[mulveling]

There are people up to their heads in debt working part-time jobs while studying full-time and your suggestion is "work harder." That made me giggle.

Then do nothing and be whiney and miserable? I didn’t start to acquire nice things until my career was well underway.

 

[catscratch]

I like z reviews, he's entertaining but certainly not a good source for factual information.

I also like the L700, but to put things into perspective, I'd take the Focal Clear over the L700 at the moment, I think it actually outresolves the L700, at least once you fix its FR deficiencies. However, right now I'm using a 007t with the L700 and I don't think it is as good a match for the L700 as people say it is. It pretty much runs out of juice very quickly even slightly above moderate volumes, and the sound becomes harsh and lacks detail. The 717 did far better, and I'm sure more powerful amps will do better still, though at that point the value proposition becomes questionable.

Spoiler

let's not pretend that "value" has anything to do with any headphone decisions we make, shall we

The L700 just doesn't have the resolution to be really world-class, but it's not far off, and is voiced nicely, provided you don't mind a bit of tip-up in the highs or are willing to EQ it, and it does have a great midrange. It's a very clear step up from previous Lambda-style headphones but not Omega level IMO, though the SR-007s I've had have all had their own problems and in some ways are further off a really neutral tuning, though maybe in less annoying ways.

 

[tigon_ridge]

Then do nothing and be whiney and miserable? I didn’t start to acquire nice things until my career was well underway.

Who is whining and being miserable? I was making a little suggestion for the KG expert builders, and you take that as whining. You're being defensive because you know your suggestions were completely useless and somewhat condescending, but don't want to admit to it. Everyone who frequents this thread knows how to do research and has already probably done a lot of it, and is intelligent enough to know nothing good comes free.

 

[SeaWo|f]

Spritzer also has a modified T1 in that price range and he had a modified 007t for about the same price. If you keep an eye on his used section interesting things come up for good prices, and he has refurbished them..

 

[kevin gilmore]

probably none of you know this, but the stax d-10 uses apex micro pa443 chips as the amplifiers (they are duals). $18.74 each in singles at digikey.
So 2 of these, some heatsink, a pair of your favorite regular opamps in the front end, and a regulated +/-175 v power supply (and +/-15) (and bias), and you have
something cheap and effective. Trouble is the voltage swing, which means it won't have the dynamic range that some of you have become accustomed to.
But you could do the entire thing for about $200 in parts.
I did publish a design using the apex chips at the time, it was 20 years ago.

I'm sure that massdrop will eventually do a cavalli liquid lightning for say $999
(complex switching power supply required to get the cost down)

 

[VRacer-111]

That may well be true, and I hope it is, but it would be nice if KG and his fellow engineers could design and implement a build that is meant to pair with entry-level Staxes. Pretty sure the SRM-252S and SRM-353 could use some nice competition for people who don't have the income to shell out for the high-end Stax models. Every KG amp offers two orders of magnitude more power than any entry-level Stax requires. How about a lower-power, mini KGSShv that won't break the bank? It would serve as a gateway to the more powerful/pricy KG amps for Stax newbies.

I went from SRM-323S to NAD C275BEE stereo amp (already had for my HT system) + Mjolnir SRD-7 e-stat transformer (~$730 shipped)... noticeable increase in sound quality, dynamics, and bass impact/extension. NAD C275BEE is a seriously awesome sounding stereo amp for ~$1k...tons of capacitance, extremely clean and dynamic sounding, and precise [+/- 0.1dB 20Hz-20kHz, -3db Ref is 3Hz-100kHz].

 

[Rhamnetin]

That's not a great option why make something that doesn't work well with all stats.

If you want a cheaper kg amp look at the kgdt or the cheap version of the kgsshv that spritzer has been working on for years.

Or the srx plus, or the current feed back amp that kg did recently.

Not all kg amps break the bank

Edit :: I know the srx plus isn't a kg amp. I just realized that isn't clear in the above post. Credit jiml.

Buy used, or put yourself into it (work harder, make more money, and DIY) or both. Nothing good comes easy.

I saw a KGSS here for around $1100 used, why not just grab this amp and be happy? I saw several used KGST for around $1500 as well...and that's a great price for such amp. Otherwise, just be happy with the 323S or the 717 if you can buy one used for around $800 - 900. Don't forget that casework alone isn't cheap either.

