[mirumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Speaking of understanding, I'm suprised Matt isn't banging at my door asking for his Omega IIs back.

I'm surprised you aren't banging at my door asking for your 4070s and K340 back. Same deal as last week perhaps?

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mirumu /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm surprised you aren't banging at my door asking for your 4070s and K340 back. Same deal as last week perhaps?

Kinda hard without a car. I ain't walking to Hamilton.

Sure, pop buy whenever.

 

[audiod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andre Jute /img/forum/go_quote.gif 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.

I agree that huge power is not needed, but we need voltage drive. The Stax phones are a voltage (very small current) driven device. The maximum output voltage of my SRA-12s is 350 volts and 370 volts for my SRM-1 mk2 pro. To develop similar voltages using a Stax step-up transformer with a turns ratio of around 20:1 (I am making a educated guess on the ratio) you would need a amp that can put out 43 watts into a 8 ohm load. The input impedance of the energizer/transformer is quite high for most of the audio band so the actual wattage generated to provide enough voltage would be much lower. Most amplifier manufacturers do not give maximum output voltage ratings so we must use their 8 ohm wattage rating and calculate the voltage using ohm’s law. I still think that 20 watts into 8 ohms would be a minimum for me. You do not want the amp to clip. Clipping voltages with their high harmonic content driving a step-up transformer is what usually arcs electrostatic headphones and speakers.

AudioD

I just checked my SRD-7.
5 volts RMS input (1kHz) got 120 volts RMS output. That would give the transformer a 24:1 turns ratio. To get 350 volts to the stat would take 14.6 volts driving the transformer. 14.6 volts into a 8 ohm load (the SRD is much higher in the midband) is 26.6 watts.

 

[milkpowder]

Just found system synergy with a new cable, the Chord Chameleon Silver Plus ($160). Previously, I was using a Chord Cobra 3 ($89). Oddly enough, the Chameleon Silver Plus uses silver plated copper and it doesn't sound harder, colder, harsher or more shrill than the all copper Cobra 3.

The soundstage is more airy and there's more detail while a bit more warmth to the overall sound. The sound is incredibly realistic and natural-sounding. There's also more body to the sound. The imaging is very sharp and the thinness and colouration in the upper mids have more or less been eliminated. The music flows more easily as a result and doesn't sound restrained or thin as it did before. The instrument decay is incredibly realistic and the overall sound so pure. Hence, the enjoyment factor is greatly increased. I'm so happy! This has to be the most significant upgrade to my rig. I really didn't know the Audiophile USB was capable of such a glorious output. Who knows what a higher end DAC will do?!

Sound-wise, I'm extremely pleased. I no longer have the urge to upgrade

All that's left of my upgraditis is my curiosity... which when I come to think of it, has always fuelled my urge to upgrade... I lied: I do want to upgrade and I want to hear what this Stax system is capable of! I believe I'm at least 90% there.

EDIT: I can't believe what I'm hearing. This Stax system is almost as good as my speaker system at home and it costs a wee fraction as the stereo system. The sound is so immersive and real that I'm really very, very shocked... The timbre is almost perfect! I'm going to cry...

 

[edstrelow]

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?

Is there a shortage of 404's in Godzone?

 

[mirumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by edstrelow /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is there a shortage of 404's in Godzone?

A shortage of lambdas in general I'd say. Can't be allowed to continue.

 

[Andre Jute]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audiod /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree that huge power is not needed, but we need voltage drive. The Stax phones are a voltage (very small current) driven device. The maximum output voltage of my SRA-12s is 350 volts and 370 volts for my SRM-1 mk2 pro. .....snip....... Clipping voltages with their high harmonic content driving a step-up transformer is what usually arcs electrostatic headphones and speakers. AudioD I just checked my SRD-7. 5 volts RMS input (1kHz) got 120 volts RMS output. That would give the transformer a 24:1 turns ratio. To get 350 volts to the stat would take 14.6 volts driving the transformer. 14.6 volts into a 8 ohm load (the SRD is much higher in the midband) is 26.6 watts.

