[jsgraha]

I'm having doubts over the rega DAC, I'm pretty sure LG is good enough

If Rega Dac was feed by ap2 or cd transport, it's quite decent. But if only use usb cable, well... I have my doubt as well.

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

 
Since ther is no such thing as an amp that's ''a wire with gain'', i'm going to side with Joe on this one, and assume that even the BHSE as it's own sound signature.

 
Of course there are amps that impose very little of their own signature on the signal they amplify.  You could easily call them "wire with gain" as by definition even a short length of wire has an effect on the electricity it passes how ever subtle it may be.  Here I'm talking about Ohm's law, inductance and actual tangible things, not audiophile BS "This cable makes or breaks my system". 

 

[purrin]

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I find it really hard to believe that an ortho driver can match the SR009. Will be auditioning them shortly and let's see.

 
The key question is what aspects or characteristics (a lot of higher end audio is give and take) and on what setup. I've only heard the AB-1266 from a LG and mediocre Mytek (an older PCM model, not the Stereo DSD, which I think is inferior sounding in one critical aspect) and I think the AB-1266 has the potential to be better than the SR009 overall (at least for me). The AB-1266 was already better in some ways: flatter/smoother FR, more balls in the bass. I don't think the AB-1266 will beat the SR009's effortlessness or its ability to "get out of the way", but it sure came close - this taking into account I haven't been able to futz around with components / tweaks as I have with the SR009. My main complaints with the SR009 were that it had too much of that STAX ethereal quality, and with some material sounded wonky in the mids, and lacked low (not mid) bass impact - not to be confused with bass volume.
 
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Yeah what strikes me about the so far impressions is whether or not these are compared against the 009's for neutrality. Of course these is no such thing as the best headphone, a headphone pleasing to all, but in terms of musical and hi-fidelity the more neutral a headphone/speaker is the better it ranks amongst it's competition, deserving it's own status. Until Tyll can get measurements out for these I will reserve further comments to myself, sure we like coloured aspects of sound sometimes but imfho a BHSE + 009 is very hard to beat in terms of neutrality. 

 
IMO, the BHSE+009 is rather etched and bright sounding to me with most DACs (I much prefer the BHSE with the 007mk1, and consider that combo to be more neutral, and so do many others if you ask around.) The Mytek/ACLG/AB-1266 setup I heard was much more neutral. 
 
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The BHSE has been regarded as an amp "wire with a gain". KG himself designed them to be as neutral as possible with plenty of power to boot so the transducers being driven does not lack finesse in areas of sound. Given the hybrid design of the BHSE, the amp is insensitive to tube rolling as compared to say the Woo Audio amp's. Of course at the end of the day everybody's ears are different, any bias, placebo can be influential to what some user's swear by the subtle differences in it.

 
I wouldn't say the BHSE is insensitive to tube rolling. Heck, the even the T2DIY was very sensitive to tube rolling. At least to my ears. Of course this may be placebo and everyone is free to believe or experience what they wish. For such balls-to-the-walls designs, it's critical to get the best tubes. BTW, there's no such thing as "wire with gain." The BHSE has its own sound. As does the T2DIY. As does the KGSS. As does the LL. As does the LL2. As does the Electra. (All the amps mentioned I've owned or heard on numerous occasions or have been able to borrow them in my own home. And I consider them all at least pretty good.)

 

[Hutnicks]

Quote:

 
The key question is what aspects or characteristics (a lot of higher end audio is give and take) and on what setup. I've only heard the AB-1266 from a LG and mediocre Mytek (an older PCM model, not the Stereo DSD, which I think is inferior sounding.) and I think it has the potential to be better than the SR009 overall (at least for me). The AB-1266 was already better in some ways: flatter/smoother FR, more balls in the bass. I don't think the AB-1266 will beat the SR009's effortlessness or its ability to "get out of the way", but it sure came close - this taking into account I haven't been able to futz around with components / tweaks as I have with the SR009. My main complaints with the SR009 were that it had too much of that STAX ethereal quality, and with some material sounded wonky in the mids, and lacked low (not mid) bass impact - not to be confused with bass volume.
 
 

Thanks for clearing that up. There has been a lot of distillation down to the "Better than the 009" period, without the context added.
 
Initial reviews are a good starting point, however I still maintain that this beast needs to show it's legs with a wide selection of setups. When you are considering a purchase at this level of play it would be a half measure to not look at different driving solutions for this beast.
 
Personally I would like to see if "The Wire" amp over on DIY could push these . I'd also like to hear them driven by a KSA50 as it is a sig I know and trust implicitly.
 
 
 
Unless you just want to hang it on the wall and call it Art.

