[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by morphsci /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would totally concur with JP on this, it sounds OK with the 007 but not up to the level of an ES-1 or BH. I also think the Woo sounds great with HE-60's at least as good as the ES-1.

Yup. At the Colorado head-fi meet in July I thought my Woo GES (3yr old prototype) ran the HE60 and Lambda Signature as well as the ES-1, while the ES-1 had a little edge over it with the O2.

I have a maxed GES being built for me right now because of the cost and time frame for a BH. I wanted a BH and I could have had Naamanf help me build one when he returns from Iraq next year, with me doing most of the leg work and sourcing all the parts. I tried to see if APureSound would build another one, but I didn't have $4,000-5,000 to spend.

In the end it was faster to just order a new GES, and a whole lot cheaper. I know that this demo/loaner prototype GES that I have here wasn't quite powerful enough to run O2 for derekbmn to his satisfaction. But I bought this for my HE60 and Lambda Signature, my ESP/950, SR-003, SR-Lambda and SR-5NB gold edition (I ordered the normal bias jack to).

 

[earwicker7]

It's starting to look like it is the headphones. I tried the HE60 on the stock amp... it lasted about 90 seconds and turned into a horrible, screechy mess, and then the volume dropped, although this time it was much more severe and didn't recover in the few seconds it took me to turn the amp off.

So, either it is dust from my old place, or the two sets of headphones developed the same problem in the same time period. I'm going to send the Omegas back to TTVJ, but I have no idea what to do with the HE60... does Senn still do repairs?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by penger /img/forum/go_quote.gif On a slightly different note. Jack at Woo Audio told me this last month about the new amp. Hope he doesn't mind me quoting what he told me: "It would be a 2 box design (an AMP stack on a PSU), exposed tubes, standard chassis size, running on 4 EL34 power tubes, 4 6SL7 drivers and 2 5AR4 rectifiers. A very rough estimated price would be $3000 to $4000. I am hoping a prototype be completed in 2 months time frame. " Just FYI.

Sounds like a sweet amp, but at 2x the cost of a GES it's too rich for my blood, at this point in my life. If I ever get an O2, I'll just have to hope my maxed GES is good enough

Good thing I'm absolutely thrilled with my current stats...

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by earwicker7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif the two sets of headphones developed the same problem in the same time period.

that sounds highly unusual if not improbable.

could it be that the Rudistor amp damaged your headphones?

 

[sacd lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by earwicker7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's starting to look like it is the headphones. I tried the HE60 on the stock amp... it lasted about 90 seconds and turned into a horrible, screechy mess, and then the volume dropped, although this time it was much more severe and didn't recover in the few seconds it took me to turn the amp off. So, either it is dust from my old place, or the two sets of headphones developed the same problem in the same time period. I'm going to send the Omegas back to TTVJ, but I have no idea what to do with the HE60... does Senn still do repairs?

How do you know the problem is the headphones? I wonder if the problem is that the Egmont damaged your headphones. If the amp was causing a physical cracking the headphones were very possibly taking voltages way in excess of what they were designed for and that will eventually cause permanent damage to an electrostatic headphone.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by earwicker7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's starting to look like it is the headphones. I tried the HE60 on the stock amp... it lasted about 90 seconds and turned into a horrible, screechy mess, and then the volume dropped, although this time it was much more severe and didn't recover in the few seconds it took me to turn the amp off. So, either it is dust from my old place, or the two sets of headphones developed the same problem in the same time period. I'm going to send the Omegas back to TTVJ, but I have no idea what to do with the HE60... does Senn still do repairs?

Yes, it will cost about $380 for drivers and not more than $120 for labor.

 

[earwicker7]

We'll have to see what the experts say... I'm going to call TTVJ on Tuesday (he deserves the holiday) and send the Omegas back.

Another thing I'm wondering about is the cables... I had to send the Omegas in within a couple of months of purchase because the cable was shorting out. The HE60 cable doesn't exactly inspire confidence. However, this could just be my love of big fat unbendable cables.

Who knows, though? It's certainly possible that the Egmont is to blame, but according to Rudi it did not need to be repaired and has had no problems with the new owner. I'd think if it were killing headphones, it would have killed the new owners.

Time will tell.

 

[earwicker7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, it will cost about $380 for drivers and not more than $120 for labor.

That's about $500 more than it's worth to me

... not my favorite cans.

Seriously, though, I'm sure I'll get them repaired eventually.

 

[vcoheda]

it seems like you've had a string of bad audio luck lately. hope you get things squared away, whatever the problem.

 

[sacd lover]

How did you go from posting yesterday at 6:31 pm .... By the way, I ran the amp for about 45 minutes with no headphones and no interconnects plugged in... there was no cracking sound the whole time, so I'm hopeful this can help the diagnosis.

Then posting at 9:31 pm .... I've got my daughter with me tonight, so I don't know how much time I can spend troubleshooting today, but I'm going to dedicate a large portion of tomorrow to doing it.