Thanks! Now we have numbers for Mirumu. It might be smart in each case to say what mode of drive we are talking about.

TO DRIVE A TRANSFORMER BOX
A nice push-pull EL34 ultra-linear amp should be good for 24W in a conservative design and can be made into a triode amp by switching in two resistors per channel to give a better sound at about 10-12W after the novelty of the power wears off or the owner decides there will be no point in having expensive earphones if he has ruined his ears with excessive volume... The best amp I ever designed (T113 Triple Threat), by the test of playing their own recorded music to professional musicians behind a curtain against a good 300B amp with a good solid state amp as the placebo, happens to be a humble PP EL34 running in triode. I love the EL34. They are superb at driving my ESL63 too, actually rather better than the more prestigious PSE 300B.

DIRECT DRIVE OF ELECTROSTATIC HEADPHONE BY TUBE AMP -- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
The point is that, if a Stax owner is splashing out for a tube amp already, he may as well get a direct drive amp to suit his phones rather than to suit the Stax transformer box, and improve his sound by cutting out one device. Then a watt is overkill; my current proto of direct drive amp would reach the 120Vrms you quote (also one of my design hard points) at less than a quarter of a watt, the rest of the available swing being sacrificed in aid of linearity.

I'm half asleep and Dame Joan is distracting me by singing in my ears, so I hope I don't have to issue a clarification tomorrow...

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

 

[basb]

Regarding using a tube amp with a transformer box i found this:

http://www.blackdahlia.com/tipindex/...rsonal_amp.htm

The microzotl, 1 watt/4 ohm per channel, with the srd-7 pro apparently gives satisfying results.

I ordered an opera cyber 30 a few weeks ago, it uses 2a3 tubes, 3.5w / 8ohm per channel, to use with my sennheiser hd600, soon-to-buy-speakers and, if it has enough power output, a srd-7 pro with lamba's. I'll let you know soon.

 

[audiod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by basb /img/forum/go_quote.gif Regarding using a tube amp with a transformer box i found this: http://www.blackdahlia.com/tipindex/...rsonal_amp.htm The microzotl, 1 watt/4 ohm per channel, with the srd-7 pro apparently gives satisfying results. I ordered an opera cyber 30 a few weeks ago, it uses 2a3 tubes, 3.5w / 8ohm per channel, to use with my sennheiser hd600, soon-to-buy-speakers and, if it has enough power output, a srd-7 pro with lamba's. I'll let you know soon.

Most OTL tube amps have good voltage drive and are limited in current. They will put out more power into higher impedence loads (16-32 ohms). Just the opposite of a direct coupled solid state amp that is limited in voltage but has plenty of current and puts out it's max wattage into 2-4 ohms. Tube amps with output transformers put out their maximum power centered around the secondary impedence taps (4,8,16 ohms).

 

[Carl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by edstrelow /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is there a shortage of 404's in Godzone?

Good headphones in general are somewhat of a novelty.

 

[Downrange]

They just keep getting better. The Electrocompaniet ECD-1 arrived this afternoon (thanks Voodoochile!!!) and I'm in love with the sound. The Apple Airport Express seems to be delivering a good data stream, but I had one glitch when the wireless connection I added to the desktop went down suddenly for some reason. (re-installed, and so far it's working OK).
Looking forward to trying some other digital sources with this great DAC soon. The Omega IIs are just that much better, and I liked them before! This is a good matchup, and I don't even have my balanced cables yet - just running some old MIT phono plug equipped ICs (single-ended). If they get much better, I might not be able to stand it!
Thanks to KRMathis for the encouragement, too, this is a great setup!

 

[Carl]

Au revoir, Omega IIs. Now back to those HE60s...

