Mini-Review: HeadAmp KGSS vs Blue Hawaii SE - Page 7  

Thank you very much livewire. Nice pics!

You say that the KGSSHV sounds great, but that it doesn't have the rich presentation of the BHSE -- well don't forget that it also comes at half the price!

Quote:

Originally Posted by verwandlung 

Thank you very much livewire. Nice pics!

 

You say that the KGSSHV sounds great, but that it doesn't have the rich presentation of the BHSE -- well don't forget that it also comes at half the price!

What headphones will you be using? You don't really need the muscle of a BHSE (or a KGSSHV) if you have an SR-507. A Woo GES will work just fine for those. I opted to go the KGSSHV route to power my Omega 2 because I didn't want to deal with new tubes every few years. It's going to be expensive because the parts are all TOTL (OCC silver wiring, Khozmo Z-foil SA, all Furutech rhodium connectors, etc) but it should sound pretty darn good. I'll be watching the Liquid Lightning threads to see how people describe that amp, but I think its going to have a tough go against my HV. 

Dave, I am using to MK2 as well (currently with a Stax 323II!) and I feel very much like you do about tubes, but unlike you I wouldn't be able to build a KGSSHV myself. I will be watching the Liquid Lightning threads as well, but somehow I really would like to get one of those amp designed by Gilmore (heard so many good things about them).

Quote:

Originally Posted by verwandlung 

Dave, I am using to MK2 as well (currently with a Stax 323II!) and I feel very much like you do about tubes, but unlike you I wouldn't be able to build a KGSSHV myself. I will be watching the Liquid Lightning threads as well, but somehow I really would like to get one of those amp designed by Gilmore (heard so many good things about them).

I wish I could build it myself. Mine is being built on commission, I just picked out what parts I wanted. One possibility if you want a SS amp is to buy a 727II. Japanese imports are about $1700 or so, and if you can find somebody good with a soldering iron you can have it re-wired for 117V, and apply the Spritzer mod.

I thought of it, but I forgot about Stax amps a little while ago. It seems that the KGSS was much better than the 727II, even more true for the HV I suppose. May I ask you how much you are being charged for you amp and how much you had to pay for the parts?

Quote:

Originally Posted by verwandlung 

I feel very much like you do about tubes

 If you listen twice a week for five hours per day,  tubes shoud last you ten years.  If you use your amp everyday for five hours, which I doubt it, you still going to get three years out of them.

Also  good  tubes coud be bought for under $200,  not a huge price to pay once per ten years to enjoy you music. I am just saying.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vvs_75 

 If you listen twice a week for five hours per day,  tubes shoud last you ten years.  If you use your amp everyday for five hours, which I doubt it, you still going to get three years out of them.

Also  good  tubes coud be bought for under $200,  not a huge price to pay once per ten years to enjoy you music. I am just saying.

 

I agree and I may very well decide to order a BHSE actually! I am waiting for Justin to tell me when he thinks the current batch will be ready. The only thing is that I live in a small place in NYC (with cats!) and I am a little puzzled as to where exactly I would be able to put this amp which, as I was told, tend to become quite hot. So it is not much the price of the tubes, but many factors, which sometimes tend to make me prefer the simplicity of a solid state amp.

Quote:

Originally Posted by verwandlung 

Thank you very much livewire. Nice pics!

 

You say that the KGSSHV sounds great, but that it doesn't have the rich presentation of the BHSE -- well don't forget that it also comes at half the price!

More like 1/5th the price as a KGSSHV can be built for 1000$ without skimping in any way.  That's not bad for one of the best amps in the world. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer 

More like 1/5th the price as a KGSSHV can be built for 1000$ without skimping in any way.  That's not bad for one of the best amps in the world. 

Well, 1/5th as a DIY, which is not an option for me! Do you know anyone Spritzer who might be interested in building this amp? Or are you aware of anyone who is planning to manufacture this any time soon? It is too bad that the KGSS is no longer produced (just when I was ready to buy it!). Incidentally, when I said “half the price of the BHSE” I meant with labor and the same box quality... That, of course, doesn't mean that I wouldn't be happy paying under 2000$ for such an amp.

One last thing, Spritzer, do you have any thoughts about the Cavalli Liquid Lightning?

Thanks in advance for you comments!

I can't find the post right now but I believe that Justin said if he made the KGSSHV commercially the price difference between it and the BHSE would be the quad of el34s. A BHSE could be made for far less than 5k if it was DIY, although it would be near impossible to match Justin's chassis work which really is exquisite.

bcg27, you are right, Justin told me that if he decides to make another solid state amp (he didn't say it was the KGSSHV though, but it seems reasonable to assume so) it will be of the quality of the BHSE and in the same price range. What he didn't tell me was whether he is planning to build it and if so when. According to some source, it remains unlikely because of the high demand for the BHSE. I just don't know about that. At any rate, I am waiting for him to reply to an email on that question. I'll keep you posted.

PS. I wish I could build the KGSSHV or BHSE, but I just can't!

Quote:

Originally Posted by verwandlung 

I thought of it, but I forgot about Stax amps a little while ago. It seems that the KGSS was much better than the 727II, even more true for the HV I suppose. May I ask you how much you are being charged for you amp and how much you had to pay for the parts?

Spritzer could clarify, but I don't think the difference between the KGSS and the modded 727II was all that much. I'm paying parts at cost, plus $600 as a build fee. As I said the parts are all TOTL, so it's not going to be cheap. The Khozmo volume control was $500 by itself. A commercial amp with these parts in it would probably be some $6000 though, so I feel pretty good about it :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by verwandlung 

Well, 1/5th as a DIY, which is not an option for me! Do you know anyone Spritzer who might be interested in building this amp? Or are you aware of anyone who is planning to manufacture this any time soon? It is too bad that the KGSS is no longer produced (just when I was ready to buy it!). Incidentally, when I said “half the price of the BHSE” I meant with labor and the same box quality... That, of course, doesn't mean that I wouldn't be happy paying under 2000$ for such an amp.

 

One last thing, Spritzer, do you have any thoughts about the Cavalli Liquid Lightning?

 

Thanks in advance for you comments!

DIY is indeed the issue but this one was designed so that pretty much anybody can build it.  You can get away with little to no matching and all of the parts are relatively easy to source with a large majority in stock at Mouser.  There are some teething problems with the first boards but they will be worked out as soon as the crop up. 

Now a KGSSHV in a BHSE type of box will cost pretty much the same as the BHSE.  A chassis of that quality costs a lot to make so any savings would just be down to the tubes and sockets.  The onboard version (where the heatsinks are located on the PCB) can be fitted in a 2U chassis/400mm chassis from Modushop and it looks quite nice for 50€.  

There are people interested in building this design but KG will not let just anybody build his designs.  Cutting corners isn't an option and that's all too often the case in this business. 

As for the Cavalli amp, we don't know much about it at this point.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaveBSC 

Spritzer could clarify, but I don't think the difference between the KGSS and the modded 727II was all that much. I'm paying parts at cost, plus $600 as a build fee. As I said the parts are all TOTL, so it's not going to be cheap. The Khozmo volume control was $500 by itself. A commercial amp with these parts in it would probably be some $6000 though, so I feel pretty good about it :)

The KGSS is superior but the modified 727 is a very nice amp.  Shame the Yen is so strong these days as it would be a screaming deal with 100Yen/1$...