Tubeman

I will bring the person in the picture. Feel free to audition. Sure sound good.

As they all say "be objective first then subjective". What does this mean??? As an example - it is zero degrees with strong winds outside and one is attempting to wear a T-shirt to go shopping??? Objectively, wear something that will keep you warm, the styling and colour and pattern etc will be subjective for one to choose. Objective here means your amp ought to have no problems driving your headphones. But quality power is important. If you have headphones that are difficult to drive, common sense will tell you that it can be difficult to make them sing unless there is sufficient power to push them properly. There is often no problems getting sound out of them, but quality sound is another matter. I have often found that when there is insufficient power, to hear details, I have to crank up the volume, which can result in "shouty" sound and consequently tiring me quickly. If it can be pushed properly, then the subjective part "kicks in", meaning the sound signature, or the way you like the music to be presented to you. With iems, the driving part is normally not a problem. But with cans, some can be difficult to drive. It can be a difficult tasks balancing how much to spend on the headphones and on the amp. For me, I would go for the amp first and find one that produces the kind of sound signature that I like; and with quality power at the top of my requirements. Once I have that, I know that whatever cans I throw at it, it will drive it effortlessly. The way music is presented to you is for you to choose but if music is choking it can be pretty obvious that some basic requirement may not generally have been met. However the above is just me!

Shall we post a lists of "toys" that may be available?

Justin had been asking some for balance payment for the BHSE - the balance payment of 75%. Also understand that Justin is hoping to send out all the BHSE by end of the year. I have not been asked yet.

Was at stereo just now. The koss ESP/950 powered by the E/90 Amplifier is now available at stereo. Did not ask for the price but did listen to it briefly.

Hi Kidult. Good to see your postings over here as well.

As a matter of driving powers, top priority is to use amps with balanced out puts. K701, I believe has an impedance of 62 ohms, but I stand corrected. Techinically speaking 62 ohms is not too difficult to drive, as compared to HD600 or HD650 with impedance of 300ohms. But impedance is not the only thing making the headphones difficult to drive - see my last post above. Research has shown that the K701s sing very well when they have sufficient power to drive them. In short, they should be given maximum power so that they can be allowed to do what they are supposed to do. The question is what so good about balanced? and what is the difference between balanced and SE (single ended). Balanced will come in at least 2 configurations. The most basic is where the ground is split (left for left and right for right) but both sides uses one output transformer to drive the 2 channels. A true balanced is where both sides are totally split and 2 output transformers (power signal supplies) are used. One transformer will drive one side. We call them mono blocks for a home rig. Same for headphone amps. They are therefore much more powerful. This power comes at a price premium, as you have to pay for totally 2 separate amps in the output stage. Once you achieve the ease of drive, one can then look at other things such as timbre, speed and so on. As for SE (single ended). The left and right channel share the same ground. Like balanced amps, they can be solid state or tube or hybrid. All 3 will present sound to your ears in different ways. Your best bet is to try out some of them and take it from there. Remember, buy only what you like and not what others like - for it is you who is going to live with it. Jaben and Stereo Electronics carry many brands of the 3 different amps and you can ask for auditions. Balanced amps in Singapore are not so common due perhaps to price, but do look around and you may find a couple to audition. Personally, I am hesitant to tell you what amp you should listen to, but do try out all price ranges and you will get a better feel of what you are looking for. Patience will yield you rewards. Listening to many can be confusing, but once you are locked into what you want you will be better equipped to make the correct decision.

As a general rule of thumb, it is important that whatever you choose, the basic requirement is to ensure it has enough juice to drive the K701. Compared to full sized headphones, iems are generally easier to drive. It would be prudent not to underestimate the difficulty of trying to drive a full sized headphone to its maximum potential with small portable amps. It may well be possible! The impedance of full sized headphones does not tell the full story of how easy or difficult it is to drive it. Low impedance though technically means that we can more easily drive them but the surround of the cones plays a major factor, as they may be hard and stiff (depending on the type of materials used and its thickness as well) thereby making the phones difficult to drive, not to also forget the weight of the cones (ie. its thichness) as an additional factor creating load. Your best bet is to go try as many amps as possible. I own the iqube and other portable amps and find that it has more reserves in terms of power.....but you may want to decide, whichever amp you use, if that power is enough to make the K701 sing to your satisfaction. Perhaps once you are satisfied that it can effortlessly make the K701s sing, you may then look at the other aspects such as tone and so on. On the other hand, you may have other priorities for your requirements other than power as the top priority. This will be a matter of choice; but personally, I would be hesitant to violate this power requirement rule.

