Electrostatic amp suggestions under $1500? GES the only choice? - Page 2  

KGSSHV

yes it has been published. its in one of the other threads in the high end forum.

here is a copy

boards are awaiting final checks and will be ordered very soon.

Same old parts... NOPE.

Same old design... yes and no

moar volts, yes. 3 times the slew rate...

peer review... Please go ahead and do so.

Vaporware... Don't think so... Many thought the T2 would be vaporware and

never get done... In 3 days people will get to hear it, probably in the same

room with an exstata...

So perhaps regular DIYers are actually going to build it this time.

Many DIY'ers have built the KGSS, hell my first amp was a KGSS.  Any claims about the KGSS being harder to build then an Exstata are just pure, utter BS. 

Same goes for all the happy Exstata owners.  People being afraid to post in the thread due to the rampant fanboi-ism isn't the same as everybody being happy with their amps. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer 

Many DIY'ers have built the KGSS, hell my first amp was a KGSS.  Any claims about the KGSS being harder to build then an Exstata are just pure, utter BS. 

 

I don't think that's a fair statement.  Can you order the parts for a KGSS from Mouser?  Can you point me to site with pretty clear instructions about how to go about building and performing initial biasing on one?  You know you can't so please don't bother replying to this. From a technical perspective there may be little difference between the two in terms of buildability but in the real world there is, for lack of a better term, a world of difference.

Allow me to put my moderator hat on for a bit - there's way too much personal jabbing and grandstanding going on in this thread from multiple sides.  The OP asked a simple question and multiple members decided to take the discussion in a direction where it had no business going.  And they should have known better.  So how about moving forward we keep things a bit more on topic please.  I don't relish the thought of editing or deleting posts or making statements like this.  What we should all be hoping for and working towards right now is to keep Stax designs and electrostatic headphones in general relevant since Stax all but pulled the plug on their US distribution arm recently. 

There is nothing stopping you in using the same transistors from the Exstata in the KGSS /while Fairchild still makes them that is) which can be bought from Mouser.  All the rest of the parts can be easily found if one bothers to look at the PCB and can use the Mouser search feature.  There is also a BOM out there from the 2003 board run which can easily be found. 

As for grandstranding, I'm just tired of Cavalli's possé chiming in anywhere and everywhere shilling his designs.  It's now quite clear that the plan all along was to make the Exstata into a commercial product so in my eyes this is just shilling.  It's not like there are any boards available anywhere....

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by n_maher 

I don't think that's a fair statement.  Can you order the parts for a KGSS from Mouser?

 

 

If the definition of something that is DIYable is everything from mouser and only mouser

you are certainly limiting your options. But really, all you have to do is add www.bdent.com for

the semiconductors and then you are set. For the T2 you need to add one more distributor,

www.futureelectronics.com for the aluminum oxide TO220 insulators.

www.SumR.com makes the best transformers and does custom stuff with ease.

Its the custom chassis stuff that stops most people. Exstata, kgss(hv), T2... all really

the same thing.

I'm expecting STAX to have a US distribution company that finally really makes sense after

all these years soon. Maybe someplace in NY that has been doing this for over 40 years