[Rossliew]

Megatron is all tube whilst T2 is hybrid?

 

[SeaWo|f]

Megatron is all tube, with solid state power supply. There are 2sa1968s used on board. I think there is one other transistor on the amp board.

Not sure which parts of the t2 are SS.

Edit: @Whitigir fwiw there is one amp you could recover your cost on and sell immediately I think the megatron is it. Interest sseems very high with that one.

 

[Whitigir]

Megatron is all tube, with solid state power supply. There are 2sa1968s used on board. I think there is one other transistor on the amp board.

Not sure which parts of the t2 are SS.

Too many >.< lol

 

[336881]

I don't find it hard to believe. Much more power, better power supply designs... I haven't listened to a KGST or KGSSHV (for which the output stage runs at less than half that of my KGSSHV Carbon) but according to everyone, they are not even close to the higher end amps. I know the KGSS certainly isn't. KGSS to KGSSHV Carbon or BHSE is such a big difference... actually in hindsight it almost is hard to believe.

For sr-007 and 009 yes, but my 404LE? Just me but I think a KGSS, KGSSHV or KGST will be plenty, and still be quite top tier as far as headphones go.

 

[JimL11]

Common I have spent too much money this year LOL. I know sir KG said it wouldn’t hang around the T2 though

Well, here is what KG said about the Megatron when he introduced it in 2012: "This is absolutely at the T2/BHSE level."

 

[mulveling]

T2 and BHSE don't belong at the same level! Both occupy the very high level, no doubt. But the KG T2 resides above that. We aren't even talking diminishing returns here. I think KG (apologies in advance, not trying to speak for him) just meant to say that the Megatron is a very excellent amp!

For sr-007 and 009 yes, but my 404LE? Just me but I think a KGSS, KGSSHV or KGST will be plenty, and still be quite top tier as far as headphones go.

The L700, at least, scales nicely up through KGST <= BHSE <= T2 levels. Not as nicely as the Omegas, but still nicely.

 

[JimL11]

Megatron is all tube, with solid state power supply. There are 2sa1968s used on board. I think there is one other transistor on the amp board.

Not sure which parts of the t2 are SS.

Edit: @Whitigir fwiw there is one amp you could recover your cost on and sell immediately I think the megatron is it. Interest sseems very high with that one.

Most of the modern "tube" electrostatic amps have some solid state, so they could all be called hybrid. The difference is whether the solid state acts as "support" elements, or are part of the amplification chain. So, to break it down:

1) The following have solid state front end and intermediate amplification stages:

Stax SRM-T1, SRM-006, SRM-007

Gilmore KGST, Blue Hawaii, Grounded grid

2) The following have tube input stage and solid state intermediate and output amplification stages:

Stax SRM-T8000

3) The following have tube input and output stages, but solid state intermediate amplification stages:

Stax SRM-T2 and DIY T2

4) The following have all tube amplification stages but use solid state current sources and/or current loads to set the operating conditions:

SRX Plus

KG Megatron

5) The only amps that do not have any solid state in the amp circuit are [note that I have not seen the schematics of these so this is partly conjecture]:

HeadAmp Aristaeus

Woo GES, WES and 3ES

All of the Stax amps have passive power supplies. AFAIK the Woo amps also have passive power supplies. The main advantages of passive power supplies are low cost and less space.

All of the KG amps, the Aristaeus, and the SRX Plus have solid state regulated power supplies.

If you consider hybrid amps to be those that use any solid state in the amplifying circuit, then only the last category are tube amps, and the rest are hybrid. OTOH, if you consider hybrid amps to be only those that use solid state to amplify the audio signal, then the last two categories would be considered tube amps.

 

[Jones Bob]

One minor addition to your Group 3, Jim.

Kevin’s Sandwich amp made public in the DIY T-8000 thread “over there”.
Essentially, it’s a Grounded Grid with vacuum tube input with SS intermediate current tunnel. The design and amplifier PCB is complete, but I don’t know of anyone who’s built it yet. I’d like to try it one day, but will take a major rework to my Grounded Grid Power Supply.

 

[koven]

Just hopped on the ES train w/ the 009 + KGSSHV.. I've only heard Stax in suboptimal showroom conditions so it'll be nice to try this combo at home.
I have a Utopia and LCD4 paired with a Liquid Gold which I enjoy a lot, I can't imagine how much better a Stax might sound so I'm trying to temper my expectations a bit...

