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For those of us who use electrostatic phones, how many use Stax amps (as opposed to the other few brands out there & adaptor boxes), and what models? I ask because I'm thinking of upgrading next year to the 353X.I use an SRM-1/Mk2 with a pair of Pro Bias SR-507 earspeakers. I initially had an SRM-252S, but it seemingly burned out after about two months of ownership & usage, failing slowly.
"'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice./And when justice is gone, there's always force./And when force is gone, there's always Mom. Hi Mom!" Laurie Anderson, "O Superman (For Massenet)"
Edits: 09/14/20Follow Ups:
Has outputs for Pro ias and normal bias. I replaced the three electrolytic caps right after I got it.
With a Stax amp and a phono stage, I don't really need the rest of the system. I power up the main amp and play the speakers once a month just to give them some exercise.
The problem is not that there is evil in the world, the problem is that there is good. Because otherwise, who would care?
Among the Stax amps, the one I like best is a SRM-T1/006 series amp modified by substituting a good constant current source/load (CCS) for the output plate resistors. It has adequate power for the SR-007 and is less expensive than the best Stax solid state amp, which is their SRM-727 with global feedback mod, or the SRM-717 stock.
However, the T1 CCS mod is mostly DIY, although I recently saw one on sale on eBay. As a DIY project it is relatively inexpensive as it cost me less than $100 in parts - and that includes replacing all the electrolytic caps, which should be considered routine maintenance for a 20-30 year old amp anyway.
The EL-34 electrostatic headphone amps are very nice but also very expensive - the standard here is the Blue Hawaii Special Edition designed by Kevin Gilmore and made by HeadAmp for upwards of $5000. Used amps appear from time to time but are still expensive as their value holds up (OTOH that also means that you don't lose much when you sell).
There are more options if you are into DIY, Many of the amps are designed by Kevin Gilmore, such as the KGST (a close relative circuit wise of the SRM-007, but with regulated power supply), the KGSS, KGSSHV (similar circuitry to the SRM-717/727 with more power in the HV version, and regulated power supplies), the KGSS Carbon with SiC FET outputs, KGSS Grounded grid with EL34 outputs, and the DIY T2, which is the Stax T2 that bankrupted the company, but with better heat management and a regulated power supply. That last runs over $10,000 if you commission someone to build it, and several thousand in parts cost alone.
There is also the SRX Plus, which is another DIY based on an original all tube Stax circuit with solid state support (mostly constant current sources and loads) to optimize its function. This probably has the lowest parts cost.
I didn't actually directly respond to your posting. I haven't actually heard a Stax solid state amp myself. But I hear a number of them can be modified, at reasonable cost, to improve the sound. This is what I have heard from discussions over at the headfi website.
cheers
Grant
I have a beloved pair of SR-404s I have had for years. Also a pair of SR-007 Omega Mk.2s and an old pair of SR-4 electrets. Also the Koss electrostatics as well.
So I have used...the Stax 006t amp, a McAlister amp, and the Woo Audio energizer WEE with my speaker amp, which is a MFA D75 power. The MFA is basically a push pull class AB amp running 2 pairs of 6550/KT88 tubes.
So...I could never get the volume with SR-404s with the Stax amp. When I went to the McAlister amp, it was a big difference with the 404s. Much more detail, more "air" and you can run them a lot louder. However, I still didn't seem to have enough thump to really drive the SR-007s with this set up, which are regarded as one of the hardest e-stat phones to drive, can't get the volume.
Then came the day when I plugged in the WEE energizer to my MFA amp; it was night and day ! With the SR-007s the volume is there, and there is more detail, more air, more bass, more fat in the midrange,more imaging, actually, these headphones sound better with this set-up in every way in every aspect.
Also to my surprise, the SR-404s sound even better with the WEE/MFA set up; more detail; more air, for example.
So all of this leads me to think...perhaps for best results with SR-007s you really need a good amp, based on 6550/KT88 tubes ?
I know there are a number of companies making amps for e-stats...that seem to all based on the EL34 tube. Isn't the 6550 tube much more powerful, in the appropriate circuit with the adequate power supply ? I am sure some of these sound good...but can they really drive the SR-007s to their potential ?
I don't really want to take a chance and pick up a EL34 based amp, which I am sure would be good, but find out it doesn't quite drive the SR-007s the way they need. So for now I will stick with my current set up with the WEE and the MFA.
Grant
Grant -
Good to know your experiences.
The very long-running Stax thread on Head-Case often features a "boutique" amp that is critiqued, usually savagely. If some of the "experts" (and some of them do seem to know what they're talking about) are right, there's some equipment out there that's rather shitty in construction & potentially dangerous in operation. We are strapping around 600V to our heads, after all.
"'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice./And when justice is gone, there's always force./And when force is gone, there's always Mom. Hi Mom!" Laurie Anderson, "O Superman (For Massenet)"
"there's some equipment out there that's rather shitty in construction & potentially dangerous in operation"
The McAlister falls into that category.
Dan Santoni
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