Advice needed on a 'final' TOTL Electrostatic amp within $2k price range.

[wink]

580V is the bias voltage, which is different to the voltage swing the amp can produce...

 

[spritzer]

Yeah, bias voltage and voltage swing are very different things.  The bias sets the potential for the drivers to operate and it always fixed for that headphone.   It's also DC hence the + marking before the number.  The amps voltage swing tells how much signal voltage the amp can output and that's AC.  This depends on the drive voltages, the active parts inside and how much loss is in the circuit (RP of the tubes etc.).  This is also tied to the max input of the amp and it's gain but one important note, the voltage swing says nothing about the actual performance of the amp.  There are quite a few examples of amps being able to swing the same voltage (and being similar in general design) but one is terrible with high distortion and other nasty artifacts but the other measures perfectly.  The voltage swing also says zip about the output current at hand and thus the load tolerance of the output stage. 

 

[wink]

^ This..  There is a vast difference between quality and quantity.

 

[realmassy]

Subscribed. Same budget, looking for a solid state or hybrid amp for the MK2.

 

[Maxvla]

Eddie Current Electra is probably the closest you'll get to a 'low' priced top quality stat amp. Initial projections are $2800-3200.

 

[David1961]

Quote:

Subscribed. Same budget, looking for a solid state or hybrid amp for the MK2.

 
It would be nice for you Massi if Justin started building the KGSS again, but I'm not sure he'll ever build that kind of amp again. He might eventually do the KGSSHV, but I'm guessing it'll be quite a bit more than $2000.

 

[realmassy]

It would be nice for you Massi if Justin started building the KGSS again, but I'm not sure he'll ever build that kind of amp again. He might eventually do the KGSSHV, but I'm guessing it'll be quite a bit more than $2000.

It is exactly the kind of amp I was thinking of. I'm wondering about DIY as well, but that's a lot of money to invest on something without any warranty.

 

[Chodi]

The market for this is so small that I don't think any of the China manufacturers will be interested. I think we can all imagine that an Audio gd type company could produce a great amp for this budget, but they won't because of the limited potential sales. I think the only way to get this done at a reasonable price would be to do it as a group buy, maybe 25 members. If it was possible to get that many willing to go in then it may be possible to find someone to make a run. I would be in for sure.

 

[madbull]

I have a GES but I'm selling it.
 
I'm thinking of getting a 009.
 
Which Stax amp would be the better choice to drive it and my SR-Omega?
 

 

[Chodi]

Quote:

I have a GES but I'm selling it.
 
I'm thinking of getting a 009.
 
Which Stax amp would be the better choice to drive it and my SR-Omega?
 

Just curious, why do you feel that your GES is inferior to a Stax amp? Have you compared them directly?

 

[Radio_head]

Quote:

Eddie Current Electra is probably the closest you'll get to a 'low' priced top quality stat amp. Initial projections are $2800-3200.

Updated pricing is $3500 first run, probably $4000 after that.

 

[Maxvla]

Well that's firmly out of grasp then.

 

[Chodi]

Quote:

Updated pricing is $3500 first run, probably $4000 after that.

I really think the pricing we see for this sort of amp is based on very limited production. As any reasonable business had to make a profit for their effort there is not much room for profit in such small production runs unless they jack up the price. I wonder how much an iPhone would cost if they were only making 1000? There is no way the actual material cost on one of these amps justifies $3-4000 cost. The market is just too small. Let's imagine that there was a very good electrostatic amp available for $2k. How many do you think you could sell?

 

[justin w.]

Quote:

I really think the pricing we see for this sort of amp is based on very limited production. As any reasonable business had to make a profit for their effort there is not much room for profit in such small production runs unless they jack up the price. I wonder how much an iPhone would cost if they were only making 1000? There is no way the actual material cost on one of these amps justifies $3-4000 cost. The market is just too small. Let's imagine that there was a very good electrostatic amp available for $2k. How many do you think you could sell?

 
you're right that limited production is a huge factor, but really all headphone amps would be considered limited production - electrostatic amps are extremely limited.  In the case of the BHSE, cost of raw parts is around $2500, and well over $3000 with the Alps RK50 volume control.  This doesnt include $10k spent on extrusion dies or prototype enclosure parts, either.  The amps that Stax makes at $2k are actually pretty good, though.

 

[Radio_head]

Comparing an iPhone's production to any product in the high-end market is ludicrous due to the difference in volume.  
 
Eddie Current gear has one of the lower markups in the cottage industry considering time and materials.  Justin's markups are also very reasonable, percentage-wise.