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post #991 of 18428
3/23/07 at 2:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShaolinRasta View Post
I don't know though what an Aleph 30 costs these days in the used market, but that might be a fine choice. I'm very pleased with the job my Sugden gear does, but don't often see their power amps on the used market. That said though, I don't think many folks here are advocating that anyone specifically run out and purchase a power amplifier specifically to drive a transformer box (although my suggestion with be to go with pure Class A in that case).
I'm using a Aleph 3 (clone) and will say it again ,there is SERIOUS synergy with the Pass Amps. Pure Class A seems to be the way to go as far as amplification (to these ears).With tube or hybrid preamplification.
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post #992 of 18428
3/23/07 at 2:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Downrange View Post
Your post got me thinking about the "adjustment process" I've gone through with the Omega IIs, coming from the Lambdas.
I think it's easy to get used to a "forward" sound, and sense that's the way music should be. My experience with the Lambdas is that they reflect that "forward" orientation. They bring the upper mids closer to my ears, not screechy or piercing, just more present. It's an exciting sound. When I first started listening to the O2s, I was a bit disappointed, missing that exciting forward sound I'd grown used to. It took me several days to realize I was gradually re-educating my aural perception away from the forward slant of those Lambdas. After a few weeks, that re-education process is complete, and when I put them on, I "relax into" the Omegas with a sigh of relief. The ears are not "assaulted" with the music; it is more like the natural presentation of a live accoustic event.
So, now, when I use the Lambdas, they are still enjoyable for many kinds of music (if not very transparent), but I can't wait to get back to the Omegas. My aural perception has adjusted away from the unnatural forward presentation, and they don't involve me as much.
So, perception is a big part of the whole experience, here. I think people can really underestimate just how much of a swing occurs when they finally obtain a natural-sounding product. The second thing that was surprising to me was the amount of time it took to re-calibrate my perception; not a few hours, but closer to a week. Just some observations on how perception and judgement about things in this realm are not really fixed, but can shift.
This is the exact reason why people dismiss the SR-007 in favor of the He90. It takes a while to recognize how fake these more forward phones sound but when you have you can never go back. This is the way good hi-fi should sound, not upfront or bright but just there. If the recording is bright they will show that but in their polite understated manner. With each new improved component the better they get. All I need now is somebody to build for me a DHT based amp with huge transmitter tubes and all of the usual top level caps, resistors and wire so I can see just how good they can be.
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post #993 of 18428
3/23/07 at 3:46pm
Re: the cheaper Stax amps, I see that the 313 replacement in the Stax lineup is a 323II

http://www.stax.co.jp/Pdf/Export/SRM323II-BRO2.pdf

It cites a "Maximum output voltage: 400 V r.m.s. / 1 kHz " which is I think significantly more than the earlier 313, although the 717 and 727A are still at 450. I wonder if this will be a real improvement. It's too bad Stax got rid of the low bias socket though.

Also, I note that the tube amps have much lower output voltages, 300 to 340. Is that partly why they are reported to have a more laid-back quality.
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post #994 of 18428
3/23/07 at 3:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShaolinRasta View Post
It's spring cleaning, so time for me to pare down some of the extra gear I've accumulated in recent months. This includes a backup SRD-7 Pro box that I could be persuaded to find a loving home for.

ShaolinRasta,
How much for your SRD-7 Pro?

AudioD
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post #995 of 18428
3/23/07 at 4:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by derekbmn View Post
I'm using a Aleph 3 (clone) and will say it again ,there is SERIOUS synergy with the Pass Amps.
I completely agree! The old Threshold SA/3 works well also.
The Adcom 5000 series are all 3 stage MOSFET amps designed by Nelson Pass. Nelson told me that a lot of the concepts in the Aleph amps went into the 5000 series designs. The Adcom 5800 is a great sounding amp for the money. The baby in the series was the 5200 (now discontinued). I saw one on Audiogon for $200. I've not heard it. It may make a good amp on the cheap.

AudioD
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post #996 of 18428
3/23/07 at 4:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by edstrelow View Post
Re: the cheaper Stax amps, I see that the 313 replacement in the Stax lineup is a 323II

http://www.stax.co.jp/Pdf/Export/SRM323II-BRO2.pdf

It cites a "Maximum output voltage: 400 V r.m.s. / 1 kHz " which is I think significantly more than the earlier 313, although the 717 and 727A are still at 450. I wonder if this will be a real improvement. It's too bad Stax got rid of the low bias socket though.

Also, I note that the tube amps have much lower output voltages, 300 to 340. Is that partly why they are reported to have a more laid-back quality.
Higher voltages help but it is still a cheap solid state amp. It costs Stax around 100$ to build each one so it does sound pretty good for the price but the tube amps are much better even though they are compromised by a bad choice of tubes.
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post #997 of 18428
3/23/07 at 6:51pm
I received the XF2's today, and this brings up some tube biasing questions for the Blue Hawaii. I find the 'goal' of measuring 0 VDC between the + and - of each channel (for balance) and 0 VDC between the + and ground for each channel (for gain) unattainable.

After allowing the amp to warm up for one hour as soon as the top is lifted all voltages change drastically, I find the biasing also changes a lot based on ambient temperature.

So this begs the question.......how far can I be away from the goal to achieve sonic excellence and long tube life?

