POST CANJAM THOUGHTS ON STAX, SENNHEISER, AKG and the STATE of the ART
Jun 6, 2009 at 1:45 AM Post #31 of 45
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Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Thats alright then. I've always felt more at home in the stax thread than the orthodynamic roundup
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Really should crack on with the new SFI effort. It will be glorious. If lambda or esp950 drivers were as easy cheap and readily available things could well be that extra step more exciting of course. Wonder if head-direct will sell the drivers for that new $800 ortho seperately...


As I stated above: I have a pair of Stax low bias Sigma drivers that I would contibute to anyone wanting to build such a design.
 
Jun 6, 2009 at 4:58 AM Post #32 of 45
Quote:

Originally Posted by edstrelow /img/forum/go_quote.gif
As I stated above: I have a pair of Stax low bias Sigma drivers that I would contibute to anyone wanting to build such a design.


I have a pair of normal bias Sigma drivers too, and a normal bias cable, but I haven't gotten around to messing with them yet.
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Jun 6, 2009 at 5:28 AM Post #33 of 45
Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Line array of SFI ortho drivers then perhaps? Or is it evil to mention such technology in the Stax thread?


I don't think the SFI's have enough resolution, at least not the 32 ohm version.

the main problem with using larger ISO drivers, is the weight. The YH1/YH100 phones are already border-line too heavy. (Only tried the YH100 though but supposedly the YH1 weights about the same). If sombody do a design with two such 54mm driver per side, it will cause serious increases in long term medical expense.


Maybe somebody can do a K1000 type rig with a pair of Monsoon panels.
 
Jun 6, 2009 at 2:34 PM Post #35 of 45
Weight of a headphone isn't a problem, it's simply a factor in the design of the pads and headband. Get those right and the weight limit is defined only by strain limit on the neck muscles, rather than at pressure points on the head. 1Kg of headphone weight would be easily to deal with if the headband and pads can distribute it well. The problem with heavier orthos is that the earpad surface area is often still small. With a line array you need to increase the pad size to allow transmission to the ear and a bigger pad means greater distribution of that increased weight and results in better comfort.
 
Jun 8, 2009 at 2:32 PM Post #37 of 45
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Originally Posted by Jon L /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I was surprised to find how well some of the non-Spritzer-approved amps drove OII's.


What?!
 
Jun 8, 2009 at 3:48 PM Post #38 of 45
It's a joke since I'm always asking for more powerful amps. Looks like KG has answered my plea since he has an amp in the testing phase which promises to equal or even surpass the BHSE with no tubes.
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As for the lack of power sentiment, I witnessed my supercharged Egmont clone fall flat on its face while trying to drive the Mk1 SR-007 yesterday. The disk was the DVD-A of Iron Maiden - Dance of the Dead and the amp simply couldn't take it when things got messy, turning out bloated bass and a messed up midrange.
 
Jun 8, 2009 at 9:28 PM Post #39 of 45
Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif
It's a joke since I'm always asking for more powerful amps. Looks like KG has answered my plea since he has an amp in the testing phase which promises to equal or even surpass the BHSE with no tubes.
tongue_smile.gif


As for the lack of power sentiment, I witnessed my supercharged Egmont clone fall flat on its face while trying to drive the Mk1 SR-007 yesterday. The disk was the DVD-A of Iron Maiden - Dance of the Dead and the amp simply couldn't take it when things got messy, turning out bloated bass and a messed up midrange.


And I actually was able to enjoy Diana Krall "Live in Paris" at high volumes via maxed Woo GES with my SR-007 Mk1, and have it sound very close to my HD800 on maxed Woo WA6. These two rigs are closer than I had imagined they would be. But the HD800 rig did have a fair bit more punch in the bass, which I have only heard the O2 Mk1 be able to do with the KGBH SE at CanJam. Still, other than that slight lack of power with the Mk1, I am still very impressed with the Woo GES. (As long as I don't blast max volume infected mushroom bass heavy electronic - for loud music listening and bass punch, the HD800 rig still wins).
 
