Call it snobbery if you want, but I can't and won't abide dynamic headphones anymore. That includes Grado HP-2 which seems to be universally adored. I struggled a long time wondering why every headphone that wasn't severely rolled off in the treble sounded so dang harsh to me, even ones considered warm or dark by the majority of head-fi. It turns out there's just something about dynamic treble (and to some extent midrange) that bugs the heck out of me. Now real instruments don't bug the heck out of me, so I have to assume it's not me. When I first heard Stax SR-84, a budget electret, it was a revelation, which was later confirmed when I heard electrostats like the SR-404, SR-007, and of course HE90.
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See this describes me. Electrostats are far from perfect, but they seem to excel in the areas that affect me the most. I find dynamic headphones lacking despite expensive amps (blockhead, hp4) or sources (BAT, meridian). I mean I can tell in 5 minutes that the treble is going to annoy me. Like I said, electrostats don't do everything right, but they do a lot less wrong than any dynamic headphone I've heard. Maybe I'm just super-sensitive to bad things going on in the treble, but anyway that's been my experience so far.

None of this is meant to offend anyone, it's just the way things turned out for me.

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Not to go off on too much of a tangent, but have you ever heard a good vinyl playback system through dynamic headphones? The reason I ask is that many feel digital is weakest in the high frequencies (can be harsh, grating and otherwise unrealistic for many reasons -- jitter, poor dithering, brickwall filters, ad infinitum). Perhaps this is a situation where electrostatics smooth over "digititis" rather than some inherent superiority in elecrostatic technology.

Just an offhand theory, not a declaration of truth...

headphones : electrostatics
bicycles : _________

a.) recumbents
b.) tricycles
c.) harleys
d.) tuna fish
e.) titanium


edit: well, team cyclist would understand.

Mid range detail=electrostatic earphones. Not even close.

I don't fel that I have changed at all. I have learned one very valuable lesson in my time here: nothing is for everyone! That includes the R10s and Orpheus. To think that everyone will like what you have is quite the ignorant statement.

The second lesson is that not that many people can afford electrostatics. That automatically makes you "elite" in the sense of being one of only a few percentage of people here. If someone thinks that this fact alone makes them elite in any other way, I feel sorry for them.


For me, electrostatics were the way to go. I prefer them over dynamics by a serious margin. They provide everything I looked for in dynamics, plus comfort. The Grado HP-1000s were the closest dynamics, and they were very uncomfortable on my ears. As I have said before I prefer detail over warmth.

Dusty,

Take a look at the Stax SR404 cans and the SRM-006t or SRM313 amp. Combined they cost WAY less than most combos of a good set of dynamic cans and amp. The 404sonly run $400 brand new, and the 313 amp is about the same. That means you have about $800 or less and get some incredible sound. If you buy them used you could save another 50%. I got my 404s used and think they are incredible.

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it was a joke, sillyhead.
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$2,000 cash and they're your's. i'll even drive them over and deliver them with two pairs of mint flat pads.


i've heard plenty of high-end systems and kgss/omega2 is just the best. maestrobator/hp-1 is the only thing anywhere near the same class in my opinion, and both can be had for not too much money. especially when you compare to what the r10's go for, and that's just the damn headphone.

i spent way more money on different crappy dynamic headphones and amps over the years (at least, crappy compared to what i have now) and i swear if i had started in the beginning shooting straight for omega 2's it would've saved me tons of money and time in the end. it's sad that not many other people realize this sort of thing, oh well. too bad for them.

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Serving:
IMO, I consider Nik in this few percentage and he owns an R-10 (dynamic), well I would like to remark something here, a good electrostatic will cost you a decent amount of money, but there are here a lot of members, that ownes as many headphone to buy 10 electrostatics together....AKA joelongwood, hirsch, markl (two pairs of R10)....and co. BTW the R10 is more expensive than most electrets and is a dynamic can......IIRC you stated in some place than the electrostatics will not give you the bass extension the CD3000 is capable of in a good setup, so they are not the best in all the figures right? I was even considering to get electrets until I heard that, but of course if you are not interested in getting that deep bass and preffer other figures that the electrostatic handle better, this is the way to go......(BTW not mine)

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I'm not sure, Grinch, but this might be the kind of attitude that Eric was enquiring about! If I understood his question correctly, that is. (I happen to agree the the Omega II's sound great and would love to hear them with a KGSS, but don't find it particularly sad that others haven't yet made this discovery).

