Elephas Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 on the other hand, if you dont have the HE90, you paid for an expensive socket that you cant use... Ah, I see what you mean. Yeah, I agree that it's useless to have an HE90 output on an amp if you're never going to use an HE90, don't own one/won't buy one, or don't like the HE90. But I do think that if there are going to be two types of outputs on an electrostatic amp, they should be one HE90 and one Stax Pro. When we ordered the BHSE, Justin gave us the choice of outputs. People could also choose two Stax 5-pin outputs. Maybe Ray would provide this option? The round space for the outputs looks like an HE60 output would not fit. Two Stax should be easily doable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diebenkorn Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 I don't know what you guys are talking about this is the best amp ever, EVER!!!!!!!!! (aaaaaaargh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mypasswordis Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 He probably wanted to pick tubes that were highly rollable, albeit not suited for the job, so buyers would spend hundreds of dollars and hours upon hours finding the magic combo that would color the sound in just the right way to mask how bad the amp is. If the output tubes are run at more than their max capacity, they're going to end up having to "roll" them anyways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonShine Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 The problem with putting a 5pin directly on the amp is someone will stick a 5pin xlr to 2xXLR3 adapter in it, plug in their fancy headphones, and kill themselves. Darwin Award waiting to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin gilmore Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 6SN7s, even the later 6SN7GTB, have a max plate voltage of 450 volts. 600 volts would be a killer. People using expensive nos 6SN7GTs for sound quality would detonate them in no time. Let us not forget that 6cg7's used in virtually every single stax tube amp except for the T2 are rated at 450 volts also, yet stax runs them at 700. Furthermore, some of the modification jobs on dynaco stereo 70's push the B+ to something on the order of 550+. The 6sn7's would last a while at 600 volts. But they would sound pretty nasty at large voltage swings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morphsci Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 I think the only voicing Ray did was not understanding what a CCS is and thus made an amp that Stax could have sold in the late 60's. By pure chance that works brilliantly for the HE90 and Jade and they really don't need a ruthlessly reveling and powerful amp behind them. And now you are omniscient too Sorry but it's getting old guys, please think up a new song and dance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voltron Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Sheesh, those slackers on HF have only managed 1.5 pages of hollow praise while we already have 4.5 pages of hollow criticism! Hooray! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mypasswordis Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 The criticism over there was deleted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grawk Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Of course it was, he paid for the thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Monkey Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Yeah, he did some pruning. Can't blame him for that; I'd probably do the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mypasswordis Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 True. Also, maybe I just wasn't born in the right (tube) era, but I just don't see why running a tube a couple hundred volts above its rated max is an acceptable idea. No one with tubed Stax amps seem to be complaining about short tube life, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laxx Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Not a fan of how the A-10 looks. I'm not ashamed to say that I like how the B-52 and the Apache look. =T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzziguy Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Jeez, I stay up late, get up relatively early and still the thread has tripled in size. *new thread* 'Let's buy Krmathis an A-10 Thunderbolt ll' Though I'm a little confused about when the 'I' came out. Did Ray start the thread? The 'II" is part of the aircraft name. The original Thunderbolt was the P-47 so they called the A-10 the 'Thunderbolt II'. The P-47 was a WWII fighter. Is there a point in competing with an amp that isn't being made anymore? Ray must feel that the HE-90 market is what he wants to attack. I don't know why. I think I'd aim towards headphones still being made. But then I've never been accused of being a marketing genuis. the bubble canopy helped, too. Yes and no. The lack of the dorsal fin caused stability problems as Tom pointed out. Also, I suspect that while it greatly improved vision, some pilots still missed that big hunk of armor behind their head. A-10 will always be 'warthog' to me - and, true to form... AKAIK, virtually everybody involved with the plane calls it the warthog. The official Thunderbolt II name never caught on. He should have done it. That would be a real differentiator and likely would really appeal to his fans. Although I guess it could be somewhat cannibalistic within his product line. When has Ray ever been cannibalistic with his product line? Yep - that's what I thought, too. The massive four-bladed prop was standard from the beginning (special extension struts on the landing gear to get ground clearance). The D model was still a "razorback" in the beginning, but adding the bubble canopy was a significant improvement. The N version brought back a dorsal fin on the vertical stabilizer because they lost a bit of stability from removing the razorback. The early models had 3 bladed props. I don't remember when the huge 4-bladed prop was used but it made a huge difference in performance. The N version also had a 2800 HP engine (as opposed to previous models 2000 HP) and was the fastest US WWII fight, though I suspect that the Navy's Bearcat, which entered service very late in the war, may have rivaled it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spritzer Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 The tubes is the Stax amps last a long time and they sound ok at low volume levels and into an easy load like the HE90 or a Lambda. It's when you want to use headphones that are hard to drive or need more volume is when things go down hill, fast. If this is the topology then the GES should have it beat (let alone the new version) and Ray is going to have a hard time explaining why the 300$ PoorMan amp can rival his expensive monstrosity. Maybe I'm crazy, but I think I remember seing a Koss female plug on a McAlister amp. I don't know how he did it though. We may be thinking of two different amps but the only one I've seen with a "Koss" socket didn't use the normal Koss connector. It was more similar to the Stax typer of plug, circular but the pins arranged differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asr Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Omg, lolz: Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio - View Single Post - A-10 Thunderbolt ll, Fully Balanced Electrostatic Amp/Pre-Amp Thanks Ray, for changing your mind and find electrostatics worth building an amplifier for. Guess you still think electrostatics can't reproduce sub bass info... Really stunning looking amplifier, exactly as I wanted it. Great work! I have moved on though, since you were quite negative back then in late 2006. So don't see myself getting one now.. Sorry! Guys, here are the thread: Anyone else waiting for an electrostatic amplifier from RSA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPH Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Krmathis, this one is for you.... I have moved on though, since you were quite negative back then in late 2006. So don't see myself getting one now.. Sorry! Ray must not be too pleased. Potential shill #1 out, who will step up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jinp6301 Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 wow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asr Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Ray must not be too pleased. Potential shill #1 out, who will step up? HeadphoneAddict, I believe: Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio - View Single Post - Which is the best amp for the Omega II? Edit: is "A-10" not a valid search term at HF? & fail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_maher Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Ray must not be too pleased. Potential shill #1 out, who will step up? I'd wager he already had a couple orders prior to releasing the amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guzziguy Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 Ray must not be too pleased. Potential shill #1 out, who will step up? Good thing you quoted this as it won't last long there. There are still multitudes of potential shills left starting with jamato8. Hmm, in thinking more about it, he may have trouble finding friendly reviewers that also have stats. That's the problem with his target market, I imagine that there aren't a lot of people with HE90's that are also Ray fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grawk Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 That's easy to solve, send out the jade + the a10 + a source. Or just send an envelope of cash and bullet points to post about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grawk Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 It'd take a time machine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Monkey Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 krmathis's post is priceless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voltron Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 I thought something very similar to that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atothex Posted March 30, 2009 Report Share Posted March 30, 2009 OMG the lulz. But seriously, you kinda can't blame him... What would YOU do if you got a free B22? Also, I don't believe he ever had an HE90 or a Jade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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