[GGSuperMe]

Might be worth also checking out the options below

The SRD-7

https://mjolnir-audio.com/products/

And these

https://mjolnir-audio.com/used-amplifiers/

Thank you. I emailed about the Octave II tonight, and asked him about shipping times and any suggestions that he might have. Waiting for a reply which likely won't be until tomorrow since it is quite late in Iceland.

 

[slazhx]

Thank you. I emailed about the Octave II tonight, and asked him about shipping times and any suggestions that he might have. Waiting for a reply which likely won't be until tomorrow since it is quite late in Iceland.

I have Mjolnir "KGSS Klassik" that I don't use anymore. The original price was $2500 which I can sell you around half price or so. The unit is 220V. Feel free to PM if you are interested. Folks here can comment whether it is a good move for you

 

[tjlindle]

Now here's finally a comparison I've been wanting to listen to for a very long time - at last, after a couple years, I was able to source a good condition Nova Basic to compare to the Classic there on the left, which has been one of my main workhorses for quite some time. I don't think the Nova Basic is particularly "rare" but I've had a lot of trouble getting my hands on one for various reasons, now to see how it stacks ("stax?") up to its big brother.

The Nova Signature is technically part of this too, I did have a LNS but sold it since it was worth more than the Classic and I didn't perceive much of a difference between the two. Maybe the LNS had slightly better treble extension but I'm confident I could not tell the two apart in a blind test.

So the Basic is actually a pretty interesting headphone in my opinion, it is essentially splitting the difference between a NB Lambda and the LNC/LNS. The sound sig is quite balanced and mid-centric like the NB Lambda, but it has that trademark smoothness/warmth of the Nova line and thus where the NB Lambda presents things in a bright yet euphonic way, the Basic presents them with similar euphony but in a more relaxed manner. I could see people who like the NB Lambda but wish it was just a tad less bright, really digging the Nova Basic.

Now the other key that makes it surprisingly similar to the NB Lambda, and where it really differentiates itself from the LNC/LNS big brothers, is in how forward the presentation is. The Basic is an extremely detail-forward Lambda, in fact I think in this respect it even outpaces the NB Lambda and draws the closest comparison to the L300. I also really enjoyed this quality of the L300, it was not as resolving or technical as the L700 but in some ways it made up for it with a fun, detail-forward presentation that brought most of the track right up into your ears and didn't really make you work too hard for it.

The Basic pulls a similar trick, and yet somehow manages to simultaneously build a wider soundstage than the L300 (though, to be fair, the L300 does have one of the smallest stages of the Lambda line in my experience). What this gives you is a detail-forward, fun, punchy presentation that nevertheless has just a hint of layering and texture, it's really an awesome and peculiar presentation that could very well be one of my favorites in the Lambda line.

Compared to the LNC/LNS, the Basic is not quite as resolving nor nuanced, but it feels way more "present" due to the more forward sound, and is arguably more immediately engaging and fun as a result. The Nova line is known for being a smooth, enjoyable listen, and that is definitely the case here, but it's quite apparent that this is the more rambunctious little brother in the trio.

I would be very interested if anyone knows what drivers are in the Basic. It sounds close enough to the LNC/LNS that I could see it being the same driver, just presented differently; but it is just different enough that I'm wondering if it derives from the Lambda Pro Classic/Spirit instead (I have not heard those to be clear).

So tl;dr: I like the Nova Basic a lot, kind of like a warmer NB Lambda with L300 detail presentation. Anyone who likes the Nova line, the NB Lambda, or the L300/L500 would probably be happy with it.

Also, it has the superior black color scheme...so much better than the olive drab

 

[Zoide]

now to see how it stacks ("stax?") up to its big brother

 

[HiFiGuy94]

Sviatoslav,

I have 007MkI (with 009 modded earpads) and BHSE. I jumped into BHSE without auditioning after living for years with SRM-717. This was an epiphany, I needed about 2-3 months to understand and learn what this amp does and redigest my musical collection. It sounded involving even with a crappy source (youtube from mobile), not to mention advanced ones (I have a TT with 2 arms/carts plus a supertuner). The only thing I do now is investing in better tubes. I listen to exclusively classical (from baroque to 20th century).

Cheers

EDIT: Glass surfaces have a tendency to accentuate HF

Hey bro, i was thinking about ordering a TT soon for my STAX SR-L700 MK2's. How do you think they will pair?

 

[oneguy]

Your signature says you have the SR-X9000, ES-1a, and Hive X on order.
Have the ES-1a or Hive X arrived yet? Or do you have an ETA?

