) of a speaker and unveiled it at nano tech 2013, a trade show that runs from Jan 30 to Feb 1, 2013, in Tokyo. By using the diaphragm, which Fujifilm calls "Beat," it becomes possible to realize a speaker that can be bent and folded. At the trade show, the company exhibited a slim speaker, retractable speaker and Japanese fan (sensu)-like speaker. To realize a bendable diaphragm, a soft material is required. However, because soft materials absorb vibration, it is difficult to ensure a flexibility and high acoustic characteristics at the same time. This time, Fujifilm ensured both of them by using a viscoelastic polymer that hardens in the audible range (20Hz to 20kHz) and softens in the range for bending it by hand (several hertz). Fujifilm mixed the viscoelastic polymer with piezoelectric ceramics to make a piezoelectric composite and packaged it with a protection layer after sandwiching it with electrodes. When a voltage is applied to the electrodes, the piezoelectric ceramics vibrates, and the viscoelastic polymer functions as a diaphragm. The strain energy generated by bending the film by hand is released as heat, preventing cracks, peel-off, etc. In the audible range, the film keeps an internal loss appropriate for a diaphragm. The viscoelastic polymer was developed based on materials that Fujifilm developed in the past

Vincent Brient the owner of TotalDAC comes from an engineering and electronics DIY background. He offer some OEM and DIY options so he might be willing to work with the community to make something available? Might be worth exploring OEM or DIY boards: All the REFERENCE-A1 electronics without enclosure, all the D1 electronics, a board only, 4 way active crossover and more, LCD, Shallco switch, on demand kit etc...: consult me e-mail: [email protected] telephone: +33 2 90 02 11 39 (european time zone)

Is this the cable you refer to? Silver plated copper coax 50 Ohm http://www.gore.com/en_xx/products/cables/coaxial/precision_coaxial_cable.html Have you tried Belden? http://www.mouser.com/Catalog/catalogusd/645/1282.pdf

Kevin do Gore still manufacture the silver cable? I can find silver plated copper

For Justin I'm sure cash flow is king

Yeh exports will be cheaper BUT if you need to import lots of components, energy and materials to manufacture them they will cost more due to inflation. Also people will want higher wages to cover food, energy etc. Japan are trying to stimulate inflation (rising prices) in their economy as they have been in a deflationary spiral for decades. So I would expect in the medium term for prices to rise, not fall, that is if the Bank of Japan's strategy actually works to stimulate at least 2% inflation!

Silver Mink!

I presume you have all read the Mega Review thread that is trending on the other place

I have had a 009 on loan for several weeks now and have to agree with Brigir its voicing does not seem to continue in the neutral path of the 007 Mk1. I do find it a bit enigmatic, bright treble, good bass but at the same time thin and lacks body. The soundstage seems much broader but less well integrated than the 007, so instruments and sections of the orchestra stand out somewhat like the presentation of the Sen HD800. Overall I much prefer the neutrality of the 007 Mk1's.

What a great experiment Birgir! Why did you choose LNS drivers? I know they are very smooth but not as fast as the 1 micron Lambdas. IMO the Orpheus are very fast and dynamic and the LNS might not be quite comparable speed wise.I believe Sennheiser deliberatly designed the Orpheus to be a diffuse type of headstage, which is great for large scale classical but perhaps not quite as good for small scale stuff like Jazz.Where on earth did you manage to source all those Orpheus parts from?

I sometimes use my 007 Mk1's with this amp and feel it does produce very good sound, even the bottom end is quite good too. Not up to BHSE or T2 standards but its no slouch, especially in view of their cost compared to more recent models Which Stax do you plan to run these with Birgir when they are refurbed?

It is English but so florid its difficult to understand, and not really suitable for writing reviews. Some of the reviewers on 6moons suffer the same problem! Its a bit shocking really as they are writing professionally. I suppose they think they are impressing the punters by showing the breadth of their vocabulary

I thought you had to be very selective which type of RCA plug you use as there are as far as I know only a couple on the market that guarantee 75ohms? I think you are right also about having a secure tight connection with SPDIF and BNC would be preferable. However most kit these days dont have BNC only RCA. Have you tried a good quality RCA to BNC adapter, I think Black Cat cables can supply something like that?

Read this it will give you an excellent guide to what you can expect http://www.innerfide...nnheiser-hd-800 And this http://www.innerfide...lass-headphones

I think this was an international standard agreed among audio manufacturers, so perhaps the Germans aren't to blame after all. It was agreed in 1966 by ANSI - IEC International Electrotechnical Commission standards. It is standard IEC 61938 Ed. 1.0 b:1996, Audio, video and audiovisual systems - Interconnections and matching values - Preferred matching values of analogue signals http://www.amazon.com/IEC-61938-Ed-1-0-Interconnections/dp/B000XYSAV4 I believe there was a similar standard for some while around headphones used in recording and broadcasting called the 600(omega) Standard or 600 ohms, which is why many of the professional headphones had this nominal impedance. When you actually look back through this issue I think probably prevailing headphone impedance has been driven to a large extent by the devices driving the headphones. Crystal set, tube amplifier, transistor amplifier, battery powered devices. Each of these have probably dictated what would be the most suitable prevailing standard. Particularly now we have so many battery powered devices 32 ohm is more the norm to conserve battery power and very small levels audio power.

