[G-man]

Well, ive been seeing a lot of thread about dynamic vs electro, so it got me wondering. suppose you have a decent normal dynamic system, eg: k701/hg650s with a dac and amp, would you rather upgrade to stax or balanced? which would provide a better improvement/bang for the buck. I would add my 2 cents, but i haven't really compared them so, what do you guys think?

 

[Tachikoma]

Uhhh. Not all stax setups are expensive, but any half-decent balanced system certainly will be. Are they really comparable at all?

 

[catscratch]

Different animals. Balanced HD650 will certainly have a faster impulse response than a SE HD650, and bass will be a lot tighter. Detail will be better, imaging will be sharper, and things will be more transparent in general. Although you're not guaranteed to have really good bass, it's possible if you voice your system that way, and you really can get some of the deepest, hardest-hitting bass around.

The comparable 'stat rig would be an O2 with an amp that can drive it right. This will have a faster impulse response still, more transparency, more accurate tone, and more air and space between instruments. But, it won't have quite the impact or harmonic richness, and it won't have the (artificially) massive soundstage that you'd get out of a balanced HD650, though the imaging will be even better.

What I'd do would depend on the music I listened to, and of course the amount of money I had to play with. I don't find the O2 to be a very good electronica headphone; it doesn't have the artificially large soundstage or the massively impactful bass, at least compared to the balanced HD650. On the other hand, for acoustic music, and for rock, strangely enough, the O2 is supreme. It really sounds far more like the real instruments than a good system trying to reproduce said instruments. So, if ultimate realism is a factor, then the O2 would get my vote, but if a system with a bit more coloration and a somewhat more forgiving nature was in the works, I'd go with a balanced HD650.

 

[aaron313]

Having owned a balanced HD650 setup, I can state what I thought the pluses were. Bass was tight and powerful, imaging was fantastic, soundstage was okay, speed improved. Overall, a very enjoyable listen, but I desired more. Keep in mind that the cheapest balanced + HD650 setup will cost you ~$300 phones, $1000 amp, and ~150 cables. So is it really worth $1450, when you can get a Stax 3050 from Japan for ~$900? Well, I'll let you know next week.

 

[MaloS]

I'm going with Catscratch on this one.

 

[krmathis]

Stax for me.

But a fully balanced K1000 rig would be nice as well..

 

[G-man]

intersting, i didn't realise that the jump would be that big in terms of price. oh, and this is not for me. i am perfectly happy with my set up. also, would it not be possible to do a balanced electrostatic headphone. im not that acquainted with this tech, so i cant really comment.

 

[Duggeh]

If you're not aquainted had you perhaps not ought to read up on at least the very basics before trying to get spoon feeding out of the high end forum where you will be, as you have just said, out of your depth?

 

[chesebert]

My comment references HE60.

I find listen to electrostat is more like listening to speakers than headphone..so if I were space/circumstance constrained I would go with electro if you want that speaker sound.

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you're not aquainted had you perhaps not ought to read up on at least the very basics before trying to get spoon feeding out of the high end forum where you will be, as you have just said, out of your depth?

I don't think head-fi has been a "high-end" forum for quite some time. Sad, really, because I pretty much feel the same way as you do on this.

RE OP: Um... all electrostatic headphones AFAIK are balanced by default, and you need a balanced signal to drive them. An electrostatic amplifier that receives a single-ended signal will run it through a phase splitter to generate a balanced signal.

 

[barmar46]

It seems to me that "high end" refers to quality, price, sophistcation, etc. I don't think it means that if a person in the headfi community has a question about something others know and can provide helpful responses or directions, it doesn't mean that our respected members are to be dismissed as "low end" and now out of their element. "High end" should not become defined as a place of arrogance and limited to the elite. At least that's my vote.

 

[vcoheda]

i like both.

in general i would say that electrostatic headphones excel at detail, imaging and overall transparency; while the strength of dynamics is better (more impactful) bass and texture/layering.

 

[krmathis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Duggeh /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you're not aquainted had you perhaps not ought to read up on at least the very basics before trying to get spoon feeding out of the high end forum where you will be, as you have just said, out of your depth?

I have to agree as well.

 

[JohanK]

This old thread sounds like a candidate for being mentioned in this thread:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/top...ystems-183006/

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by barmar46 /img/forum/go_quote.gif It seems to me that "high end" refers to quality, price, sophistication, etc. I don't think it means that if a person in the headfi community has a question about something others know and can provide helpful responses or directions, it doesn't mean that our respected members are to be dismissed as "low end" and now out of their element. "High end" should not become defined as a place of arrogance and limited to the elite. At least that's my vote.

You have expressed my thoughts as well. It really is out of place for some to dismiss the questions of another member (who is trying to learn) due to arrogance and elitist attitude. Sad if we establish a zone where those with lesser knowledge are told not to post until they have learned enough.