Wow, long time no see. I've been away from HF for a good while. Good to see you've got a Lambda, they're good phones, and amazing when you think about how old they are. Still, Quad ESL-57 and ESL-63 are older still and are still some of the best speakers ever made, so maybe it's not that surprising after all. However that T-amp isn't doing your Lambdas any favors and some of the bass lightness you refer to could easily come from that. The transformer box doesn't really have much of a voicing of its own beyond softening up the bass and rolling off the highs slightly. The rest of the voicing comes from the amp, and you want to make sure that it is a good one. Old-school soupy-sounding tube amps - like what you would probably would have been using when the Lambda was new - pair really well with it and help fill the sound out. I don't think I need to remind you just how hard-hitting and robust electrostatic bass can be, not after you heard the O2 
And it's not the only one, the HE90 also has some seriously full and rich bass, if somewhat one-note.
I spent some good quality time with the 2500 after my friend let me borrow his pair. I really noted two things about them:
1) they weren't the complete and utter rubbish that I thought most Ultrasones were at the time, and
2) they had some very glaring flaws that detracted from an otherwise interesting and potentially good presentation.
Namely, there was a peak in the lower treble that made them sound splashy and sibilant, there was a coloration in the midrange that made the mids sound plasticky and textureless though they were otherwise pretty fluid, and the bass was somewhat boomy and one-note even though it went very deep. The speed was pretty good for a dynamic, but still dynamic. The soundstage was small but imaging was very good, and dynamic range and detail were both very good for the price. Not a bad sound by any means but it was somewhat harsh and unrealistic, though also vivid and clear at the same time. I would imagine that these phones would impress on first listen with well-recorded material but would quickly start to grate and annoy because of their colorations.
The Omega 2 is calling you. You know it!
I'm getting the JH13 soon, as soon as ears heal up and I can finally get a good set of ear impressions made. I really do think that balanced armatures are going to take over as the primary high-end headphone driver technology; they have a great combination of speed and impact by definition, and they are just about the only driver technology that has seen significant advancement over the years - and there's no indication that they've peaked yet. Even my old ES2 from 4 years back had a wonderful combination of speed and impact (though more impact than speed) and the JH13 is shaping up to be special. Even the UM3x I'm messing around with now is sounding like I never thought a universal-fit canalphone could sound like 3 years ago.
So it might be something to look into I'll definitely report back when I get it.
Also, check out two Koss phones: A250 for a dynamic, and ESP950 for a 'stat. Now, I'm recommending the ESP950 based on opinions that I trust rather than personal experience
but the A250 is seriously fast for a dynamic. It does a great deal of things that Ultrasones do but it is less colored and more technically capable. It does have absolutely blistering treble energy and is very bright, but it's less sibilant and harsh than the 2500 was at the same time. The bass depth and control are something special, the mids are a bit colored but fluid, and the openness and clarity are unreal, for the price anyway. I can't believe I got something like this for $35 during that crazy A250 old stock clearance sale. It costs a quite bit more on the used market now, but even at the old retail price of $250 this would still have been a good value phone (if you like its sound that is).
The ESP950 according to trustworthy sources is a fantastic headphone, world-class in the right rig but that horrid E90 amp that it comes with isn't doing it any favors. Ditch that, get a good 'stat amp that's biased to 620/630V (don't remember what exactly) rather than the standard Stax 580V, and the ESP950 should sing. I'm getting a set too at some point, I've been curious about it for ages. If it's voiced like the A250 but doesn't have the A250's colorations, it would be killer for metal!
And it's not the only one, the HE90 also has some seriously full and rich bass, if somewhat one-note.Quote:
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Originally Posted by Chris19
 I can't say anything about the open-air Ultrasones, like the PRO 2500 or HFI-2200, because I haven't heard them. But, if anyone can confirm that they have speed and clarity in the mids, then I'd give those a shot too. They should be cheaper as well.
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1) they weren't the complete and utter rubbish that I thought most Ultrasones were at the time, and
2) they had some very glaring flaws that detracted from an otherwise interesting and potentially good presentation.
Namely, there was a peak in the lower treble that made them sound splashy and sibilant, there was a coloration in the midrange that made the mids sound plasticky and textureless though they were otherwise pretty fluid, and the bass was somewhat boomy and one-note even though it went very deep. The speed was pretty good for a dynamic, but still dynamic. The soundstage was small but imaging was very good, and dynamic range and detail were both very good for the price. Not a bad sound by any means but it was somewhat harsh and unrealistic, though also vivid and clear at the same time. I would imagine that these phones would impress on first listen with well-recorded material but would quickly start to grate and annoy because of their colorations.
The Omega 2 is calling you. You know it!
I'm getting the JH13 soon, as soon as ears heal up and I can finally get a good set of ear impressions made. I really do think that balanced armatures are going to take over as the primary high-end headphone driver technology; they have a great combination of speed and impact by definition, and they are just about the only driver technology that has seen significant advancement over the years - and there's no indication that they've peaked yet. Even my old ES2 from 4 years back had a wonderful combination of speed and impact (though more impact than speed) and the JH13 is shaping up to be special. Even the UM3x I'm messing around with now is sounding like I never thought a universal-fit canalphone could sound like 3 years ago.
So it might be something to look into
I'll definitely report back when I get it.Also, check out two Koss phones: A250 for a dynamic, and ESP950 for a 'stat. Now, I'm recommending the ESP950 based on opinions that I trust rather than personal experience
but the A250 is seriously fast for a dynamic. It does a great deal of things that Ultrasones do but it is less colored and more technically capable. It does have absolutely blistering treble energy and is very bright, but it's less sibilant and harsh than the 2500 was at the same time. The bass depth and control are something special, the mids are a bit colored but fluid, and the openness and clarity are unreal, for the price anyway. I can't believe I got something like this for $35 during that crazy A250 old stock clearance sale. It costs a quite bit more on the used market now, but even at the old retail price of $250 this would still have been a good value phone (if you like its sound that is).The ESP950 according to trustworthy sources is a fantastic headphone, world-class in the right rig but that horrid E90 amp that it comes with isn't doing it any favors. Ditch that, get a good 'stat amp that's biased to 620/630V (don't remember what exactly) rather than the standard Stax 580V, and the ESP950 should sing. I'm getting a set too at some point, I've been curious about it for ages. If it's voiced like the A250 but doesn't have the A250's colorations, it would be killer for metal!
)
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. I typically use them a minimum of 3-4 hours a day while programming. The problem is that they just get tiresome; not in terms of listening, but rather their size. They just feel so large and heavy after a while.