To then posting at 1:26 am .... It's certainly possible that the Egmont is to blame, but according to Rudi it did not need to be repaired and has had no problems with the new owner. I'd think if it were killing headphones, it would have killed the new owners.

How did Rudi determine the amp did not need repaired and where did this new owner come from?

 

[subtle]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover /img/forum/go_quote.gif How did you go from posting yesterday at 6:31 pm .... By the way, I ran the amp for about 45 minutes with no headphones and no interconnects plugged in... there was no cracking sound the whole time, so I'm hopeful this can help the diagnosis. Then posting at 9:31 pm .... I've got my daughter with me tonight, so I don't know how much time I can spend troubleshooting today, but I'm going to dedicate a large portion of tomorrow to doing it. To then posting at 1:26 am .... It's certainly possible that the Egmont is to blame, but according to Rudi it did not need to be repaired and has had no problems with the new owner. I'd think if it were killing headphones, it would have killed the new owners. How did Rudi determine the amp did not need repaired and where did this new owner come from?

 

[spritzer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pabbi1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm always up for crazy parts builds (witness my balanced Bijou)... missed those caps on the last BOM <wink>, but, I'm still interested, especially since Marc is right down the road. Was not fond of seeing the 2sk389 - tell me that is gone, right?

Those caps are definitely going to be used but I'm not sure about the 600uF/630v oil caps I have as well. They are of epic proportions...

The 2sk389 is gone but I may try them if I will do any real part swaps. I'm mostly planning to get it up and running and then starting the chassis work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by earwicker7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif As far as pictures of the interior, Rudi has asked for me not to do this, and I'm respecting his wishes.

Why would you do that? Rudi is only covering his own ass since by comparisons the internal pictures of SP amps will look like they were built by the hand of God. It's quite clear that his complete and utter incompetence may have damaged your two roughly 2000$ headphones so that they will need new drivers which will not be cheap. If Stax opens up the SR-007 and sees that the drivers have arced I'm not so sure that they will pay for new ones since it is impossible to do on any Stax amp.

 

[jp11801]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover /img/forum/go_quote.gif How did you go from posting yesterday at 6:31 pm .... By the way, I ran the amp for about 45 minutes with no headphones and no interconnects plugged in... there was no cracking sound the whole time, so I'm hopeful this can help the diagnosis. Then posting at 9:31 pm .... I've got my daughter with me tonight, so I don't know how much time I can spend troubleshooting today, but I'm going to dedicate a large portion of tomorrow to doing it. To then posting at 1:26 am .... It's certainly possible that the Egmont is to blame, but according to Rudi it did not need to be repaired and has had no problems with the new owner. I'd think if it were killing headphones, it would have killed the new owners. How did Rudi determine the amp did not need repaired and where did this new owner come from?

Earl, he had the Egmont then sent that back to Rudi who tested it then sold it to another customer in Europe, Earwicker7 then upgraded to the Corlian (not sure of spelling) amp. Earwicker7 experienced similar problems with both amps but the new customer in Europe has not had the same issues according to Rudi.

Thus the mystery continues as two different Rudistor amps have experienced similar problems with two different headphones so until a different amp or a different amp is thrown is the issue is tough to diagnose.

 

[earwicker7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover /img/forum/go_quote.gif How did you go from posting yesterday at 6:31 pm .... By the way, I ran the amp for about 45 minutes with no headphones and no interconnects plugged in... there was no cracking sound the whole time, so I'm hopeful this can help the diagnosis. Then posting at 9:31 pm .... I've got my daughter with me tonight, so I don't know how much time I can spend troubleshooting today, but I'm going to dedicate a large portion of tomorrow to doing it. To then posting at 1:26 am .... It's certainly possible that the Egmont is to blame, but according to Rudi it did not need to be repaired and has had no problems with the new owner. I'd think if it were killing headphones, it would have killed the new owners. How did Rudi determine the amp did not need repaired and where did this new owner come from?

That's pretty easy... my daughter wanted to watch Nickolodeon, and I'm not a particular fan of "iCarly" or "Drake and Josh", so she had mercy on me and let me have a little bit of down time during which I did some troubleshooting.

The Egmont was sent to Rudi months ago. So far Rudi has been extremely honest, paying shipping both ways (which was $220 to Italy, and I'm assuming a similar amount to get it back to me), so I'm not at the point where I'm questioning his integrity. Every other audio company I've dealt with has made me pay shipping, so this alone has given him some leeway with me.

 

[n_maher]

You might ask Rudi what stats he has tested with his amps since they don't all present the same load or have the same bias requirements (although w/ respect the bias most don't care all that much). It could very well be that his headphones are simply different enough to not cause the problem to manifest itself.

And shoot, that'd suck if the HE60s were damaged, I've loved them every time I've heard them.