There many aspects of an audio playback system that you could choose to become a "snob" about if that was your inclination (i.e., vinly over digital, or a certain type of cable or line conditioner over another, etc).

To answer Eric's original question, I'd say yes, I do think that most people (myself included) tend not to go back to what they regard as inferior sound after having discovered something else that they perfer. I don't think this is just a matter of electrostats versus dynamics. It's more of a matter of trying to find what you like within your budget.

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It's his opinion. Why should he apologize for it?

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No. Electrostratics do seem to have a certain cult following though. I think it stems from the fact that you either love them or hate 'em (or are at least 'indifferent' about them). For those that end up loving them, they seem to just click with something inside their heads that say to them "Ahh, now this is right". Since they (electrostats) are unique beasts, their proponents typically take the position that this particular headphone technology is inherently better than standard dynamic phone engineering. So what? For them this is absolutely true.

Perhaps the higher cost of entry associated with electrostats fuels this "snobby" image. Most people don't have the funds, or initially don't really think it worth to spend the kind of cash to get a high-end Stax setup. Only after getting a bit of experience with other setups does one begin to see the soundness of such an expenditure. Hence the whole 'journey to get there' aspect.

BTW, I know more than a few HP-1000 & R10 owners that can hold their own in this 'snobby' area too .

Personally I haven't heard an electrostatic setup that shakes my tree. But I haven't heard the new Gilmore amps yet, or the Orpheus. So there's still a chance...

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i think you're taking me a bit too seriously, which might get me into trouble.

i've seen a few people get omega 2's and just never care about anything else ever. i'm sort of becoming one of those people, and i most certainly would be one if i didn't already own hp-1's and have a maestrobator coming.

Hey Grinch, thanks for the clarification. I wasn't taking you as seriously as it came across and didn't mean for it to be a personal attack. It's just that I saw some irony in your comments - given that the particular question on the table was whether listening to electrostats tends to makes us Snob-O-Philes. I know that you love your Omega II / KGSS set up, and who could possbibly argue with that!

It's a good question, actually. I think jpelg's answer (above) is right on target. There are a select few people who believe that the technology used by Stax makes their products superior to anything that could possibly be produced in a dynamic design. Where is Mike, by the way? This doesn't necessarily make them snobs - it's just that they have found something that to their ears is the winning ticket.

Personally, I quite enjoy going back and forth between different headphones at all levels in the spectrum and find something enjoyable about each of them.

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persons on both sides of the mac/pc front feel that way. And they, like persons with electrostatic headphones (or certain persons with dynamic headphones) fail to realize that your choice of purchase of one product over another does not make you a better person than someone who makes a different choice. It's just stuff, really.

If you know someone that continues to profess superiority based on their choice of material posessions, make them watch fight club, then get back to you.

(besides, these things are all subjective anyway. Its all about how they sound to you.)

"It's just stuff, really."

Well said phOrk. I think this is what we've all been trying to say. What happens, however, it that we tend to get excited about our stuff and start to think that it's better than other stuff... and then our words start to pour off of our fingertips before we realize that the "other stuff" is owned by "other people" who may be deriving just as much enjoyment from their stuff as we are from our stuff.

exactly, it's not sad at all when you take the time to hear both types (dynamic & stats), and end up just liking dynamic cans better, fair and square. i think some people might come off as snobby sometimes because they want others to realize the "greatness" and positive aspects of their systems...and the fact is, that is impossible to do. my idea is to avoid making statements about my system and how i love dynamic cans, better out of discussions altogether...or to at least let people know that i'm a subjective person and beieve in/practice subjective points of views/reasoning.