[plaidplatypus]

 
Quote:

I'm looking forward to hearing reports of the WEE 'from the wild' myself.   If there are no problems (noisy transformers, gain problems, etc) and the SQ is comparable to what you get from a dedicated amp this could be a very worthwhile product. 

 
 
I sure hope my WEE will be of the domestic variety.
 
If the WEE has similar gain to the SRD-7Professional then your Accuphase should be just fine.
 
I use a SRD-7Professional with an Aleph J and a passive preamp.  This combo has enough gain for my tastes with all earspeakers except the Sigmas.  The Sigma seem to need more voltage gain than any other earspeaker I've tried but it is only a problem on very quiet recordings.
 
My Aleph J has 20dB of gain. http://www.firstwatt.com/prod.html
 
Your Accuphase has 28dB of gain. http://www.accuphase.com/cat/e-406ven.pdf
 
If you were to pair a unity gain amp (ex. First Watt F4) with a passive preamp you might not be happy with the end result.

 

[plaidplatypus]

Quote:

I don't see how this is any different than using a headphone with an integrated amp... is it ideal? No... Does it do the job and let you actually use said headphones... yes.
 
 
I might get one of these... I would love to be able to use an electrostatic headphone in my house without having to fork over thousands for a proper amp. I hate spending money knowing I am only going to spend more in the future, so the WEE would let me use the STAX while I save up for a BH, KGSS etc etc instead of going from on amp, selling it for an incrementally better one over and over again.
 
No amp = no stats... its not like my iPod could drive one, ya know?
 
but the fact the only amp I could use is a 100W power amp has me wondering if I can even use this?
 
I can deal with "not idea"... to a degree.

I used a 200 Watt per channel Nakamichi PA-7 with a SRD-7Pro and Lambda Pro, they worked great together.
 
Quote:

Yeah, just don't turn the volume all the way up.  You wont need more than 3-10 watts, but you'll have more dynamic headroom for transients than someone using a 10 watt amp.

Gain and maximum unclipped output are not related.  For example if the 100 Watt amp in question happens to be an F4 monoblock the input signal may need very little attenuation.

 

[soundoholic]

Thanks, plaidplatypus. Isn ´t  unusual from Accu 406V, with only 28 dB  gain, to drive easily O2? My source is in this case an old but excellent sony x555ES (fix output). The sound is intensely powerful, effortless in dynamics just with the vol knob at 8-9 a.m.! Hmmm...

 

[spritzer]

The issue with any transformer has nothing to do with gain as voltage is the easy part.  Power on the other hand is a different matter and makes transformer very expensive, very quickly. 

 

[soundoholic]

Yes, you´re right, spritzer. You have mentioned it in other posts and I´m of the same opinion about. However I modded my SRD 7 pro as a SRD 7 MK2 (bypassing the switch and using good LS cable) I´m not sure, if the transformers inside are the best and sufficient option for O2.
I dream of  your Lundahls 1630 with modded cb. And some silver cables. It is obviously that, what the hungry 007 needs.

 

[spritzer]

The Lundahl 1630 was just the trial run, the LL1627's are much, much bigger. 

 

[soundoholic]

Wow, LL1627! Are these not pretty oversized for the purpose? What´s about comparison: WEE vs SRD7pro vs LL1627??

 

[spritzer]

Perhaps a bit but that's half the fun. 

 

[soundoholic]

With that huge core you obtain the other half of fun I hope. However, I see a little problem with ratio - it is not exactly 1 : 25. Will you rewind to match it??  I think in WEE this factor is exactly matched.
Quote:

Perhaps a bit but that's half the fun. 
 

 

[spritzer]

The high ratio is a legacy from the 1960's and not really needed with modern amp designs.
 

 

[soundoholic]

OK, spritzer. You make me pretty curious about the LL1627.  While here off topic, could you please share some impressions, if ready, at the stax thread some time?

 

[Happy Camper]

This looks like this WEE might be a more modest cost for those of us with spare power amps. I've held back going to stats because of the outlay and wait for these world class behemoth amps.
 
Can I enter the HE-60 or other stat cans to this discussion? With the right connections/adapters, will other stat cans work with this?

 

[spritzer]

The HE60 can work comfortably off 580VDC bias (i.e. Stax Pro standard) but they require a larger ballast resistor, 10M instead of 4M7 Stax uses.  It's easy enough to install a 5M resistor inline with the bias pin in an adapter/recable, I for one always add it. 

 

[Jodet]

Are these shipping yet?  

 

[haarvi]

Spritzer wrote:
The HE60 can work comfortably off 580VDC bias (i.e. Stax Pro standard) but they require a larger ballast resistor, 10M instead of 4M7 Stax uses.  It's easy enough to install a 5M resistor inline with the bias pin in an adapter/recable, I for one always add it. 
 
My questions:
1. What is the likelihood that the HE60->Stax converter cables that one comes across will include the 5M resistor to make HE60 compatible with the Stax Pro amps?
2. Do you recommend re-cabling the HE60 and, if so, with what kind of cable?
3. Where to find (build or have built) a suitable 5M adapter?