 

[purrin]

Quote:

 
Initial reviews are a good starting point, however I still maintain that this beast needs to show it's legs with a wide selection of setups. When you are considering a purchase at this level of play it would be a half measure to not look at different driving solutions for this beast.

 
Agreed. I liked what I heard, but at the asking price, I wouldn't commit unless I was totally 100% sure - meaning I probably wouldn't rely on anyone else's impressions unless I trust they know what I like. And that's like three people in the universe.

In most cases, high-end audio is not an investment with returns. It's more like dollar cost averaging Enron stock to zero.

 

[gikigill]

The effortless playback by the Stax is what I feel won't be surpassed by the orthos. That's the term I was searching for purrin and why I like Stax.

 

[purrin]

^ Yeah. It's such a subtle indescribable quality (which transcends tonal balance / FR) of the SR-Omega/007/009 where after a few hours, we are like "wow".

 

[Hutnicks]

Quote:

 
Agreed. I liked what I heard, but at the asking price, I wouldn't commit unless I was totally 100% sure - meaning I probably wouldn't rely on anyone else's impressions unless I trust they know what I like. And that's like three people in the universe.

In most cases, high-end audio is not an investment with returns. It's more like dollar cost averaging Enron stock to zero.

Every nation has it's own Bre-X, doesn't it?   The only way to make a small fortune indulging in HEA is to start with a large one.

 

[DefQon]

Quote:

IMO, the BHSE+009 is rather etched and bright sounding to me with most DACs (I much prefer the BHSE with the 007mk1, and consider that combo to be more neutral, and so do many others if you ask around.) The Mytek/ACLG/AB-1266 setup I heard was much more neutral. 
 
 
I wouldn't say the BHSE is insensitive to tube rolling. Heck, the even the T2DIY was very sensitive to tube rolling. At least to my ears. Of course this may be placebo and everyone is free to believe or experience what they wish. For such balls-to-the-walls designs, it's critical to get the best tubes. BTW, there's no such thing as "wire with gain." The BHSE has its own sound. As does the T2DIY. As does the KGSS. As does the LL. As does the LL2. As does the Electra. (All the amps mentioned I've owned or heard on numerous occasions or have been able to borrow them in my own home. And I consider them all at least pretty good.)

1. Yeah I'll agree with you on that one, I found the 009 a tad bit bright for my taste as well. Although the MK1's remain the first Stax I ever listened to that was so long ago so I couldn't quite put it into the same equation as the 009's I briefly heard (which I was impressed on first listen), so unless I had the 007mk1, BHSE, 009 all at the same time on the same table, then it's a different story. Btw ACLG = CA LG? typo I'm assuming :S.
 
2. From very limited experience with the BHSE, I couldn't tell much difference between the few tubes we rolled compared to the stock JJ's that was being used (at least for me, but the limited brief audition could attribute to this as a factor as well). I wasn't implying that the BHSE is completely insensitive to tube rolling but what I was saying that compared to what general people think tube rolling is, adding the extra layer of warm, liquidy sounding distortion on top of the sound, amplifiers that have a greater affect from tube rolling, I did not find this to be the case with the  BHSE, as it goes back to the example I gave with the Woo stuff. But yes every amp has a characteristic of it's own. As with wire-with-a gain, this is just a coming from the design perspective of the amp and what Tyll has referred to it as which other people have referred him to refer the amp to it as. In other words, it's damn neutral. lol
 
I've got KGSS boards coming my way from Johnmclean so I should have a offboad KGSSHV built in a few months time, given how things work out with employment here, I may land myself an MK1/BHSE or 009/BHSE so I can raid A2A and do a proper comparison. Maybe even try the LL with my 009's and see how well Alex's amps really are. 

 

[livewire]

Is this the new Stax thread?
Poor major bling planars aint gettin no respect round here.

 

[DefQon]

Major suckage on the price and looks, but more the former.

 

[gikigill]

Planars are stepping in Stax territory, they should bring their A game.
No mercy, no prisoners is my view as a Stax and an HE6 owner.

 

[gavtorn]

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I want to try it with lampi L4 & LG, can we arrange a micro meet around early august? Perhaps defqon can bring a lampi?

 
Are you bringing your kit with you when you come back to Melbourne for your graduation?

 

[gavtorn]

Quote:

If Rega Dac was feed by ap2 or cd transport, it's quite decent. But if only use usb cable, well... I have my doubt as well.

Seriously tho, we need to hear the Abyss with a DAC that's on the same quality level with the LG...

 

[Duckman]

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Seriously tho, we need to hear the Abyss with a DAC that's on the same quality level with the LG...

 That'd be your 777, Gav