Jun 8, 2009 at 9:51 PM Post #40 of 45
Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif
It's a joke since I'm always asking for more powerful amps. Looks like KG has answered my plea since he has an amp in the testing phase which promises to equal or even surpass the BHSE with no tubes.
tongue_smile.gif



But how much more expensive than the BHSE eh? And will it be the size and weight of a monster Krell?

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif
As for the lack of power sentiment, I witnessed my supercharged Egmont clone fall flat on its face while trying to drive the Mk1 SR-007 yesterday. The disk was the DVD-A of Iron Maiden - Dance of the Dead and the amp simply couldn't take it when things got messy, turning out bloated bass and a messed up midrange.


How does the uber-Egmont compare to the SRM-717. My apologies if you've already been quizzed on that and I've missed it somewhere.
 
Jun 8, 2009 at 9:55 PM Post #41 of 45
Volume is easy the easy part. The Koss E.90 amp will swing more voltage then any of the other amps and thus go louder then any of them. Delivering enough current while delivering said voltage swing is the hard bit where most amps come up empty. Since you like the GES you should look into getting the WES. It uses the same circuit for the most part...
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Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif
But how much more expensive than the BHSE eh? And will it be the size and weight of a monster Krell?


I haven't seen the design yet. Let's just say it will be a monster...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif
How does the uber-Egmont compare to the SRM-717. My apologies if you've already been quizzed on that and I've missed it somewhere.


It falls way short unfortunately. That's why the ES-1 mini is ready for testing when I have the time to do so...
 
Jun 19, 2009 at 8:59 PM Post #42 of 45
I regret not doing more in the way of amplifier comparisons at Canjam. I took my Sigma/404 phones around to various displays with different amps and plugged them into these ammps. However, I did not specifically swap amps which is really needed to be surethat what one is hearing is an amplifier difference rather than also being attributable to the rest of the system.

Maybe next time.
 
Jun 19, 2009 at 9:28 PM Post #43 of 45
The amps really are key to getting the most from electrostatics and it is the power which is the ultimate deciding factor. We all like different things (DC-coupled, AC coupled, output transformers etc.) but the way electrostatic transducers are affected by what's driving them is rather different from dynamic drivers. Given the wild impedance swings, capacitive and reactive load, the amp has to be pretty much immune to these things. This means huge power supplies, constant current sources and plenty of voltage swing.

In other news, the mini ES-1 is now up and running and sounds pretty good. I'm hoping to refine the design and turn it into a PCB which would be easy to build by pretty much anyone.
 
Jun 19, 2009 at 11:09 PM Post #44 of 45
Sounds promising. Having spent some time listening to Mikeymads ES1 at Canjam, do you think the "mini" would sound as good? Or how would it sound compared to the Stax 717? Would it be too much to expect it to equal the BHSE?
 
Jun 20, 2009 at 3:03 PM Post #45 of 45
I can answer that when my ES-1 gets here.
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The problem is though that no two ES-1's are alike and I'm not talking about the upgrades but actual part values. Throw in different tubes used and comparisons become very tough. I'd say that the circuit in the mini is as the ES-1 should have been built in the first place.

What any of these tube amps lack though is the huge current reserve of the BH, KGSS etc. so while they can swing a lot of voltage there will be limitations. I'm currently running the mini ES-1 at +/-260v but I just need to change some zener diodes to bring it up to +/-350v which should be enough for a medium priced amp. This is the same voltage as the PoorMan and KGSS run at plus the 717 if I remember correctly. The tubes can take more but I'm not a fan of running components at their limit. The SP ES-1 runs a +/-400v PSU but the EL34 output tubes can handle a lot more power then the 6S4A.

Btw. This is how it looks now. The PSU is off to the side of this picture.

 
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