[Gergor]

Are there any commerical amp other than Stax that are designed to drive Stax?

 

[KR...]

no

 

[merc]

Well... the last set of Stax that I owned, came with a converter which inserted in between your amp and your speakers. So... in that case, you could use ANY amp at all for your Stax?

 

[Nik]

Yes there are!

http://headwize2.powerpill.org/proje...ilmore_prj.htm

There is even an italian designer named Andrea Ciuffoli that build a very hi quality amp for Staxes, no so expensive!

Nicola

 

[elrod-tom]

I wonder how much it would cost to build the Gilmore electrostatic amp??

 

[eric343]

About $500 in parts, if you get it right the first time.

 

[Don Quichotte]

There is also a solid state design by Mr. Gilmore, the all triode amp is his earlier design. Also, he was mentioning on Headwize something about a new tubed design, back in November I think, but I couldn't find it posted anywhere.
And yes, I would really like to know how much do these amps costs (I mean their components) and how do they perform compared to the current Stax line. I guess the solid state one is the cheaper to build of all the DIY designs.

 

[eric343]

The $500 figure was for the all-solid-state design. The hybrid tube/solid state "Blue Hawaii/Weebl" costs about $2000 in parts.

 

[elrod-tom]

Quote:

Originally posted by eric343 About $500 in parts, if you get it right the first time.

and if you DON'T get it right the first time?? This sounds a bit intimidating.

 

[elrod-tom]

Quote:

Originally posted by eric343 The $500 figure was for the all-solid-state design. The hybrid tube/solid state "Blue Hawaii/Weebl" costs about $2000 in parts.

.....

 

[zzz]

Gergor asked about a commercial amp. No, as far as I know there aren't any.

Even though the transformer box that was bundled with older Staxes allows any power amp to be used with the phones, it also limits their performance by the quality of the transformer used. And really good transformers cost much more than what Stax was asking for their `energizer`.

Andrea Ciuffoli amplifier is a simple expensive transformer-coupled design. I personally don't like it and wouldn't build it. (actually, he has two designs now, but the difference between them is marginal -- different output tubes and anode choke instead of anode resistor. *shrug*. maybe in third design he'll finally try a real current source).

Kevin Gilmore currently has five different amp designs for Staxes, 2 of which he has published on Headwize. The one quoted in this thread by Nik was the first one and it (and all the other ones) has been since superseded by his latest designs: KGSS and hybrid or Weebl. I have built both, and hybrid is indeed pretty amazing. Good luck finding parts for it though

. I'm still trying to get my custom transformers for it. When I have more time I'll describe my experiences dealing with a certain highly unreliable transformer maker.

There's also another design no one seems to ever mention: http://www.bonavolta.ch/hobby/en/audio/hdgsta.htm . Ignore the first general comment -- no, this wasn't adopted by Stax as their T2. Not even close. Anyhow, I did build it one evening a couple of months ago and it has a nice slightly warm sound with not very strong bass. However, it is extremely tuberolleable due to its all-tube OTL design so I suppose it could be made to sound any way one wants. I should put it in a chassis or something one day...

 

[zzz]

Quote:

Originally posted by elrod-tom and if you DON'T get it right the first time?? This sounds a bit intimidating.

This is supposed to be intimidating.

My figure for KGSS is around $700-$750 or a little higher if you're going to use some different power supply (like me, for example). Remember, to get the parts you are also supposed to pay the shipping and handling costs too. And don't forget about the small stuff like Stax phone jack, transformer(s)

, DACT, heatsinks, chassis, nuts, bolts, insulation pads, knobs, wire, all that other crap that adds up. Raw price of semiconductors is less than 15% of the cost of the amp.

And if you don't get it right the first time... Well, from here it only gets more expensive.

 

[eric343]

Listen to zzz, he's built more electrostatic amps than is healthy...

 

[zzz]

Actually, I just remembered that Tim sells an electrostatic edition of EAR HP4. In the US the price is $5k and I don't know what the European price is. I don't know of anyone who has heard it though.

 

[Joe Lau]

100% agree with you ? I don't sound of transformers box too. I will build a tube amps to drive it ! It may be will be in the market later.



Quote:

Originally posted by zzz Gergor asked about a commercial amp. No, as far as I know there aren't any. Even though the transformer box that was bundled with older Staxes allows any power amp to be used with the phones, it also limits their performance by the quality of the transformer used. And really good transformers cost much more than what Stax was asking for their `energizer`. Andrea Ciuffoli amplifier is a simple expensive transformer-coupled design. I personally don't like it and wouldn't build it. (actually, he has two designs now, but the difference between them is marginal -- different output tubes and anode choke instead of anode resistor. *shrug*. maybe in third design he'll finally try a real current source). Kevin Gilmore currently has five different amp designs for Staxes, 2 of which he has published on Headwize. The one quoted in this thread by Nik was the first one and it (and all the other ones) has been since superseded by his latest designs: KGSS and hybrid or Weebl. I have built both, and hybrid is indeed pretty amazing. Good luck finding parts for it though . I'm still trying to get my custom transformers for it. When I have more time I'll describe my experiences dealing with a certain highly unreliable transformer maker. There's also another design no one seems to ever mention: http://www.bonavolta.ch/hobby/en/audio/hdgsta.htm . Ignore the first general comment -- no, this wasn't adopted by Stax as their T2. Not even close. Anyhow, I did build it one evening a couple of months ago and it has a nice slightly warm sound with not very strong bass. However, it is extremely tuberolleable due to its all-tube OTL design so I suppose it could be made to sound any way one wants. I should put it in a chassis or something one day...