[HeadphoneAddict]

That photo looks like a flash flood waiting to happen!

To stay on topic, I got my Audiocats modded Super Fat Cat back as an SFC++ now, which means no internal batteries as the compartment is filled with caps now. So, I have a 9 hour Li rechargable battery pack velcored to the underside. The thing has been burning in all week and it does indeed sound even better than at stage 1 where it had the AD8599 installed with upgraded internal caps and the battery bay converted to parallel 3.7v Lithium rechargables. No rolled off highs or bumped up mids like a stock SR-001 (which I also have one of) - it's just right with the mods.

 

[gimmish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by edstrelow /img/forum/go_quote.gif An evening shot of Canyon Sin Nombre at Anza Borrego State Park, in Southern California, near the Mexican Border. I spent a couple of days camping off road there with my Stax SR001Mk2 and portable cd player. Also with wife, kids, wife's friend and her kids. You can just make out a person behind the vehicle, probably daughter No 1. We drove in along the wash in the foreground and camped in an open space behind the vehicle. It goes back about 100 yds and then becomes a trail, with very high walls, sometimes with barely room to squeeze through. I could live in a tent as long as I had the mini Stax to keep me company.

Cool,I was very active in the hard core So. Cal 4wheeling community until I had to sell my jeep (built from the ground up like a real jeep should be). Have you ever been to Johnson Valley for rock trails like sledgehammer. Have you ever gone to the Tierra DEl Sol event at Anza?

 

[edstrelow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gimmish /img/forum/go_quote.gif Cool,I was very active in the hard core So. Cal 4wheeling community until I had to sell my jeep (built from the ground up like a real jeep should be). Have you ever been to Johnson Valley for rock trails like sledgehammer. Have you ever gone to the Tierra DEl Sol event at Anza?

I am more into off-road camping than driving hard trails. While my Mazda MPV is a true 4 wheel drive vehicle, is not as suitable for heavy duty trails as a small jeep.

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sounds like a plan as the stock stuff is just cheap. I must admit though that the whole SRD-X idea was a great one.

Did i read that right?

I think the SRD-X is surely a reasonable concept for entry-level, if stationary convenience. Probably easier to build than the SRM-X. At least if you have a bunch of transformers anyway.

It could make a pretty reasonable work rig with that SR-5.

The tripath module itself is being ripped from a Psyclone Nodus PSP docking station - currently available online for as little as $21 shipped new. To make it fit I'll have to completely cut off the silly active EQ circuit they included to make the 3" fullrange speakers sound more betterer or something.

There's a similarly sized TA2024 module available from china for $24 + ship + you supply your own power supply.

If i get this done, I'd like to make it out to colorado again and compare it to a stock SRD-X directly, as well as some other amps. Thinking here of headphoneaddict's stash.

 

[spritzer]

The SRD-X was cheap back in the day and the original idea was to hook it into normal TRS jacks and make the whole transformer business a lot easier. So a great idea.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif Did i read that right? I think the SRD-X is surely a reasonable concept for entry-level, if stationary convenience. Probably easier to build than the SRM-X. At least if you have a bunch of transformers anyway. It could make a pretty reasonable work rig with that SR-5. The tripath module itself is being ripped from a Psyclone Nodus PSP docking station - currently available online for as little as $21 shipped new. To make it fit I'll have to completely cut off the silly active EQ circuit they included to make the 3" fullrange speakers sound more betterer or something. There's a similarly sized TA2024 module available from china for $24 + ship + you supply your own power supply. If i get this done, I'd like to make it out to colorado again and compare it to a stock SRD-X directly, as well as some other amps. Thinking here of headphoneaddict's stash.

Yeah, I've got plenty of SRD-X here.

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif The SRD-X was cheap back in the day and the original idea was to hook it into normal TRS jacks and make the whole transformer business a lot easier. So a great idea.

Yeah. In a large sense I'm just modernizing it. I don't expect to get perfect sound from it, but the one class-D product i have - a Philips executive type system - is nothing if not fast and detailed. It is perhaps not as pure sounding as a good class-A or even AB, but it doesn't just phone it in either.

And the existing SRD-X amplifier circuit certainly just phones it in. It works, but not great, while not really all that bad either.