Brief impressions of the XF2's so far, compared to the Telefunken's.......the XF2's have more air around the instruments, the recording space and reverberation is more well defined, and there is more bass. The Telefunkens seem to have less quantity of bass but the bass is tighter and goes extremely low.

So to sum up my initial impressions.....the XF2's are more euphonic and the Tele's sound more like a perfect studio representation. They are very different from each other but both top notch and soooooo much better than any of the current production tubes I've heard (Electro Harmonix and the new Russian Mullards to be exact). By the way I'm very glad I got the XF2's.
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post #998 of 18428
3/23/07 at 8:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Carl View Post
Oh my god.
Wow! Thats some nice Stax amplifiers.

Quote:
Originally Posted by spritzer View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by thrice View Post
On a related note I've got a pair of Sr-X/MK III whose right driver takes about 3 minutes to charge. When I first plug them in I get no sound from the right driver and full sound from the left. After 3 min. I get full sound from the right driver. There is no overall channel imbalance that I can hear, just that initial charge-up time.

Any ideas what's wrong and if it can be fixed?

Thanks.
There is probably a corroded contact somewhere that slows the voltage buildup. Try to open up the driver to make new pressure contacts. It might work.
I have a similar issue with my main SR-X/MK3 pair.
The right driver take a minute or two before it match volume with the left one.

I will open up the driver and rotate the diaphragm. Thanks for the tip!
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post #999 of 18428
3/23/07 at 8:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by spritzer View Post
Higher voltages help but it is still a cheap solid state amp. It costs Stax around 100$ to build each one so it does sound pretty good for the price but the tube amps are much better even though they are compromised by a bad choice of tubes.
When we are talking about tubes. Could you recommend me some tubes that are worth trying in my SRM-007t/Omega II system? Cause you seem to have some experience with tube-rolling Stax amplifiers (I guess the SRM-T1 is pretty close to the later SRM amplifiers)...

I would like to tube-roll my amplifier, but have no idea what's worth looking into.
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post #1000 of 18428
3/23/07 at 8:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by patrickamory View Post
Let's hit 1000 posts folks. Tomorrow?
Post number 1000.
Sorry, but I just had to take this one...
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post #1001 of 18428
3/23/07 at 9:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by krmathis View Post
I would like to tube-roll my amplifier, but have no idea what's worth looking into.
Don't have a STAX tube amp, but i'm willing to bet(your money) that some RCA cleartops would be a decent improvement over the stock tubes.
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post #1002 of 18428
3/23/07 at 9:09pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by spritzer View Post
This is the exact reason why people dismiss the SR-007 in favor of the He90. It takes a while to recognize how fake these more forward phones sound but when you have you can never go back. This is the way good hi-fi should sound, not upfront or bright but just there. If the recording is bright they will show that but in their polite understated manner. With each new improved component the better they get. All I need now is somebody to build for me a DHT based amp with huge transmitter tubes and all of the usual top level caps, resistors and wire so I can see just how good they can be.
That makes a lot of sense to me and I can see why I perhaps had an easier time liking the SR-007 from the start. I've never owned particularly forward headphones and the forward sounding ones I've heard, while still enjoyable, seemed to be lacking in ways important to me or were harsh for certain music. The SR-007 on the other hand sounds more like the sound I'm used to but lacking the rolloffs, dull presentation and other flaws that tend to plague the more laid back headphones.

Oh, and if anyone is thinking of building a amp like the one you describe I'd like to know in advance. Need some time to save for it.
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post #1003 of 18428
3/24/07 at 12:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Downrange View Post
I'd be very surprised to see a pro Stax transformer, driven by a mid-priced amp, come anywhere close to a SRM-007tII driving Omega IIs (Not to mention the after market alternatives, like the KGSS and BH). But, I'm still trying to acquire said transformer, just to satisfy myself about this. If I find out differently, I'll be happy to report back to that effect.
I'm not sure if you consider an Aleph 3 mid-priced (available secondhand for just under a thousand bucks), but driving my SR-X Mk IIIs via the SRD-7/SB tranny box, it blows away my 006tII / 404 setup. No contest, no comparison, forget about it.

I haven't had a chance to try the 404s via a transformer box because the SRD-7 doesn't handle Pro phones. Sometime soon though.

Quote:
I think there is a really large bias in this forum, perpetuated by a few vocal members, to the effect that the old stuff is somehow "better" than the new. I haven't seen anything yet to validate that position, save the raves for the original Omegas (and associated stratospheric pricing, whenever they appear.) If the original Omegas were so great, I suspect Stax would still be making them!
Is it a bias, or the voice of experience, or just simply preference? You seem to be speaking on the basis of theory alone. At least from my fairly experience of loudspeaker audio, newer does not necessarily mean better.

Patrick
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post #1004 of 18428
3/24/07 at 1:29am
Some interesting quotes from Kevin Gilmore from a thread on the ES-1 in the amplification forum.

Its not what the tube can handle, it is the maximum voltage swing
the headphones can handle. Any voltage swing more than the double the bias
voltage (580 for o2) (500 for he90) and really bad things happen to the
headphones. But you could probably get away with a 500 volt dc output
bias with a 1kv power supply for those tubes.

Not sure i would like 2kv peak to peak on my head...


Stax transformer boxes and power amps of more than about 35 watts
per channel are also a real bad idea.
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post #1005 of 18428
3/24/07 at 3:16am
.
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