[d-cee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BANGPOD /img/forum/go_quote.gif So, basically there is no electrostatic amplifier worthy of driving either of these two headphones? How will I listen to them?

you poor thing, i suggest you just give up now and send those headphones to me

i'm willing to make sacrifices to help out another head-fier

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif 6EM7 (1st half) -> 6EM7 (2nd half) -> [Chinese] 211/845 or GM70 might be quite commercially ecomomical if someone could make an affordable power supply that didn't sap the magic out. It'd make 12AX7/6SN7/EL34 based genericum seem rather disinteresting.

Four 211 tubes in a row would be enough to scare almost everybody.

We could always "borrow" a psu from some speaker amp. Now where is that Ongaku schematic....

Quote:

Originally Posted by BANGPOD /img/forum/go_quote.gif So, basically there is no electrostatic amplifier worthy of driving either of these two headphones? How will I listen to them?

No, the Blue Hawaii is very good and so is the ES-1 if you can get over how ugly it is but what Carl and I want is something new and different, a DHT based amp. These old transmitter tubes would be ideal for driving electrostatic headphones with plenty of voltage swing.

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BANGPOD /img/forum/go_quote.gif So, basically there is no electrostatic amplifier worthy of driving either of these two headphones? How will I listen to them?

Well the amp will be a weak link in the chain, but it's not like the current choices are terrible. It's just a matter how you want to compromise. Personally I'd rather just use a transformer box and a power amp than fork over my thousands on the current offerings, but I'm weird like that.


Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Four 211 tubes in a row would be enough to scare almost everybody. We could always "borrow" a psu from some speaker amp. Now where is that Ongaku schematic....

A gigantic 304TL or two would be funnier.

The Ongaku is about the circuit getting out of the way of the parts rather than about the circuit making up for deficiencies in the parts. Which is great, but my wallet doesn't seem to think so for some reason.

Quote:

No, the Blue Hawaii is very good and so is the ES-1 if you can get over how ugly it is but what Carl and I want is something new and different, a DHT based amp. These old transmitter tubes would be ideal for driving electrostatic headphones with plenty of voltage swing.

Yes indeed.

I am actually [slowly] designing my own amp along these lines, but it's an amazingly difficult project. It's given me great respect for the difficulty of designing something from the ground up, and I can see why manufacturers would want to follow the well travelled road. But still, electrostatic headphones are bastards to design for, but they have amazing untapped potential as transducers go. It's a shame that no one has really taken that ball and ran with it yet.

 

[morphsci]

Singlepower ES-1 ... The HE-60 is transformed by this amp (and the right tubes). You can see a bunch of threads discussing the ES-1 and O2 pairing. My take is that most of those threads were too restained in their praise

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by morphsci /img/forum/go_quote.gif Singlepower ES-1 ... The HE-60 is transformed by this amp (and the right tubes). You can see a bunch of threads discussing the ES-1 and O2 pairing. My take is that most of those threads were too restained in their praise

The ES1 is great, the only problem is that it's a seriously expensive piece of kit.

 

[BANGPOD]

i have already established that i really cannot spend more on an amplifier than what i spent on my source. ($2500)
So, unless my mathematics are incorrect, then that competitively excludes the Singlepower ES-1. (>$2500)

I am only able to afford the Blue Hawaii in its standard configuration.

 

[kevin gilmore]

Quote:

These old transmitter tubes would be ideal for driving electrostatic headphones with plenty of voltage swing.

It would be easy to do an amp with 4 x 211 output with 4 x 300b as
driver tubes. Its going to be the size of a large microwave oven however.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well the amp will be a weak link in the chain, but it's not like the current choices are terrible. It's just a matter how you want to compromise. Personally I'd rather just use a transformer box and a power amp than fork over my thousands on the current offerings, but I'm weird like that.

All of these amps are built for normal sane people, not lunatics like us that don't like the meds. Around the time I bought my BH I was like that and some times I miss it...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif A gigantic 304TL or two would be funnier. The Ongaku is about the circuit getting out of the way of the parts rather than about the circuit making up for deficiencies in the parts. Which is great, but my wallet doesn't seem to think so for some reason.

I don't even want to know what those silver Tango transformers cost but I know I going to buy an Ongaku one of these days.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes indeed. I am actually [slowly] designing my own amp along these lines, but it's an amazingly difficult project. It's given me great respect for the difficulty of designing something from the ground up, and I can see why manufacturers would want to follow the well travelled road. But still, electrostatic headphones are bastards to design for, but they have amazing untapped potential as transducers go. It's a shame that no one has really taken that ball and ran with it yet.

