[Lee Brindley]

Anyone know anything about this?

Here in the UK we have a 3-way choice on the Omega 2 front - 727 SS Energiser, 007 tube or the 007 with the "Kimic" modifications.

Anyone heard of it, used it - worth it ??

UK prices used to be a nightmare, but with the £/$ relationship now much more sensible

Rgds

Lee

Energiser Design Price Sound
SR-727 II Solid State energiser £2395 Crisp & detailed
SRM-007t II Valve based energiser £2495 Warm sound
SRM-007t II Kimik Ultimate Valve based energiser modified with better valves £2795 Warmer sound

Audio Affair - Stax SR-007t II Omega Reference System II

 

[krmathis]

Why not simply drop them an email, or a call?
They mention "better" valves, but no hints about other modifications. So it may just be a quad of different vacuum tubes...

 

[Lee Brindley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by krmathis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why not simply drop them an email, or a call? They mention "better" valves, but no hints about other modifications. So it may just be a quad of different vacuum tubes...

I have done that already - but as a retailer i suspect they will say how wonderful it is (as its more money) - i wondered if any users here had tried it, know any more - a 'real' perspective rather that that of someone trying to sell it to you !

Cheers
Lee

 

[lisnalee]

There's a little bit more info on it on the high end cable website.

Taken from it: Kimik modified version as above but with matched DCT valves, 24 carat Gold plated pins, EAT tube dampers and with 5 day optimisation

Without knowing what the tubes are ( may even be the same only dct ) it's hard to know if its worth a £300 premium over the std amp.

 

[lisnalee]

Might be worth checking back issues of hi fi choice according to that thread

 

[Lee Brindley]

Thanks Damian - appreciated.

 

[lisnalee]

lee pm sent

 

[TheAttorney]

I had my SRM007t Mk1 kimik-modified 1-2 years ago.The short answer is that it was well worth the extra.

The longer answer: "Kimik" was (maybe still is) the service engineer for the UK Stax distributers. At that point, I think he was just starting out with the modifications as a sideline. The tubes were from Sovereign, cryogenically treated and with gold pins. But Mick (for it is he) was particularly proud of his new "special Stax test meter", which enabled a much more accurate bias and offset adjustment - this he felt was the cornerstone of the improvements. At the time, the EAT dampers were not part of the package.

In his words: the then newly introduced SRM-007 Mk2 was noticeably better than the Mk1. The kimik modifications made the Mk1 sound better than the standard Mk2, and the modified Mk2 was better still.

In my words: the kimik modifications give an across the board improvement in terms of focus, imaging, detail-without-harshness. More like real music. It's not night-and-day and it doesn't turn the 007t into a different amp, but it's good value compared to say a £300 cable upgrade, or the cost/gain of going from 006t to 007t. I imagine the EAT dampers will improve things further, but I haven't got round to trying these yet.

 

[spritzer]

The SRM-007t's problem is nothing that a mere tube swap can fix, it simply is underpowered, badly designed and uses the wrong tube type. The 717 (not the 727 since it isn't as good) is a huge upgrade over the 007t let alone something like a Blue Hawaii.

 

[TheAttorney]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spritzer /img/forum/go_quote.gif The SRM-007t's problem is nothing that a mere tube swap can fix, it simply is underpowered, badly designed and uses the wrong tube type. The 717 (not the 727 since it isn't as good) is a huge upgrade over the 007t let alone something like a Blue Hawaii.

This may be true, but for those of us who would prefer to buy from a local dealer (and demo before purchase), then the options we have are limited to the current Stax models.

I'd love to hear a BHSE when it comes out, but in practice that means I'd have to buy "blind" by mail order. If I then don't like it for whatever reason, then at best it will be a real hassle to negotiate and ship it back.

In the meantime, I think the SRM-007t plus O2 Mk1 sounds wonderful compared to any (cheaper) combinations I've heard. It has also been completely trouble free over at least 2 years. The fact that other (usually more expensive) amps may be better still is good news as a potential upgrade path. But I can't see how I can easily try that in practice.