[magiccabbage]

Not going to happen, it's well and truly over.
I doubt Toshiba or Sanyo would start re-production based on this industries piddley numbers.
In fact I would have back-ups for the rarer parts, just in case, and insure your BHSE is able to continue past component life span or sudden failure.

Yes, imagine having to build the equipment and pay a technician to make tubes for just a few people. Are there even that many technicians left making tubes? 

 

[shellylh]

 
i had hand delivered the panels in a box that was built like a fortress with 1/4" thick edge protectors on all sides. I got that one back too - it was used to package the metal feet. The panels went in the foot box.

 
Wow, I am amazed by the incompetence. 

 

[johnwmclean]

Yes, imagine having to build the equipment and pay a technician to make tubes for just a few people. Are there even that many technicians left making tubes? 

I was referring to the semiconductors...

 

[justin w.]

i think it is far more likely we will see great tubes in the future than have these semiconductors replaced

 

[Maxvla]

I have no circuit/parts knowledge, but if the supply of these transistors dries up, is it possible to redesign as fully tubed?

 

[magiccabbage]

  i think it is far more likely we will see great tubes in the future than have these semiconductors replaced

Being made? 

 

[justin w.]

I have no circuit/parts knowledge, but if the supply of these transistors dries up, is it possible to redesign as fully tubed?

 
this particular design? no - none of the solid state Stax amps could be redesigned as all tube.  old tubes continue to appear, and i suspect the same will happen to transistors. it is just very easy to fake their appearance. someone out there is probably sitting on millions of the real ones, they just aren't for sale. but i check all the time and buy anything I can

 

[Phil95]

one of the challenges in designing these amplifiers over the past decade has been the discontinuation of low noise and high voltage transistors suitable for audio. it's something i deal with everyday trying to source parts for the BHSE. on one particular component 3 out of every 4 orders i receive are fake parts. i have to test all of them

 


Yes, I understand that before designing new circuits, one has to find good quality components for the existing designs!

 

[purrin]

Sounds more like the name of some exotic weed strain to me, blue hawaii

 
I personally prefer the Maui Wowii. More of that sativa high than indica stoned.

 

[songmic]

Guys, sorry for the newbie question, but what are normal and pro bias jacks? I recently acquired an SR-007 mk1 and is looking forward to purchase a BHSE. I know for a fact that SR-007 mk1 requires more power to drive than the SR-009, and that BHSE has two headphone outputs.
 
1. If I were to order a BHSE from Justin now, how will it be configured by default?
a) two Stax normal bias
b) one Stax normal, one Stax pro bias
c) two Stax pro bias
d) one Stax plug (which bias?), one Sennheiser (which bias?)
 
2. If the SR-007 mk1 were to be my primary headphone, what is the optimal way to configure my BHSE and which bias should I use? I read somewhere saying that one should always use the pro bias for SR-007 and SR-009, while others said the normal bias has a higher gain so the SR-007 should be used with normal bias. I also read that having normal/pro bias will result in a different sound compared to having two pro bias, even if I use the same pro bias plug. Which is true?
 
3. Does normal/pro bias have anything to do with the number of pins? The SR-007 mk1 and SR-009 are 5-pin, while older discontinued headphones are 6-pin. I don't think I would use a old 6-pin Stax headphone, unless Stax decides to release their next flagship headphone with a 6-pin.
 
4. Most importantly, just what is the exact difference between normal and pro bias, and why is this important?

 

[Rico613]

 
-deleted-

 

[justin w.]

received more front panel sets (black) which are for 25% of this batch of BHSEs, bringing the total that i have now to 35%. next up are blue, purple, and gray, and also have a small quantity of silver in the works to add to the very small quantity of silver that i already have. silver is by far the hardest of the colors to produce and i have started machining additional sets of panels to make up for what may be a low yield in those panels

 

[Dubstep Girl]

silver BHSE are the nicest imo.

 

[magiccabbage]

  silver BHSE are the nicest imo.

+1 - by far

 

[Asr]

Guys, sorry for the newbie question, but what are normal and pro bias jacks? I recently acquired an SR-007 mk1 and is looking forward to purchase a BHSE. I know for a fact that SR-007 mk1 requires more power to drive than the SR-009, and that BHSE has two headphone outputs.  
1. If I were to order a BHSE from Justin now, how will it be configured by default?
a) two Stax normal bias
b) one Stax normal, one Stax pro bias
c) two Stax pro bias
d) one Stax plug (which bias?), one Sennheiser (which bias?)
 
2. If the SR-007 mk1 were to be my primary headphone, what is the optimal way to configure my BHSE and which bias should I use? I read somewhere saying that one should always use the pro bias for SR-007 and SR-009, while others said the normal bias has a higher gain so the SR-007 should be used with normal bias. I also read that having normal/pro bias will result in a different sound compared to having two pro bias, even if I use the same pro bias plug. Which is true?
 
3. Does normal/pro bias have anything to do with the number of pins? The SR-007 mk1 and SR-009 are 5-pin, while older discontinued headphones are 6-pin. I don't think I would use a old 6-pin Stax headphone, unless Stax decides to release their next flagship headphone with a 6-pin.
 
4. Most importantly, just what is the exact difference between normal and pro bias, and why is this important?

 
Normal & Pro bias are for different headphones. Normal is 6-pin, Pro is 5-pin. I'm pretty sure that Justin defaults to two Stax Pro jacks if you don't specify an alternate configuration.
 
The only reason to get a Normal jack on the BHSE is to use 6-pin headphones like the Lambda-series or others like the SR-X MKIII.
 
Installing a Normal jack on the BHSE lowers the gain as well, otherwise with two Pro jacks the gain is a bit higher. That can be a good thing if you plan to use the more-sensitive SR-009 on the BHSE. Otherwise if you plan to use only the OII, you should leave the amp with two Pro jacks.
 
The OII should be used from a Pro jack. It's possible to plug it into a Normal jack of course but it would be under-driven from a Normal jack.