Tks a lot.

Is Coba the shop located at the ground floor of People's Park pls? I need the tubes for my stax T1s amp.

Have you got 6CG7 or 6FQ7 Japanese make?

Its a good idea. Past owners may have changed certain things. Whilst there, you could also get him to rewire the transformer to 240v and also bias the amp (change of voltage will often affect the bias)and perhaps look to see if the tubes are worn out, though unlikely.

Music preference to me is like choosing a wife. Different looks and character, amongst other things, will appeal to different people. Like they always say, "one man's meat is ..........!". I have only auditioned some dynamic headphones such as HD600, HD650, DT 880 and the like. Not auditioned headphones over $1000 before. Stax presents music in a different way to me. The music appears to dance around the "space" of my mind, sweetly and musically. Dynamic headphones that I have so far auditioned, on the other hand is more in the head to me. On extended listening I tend to feel tired. It may be different for others and I will be quick to respect their views with full support. To be fair, I do not own the dynamic headphones and have not lived with them for long. Perhaps if I do I may think differently. The bass of stax is soft but very deep and extended. It vibrates the flesh on my face. This, for whatever reasons, is something I cannot get with the dynamic headphones that I have so far auditioned. This comparison is using the same songs, and source but different amp for the dynamic headphone. Yes, in a way it is not a fair comparison as the amp is different. Stax can appear to lack dynamics. This can cause the music be become less lively, dark sounding (they call it a veil), not so involving, sleepy and slow. The following can affect: 1. So far, I have found that when a more powerful amp is used to drive the same headphone the dynamics are much improved. The immediate feeling is the soundstage expands and the music is much faster and more engaging. Overall, more enjoyable to me. 2. For a tube amp, the tubes, amongst other things, play a big role in the supply of power (like transistors for SS amps). Different tube brands of similar configuration will produce different amounts of drive required. More importantly, a tube that is old and fatique will show the above symtoms described. 3. The tube MUST be biased. The sound difference of a properly biased system is night and day to one that is not; not to mention the effects on the life span of the tubes as well. Biasing can be tricky as the reading can drift like mad. Patience will achieve rewards. 4. Cables are also crucial. They are meant to conduct and not to resist the signal. What is the best cable? Like they always say "no cables". Use TPC cables and you may be in trouble. Many out there are TPC cables but in different brands. OFC cables are the minimum. LCOFC would be a step higher. Top of the range is the OCC cables. Choice and taste will often be a matter of one's requirements, preferences and priorities. 5. RCA drives with 2VMS but balanced at 4VMS. This is double the current. What happens is that the source suddenly become higher output. The difference between the 2 - for stax, being high impedance headphones can is very audible. Through RCA is fine, but once I plugged the source through balanced, I have never gone back to RCA again. This result only applies possibly to high impedance headphones like stax. With low impedance headphones the improvements may not be as much a jump. Some may, on the other hand prefer using RCA for a different music presentation and other reasons. This is a matter of choice. 6. Stax amps often come in a non-240v and an external voltage converter is required. External voltage converters can degrade the performance of the stax amps substantially depending on the quality of the external transformer. In any case, whatever the quaility of the external transformer it is still better to have the mains current direct to the stax amp than to go through another media (external transformer). Most stax amps can be converted to 240v. I have found little trouble configuring them internally. Unless I really have no choice, I would personally avoid external transformers. These are some of the things that can be done in a basic way to make the stax system perform better. There are of course many other things that can be done as well. Happy listening!

Sure, will be happy to cross listen to each others BH/BHSE (which come in 2 boxes - one for the amp and one for the power supply). Justin told me that earliest I can get it is early next year. So as not to get my own hopes high I have adjusted my own expectations to say June 2009. Why is you BH taking so long to get to you?

