You don't need to spend a grand on an amp. You could do pretty well (in my book anyway) for about half that.

An SRM-1 Mk2 is a popular choice and it is way, way less than $1000. I had a hard time selling mine at what I think is a very meager cost, especially compared to some of the amps Stax produce today.

Yup, SRM-1 Mk2 is a solid choice but do adjust the offset/balance and replace the PSU caps.

Geeze - why can't anything ever be easy? I'm not competent to replace caps.

I was going to start looking for one, but now think I'd be better off getting something that can also drive the Omegas I will be getting someday.

717

Almost impossible to find; I'm thinking KGGS.

The one I did not buy from KuboTEN is still available afaik, I suggest to ask Craig about it. And there is another one in the EU, too. So one can easily find it if he/she looks hard enough

I'm novice at KuboTEN; how do I talk to Craig? If anyone wants to PM me and tell me how that site works, that'd be great. I've been eye-balling Stax gear that site but can't make heads or tails about how to use it.

Just mail him at support at kuboten dot com, he will tell you the rest (sometimes it takes a fair bit of time to get a response but otherwise it is fine).

Okay. I'll give it a whirl. Thanks.

As for using KuboTen, you just register and then place bids through the form on their site. It's not as interactive as Rinkya but neither will Craig throw out part of your purchase or charge insane amounts for shipping...

I've been registerd there for a while, but have not purchased anything yet. I get that it's like eBay, but I don't actually understand many of the product descriptions or the GUI in general. I assume that once I "get it" I will look back on this post and be embarrassed, but for now, I don't "get it." What makes it even more bizzare is that it has the google translate bar on top, but it doesn't seem to be very useful at all.

I suppose it would help to know how much better the 717 is versus the KGSS. Since the KGSS comes with a pretty decent warranty, I lean that way all other things being equal. Is this a rookie mistake?

I have only heard the 717 at meets, but the KGSS is a seriously good amp with the Omega 2 and yes Headamp's customer service/warranty is excellent.

The KGSS I built (using the Headamp PCB's) was quite a bit better then the 717 so it is well worth it.

Now I'm seeing over at the other thread that the 950 may be 300V bias, and have elevated squealing issues out of the KGSS: http://www.head-case.org/forums/headphones/3823-koss-esp-950-electrostat-thread-21.html#post328741

Still, the point of this is to build my system around the Omegas of my future, and not the 950. I'm going to shop around for a used KGSS, and if I can find nothing, just buy new.

Thanks for the comments.

If Colin is right, which he probably is, you just set the bias to what it's supposed to be (300V) on the KGSS and all is well. And have another jack for pro bias.

If you can afford BHSE or WES, just go all the way. By doing that you eliminate any doubts if your system can sound better in the future when you have Omega. I own a KGSS only for 2 months and I'm having a hard time now to hold my lust to upgrade to the next level. So far my logic still wins

IIRC the bias on the Koss amp is 600V, compared to the stock Stax bias of 580V and I'm not sure the squealing issue was ever traced to bias mismatch.