Let's also not forget the Octave V2 from spritzer, and as quoted above consider used amps. So even with no DIY capability, you can build a Stax system with an SR-007/SR-009 for a similar or lower cost than a flagship dynamic/planar magnetic system, and these systems will be competitive. But yeah if you want to take the SR-007/SR-009/SR-009S to the point where it completely outclasses all non-electrostats then you'll need a much more expensive amp.

In other news, I'm using a Chord Mojo as a DAC instead of the Hugo 2 until my Denafrips Venus arrives. As expected, the SR-009 + KGSSHV Carbon is extremely revealing of the source. Compared to the Hugo 2, with the Mojo I'm hearing reduced transparency, softer bass and attack, lower quality and recessed treble, sound stage and imaging took a bigger hit than I was expecting. Pretty much everything is noticeably worse and duller. Especially for metal.

Much of that transparency, resolution, impact, airiness, sound stage, and imaging gets flushed down the drain. It's still far more transparent than any non-electrostatic system I've listened to but yeah... this is kind of lame haha. It's breaking my heart. Such a big difference, the SR-009 really is a microscope. My super positive SR-009 review featured on the front page here? It wouldn't have been nearly that positive if I only had the Mojo.

I'm not surprised but it's nice to finally experience this; if you want 100% from your high end Stax system, you can't cheap out on the source. With the Mojo, a lot of the magic I was hearing is lost compared to the Hugo 2. Can't even imagine what something like a Chord DAVE would do. But the Mojo makes me not want to listen to this system at all anymore (and don't get me wrong, it's great for the price).

If I end up preferring the Hugo 2 to the Venus then I'm moving to a Hugo 2 TT and perhaps getting the Hugo M Scaler eventually and calling it quits. Though I see many of you have favored R2R DACs with Stax, and the Venus looks like a very impressive one so I have high hopes.

 

[Rossliew]

I went from SRM-323S to NAD C275BEE stereo amp (already had for my HT system) + Mjolnir SRD-7 e-stat transformer (~$730 shipped)... noticeable increase in sound quality, dynamics, and bass impact/extension. NAD C275BEE is a seriously awesome sounding stereo amp for ~$1k...tons of capacitance, extremely clean and dynamic sounding, and precise [+/- 0.1dB 20Hz-20kHz, -3db Ref is 3Hz-100kHz].

Could you share pictures of how to connect the srd7 to the amp? Thanks

 

[JimL11]

Could you share pictures of how to connect the srd7 to the amp? Thanks

The SRD-7 has 4 terminals on the back that are marked R+. R-. L+ and L-. Simply connect the terminals to the corresponding output terminals on your amp.

 

[Rossliew]

The SRD-7 has 4 terminals on the back that are marked R+. R-. L+ and L-. Simply connect the terminals to the corresponding output terminals on your amp.

Just like how one would connect an amplifier to speakers using speaker cables?

 

[VRacer-111]

For an original STAX SRD-7 the terminals on the back would go to your speakers and the grey umbilical wire would go to the amp output terminals (normally where you would connect speakers), connecting them as JimL11 says.

The Mjolnir SRD-7 is a little different, it only goes directly to the amp speaker terminals - no ability to use speakers unless the amp has second set of output terminals (which the NAD C275BEE does).

Basically just think of any SRD-7 as taking the place of your speakers.

Here's picture from back of my rig (have speaker cables disconnected in bottom right corner):

 

[JimL11]

Just like how one would connect an amplifier to speakers using speaker cables?

Whoops, forgot I disconnected the umbilical cable in mine, but, yes, the umbilical connects to the amp and speaker cable connects to the terminals in back.

 

[Rossliew]

Thanks both for the clarification !

 

[wuwhere]

For an original STAX SRD-7 the terminals on the back would go to your speakers and the grey umbilical wire would go to the amp output terminals (normally where you would connect speakers), connecting them as JimL11 says.

Basically just think of any SRD-7 as taking the place of your speakers.

Isn't the input to the SRD-7 from the amplifier the grey wires and the output from the SRD-7, the red and black to the speakers? So either you use the headphone or the speakers but not both simultaneously?

 

[wuwhere]

What is the load impedance of the SRD-7 to the speaker amp?