I'm very curious to know how they compare to the L700 and RR1.

Thanks

EDIT:
Just realized that you already reviewed the ES-1a (https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/es-lab-es-1-alpha-es-1a-electrostatic-headphones.25825/reviews). How does it compare to the L700? Oops, that was lostrockets, not oneguy.

When do you expect to get the Hive X?

The ES-1a arrived yesterday and the HiveX last Tuesday but the HiveX will be getting swapped for another set due to a driver issue. Driver issues aside, I’d rate the ES-1a at the top of the heap. Lovely sound. Deep bass and no issues with humidity (not temperamental like the RR1 and HiveX). Fit on the ES-1a is loose like the demo pair I tried back in January but it still manages to keep the bass levels high which is nice.

For the HiveX, I don’t want to go into it too much as the new pair with the corrected driver issues may have a different sound but I’d say it’s worth the $99 over the RR1 based on my initial impressions. For the RR1, it take less time to get the drivers charged so they are balanced well. My RR1 can sometimes take 10-20 minutes if it’s been a while since I listened to it and until then the drivers output at the same sound level. The HiveX out of the box was balanced well.

The RR1 has issues if the relative humidity gets in the 65-75% range. The HiveX maybe will too but again we’ll see with the new pair.

As far as feel, the HiveX is easier to adjust since it doesn’t require tools. The stock headband on the RR1 is very easy to break. I broke mine on my third time wearing them which necessitated a replacement with an L700 headband so it would be more sturdy. No such issues with the HiveX.

I like that the HiveX came with a flat cable but it does seem rather fragile compare to the Stax cables and the one that came with the RR1. This is my biggest gripe so far.

The ES-1a is definitely above the L700
IMO. The RR1 is below the L700. The HiveX I haven’t quite decided how it relates to the L700.

I’ll get more details on the sound when I have more time with the ES-1a and the other HiveX arrives.

 

[mulveling]

The ES-1a has been slowly growing on me. It's been operating opposed to my 007 Mk I on an old-but-good-sounding KGSShv (IXYS 500V) in my weekend loft. I've also pulled in the 009 for brief stints, only to remember I no longer dig its tonality or lack of musicality on this amp. Of course, all the 009's issues are beautifully resolved on a T2, but that's not in play right now. The 007 Mk I and this KGSShv are a "real world" perfect match. Sure, detail and dynamics get leaps better on a T2, but this pairing's musicality and overall sonic balance tracks quite closely here.

The ES-1a on this KGSShv is "close" to a great match. Technically they're beautiful; very clean, accurate, detailed, huge soundstage. Tonality is warm if not lush - natural, and much improved versus the 009. However they seem slightly dark somehow. The presentation is missing that last degree of...Pizazz? Vivaciousness? Punchiness? They're certainly musical, but not quite as musical and liquid as the 007 Mk I on this KGSShv. The 007 surprisingly dials in that "sparkle" the ES-1a seems to be missing, even as the latter actually is more technically impressive overall. In the early ES-1a comparisons, there was talk about "dark" pads, which seemed to be the more popular option. I think perhaps ES Labs has now standardized on these "dark" pads. I wish I could tweak the pads to be slightly less dark!

I upgraded my DAC recently from a Questyle CAS192 to a Phison PD2 SE2, and wow, both the 007 Mk I and ES-1a responded like crazy to that. My OG Yggdrasil gets returned from repairs this week, but I somewhat doubt that will match the Phison.

The L700 Mk 2 driven by a clone HEV90 tube amp has become my main headphone setup at the weekday residence. This is another amazing "real world" combination. The technicalities of L700 are excellent (even better with Mk 2 over Mk 1), but do lag a little behind a well driven 007 / ES-1a / 009. Along with the weird asymmetric headstage of the lambda form factor (which doesn't bother me). But man, for fun enjoyable music listening this combo beats or matches any e-stat combo I've heard until you pull out a T2 (ironically the L700 kinda sucks on T2). The 007 Mk I / KGSShv combo is heaps of fun, but still loses out to this L700 / HEV90 clone.

 

[SolarCetacean]

The L700 Mk 2 driven by a clone HEV90 tube amp has become my main headphone setup at the weekday residence. This is another amazing "real world" combination. The technicalities of L700 are excellent (even better with Mk 2 over Mk 1), but do lag a little behind a well driven 007 / ES-1a / 009. Along with the weird asymmetric headstage of the lambda form factor (which doesn't bother me). But man, for fun enjoyable music listening this combo beats or matches any e-stat combo I've heard until you pull out a T2 (ironically the L700 kinda sucks on T2). The 007 Mk I / KGSShv combo is heaps of fun, but still loses out to this L700 / HEV90 clone.

