[plinth]

Yes, Rhamnetin your are right everything comes with a price. If I had the option to listen to it first and I like what I heard, I'd be more than willing to pay the price. When I wrote that I might have fallen prey to the Stax mafias propaganda I didn't refer to KG designs, I am sure technically they are perfect. But sometimes when you read comments from Spritzer on other forums you can get the impression that other builders are not as proficient as him or Headamp. But perhaps that is just my impression.

Why not drop Spritzer an email, he is most helpful and will try and sell you the unit that best fits your needs, not that which gets him the biggest sale. I have two of his Carbons and I fall in love with them anew every day.

 

[karlgerman]

@Klonk,

Inexxon might be interesting for you. He is in Germany and offer the new Inexxon Sirius High Precision Amp. As i know he is connected to Andreas Rauenbühler who made the High Amp Alpha Centauri V7 for Stax Headphones
More stuff on his web site.

 

[Klonk]

Thank you for your replies. Eventually I will contact Spritzer, however first I wanted to hear some more opinions on this forum, especially regarding the KGST design. Perhaps some forum members have experience with it.

 

[Klonk]

Karlgerman, thank you for pointing out Inexxon to me. I have read about it in a German forum, I am not sure if I am allowed to mention its name on Head-Fi.
I am also aware of Paltauf, a Austrian manufacturer of a Stax amp. But same problem, I can't listen to it. And regarding Inexxon, at the end of the day I usually prefer tube amp designs. However if I could listen to it, I might change my mind regarding transistor designs.

 

[joseph69]

Any words on the KGST

I know this may be irrelevant due to speaking of the 009, but some say there's not a huge difference between the 009/009S, and some disagree, and I myself have never heard the 009S, so...

I had a Mjolnir KGST paired with my 009 while waiting for my BHSE to arrive and too me it was definitely a nice pairing too my ears.
I felt it was an even nicer pairing than the Mjolnir KGSShv which was too revealing and a little on the bright side with the 009 for me.

 

[joseph69]

But same problem, I can't listen to it.

With aftermarket Stax amps you need to buy & try before finding what suits your taste, unless you know others who own what you're interested in hearing. With the amps you're interested in hearing, you will only lose a minimum amount of money on resale, which to me is well worth it if you want to hear it in your home on your own system.

 

[Klonk]

joseph69, thanks for your reply. Was there a huge sonic difference between the KGST and the BHSE ( I assume it is a Headamp one?) at not very high volume levels?

 

[Whitigir]

joseph69, thanks for your reply. Was there a huge sonic difference between the KGST and the BHSE ( I assume it is a Headamp one?) at not very high volume levels?

Pretty easy, judge by the pricing. KG designs are DIY, so beside parts and components, experiences, there is only a fraction of labor involved. The more expensive it is, the better it performs. You are not talking about manufacturing these amps like many companies do, patented and protected, warranty, insurances......etc....etc.

You can not go wrong with the saying “it is expensive because it sounds good” with KG designs, because it is all opened for DIY

 

[joseph69]

joseph69, thanks for your reply. Was there a huge sonic difference between the KGST and the BHSE ( I assume it is a Headamp one?) at not very high volume levels?

Yes, HeadAmps BHSE. The difference was distinguishable to my ears,
preferring the BHSE due to its capability to drive the 009 (and 007MK2) with more authority/depth/sound stage & clarity. Both the Mjolnir KGST & BHSE give nice tonality to the 009.

 

[Klonk]

@joseph69, do you use NOS tubes in your BHSE?

 

[Whitigir]

@joseph69, do you use NOS tubes in your BHSE?

NOS Tubes is always a shot in the dark. I just had a quad matched which gone bad on me, and it was only 9 months old. I am tired with NOS hunting, and will just be sticking to the most modern tubes from now on.

1/ nos tubes are expensive, and asking for it to be reliably strong is like playing a poker hand with a 2 and an 8...

2/ nos tubes sellers are mostly...not really honest, and it could be the nature of NOS Tubes being so hard to find, or the nature of the human being itself or both.

Anyways, it performance is undeniably good, but IMO, still not worth it

 

[Rhamnetin]

NOS Tubes is always a shot in the dark. I just had a quad matched which gone bad on me, and it was only 9 months old. I am tired with NOS hunting, and will just be sticking to the most modern tubes from now on.

1/ nos tubes are expensive, and asking for it to be reliably strong is like playing a poker hand with a 2 and an 8...

2/ nos tubes sellers are mostly...not really honest, and it could be the nature of NOS Tubes being so hard to find, or the nature of the human being itself or both.

Anyways, it performance is undeniably good, but IMO, still not worth it

Yeah and good NOS EL34 can cost a fortune, especially quad matched. There are some good production tubes today like psvane, just so much easier. Though solid state is easiest!

 

[joseph69]

@joseph69, do you use NOS tubes in your BHSE?

I did use ('58-'62 IIRC?) NOS Amperex Bugle Boys in my BHSE until I purchased the'99-'00 NOS Svetlana Winged C EL34s (recommended by a fellow Had-Fier) which cost a fraction of the price, and I prefer them much more.

 

[Whitigir]

Next up would be to Roll FETS instead of tubes lol

 

[georgep]

NOS Tubes is always a shot in the dark. I just had a quad matched which gone bad on me, and it was only 9 months old. I am tired with NOS hunting, and will just be sticking to the most modern tubes from now on.
...

Which tubes were they, and in what way did they go bad? Care to share the source? One of my favourites are people selling dual triodes where they only test, measure and match one half of the dual triode.