 

[AudioCats]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plaidplatypus /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, please do. I haven't tried the Sigma Pro with a transformer yet, I'd like to know if it's a good idea.

beware that the Stax box by itself is rather murky and rolled-off, both top and bottom. Not sure how much better a modded box can be (wire speaker cable directly to the transformers).

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioCats /img/forum/go_quote.gif beware that the Stax box by itself is rather murky and rolled-off, both top and bottom. Not sure how much better a modded box can be (wire speaker cable directly to the transformers).

My SRD-7 pro with Nuforce Icon amp typically sounds better than my HEV70, and almost as good as an SRM-1 Mk2 Pro with more bass but slightly less air and treble extension. I don't hear it being rolled off at the bottom end but I agree the detail is less, although I wouldn't use the work "murky". I wonder if mine was modded by someone before I got it?

 

[AudioCats]

the "murky and rolled-off" conclusion was drawn upon direct comparison against the ..... what else, my JRM trans box

Still, the JRM driven by a Kenwood KA89 is not nearly as detailed as the T1s, but somehow I have a feeling that it has more to do with the amp.

I can only imagine how good a Lundahl box might sound

 

[Oublie]

Hi Folks,

Well it's time to move up the food chain once more. Currently running what you see in my sig. I will be due my xmas bonus in a couple of weeks and plan to buy myself an audio upgrade. Heres the problem, I'm torn between upgrading to a better stax amp or buying a set of Omega's preferably not the mk II's.

Years ago when i still had faith in audio magazines it was preached to the masses that speakers come first then amp then source and finally cables. so would you guys say i would be better off using an srd7 with my nad amp and a set of omegas or should i wait and just buy a better amp for my gear?

This leads me to another question if its a better amp i'm torn between an srm T1 / T1s or an srm 717. And finally is there a version of the 717 with a normal bias connection?

appreciate you advice on this as i can't afford both upgrades and i'd like the one that will give me the better improvement.

Thanks.

 

[Sherwood]

There is no 717 Box with normal bias outputs, unfortunately. Though a better amp would benefit all your cans, I think you'll get a more audible improvement out of the o2. Audio magazines were right: transducers make the biggest difference

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

If you can find an SRD-7 Pro or Mk2 at a fair price (under $300) I would get some Omega 2 Mk1 now, and while enjoying them with the NAD I would save my pennies for a high-end amp. Or look for an SR-717 instead of SRD-7 if the budget is tighter than a high end amp allows but big enough to spend $1000 on a used amp after the $1400 for used headphones.

I can enjoy the O2 Mk2 after earpad spring mod with either SRD-7 Pro and a $250 12 watt amp, or with my Woo GES Maxed which is more detailed and transparent but not any more powerful for the $2490 it costs after mods and upgrades (extra inputs and outputs, upgraded caps).

 

[audiod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oublie /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi Folks, Well it's time to move up the food chain once more. Currently running what you see in my sig. I will be due my xmas bonus in a couple of weeks and plan to buy myself an audio upgrade. Heres the problem, I'm torn between upgrading to a better stax amp or buying a set of Omega's preferably not the mk II's. Years ago when i still had faith in audio magazines it was preached to the masses that speakers come first then amp then source and finally cables. so would you guys say i would be better off using an srd7 with my nad amp and a set of omegas or should i wait and just buy a better amp for my gear? This leads me to another question if its a better amp i'm torn between an srm T1 / T1s or an srm 717. And finally is there a version of the 717 with a normal bias connection? appreciate you advice on this as i can't afford both upgrades and i'd like the one that will give me the better improvement. Thanks.

All the 717's are High Bias only. As much as I like my SRM-T1 the 717 (and 007t) are much better. If you need a amp for High and Low bias get the 007t. The 717 is better driving the O2 but the 007t is great on all the rest including the ESP-950. It also does a OK job on the O2.

 

[webbie64]

Agree with the responses though I'm less a fan of a tube amp and the O2s (I definitely think the difference between 007t and 717 significant enough with O2 Mk1s).

Like HeadphoneAddict, my order would be O2 Mk1s, followed by a better solid state amp driving an SRD7-Pro or Mk2, followed later by a dedicated headphone amp such as the 717.

Hope you find what you're looking for.