Acronym Alert!

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BTW I don't think we need a sticky. Just google them.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobkatz 

Can we make a sticky or an FAQ of this new thread? As it fills up I suggest a single alphabetized sticky thread go at the top of the high end forum. This will help a lot of acronym-challenged newbies!

O2: Stax Omega 2. A model of Stax headphone, also known as SR-007. These are the successors to the first Omega. And there is now a Mk2

BHSE: Blue Hawaii single ended tube electrostatic amp

KGSS: Kevin Gilmore (design engineer) Electrostatic solid state headphone amp

DAC: Digital to Analog Converter

Your definitions of each acronym are incomplete:

- O2 can also be referred to as OII, and there are a few versions of the MKI (differences in color and the flight case).

- BHSE refers to the specific HeadAmp product and is short for Blue Hawaii Special Edition. The BHSE is also a hybrid amp and is not "single-ended" either (it can accept balanced input). There are other Blue Hawaii amps too, like the KGBH (the original Blue Hawaii), "BHKE" the amp designed by Kerry, and other BH variants designed and/or built by Head-Fi members and/or other DIY-ers.

- "KGSS" refers more to a circuit than a particular amp, and the HeadAmp KGSS is just one of those specific amps, as there have been other KGSS amps built by DIY-ers. (The HeadAmp KGSS is the most prevalent though.)
 

- "DAC" is most often used on this site to refer to commercial products, but technically it refers to just an IC (integrated circuit, aka a "chip") that performs D/A conversion.

There are really 6 different versions of the SR-007, O2, Omega 2 or what ever you want to call them.  The Mk1 normal (brown leather parts) and Mk1 BL version (black leather parts) which are the same except for the color.  Then there are two versions of the Mk2, the early ones which sounded quite poor and the later ones which sound just like they should, though the Mk1 is still slightly better to these ears.  I have no idea when these changes were made but they seem to be mirror my own DIY changes which I posted back in 2008.  Then there is the SR-007A which it the Japanese version of the Mk2, exactly the same except for silver metal housings instead of the black parts on the Mk2. 

As for the Blue Hawaii, the original circuit is mostly a modified KGSS with a grounded grid, triode connected EL34 based output stage which has a truly massive constant current source driving it.  The BHSE version is the one Headamp builds and is the same circuit except the very complicated and expensive output stage CCS is replaced with more modern parts which are currently in production (the original 2SA1968 is gone forever).  The amp is fully DC coupled, dual differential and it is not single ended.  The only single ended bit is the output stage but that is true of most electrostatic amps due to the scarcity of match NPN/PNP pairs that can handle high voltage. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobkatz 

Can we make a sticky or an FAQ of this new thread? As it fills up I suggest a single alphabetized sticky thread go at the top of the high end forum. This will help a lot of acronym-challenged newbies!

O2: Stax Omega 2. A model of Stax headphone, also known as SR-007. These are the successors to the first Omega. And there is now a Mk2

BHSE: Blue Hawaii single ended tube electrostatic amp

KGSS: Kevin Gilmore (design engineer) Electrostatic solid state headphone amp

DAC: Digital to Analog Converter

These basic terms are all very easily learned by simply taking some time to read and search.  A sticky about such fundamental stuff is unnecessary and unwarranted, especially in the "high end" forum where one would assume some experience--or at least some willingness to take the time to learn on one's own.
 

Thank you for the info!