[Andre Jute]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirumu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well said Andre, I'm in full agreement. On an unrelated note, I'm currently wondering about the experiences of those driving Stax headphones (or others) via the transformer boxes. I'm aware some here are using nice solid state amplifiers with plenty of power behind them. I'm wondering if anyone has tried tubes be they hybrids, DHTs, SET designs, etc with their Stax? What were your impressions? How much wattage do you find is needed?

SE, DHT, PP, and so on do not matter much except for prestige, street cred, the profits of the undeserving, and other strictly trivial, definitely non-sonic considerations. What people call the DHT or SE sound is merely the sound of triodes or trioded pentodes being operated for small, very linear output power, in Class A1 with zero or very little global negative feedback. A choke input power supply helps give the sound that distinctive flavour. It isn't even necessarily a tube sound, though it is difficult and expensive to achieve with silicon (you'll find an attempt to match tube sound with silicon on the cheap on my netsite in the chapters about the miniGainBrick or mGB -- entertaining for the student but not recommended at this level). Nor do you need huge power: one watt is overkill already. Check out "The myth of the watt" at
http://members.lycos.co.uk/fiultra/K...dre%20Jute.htm
for methods of determinging how much power you really need.

Finding a commercial amp with those specifications is a near impossibility. There are some small amps on my netsite
http://members.lycos.co.uk/fiultra/JUTE%20ON%20AMPS.htm
that you can build if you can solder and have a proper respect for electricity; the
Jute-EL34-SEntry
can be built inexpensively if you merely want to experiment. Later I will publish circuits for a series of dedicated direct-drive Stax tube amps, but that is off your topic of tube amps to use with transformer boxes <G>.

Andre Jute
Visit Jute on Amps at http://members.lycos.co.uk/fiultra/
"wonderfully well written and reasoned information
for the tube audio constructor"
John Broskie TubeCAD & GlassWare
"an unbelievably comprehensive web site
containing vital gems of wisdom"
Stuart Perry Hi-Fi News & Record Review

 

[nothing101]

ive been finding my k501s really slow and undetailed lately. not that im looking for an upgrade but im just curious if there is a non stat headphone that sounds DRASTICALLY faster than the 501.

i dont want any suggestion of what i should get because i have access to quads which are more than good enough. just curious if there is a dynamic headphone that is even close to as fast as stats.

k1000? rs1? dt880?

 

[mirumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andre Jute /img/forum/go_quote.gif SE, DHT, PP, and so on do not matter much except for prestige, street cred, the profits of the undeserving, and other strictly trivial, definitely non-sonic considerations. What people call the DHT or SE sound is merely the sound of triodes or trioded pentodes being operated for small, very linear output power, in Class A1 with zero or very little global negative feedback. A choke input power supply helps give the sound that distinctive flavour. It isn't even necessarily a tube sound, though it is difficult and expensive to achieve with silicon (you'll find an attempt to match tube sound with silicon on the cheap on my netsite in the chapters about the miniGainBrick or mGB -- entertaining for the student but not recommended at this level). Nor do you need huge power: one watt is overkill already. Check out "The myth of the watt" at http://members.lycos.co.uk/fiultra/K...dre%20Jute.htm for methods of determinging how much power you really need.

Ah, many thanks for your thoughts and that link. I have to admit I was hoping someone would talk more about the wattage since I see so many quality amplifiers out there that are rated at 1-2 watts. If they did not have their uses then I am sure there would not be so many available. I have a multimeter around so when my Omega IIs are back I will have to work out exactly how much power I need to drive them. Other earspeakers appear to be more efficient so I assume any amp that can adequately power the O2s will power other's more than sufficiently too.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andre Jute /img/forum/go_quote.gif Finding a commercial amp with those specifications is a near impossibility. There are some small amps on my netsite http://members.lycos.co.uk/fiultra/JUTE%20ON%20AMPS.htm that you can build if you can solder and have a proper respect for electricity; the Jute-EL34-SEntry can be built inexpensively if you merely want to experiment.

I'm certainly not against some DIY especially considering how much freedom it gives you in ensuring build quality. I'm by no means an expert but I have assembled and diagnosed numerous circuits. Where I tend to draw the line is winding transformers, for some reason I'm just terrible at it. Building an amp myself is something I would like to do if I ever find the time although I would probably aim for a direct-drive Stax amp in that situation.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andre Jute /img/forum/go_quote.gif Later I will publish circuits for a series of dedicated direct-drive Stax tube amps, but that is off your topic of tube amps to use with transformer boxes <G>.

I'm sure that such circuits are more than welcome here. I certainly have no intention to limit the discussion, I just wanted to define clearly where my questions were coming from. I look forward to when you publish your circuits. Thanks once again for your helpful comments.

 

[jjcha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nothing101 /img/forum/go_quote.gif i dont want any suggestion of what i should get because i have access to quads which are more than good enough. just curious if there is a dynamic headphone that is even close to as fast as stats. k1000? rs1? dt880?

