[subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif Plus I vastly prefer the visual aesthetic of Singlepower and HeadAmp products, and I just trust their products & expertise more.

Headamp I can clearly understand, but visual aesthetics of Singlepower? You really like those bland black chassis with orange peel that seem to mark up very easily? One needs to step up and spend $10k+ in order to get a chassis from Singlepower that looks aesthetically pleasing to these eyes. Different strokes for different folks I suppose.

After seeing the quality shots, internal and external, of the Woo Amps from this past weekends NYC meet, I have no doubts at all concerning their build quality and apparent expertise. The appearance of the knobs alone on the GES just reeks of quality. I look forward to placing an order for the WA5-LE in the near future.

Personally, between the two amps in question, I would definitely lean towards the Blue Hawaii. Just reading about the constant delays with Singlepower and customers having to ship their amps back, even SDS-XLR's which is mindblowing, makes me want to steer clear. Then again, noticing that you're in Colorado may make this more of a non-issue for you. The sound quality may be well worth the hassle, but if I spend $10k+ on an amplifier that weighs a ton I surely don't plan to have to send it back to the manufacturer periodically for tweaks and/or repairs. The sound of those units must really be unparalleled, taking in to account how often I read about their owners putting up with these issues.

 

[bowling-name]

Quote:

Originally Posted by subtle /img/forum/go_quote.gif Personally, between the two amps in question, I would definitely lean towards the Blue Hawaii.

Back in early March, Justin told me that the Blue Hawaii is not currently available , but he would be introducing new electrostatic amps sometime this year. I'm waiting to see what he comes out with (KGST? Improved Blue Hawaii SE?), but if I wanted an amp NOW, I would probably go with the Woo Audio GES on price and reputation alone.

 

[vcoheda]

BHSE is already in the works (being built) and supposedly all are accounted for. i have heard of another stat amp justin is planning (solid state) but haven't heard any time table for it. is there something else as well? also, ray samuels is working on a stat amp, but i haven't heard much about that.

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why on earth would the lack of a completely unnecessary input option make you question the amp? The circuits for Dr. Gilmore's amps are well known and Woo posts internal pictures on their website and you can compare them to the SP amp in the For Sale forum. The whole XLR nonsense doesn't apply to electrostatics.

I thought electrostatic amps ideally worked best on balanced input. Guess I'll have to do further research on this...

Quote:

Originally Posted by subtle /img/forum/go_quote.gif Headamp I can clearly understand, but visual aesthetics of Singlepower? You really like those bland black chassis with orange peel that seem to mark up very easily? One needs to step up and spend $10k+ in order to get a chassis from Singlepower that looks aesthetically pleasing to these eyes. Different strokes for different folks I suppose. After seeing the quality shots, internal and external, of the Woo Amps from this past weekends NYC meet, I have no doubts at all concerning their build quality and apparent expertise. The appearance of the knobs alone on the GES just reeks of quality. I look forward to placing an order for the WA5-LE in the near future.

I think the piano black chassis of the Singlepower amps look really nice. Yeah, to each his own. I don't entirely like the aesthetics of the GES either.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bowling-name /img/forum/go_quote.gif Back in early March, Justin told me that the Blue Hawaii is not currently available , but he would be introducing new electrostatic amps sometime this year. I'm waiting to see what he comes out with (KGST? Improved Blue Hawaii SE?), but if I wanted an amp NOW, I would probably go with the Woo Audio GES on price and reputation alone.

I recall reading somewhere that there might be a second run of Blue Hawaii SEs later in the year. I just need to find out if I can afford one, along with a set of Stax headphones. Justin himself has also said that there'll be an updated KGSS this year. I'm looking forward to it, shouldn't cost nearly as much as the BH SE, and I do prefer solid-state if I can get it.

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif Justin himself has also said that there'll be an updated KGSS this year. I'm looking forward to it, shouldn't cost nearly as much as the BH SE, and I do prefer solid-state if I can get it.

for stats, i think you may change your mind. tubes is definitely the way to go. although i think that is true for dynamics as well.

but more so for stats.

