[gilency]

Quote:

My 007mk2 finally arrived, but the 717 is still on its way. Not being able to listen to my new precious when it's just laying there looking all sexy is just killing me!

Interesting! you bought the MK2's instead of the MK1's? why?

 

[ak622]

your patience will be rewarded Lunatique!  

 I hope its not too long of a wait till you can hear the O2 sing for you!

 

[Mr.Sneis]

LOL.  What if you have neither and have the means but are still waiting for the right deal

 

[Region2]

Quote:

I know how you feel, I bought my Mk1s before I had an amp to power them. It's tough, but you'll get through it

 
Glad to see I wasn't alone when I made that move 

 
Lunatique, I'm sure you're going to enjoy yourself. Just feel like you haven't heard it off a BH.  I now know I must build something at least at that level.  That's why I'm a bit afraid of the O3.  I wonder how those sound.

 

[ak622]

Quote:

LOL.  What if you have neither and have the means but are still waiting for the right deal

LOL, you're in a good position Mr.Sneis, just not as good as Lunatique.  Just wait for a pair from a reputable seller and pounce on it!  I remember when I decided I wanted a pair of O2s but there wasn't any on sale for weeks.  But one night there she was, sitting in the FS forum and I just knew I had to jump on it and I don't regret it one bit at all.  

 

[Lunatique]

Quote:

Interesting! you bought the MK2's instead of the MK1's? why?

The main reason is definitely because I've never heard the mk1, and will unlikely get a chance to hear it anytime soon, since I live in a crappy city in China and I can't see myself flying somewhere just to attend a meet where people are talking loudly all around you when you are trying to assess headphones that will cost you thousands of dollars to invest in. The only safe thing for me is the mk2 and the 717 since I have heard that combo and loved what I heard--in fact, I'm buying the same 717 store demo unit I heard months ago.
 
I have been paying attention to the various member's posts for a while now, and I have some idea of their individual preferences. Based on what they have been posting, I feel that the mk1 might perhaps be a bit polite sounding, and the mk2 would be more lush and full-bodied, which is very important to me.
 
There also the fact that the mk1 is out of production and I'm always very cautious about buying out of production products because the warranty is already long expired and often even parts are no longer available.
 
I'm buying the Stax rig purely for a very musical and satisfying sound, instead of perfect neutrality/accuracy for my audio productions. I mean, if it can double as an excellent headphone monitoring rig, then great, but it's really not that important to me anymore--not since I realized there's no such thing as perfect neutral/flat, since any headphone that measures ruler flat will sound way too bright, and any ruler flat reference studio monitors will be skewed by room modes, even if you have extensive acoustic treatment. The only "flat" sound you'll ever really hear would be in an anechoic chamber, and that would sound very unnatural and uncomfortable anyway. Extremely high-end mastering studios perhaps have the ideal sound, but they are far out of the reach of even serious audiophiles, since they are very expensive to design and construct.

 

[gilency]

Thank you for your answer. I listened to the MK1 and the original Omega last week at the Los Angeles meet, as well as the LCD2.
I was floored by the Omegas, they sounded so good!
The MK1's were wonderful, but like you, the MK2'swill likely be the ones I buy when ready.
The LCD2's were very nice, but to my ears, sounded a little boated in the bass and were more recessed in the highs. They are not in my wish list anymore.
The Blue Hawaii was amazing. Spritzer built the one I heard. (N3rdling's).

 

[spritzer]

Glad you liked my old BH. 

  It does make the SR-Omega sound sublime...

 

[gilency]

Spritzer, your BH built is the best amplifier I have ever heard. Not only the Omegas, but also the Sigmas sounded wonderful. 

 

[n3rdling]

 

[gilency]

Hey Milos. Started building my SS eXStatA today, Have a few parts missing, but going great so far. Next one is the KGSSHV I hope! 

 

[n3rdling]

Cool!  Looks like you really do have the DIY bug.

 

[livewire]

Quote:

I wanted to let all the Stax fans know that there are some very important news on the amp front for us.  Dr. Gilmore and I are working on a new version of the KGSS (here after called KGSSHV) which will be a DIY based attempt to give people a truly high end electrostatic experience on a budget.  There will be a thread on this subject soon in the DIY forum but I wanted to give you lot the first heads up about the new project. 

  At it's core it is basically the same circuit as the much loved KGSS but with a few very important improvements, higher rail voltages then the stock amp (+/-500V compared to +/-350V), a constant current source loaded outputstage (which the KGSS lacked) and the best part, it is fitted with a truly top of the line PSU, the same one as can be found in our DIYT2 project.  With these improvements we have an amp which can give any of the tube based units a run for their money (T2, BH, WES and ESX) with the comfort and lack of fuss SS brings to the table. 
 
The boards are designed to be fitted to large, side mounted heatsinks.  The amp board has both channels on one PCB and the PSU is alos complete on one PCB.  They can either be mounted on either side of a single chassis or in two separate boxes.  The amp board is fitted with a spot for the volume pot and PCB mounted XLR jacks but there are also porvisions for normal input tabs.  The volume pots the boards are designed for are all 4-gang, a DACT CT-2, TKD 4CP-601 and a custom made Alpha pot which I had made for me.  These are cheaper then an RK27, sound better and I'll be selling them from my own stash at cost. 
 
Now the best part, you can build one of these for under 500$. 

  All parts are easy to get and the project will be accompanied with a full BOM plus detailed instructions on how to build one.  The power transformer have to be custom ordered but companies like SumR provide such excellent service that this is by no means harder then picking up a prebuilt unit.  You are also only paying for stuff you need and the transformer can be optimized for audio use. 
 
I hope you are as excited as I am...
 

I am excited.
Is this happening yet?
Is there a waiting list for boards? Where do I sign up?

 

 

[gilency]

Yeah. Many of us are waiting for it. No news in the last month though.....

 

[Lunatique]

Just curious, how much would the KGSSHV cost as a commercial product? And how much would it cost to have someone build one for you? There are plenty of people who can't solder worth a damn or lack the knowledge and confidence to do DIY projects in electronics.