Doing something from the ground up takes quite an effort. What I want is some cheap Chinese diy SET kit that I can modify for the headphones. Put 4 channels in a single case and your all set...

Quote:

Originally Posted by BANGPOD /img/forum/go_quote.gif i have already established that i really cannot spend more on an amplifier than what i spent on my source. ($2500) So, unless my mathematics are incorrect, then that competitively excludes the Singlepower ES-1. (>$2500) I am only able to afford the Blue Hawaii in its standard configuration.

You should try the GES with a few upgrades. Better coupling caps, internal wiring, rca connectors and psu caps will all be a major upgrade over the stock unit.

 

[morphsci]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif The ES1 is great, the only problem is that it's a seriously expensive piece of kit.

Absolutely true, but there is a chance to get one at least a little cheaper now since there is a used one for sale by AK[zip]

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin gilmore /img/forum/go_quote.gif It would be easy to do an amp with 4 x 211 output with 4 x 300b as driver tubes. Its going to be the size of a large microwave oven however.

Nothing wrong with that...

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin gilmore /img/forum/go_quote.gif It would be easy to do an amp with 4 x 211 output with 4 x 300b as driver tubes. Its going to be the size of a large microwave oven however.

Nah, you should go even crazier and do a fully-differential Loftin-White style front end direct coupled to some gigantic Eimacs. That would heat your house like a microwave oven.


Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif All of these amps are built for normal sane people, not lunatics like us that don't like the meds. Around the time I bought my BH I was like that and some times I miss it...

Lunacy is all part of the fun.

Quote:

I don't even want to know what those silver Tango transformers cost but I know I going to buy an Ongaku one of these days.

Those handbuilt silver coupling caps aren't much better.

Quote:

Doing something from the ground up takes quite an effort. What I want is some cheap Chinese diy SET kit that I can modify for the headphones. Put 4 channels in a single case and your all set...

You might be able to get one of those Sun Audio kits to work with some work. For a time I entertained buying their VT25 version but the transformer values are totally wrong for a tube like the 10.

Quote:

You should try the GES with a few upgrades. Better coupling caps, internal wiring, rca connectors and psu caps will all be a major upgrade over the stock unit.

Ask him to change the tube compliment.

Quote:

Originally Posted by morphsci /img/forum/go_quote.gif Absolutely true, but there is a chance to get one at least a little cheaper now since there is a used one for sale by AK[zip]

I'd rather have his Omega 1.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin gilmore /img/forum/go_quote.gif It would be easy to do an amp with 4 x 211 output with 4 x 300b as driver tubes. Its going to be the size of a large microwave oven however.

Yes, please!

 

[webbie64]

Quote:

Originally Posted by morphsci /img/forum/go_quote.gif Absolutely true, but there is a chance to get one at least a little cheaper now since there is a used one for sale by AK[zip]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd rather have his Omega 1.

I'd still prefer the ES1, Carl. But even at the reduced price it's out of mine and Bangpod's price range. So a modded GES or a 2nd hand BH are probably your best options for the original question and budget.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nah, you should go even crazier and do a fully-differential Loftin-White style front end direct coupled to some gigantic Eimacs. That would heat your house like a microwave oven.

I think that a 300b/211 would be a good setup or maybe some other DHT tube as a driver. It certainly isn't too nuts though it would be a beast of an amp and weigh quite a bit. Expensive but still cheaper then a well spec'd ES-1.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lunacy is all part of the fun.

I don't like normal people...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Those handbuilt silver coupling caps aren't much better.

Hand built silver resistors aren't cheap either. It might be slightly absurd but Kondo must be one of the biggest bargains in the high end. God knows how many man hours go into a single piece compared to most of the competition that uses off the shelf parts at a much higher price. The new Lamm amp being a perfect example.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif You might be able to get one of those Sun Audio kits to work with some work. For a time I entertained buying their VT25 version but the transformer values are totally wrong for a tube like the 10.

I've been looking at some kits now. The Sun Audio stuff has Tamura transformers and is quite cheap too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd rather have his Omega 1.

Same here. I need an O1 for my collection... badly.

 

[milkpowder]

BANGPOD, I think most of the respondents are just a carried away with their dream electrostatic amp. None of the amps may be ideal, but the HE60/O2 will still sound great. I'm personally using a 006t, which is obvious less than ideal, but I'm not too fussed because they sound out of my HE60 is very good already. The HE60 is slightly dry in the mids and the bass so a pure solid state amplifier won't really do it much good. I listened to the HE60 on a 717 and thought that it was just a tad on the aggressive side. On my 006t, the sound is mellower and doesn't quite have the same edge. Hence, I have reason to believe that the 007t, BH or some tube hybrid will be a great match for the HE60.