 

[Asr]

Eh I kinda doubt that. I'm a solid-state fan all the way through and an update of the KGSS would likely offer exactly what I like. From the HeadAmp.com page on the current KGSS:

Quote:

The KGSS provides extremely detailed, transparent sound to your electrostatic headphones.

If the new one continues with that goal then sign me up right now!

 

[saint.panda]

How much better is a GES than a 717 or 007t for the Omega II?

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by morphsci /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well that may very well be true. I am telling you what I hear not what should be or why that is the case. You can choose to disbelieve me, but that is my experience, so I will stick with the balanced connection for this amp/CDP combination. I also think you misunderstood me, because I do not believe that balanced inputs (nor SE for that matter) are necessarily better. I agree that it is more about implementation than design and in any given case one may be better than the other. To determine that, I trust my ears, and in this case they tell me that the balanced connection sounds better.

I think we were simply talking about the same thing from two perspectives. The balanced output can certainly be better if it was a better design but on players like the Sony SCD-1 it is a total turd compared to the SE output.

I do trust my ears but only up to a point. They are a horrible way to measure anything and that's why I need to know why I'm hearing a difference and where said difference comes from.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif I thought electrostatic amps ideally worked best on balanced input. Guess I'll have to do further research on this...

Not at all. They do require to be fed a great signal so my point is that it is much more important to get that right rather then cling to some standard. SE has the benefit of fewer parts and better connectors so all things being equal it should come out on top but very few components have even decent output stages.

 

[naamanf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif SE has the benefit of fewer parts and better connectors so all things being equal it should come out on top but very few components have even decent output stages.

I actually think the XLR is the better connector. Just because you can buy a $150 WBT RCA doesn't mean it's technically better than a $5 Neutric. Also think using a balanced signal/cable is better when used properly for multiple reasons. Noise reduction/rejection being one of them. There is a reason it's the standard for recording all our audio

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by naamanf /img/forum/go_quote.gif I actually think the XLR is the better connector. Just because you can buy a $150 WBT RCA doesn't mean it's technically better than a $5 Neutric. Also think using a balanced signal/cable is better when used properly for multiple reasons. Noise reduction/rejection being one of them. There is a reason it's the standard for recording all our audio

You are absolutely correct but the WBT rca's bring the XLR concept of minimal conductor mass but it is better made and out of much better materials. I'm not a great fan of the plugs but the sockets are a great investment. This is only the connector but the simplicity of a SE circuit is a large part of the puzzle. There is simply less things to go wrong and this is why some Pro gear is single ended but uses transformers to drive the XLR output sockets. Back when Sony was more then the bad joke it is today they did it like this.

The TRS is also an accepted plug for Pro audio use but XLR has pretty much taken over. When you have hundreds of meters of wire you need a differential signal to get rid of the interference. There is no other benefit to the XLR standard then interference refection and the plugs are strong and well designed.

 

[recstar24]

Quote:

Originally Posted by naamanf /img/forum/go_quote.gif I actually think the XLR is the better connector. Just because you can buy a $150 WBT RCA doesn't mean it's technically better than a $5 Neutric. Also think using a balanced signal/cable is better when used properly for multiple reasons. Noise reduction/rejection being one of them. There is a reason it's the standard for recording all our audio

To go along with this, true balanced drive is really dependent on your source and if your source has a true balanced output. Some sources ( a lot of sources actually) sport a balanced output but its really just a singled ended output hooked up to a differential amplifier like an opamp in the output stage, which then outputs a + and -. A true balanced source will be balanced from the DAC forward. There will be at minimum 2 dacs per channel, each one producing its own + and - for each channel, feeding its own separate output stage so that each pin on the XLR outputs is fed its own discrete signal. This is superior to the opamp method stated previously.

Superior single ended sound will almost always sound better than poorly implemented balanced drive.

 

[humanflyz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr /img/forum/go_quote.gif Eh I kinda doubt that. I'm a solid-state fan all the way through and an update of the KGSS would likely offer exactly what I like. From the HeadAmp.com page on the current KGSS: If the new one continues with that goal then sign me up right now!

Electrostats need voltage swing, and tubes just swing more voltage than solid state devices do, all other things being equal.