Electrostatic Earphones?

[smsmasters]

Does anyone have any info on electrostatic earphones as opposed to diaphragm earphones?

 

[mjg]

search here is for free...

you'll find enough electrostats stuff to keep you busy until yer eyes start bleeding from reading too much ; )

 

[catscratch]

What do you mean by "earphones?" Do you mean canalphones? Stax makes an electrostatic canalphone, the Stax SR-001 Mk II. If you want full-sized headphones, search for the Stax SR-202, 303, 404, SR-007 Omega II, Sennheiser HE60 and HE90, and AKG K340 headphones - that should give you a good start.

 

[VicAjax]

they're electrostatic:

i never get tired of this pic.

 

[The Monkey]

That pic is mint!

 

[Nights_85]

at least I know Im not the only one who looks like a dork wearing those electrostats... but I still love my pair

 

[hedrick]

I have AKG K340s and Sennheiser 580s, which I use primarily with an iBook (directly - no amplifier). The K340s are a hybrid, using dynamic speakers for the lower frequencies and electrostatic for the higher. They are much clearer than the 580s. I'm really pleased with them, except that they're not as comfortable as the 580s.

I haven't had a chance to listen to more recent electrostatics (i.e. Stax). I haven't found any place in my area that has high-quality headphones.

 

[philodox]

You, my friend, need to get an amp for those K340's.

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox You, my friend, need to get an amp for those K340's.

And the 580's, too! Both of those are power-fiends. You really can't make a judgement call on their sound until you hear them amped!

 

[E.B.M.Head]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hedrick I have AKG K340s and Sennheiser 580s, which I use primarily with an iBook (directly - no amplifier). The K340s are a hybrid, using dynamic speakers for the lower frequencies and electrostatic for the higher. They are much clearer than the 580s. I'm really pleased with them, except that they're not as comfortable as the 580s. I haven't had a chance to listen to more recent electrostatics (i.e. Stax). I haven't found any place in my area that has high-quality headphones.

Are yours also bass shy on the (high current) headphone output from the iBook? If I put mine in the (low current) headphone socket of my HiFi Amp then there is Bass, but the Trebble sounds dull compared to the iBook. It's really a weird headphone.

 

[stewtheking]

I want some jecklin floats... i wanna be the coolest kid in the playground!

Stew

 

[Oliver :)]

Quote:

Originally Posted by VicAjax

Relaxing after another hard day in the Death Star...

 

[seeberg]

That guy with those... ahem... headphones... looks like a "cool dude"

Looks like he's into Bay City Rollers from the way the dude dresses.
Who are those guys?

,
Abe

 

[hedrick]

I was commenting on the quality of the phones, not recommending electronics. I actually think the iBook output is good enough to merit good phones, although I agree that you can do better. I have a Benchmark DAC1, which I've used with both K340s and 580s. (With the DAC1 I see no need for bass boost. The K340s sound great down to 40 Hz, below which response falls like a cliff - either the K340s or my ears.) However I normally use it in my main setup, driving a NAD C372 and Vienna Acoustics Haydns. Thus leaving me plugging the phones directly into the iBook.

I'm currently dithering about doing anything more. What I'd like to do is move the DAC1 to use with the headphones, and get an AV receiver for the speakers. I have a 4.1 setup, which I drive with a very strange configuration: I feed the digital output into both the DAC1 and a Denon 1604. I use the DAC1 for the fronts, and the Denon in PLII for the rears and sub. It works pretty well, but isn't a good long-term solution. The reason I'm dithering is that I'm not sure what receiver I need to get in order to have the same sound quality that I'm getting using the DAC1. I'm not willing to compromise on sound quality in the fronts to get better surround processing.

 

[Beach123456]

Whats the difference between dynamic sound and electrostatic sound? Is there any real difference, or are they just two different ways of making headphones?