I'd stay away from the DT880. I wouldn't call it particularly fast. RS-1 is an excellent headphone for lots of different reasons - but is it fast in terms of resolving raw detail adeptly and accurately? Compared to 'stats, not by a long shot.

k 1k has a lot of strengths to it. It's one of the faster dynamics, but it's still not as fast as a 'stat. But it has a weight that it's capable of that electrostats don't (even compared my SR-X mk3.) But that's just an apples and oranges comparison.

There are reasons why some people find the Sony MDR-SA5000 to be electrostatic-like in terms of its speed. It has strengths and weaknesses relative to electrostats. I do think it is fast, though does it have the purity of timbre as say a SR-404 or other electrostat? Not quite. Tonally it's tipped, though I would take issue with anyone who says its not a fast or highly resolving headphone (though tending towards resolving edge transients as opposed to inner detail). But is it as fast or highly resolving as say a SR-Lambda or SR-Lambda Pro? No. But in most systems, it's more refined than either of the aforementioned. It takes a lot to tame the raw-ness of the Lambdas, IMHO.

If your budget is limitless, I still find the Qualia 010 to be more resolving/fast on a raw basis than the HE90 or any of my Stax, while still being quite refined. But I don't own a Omega 1 or Omega 2, so can't say relative to those. The 010 though is capable of a texture that so far the HE90, while it does 3d texture quite effortlessly, can't match in terms of raw capability. Though right now, neither my 010 rig nor my HE90 are really optimized for their respective capabilities.

Best,

-Jason

 

[Carl]

In the interests of science I'd like to do a direct comparison between the 404 and another headphone. Rather than buy a pair (I already have way too many headphones), I'm wondering if anyone is up for lending me their babies? It should take me less than a week, not including transit times, to do everything. And don't worry, Gollem will look after your preciousss.

I'll pay shipping both ways. Anyone?

 

[edstrelow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nothing101 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ive been finding my k501s really slow and undetailed lately. not that im looking for an upgrade but im just curious if there is a non stat headphone that sounds DRASTICALLY faster than the 501. k1000? rs1? dt880?

I am no great fan of dynamic phones but to my ear some of the medium priced earbuds and IEM's seem fairly fast. I suspect this is because they can generate a lot of sound from small drivers they may not be prone to some of the distortion problems of the much larger regular dynamics.

 

[mirumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif In the interests of science I'd like to do a direct comparison between the 404 and another headphone. Rather than buy a pair (I already have way too many headphones), I'm wondering if anyone is up for lending me their babies? It should take me less than a week, not including transit times, to do everything. And don't worry, Gollem will look after your preciousss. I'll pay shipping both ways. Anyone?

If you are willing to pay the one way shipping of 4000yen I'm happy to buy some 404s from PriceJapan that you can borrow for scientific purposes anytime.

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirumu /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you are willing to pay the one way shipping of 4000yen I'm happy to buy some 404s from PriceJapan that you can borrow for scientific purposes anytime.

Signed, my brother. I'll pay NZD50 for that.

 

[mirumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Signed, my brother. I'll pay NZD50 for that.

Ordered and paid.

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirumu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ordered and paid.

You city folk sure move fast.

Dibs first listen.

 

[mirumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif You city folk sure move fast. Dibs first listen.

Sure. All the less I'll need to burn them in.

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirumu /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sure. All the less I'll need to burn them in.

*Pulls up some popcorn and waits for the inevitable burn-in flamewar*

 

[nothing101]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjcha /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd stay away from the DT880. I wouldn't call it particularly fast. RS-1 is an excellent headphone for lots of different reasons - but is it fast in terms of resolving raw detail adeptly and accurately? Compared to 'stats, not by a long shot. k 1k has a lot of strengths to it. It's one of the faster dynamics, but it's still not as fast as a 'stat. But it has a weight that it's capable of that electrostats don't (even compared my SR-X mk3.) But that's just an apples and oranges comparison. There are reasons why some people find the Sony MDR-SA5000 to be electrostatic-like in terms of its speed. It has strengths and weaknesses relative to electrostats. I do think it is fast, though does it have the purity of timbre as say a SR-404 or other electrostat? Not quite. Tonally it's tipped, though I would take issue with anyone who says its not a fast or highly resolving headphone (though tending towards resolving edge transients as opposed to inner detail). But is it as fast or highly resolving as say a SR-Lambda or SR-Lambda Pro? No. But in most systems, it's more refined than either of the aforementioned. It takes a lot to tame the raw-ness of the Lambdas, IMHO. If your budget is limitless, I still find the Qualia 010 to be more resolving/fast on a raw basis than the HE90 or any of my Stax, while still being quite refined. But I don't own a Omega 1 or Omega 2, so can't say relative to those. The 010 though is capable of a texture that so far the HE90, while it does 3d texture quite effortlessly, can't match in terms of raw capability. Though right now, neither my 010 rig nor my HE90 are really optimized for their respective capabilities. Best, -Jason

well im pretty suer that was an accurate answer to my question

i dont think my 501 is slow by a long shot but it is absolutely put to shame by all the stats ive heard in terms of speed which i do find important. so much of the music is in the timing.

well that was the answer to my question

 

[Duggeh]

lol @ Carl and mirumu. I should come to that sort of understanding with a scot-fier.

 

[Carl]

Speaking of understanding, I'm suprised Matt isn't banging at my door asking for his Omega IIs back.