I have not previously owned dynamic headphones at the level of stax, so I cannot comment on the difference against electrostatic headphones. However, if you read the stax forum in headfi, many have stated that they have moved from dynamic headphones to electrostatics and stayed there since. This could just be a matter of opinion and best decided after extensive hearing of the both. I know that I am guilty of short circuiting the circuit by going straight to electrostatics. For stax headphone pads you can email Craig at support@kuboten.com. He is a really nice guy to deal with. I find their prices cheaper than say - audiocubes, moon audio, eifi export home page etc. Kuboten is a Japanese company but I think Craig is not Japanese so communication in English is fine. Depending on which headphone you have, replacing the pads can get tricky but not impossible.

The LNS can still be bought from the used market. It has been out of production for many years. Getting a good one can be challenging though. I find that the LNS benefits from the 717 driving it as it is more laid back and the 717 has more power to bring out the dynamics. However, with the T1s the sound is more relaxed. Choice is really down to personal preference. With O2 the game is totally different. Power of the amp to drive it is the first issue before anything else. The 717 drives it comfortably so far to my ears. But this statement may not be accurate as I have not hear the O2 being driven by a more poeweful amp. On research, O2 can sound different with a more powerful amp. To really know, I placed an order for the Kelvin Gilmore Blue Hawaii Special Edition last week. This has been argued as the amp that can make the O2 really sing. Well, lets see when I get it ......NEXT JANUARY earliest!!!

I have the Lambda Nova Signature (LNS) and the SRM T1s to drive it. I use bluenote koala tube with balanced output for the source. I find the sound clear, staging is wide and individual instruments easily identified with lots of space between them. Bass is deep and plentyfull as well - can vibrates my cheeks. At a different level I have the SRM 717 driving my Omega 2. This of course is a different level of enjoyment from my LNS. What I find amazing about stax is their ability to be able to focus on the individual instruments and the accuracy of the timbre.

Good person to get advise from is Aron from stereo. He is relatively unbiased and friendly and will answer all kinds of questions. You can email him with your questions at stereo@stereo.com.sg

For the amp section, it will fit the iqube perfectly but can also be used for smaller amps. For a good fit, high density sponges will work. As for the caps section, it fits the Valgrind portable caps perfectly (ie. the one that you can see above, owned by uberberger101). It will also fit caps that are smaller in size if you can find them and of the same configuration. It will not fit the ALO V-caps as they are too big. I did not make use of V-caps due to the size - portability becomes compromised. While sonicaps caps are much smaller, sound is not compromised - infact some have chosen them over the oimp v-caps.

This is how uberbuerger101's rig can be carried around. It can also be strapped to the belt. Nothing ever has to be removed, either the amp or the ipod, when charging is required. It can also be plugged in for desktop use with other equipment without removal of the contents, except for perhaps for the change of cables for the necessary applications in question.

The type or make of the amp. you chose will depend on your music preference (ie. sound signature, presentation of the bass, mid and treble etc.), the difficulty of the load it is required to drive (ie. full sized headphones or iems) and the matching with your other equipment (ie. cables and source). And not to mention the type of size and cosmetics you may prefer. Selecting an amp requires you to know what you are looking for. Your best bet to find out, if you have not already found out, is to look and see, and to try out as many amps. as possible, before finally deciding. But do remember that it is you who will have to live with it - so, buy something you like and not what others think you should buy as what they like may not necessarily be your cup of tea.

The main caps, depending on what make you use (ie. brand), and the type (ie. silver in oil, copper in oil, teflon etc), will produce their own type of sound signature. What is also critical is the bypass caps matching. This is where it gets tricky. If you get it right, a not so high quality main cap with a slightly higher quality bypass cap can sound awfully decent. But, if incorrect, it can go the other way round and you may be better of without the bypass. The problems are mainly with phasing and distortions.

Agree with the above, but just to add that bypass caps are like adding spices to your fried rice. If the mixture is correct the taste will be heavenly. But if you get the mix wrong it may not taste so good. Trial and error is a good way but can be expensive and time consuming.

The answer to your questions depends on your priorities. Here is why? Full sized headphones are generally argued by many as better than iems at the same price range. However, they are not as portable and they can be more difficult to drive and would require an amp of reasonable power to produce noticeable dynamics (ie. the wack and attack). I use livewires when I travel with my iqube, ipod and portable caps; when I am home I will use my stax. Well, the reasons for my choices are obvious.