"Asymmetrical headstage" struck me as a pretty good description for the L700mk2's soundstage/imaging, though I'm not sure if we're talking about the same thing. To me, the L700 presents a more stage-like image than any non-Lambda headphone I've listened to, like it pulls parts of music that normally appear off to the sides of my head towards the front. None of my other headphones do that. It works really well for orchestral pieces and other performances where the musicians are recorded on a stage, because it has the effect of gathering the different parts into a "stage" with defined boundaries rather than being distributed in a sphere around me as if I was standing in the conductor's position.

 

[slazhx]

I have Mjolnir "KGSS Klassik" that I don't use anymore. The original price was $2500 which I can sell you around half price or so. The unit is 220V. Feel free to PM if you are interested. Folks here can comment whether it is a good move for you

Sorry to be off-topic.

I have just put the Mjolnir KGSS Klassik listing in the classified section. Please feel free to PM if interested. If this is not the proper manner of posting the listing here, please let me know and I will remove it from this thread right away.

Thank you.

https://www.head-fi.org/classifieds/mjolnir-audio-kgss-klassik-electrostatic-headamp.27065/

 

[hifixman]

"Asymmetrical headstage" struck me as a pretty good description for the L700mk2's soundstage/imaging, though I'm not sure if we're talking about the same thing. To me, the L700 presents a more stage-like image than any non-Lambda headphone I've listened to, like it pulls parts of music that normally appear off to the sides of my head towards the front. None of my other headphones do that. It works really well for orchestral pieces and other performances where the musicians are recorded on a stage, because it has the effect of gathering the different parts into a "stage" with defined boundaries rather than being distributed in a sphere around me as if I was standing in the conductor's position.

Tonally to my ears it is closest to original omega.

 

[mulveling]

"Asymmetrical headstage" struck me as a pretty good description for the L700mk2's soundstage/imaging, though I'm not sure if we're talking about the same thing. To me, the L700 presents a more stage-like image than any non-Lambda headphone I've listened to, like it pulls parts of music that normally appear off to the sides of my head towards the front. None of my other headphones do that. It works really well for orchestral pieces and other performances where the musicians are recorded on a stage, because it has the effect of gathering the different parts into a "stage" with defined boundaries rather than being distributed in a sphere around me as if I was standing in the conductor's position.

Yes the omega-types all present a spherical head-stage; the L700 do not. I listen to a lot of rock and the L700 serves this very well - its unique staging presentation is part of its charm, but not its ONLY charm in comparison to the omega types. I really like the L700 a lot; always have. It maxes out on a BHSE or this HEV90 clone, but also does well on a KGST. Seems to love tubes. The Mk 2 version was a good revision that makes the L700 even better

As far as efficiency - it seems like reports on this ES-1a have been varied. Perhaps this was affected by early pad swapping? Here, with the current stock pads, I find its efficiency to be nearly the same as 007 Mk I - i.e. not very efficient. It's less efficient than the 009, and much less than L700! The HEV90 tube amp audibly struggles to retain grip over the omega types at higher volumes, but does beautifully with L700. It sounds excellent with ES-1a, but you're limited in the volume you can push here before SQ degrades. The 500V IXYS KGSShv provides excellent drive and grip over everything, but is not the best tonal match for 009 and L700.

 

[bigjako]

As far as efficiency - it seems like reports on this ES-1a have been varied. Perhaps this was affected by early pad swapping? Here, with the current stock pads, I find its efficiency to be nearly the same as 007 Mk I - i.e. not very efficient. It's less efficient than the 009, and much less than L700!

My personal experience aligns with this - the ES-1a and 007 Mk1 have the same efficiency, which are both much less efficient than any Lambdas. The 007 Mk1 worked well with both the Mjolnir Carbon and EC Electra, while the ES-1a works wonderfully with the Carbon, though (very sadly to me) not with the all-tube Electra.

 

[droido256]

Just bought a srm400s, and looking at the circuit photos, noticed 4 neon bulbs towards the front of the unit. I was wondering the purpose for neon bulbs inside a amp, and not for obvious illumination. Just curious.

 

[KDS315]

Just bought a srm400s, and looking at the circuit photos, noticed 4 neon bulbs towards the front of the unit. I was wondering the purpose for neon bulbs inside a amp, and not for obvious illumination. Just curious.

It is LEDs btw and they are used to get some stabilized voltages…

 

[droido256]

It is LEDs btw and they are used to get some stabilized voltages…

Aaaaah I see, I see.