 

[edstrelow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just found system synergy with a new cable, the Chord Chameleon Silver Plus ($160). Previously, I was using a Chord Cobra 3 ($89). Oddly enough, the Chameleon Silver Plus uses silver plated copper and it doesn't sound harder, colder, harsher or more shrill than the all copper Cobra 3. The soundstage is more airy and there's more detail while a bit more warmth to the overall sound. The sound is incredibly realistic and natural-sounding. There's also more body to the sound. The imaging is very sharp and the thinness and colouration in the upper mids have more or less been eliminated. The music flows more easily as a result and doesn't sound restrained or thin as it did before. The instrument decay is incredibly realistic and the overall sound so pure. Hence, the enjoyment factor is greatly increased. I'm so happy! This has to be the most significant upgrade to my rig. I really didn't know the Audiophile USB was capable of such a glorious output. Who knows what a higher end DAC will do?! Sound-wise, I'm extremely pleased. I no longer have the urge to upgrade All that's left of my upgraditis is my curiosity... which when I come to think of it, has always fuelled my urge to upgrade... I lied: I do want to upgrade and I want to hear what this Stax system is capable of! I believe I'm at least 90% there. EDIT: I can't believe what I'm hearing. This Stax system is almost as good as my speaker system at home and it costs a wee fraction as the stereo system. The sound is so immersive and real that I'm really very, very shocked... The timbre is almost perfect! I'm going to cry...

Are these interconnects, power cables or what? Also what speaker/amp combination are you comparing them too?

I'm not sure if this is related, but on the topic of silver, I have recently been using Silclear, a silver based contact enhancer

http://www.mapleshaderecords.com/aud...s/silclear.php

on my equipment and I find it does great things especially to the sound of Lambdas (I have the Nova and 404). It greatly improves dynamics overall and dynamic detail, i.e. small variations in loudness, eg. a tremolo sound from an instrument becomes much more noticeable. However, of most relevance here, it gets rid of a lot of Lambda harshness and seems to bring put more mid bass, which these designs seem to need.

I have been listening primarily to my recently modded Sigma/404 phones, but I am now finding the 404 and Nova to be a lot more interesting now. The Silclear helps the Sigma pro and Sigma/404 a bit but it really changes the character of the Lambdas for the better.

 

[gordie]

I decided to try some slight EQ on the 4070s - I've been loving them the past few weeks, however on many recordings that are particularly bright, or "bass challenged", the 4070s can shout at you, often suffering from "snare snap" or a lack of warmth which is in stark contrast to the warm and smooth, yet crisp renderings of well recorded material.

I'm usually reticent to use EQ in the midrange, as I figure I'll do more harm than good, but I gave it a shot with some very mild EQ and have gotten very good results. I dropped 1.5 dB at 4k and 8k, and added just over 2dB at 64hz and 1.5 at 125hz.

This calms things down for excessively bright recordings, eliminating snare snap, and filling out the bottom end, and doesn't seem to have any deleterious effects on well recorded material. The bass is so clean and controlled on these that boosting it like this doesn't cause any boom, just more warm clean tight bottom end.

For Classical I don't bother with the EQ, but for most everything else I'm listening to, the EQ is working really well.

These are turning into my favorite headphones, even supplanting my K1000s of late (which I absolutely love to pieces). I've never heard anything so detailed and rich/sweet in the midrange, and with such clean capable bass. (Although I have only heard the HE90s a few times in limited fashion, and no real experience with the Omegas - so I can't compare to those heavyweights).

I sure hope this is the Stax thread and not the K1000 thread.

 

[mirumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carl /img/forum/go_quote.gif Au revoir, Omega IIs. Now back to those HE60s...

They've managed to completely blow me away again in the 30 minutes I've had them back on my head. I had been missing them but didn't expect the first listening session I had them back would be quite so extreme. If there's ever a headphone I'll never sell it's these.

I'm also impressed at all the information coming forward in regard to people trying new amps with their electrostatics. Certainly given me a lot to look at. I hope others are getting something out of it too. It'll be interesting to see how all these other amps people are trying work out.