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Originally Posted by erikzen  So the question now becomes how can I improve on my system without spending tons?
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| How important is a transport? |
Depends on your DAC. I'd do some research on the Ack dAck to see if a different transport will improve things there.
Btw, I believe the Meridian G08 was sourcing the big Singlepower amps that day.
While this may
change the resulting sound, I don't think it will ultimately do what you want. Which leads me to...
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| The amp is kind of important right? Everyone says how the Lambda Pros have great synergy with the SRM-1/MKIII, but I know from listening to the ES-1 that there is room for improvement |
In speaking with Mikhail that day, he described how the ES-1 "grabs hold of the driver and bends it to it's will". I think this is what you were hearing, and where you will find you biggest improvement. The question is how to come closer to the ES-1 ideal without spending close to five figures.
Here again, I think some technical research is in order. What are the important things an electrostatic amp does? How does the amp interact with the electrostatic driver? What is it about the ES-1 that does it's job so well? Perhaps the DIY section here, as well as Headwize, would be good places to read up.
My guess after hearing several KGSS's over the years, and finally a Blue Hawaii last weekend, that the Gilmore designs are tweaked to make the bass-heavy Omega-2's sound good. You want something that is geared more toward the HE90, as the Lambda's have a FR closer to those, imo. The first incarnations of the ES-1 I heard sounded better with the O2's. But now, after several revisions, it's doing amazing things with the HE90's. Mikhail also said that using different tubes can shift the sound considerably.
There are at least a few publicly posted e-stat amp designs out there on the web, and a couple of DIYFSE people willing to build them if you didn't want to give it a shot yourself (although DIY may be your best bang for the buck option).
Not exactly the answers you were probably looking for, but constraints always require more 'out-of-the-box' thinking to solve the problem. Those are the things I'd investigate if a better, yet budget-conscious e-stat amp was in my future (and given my GF's propensity for Stax, it may be
).