From Jan Meier's web site impedance optimisation The headphone jackets on power amplifiers and receivers are very often directly connected to the loudspeaker outputs. To prevent damage to the headphones and to the amplifier, resistors are placed in between. These resistors generally have values between 200 and 600 Ohm. On the other hand, radio's and CD-players have headphone jackets that are driven by an opamp and have much lower impedance values (< 50 Ohm) between opamp and jacket. The resulting output resistance Ro of a headphone jacket has a major impact on the sound. Not only does it reduce the voltage seen by the headphone, it also changes the frequency characteristics of the sound. The impedance of the headphone is frequency dependent, Zphone(f), and a sinus signal of frequency f will be attenuated by the output impedance by a factor: Zphone(f) / (Zphone(f) + Ro)| < 1 Generally Zphone(f) has a maximum at the lower frequencies and therefore the attenuation of the lower frequencies is less than that of the higher frequencies. The figure shows the attenuation at various frequencies for the Sennheiser HD600 and the Beyerdynamic DT931 at output impedances of 150 and 470 Ohm. It clearly shows that the lower frequencies are less attenuated than the higher frequencies. With most headphones, increasing the output impedance makes the headphone sound darker and more muddy (the amplifier loosens his grip/control on the movement of the driver). However, some headphones (like the Beyerdynamic DT931) definitely sound better at 120 Ohm (which is an international audio standard). If your headphone sounds sharp and aggressive, you might consider increasing the effective output impedance of your headphone jacket. The simplest method is to place an adapter between headphone jack and headphone as shown in the figure. The adapter has a resistor placed in series with each audio-channel of the headphone. The effective output impedance is the sum of the output impedance of the jacket and the value of the resistor (Ro + Ra). Note: The value of the resistor should not be higher than 3 till 4 times the impedance of the headphone drivers. Further increases do hardly effect sound. If your headphone sounds dark and muddy and is driven by an amplifier or receiver, you might try to decrease the effective output impedance. This also can be done by an adapter, but this time the resistors (with value Ra) are placed in parallel with the audio-channels of the headphone. The effective output impedance of the combination of headphone jacket and adapter becomes (without proof) Ro * Ra / (Ro + Ra). The value of the resistor should be 0.1 .. 1 times the impedance of the headphone drivers to have a noticable effect. However, be aware that with very low values of Ra your amplifier has to deliver a much higher current signal to obtain the same sound pressure. This might have some adverse effects on sound quality by itself. Also be aware that the resistors should be able to dissipate enough heat!

Yes but there are a few hints about possible performance. To paraphrase; The old transformers transmission characteristics limited the performance of the original Floats. The new power supply module, weighs 10kg and is built with uncompromisingly good transformers that allow a transfer down to 20Hz. The best part: The new power supply module also works with the old float. Owners of the old float can expect if they purchase a new power supply module, a marked improvement in sound. It looks huge and weighs 10KG (22 LBS)!

New Jecklin now officially released with prices Preisliste: Jecklin Float QA Kopfhörer 1395,--€ Jecklin Float QA power supply 1395,--€ Jecklin Float QA Set bestehend aus Kopfhörer und power supply 2590,--€ http://www.quad-musi...ml/jecklin.html Interview and more photos AVGuide.ch in German http://www.quad-musik.de/avguide-ch-Juerg-Jeckling-Interveiw-neuer-Float.pdf

I think this is more my style

Still make em in South America I think, $30,000 in the UK if you want a new one

At $20,000 (18,500 Swiss Franc) it ought to be bloody fantastic!

Yes has but only for 10 minutes It's not clear from the description how the phones are driven. I presume its some sort of combined power amp and transformer based energiser? Like a RWA with an integrated SRD-7!

Has anyone experience with the Audio Consulting MIPA Stax Amplifier from Switzerland? Battery powerd spec as follows Product Features This is a 100% battery amplifier suitable to drive all Stax headphones Mipa power amplifier 30 w per channel , battery powered Silver Rock level transformers suitable for all Stax headphones Silver Rock TVC volume control 3 inputs Polarisation of membranes performed by batteries Price CHF 18`500.00 in Wood/oil, CHF 15`400.00 in Black Copper versions available http://www.audio-consulting.ch/?Products:Amplifier:MIPA_Stax_Amplifier

Not quite clear what you are saying how the realiser impacts on the sound? I thought they were designed to use with the Stax 202's? So how do they impact the Omega 2? They are supposed to simulate the sound of your speakers in your specific room setup so thats bound to impact on both presentation and frequency response. They also come with a ready saved simulation which is probably somewhat different. Never heard the realiser but intrigued how it differs from crossfeed. Any comments from realiser owners appreciated

That was my experience wanted me to purchase new drivers plus all the shipping costs. I was not amused. With all the LCD3 situation as well its put me off buying and more Audeze products for the foreseeable future.