 

[Rhamnetin]

Just hopped on the ES train w/ the 009 + KGSSHV.. I've only heard Stax in suboptimal showroom conditions so it'll be nice to try this combo at home.
I have a Utopia and LCD4 paired with a Liquid Gold which I enjoy a lot, I can't imagine how much better a Stax might sound so I'm trying to temper my expectations a bit...

Hope you like it and it's good to keep your expectations in check. I went from an LCD-4 + Mjolnir Audio Pure BiPolar to the SR-009 + KGSSHV Carbon very recently. The LCD-4 was already beaten by the ZMF Ori to my ears (entirely due to treble), but the SR-009 makes the LCD-4 sound like a headphone worth 1/10th the price to me. And to think I was actually tempering my expectations too... I was just that blown away.

Side note, can anyone comment on T2 vs KGSSHV Carbon or Grounded Grid bass?

 

[mulveling]

Side note, can anyone comment on T2 vs KGSSHV Carbon or Grounded Grid bass?

OMG, T2 is really that much better. Not too-too much absolute terms of wallop, but overall it just sounds so much more realistic, natural, alive and dynamic. I'll shut up now (for a bit)

@koven you bought one of my Utopia, and they are really great! But my heart always belongs to Stax.

 

[koven]

Hope you like it and it's good to keep your expectations in check. I went from an LCD-4 + Mjolnir Audio Pure BiPolar to the SR-009 + KGSSHV Carbon very recently. The LCD-4 was already beaten by the ZMF Ori to my ears (entirely due to treble), but the SR-009 makes the LCD-4 sound like a headphone worth 1/10th the price to me. And to think I was actually tempering my expectations too... I was just that blown away.

I just noticed your signature says selling non-ES because Stax is just too good..... I may just be sharing that sentiment in the near future.. we shall see

OMG, T2 is really that much better. Not too-too much absolute terms of wallop, but overall it just sounds so much more realistic, natural, alive and dynamic. I'll shut up now (for a bit)

@koven you bought one of my Utopia, and they are really great! But my heart always belongs to Stax.

Yup still enjoying your (my) Utopia a lot, but it is time for me to enter the Stax world. I see you've gone all-in w/ the T2...

 

[Mystel]

QUOTE="Rhamnetin, post: 14390746, member: 399683"]Hope you like it and it's good to keep your expectations in check. I went from an LCD-4 + Mjolnir Audio Pure BiPolar to the SR-009 + KGSSHV Carbon very recently. The LCD-4 was already beaten by the ZMF Ori to my ears (entirely due to treble), but the SR-009 makes the LCD-4 sound like a headphone worth 1/10th the price to me. And to think I was actually tempering my expectations too... I was just that blown away.

Side note, can anyone comment on T2 vs KGSSHV Carbon or Grounded Grid bass?[/QUOTE]

Well i got rid of the LCD4 and Utopia immediately when i entered staxes last year, completely no comparison there
Anyway there was a month when i had both the T2 and Carbon in my place
Bass is the only area whereby i MIGHT prefer the carbon over the T2
I felt the bass on the carbon was tighter, more of a solid state kind of bass. Fast and clean
Whereas the T2 was just ever so slightly boomy, just a little.
Both slams just as hard.

 

[SeaWo|f]

One minor addition to your Group 3, Jim.

Kevin’s Sandwich amp made public in the DIY T-8000 thread “over there”.
Essentially, it’s a Grounded Grid with vacuum tube input with SS intermediate current tunnel. The design and amplifier PCB is complete, but I don’t know of anyone who’s built it yet. I’d like to try it one day, but will take a major rework to my Grounded Grid Power Supply.

Yea it seems like that project stalled some time last year. I think Joamat has a -mostly- working example.

It is interesting, I'd have thought people would be all over it.

 

[kevin gilmore]

The reason why I did the sandwich amp is because the servo on the t8000 has major issues which require extremely tight matching of the sections of the input tube.
The few people that have shoved expensive NOS (and probably fake) tubes into the thing have found out the hard way, you can't adjust the zero and offset.
Sales of the t8000 are evidently much better than I expected, luckily most people are not messing with them.

Tubes as the input stage rarely make any kind of sense, just more complicated, more noise, more high voltage power supplies, and dc coupling requires current mirrors (which have to be solid state)