The Stax Thread III

[BreadMaster]

I would like to hear the koss and also the sonoma at some point.

I have heard a lot of people say the same about the 007 vs 009. I am inclined to believe that I received a very poor representation of the 007. I was very much looking forward to hearing the 007 because of how highly praised it was, but this set was very granular sounding. This made detail retrieval almost non existent. Either way the 009S is by far the best sounding headphone I have ever experienced.

Now you need to hear the 007 +009 on Diy T2

 

[Dan Lee]

haha. I am pretty sure the T2 is simply not in my future unless they have a custom builder half off sale. I think its gonna be a while before this apocalyptic style event haha.

 

[billqs]

I really feel the Carbon gives me all I need for STAX.

 

[thinker]

Phenomenon improved Carbon amplifier,lot's of light inside,excellent built

 

[BreadMaster]

Phenomenon improved Carbon amplifier,lot's of light inside,excellent built

How much?

 

[thinker]

How much?

2500USD+shipping and customs

 

[musicman59]

2500USD+shipping and customs

Where to order?

 

[thinker]

Where to order?

here
http://phenomenon.su/kontakty/

have been listening now for few hours,the fan is quite and keeps the amp running at medium temperature.The sound is absolutely fantastic, neutral,smooth, musical ,it has huge amount of air and soundstage and
pics everything up from the recording.Just a dream amp.

 

[thinker]

the three lights on front panel are 1-2-3 where 1 is left ch and 3 right ch the number 2 lights up when the amp is ready .The button in front is press button

 

[thinker]

my room is now dark and noticed that the lights inside the amp are monitoring , the light inside moves slowly from green,blue to violet and red, looks like a alien craft

 

[thinker]

Got a hello from Mafia

"Ok, it's not often we see this level of crap... but holy **** on a stick. So this is claimed to be an "improved Carbon" but the only improvement I can see is an added chance to burn your house down or give you a nasty shock. Seriously, this is apex level crap and how anybody would ship something like this out...is just beyond me. Also, gotta love "thinker" who consistently shows any possibility to do just that...."

This Phenomenon amp is not improvet Carbon amp it's a another level above it.Of course Spritzer is interested to sell the older design for 6500 USD to run he's business.But 6500 USD really? look inside they are almost empty and the case is as ugly as it gets

 

[JimL11]

Phenomenon improved Carbon amplifier,lot's of light inside,excellent built

Um.

Not sure that "improved" is the right word. Perhaps amp circuit is Carbon, but power supply definitely is not. Kevin Gilmore, designer of the Carbon, has pointed out what appears to be one of four HV switching power supply boards in upper right last picture, which are good for ~10 watts each. The original Carbon design uses a linear power supply, and requires heat sinking of the PS as well as the amp circuit, as a Carbon consumes around 160 watts IIRC. The KG PS is also MUCH quieter than any switching power supply can be. Switching supplies have two basic advantages - cost, and efficiency.

On the other hand linear supplies are generally thought to sound better. Two examples. Stax uses a switching HV power supply in its least expensive and smallest amp - the SRM252. All its other amps use linear power supplies. And Ben Zwickel of Mojo Audio has done some business selling linear power supplies as upgrades to the Linear Tube Audio microZOTL headphone amp, which was originally sold with a switching power supply. Enough so that Linear Tube Audio now sells the microZOTL with a linear power supply as an upgrade.

Finally, what is an internal fan doing in an amp with external heatsinks? Seems like putting an automobile radiator fan in the trunk. Apparently the fan cooling is for the power supply, which has got to be a first. I've seen lots of amps with external heatsinks, some amps with fan-cooled internal heatsinks, but I have never seen a fan-cooled power supply before. Will wonders never cease?

 

[BreadMaster]

Got a hello from Mafia

"Ok, it's not often we see this level of ****... but holy **** on a stick. So this is claimed to be an "improved Carbon" but the only improvement I can see is an added chance to burn your house down or give you a nasty shock. Seriously, this is apex level **** and how anybody would ship something like this out...is just beyond me. Also, gotta love "thinker" who consistently shows any possibility to do just that...."

This Phenomenon amp is not improvet Carbon amp it's a another level above it.Of course Spritzer is interested to sell the older design for 6500 USD to run he's business.But 6500 USD really? look inside they are almost empty and the case is as ugly as it gets

LOL that's Spritzer alright.

 

[tigon_ridge]

Well, aren't almost all PC power supplies equipped with a fan? That said, I don't see a vent in the case as an in/outtake for that fan. What's the point of having an internal fan, which adds electromagnetic interference beside sonic noise, if all it'll do is circulate warm air around the amp?

 

[tigon_ridge]

420V also isn't an improvement on the Carbon's 500V max output, unless I'm mistaken.