electrostats and... health

[Kazgaroth]

new here, so wanted to say hi first.

what i'm curious about is... how much more than dynamic headphones, if at all, do electrostats affect health. if there's 580V running through them, the electromagnetic field has got to be quite significant. don't they sort of have the same effect as cell phones?

i know that the link between cell phone usage (or exposure to emi for that matter) and say, developing brain tumor, is somewhat discussible but i was just wondering what you guys think...

 

[Canman]

new here, so wanted to say hi first.

what i'm curious about is... how much more than dynamic headphones, if at all, do electrostats affect health. if there's 580V running through them, the electromagnetic field has got to be quite significant. don't they sort of have the same effect as cell phones?

Welcome to Head-Fi

Cell phones are high frequency radio transmitters...not quite the same.

 

[philodox]

I'm pretty sure that Dr. Gilmore would have keeled over dead by now if there were any risks.

 

[jesse_w]

People worry about living near power lines for the same reason. Is there any proof? No. Is it likely there is some small damage going on? Yes... Technically speaking, being alive is bad for your health, and the more you do the worse it is If you want to live to be 120, I might recommend against electrostatic headphones... But you're probably already doing things that are much higher risk. Driving a car, for example, is very likely to kill you.

jesse

 

[Nak Man]

Not sure how this worked out into electromagnetic field, but I think the current is very low to excite any potential danger. Once I believe there were also worries about the vicinity of phones' magnet to our head.

 

[bigears]

I think that of all headphones made,
only the ultrasones sell headphones
designed and built to reduce
electric/magnetic fields.

Seems to be some tabu around this subject.
Many people react like...
If you cant see it, smell it, or touch it...
If other people dont worry...
Why play paper of weak? .... Well....

Well the beloved cell phones,
are getting more measurements done....
and for some people those measurements
can guide a buying decision, a safer cell phone...

That said, i wish Ultrasones were cheaper

"It is not only sound and frequency response, which is our goal. We have created S-Logic Natural surround sound, which is the only headphone system in the world, which is able to adress your individual outer ear and which gives you the possibility of hearing not known details in your recordings in combination with lower SPL and reduced magnetic field emissions.

Remember - just for comparison - using a current headphone is like placing 5-10 computer monitors (not the TFT-models, the old ones) directly around your head. Using PROline by ULTRASONE reduces this by up to 98 %. In numbers: a monitor has 200 nT in 12 inches distance. Current headphones go up to 2.000 nT, PROline has a maximum of 50 nT, which is less than the area around the user has.

Many professionals have recognized the benefits of our philosophy, and we see an absolute need to inform the people about health care aspects while using headphones.

Hope to have helped you and all the other headfellows.
Best regards
Michael Willberg
ULTRASONE AG"

http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...hlight=proline

 

[philodox]

I think that sounds pretty fishy.

 

[bigears]

Well,...
i would be interested in any info related to that.

Seems to me there is very little available.
If other headfiers could add more facts, the better

 

[bangraman]

Does this mean that if I use the Omega II's out of a laptop, I'm totally screwed?

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman Does this mean that if I use the Omega II's out of a laptop, I'm totally screwed?

Hmmm...laptops as a contraceptive...

So even if we geeks manage to get laid, we still won't be able to produce kids, eh?

There's quite a bit of unnatural natural selection going on here...

 

[tourmaline]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman Does this mean that if I use the Omega II's out of a laptop, I'm totally screwed?

soundwise anyway.

 

[immtbiker]

In the days of analog cell phones, people were getting brain tumors because the output was (I believe) 7 watts, because the antenna had to reach satellites in the sky. But in the age of digital, the phones only have to reach the nearest cell site and it repeats, line of site and outputs about 1 watt.
Please don't quote me on the output voltages, but that's the jist.
Cops in Connecticut were getting testicular cancer from holding the radar guns in ther lap, while in standby...talk about hazardous duty.
I would think that the Stax, while using 500+ volts through the grid, use very little current.

 

[lini]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kazgaroth don't they sort of have the same effect as cell phones?

Not quite - frequency range is totally different. So it would be more like the radiation of your typical electrical shaver or hairdryer - if you're not worried about using such devices (which draw significantly more power, btw), there's no need to be worried about electrostatic headphones, either.

Greetings from Hannover!

Manfred / lini

 

[jnewman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker In the days of analog cell phones, people were getting brain tumors because the output was (I believe) 7 volts, because the antenna had to reach satellites in the sky. But in the age of digital, the phones only have to reach the nearest cell site and it repeats, line of site and outputs about 1 volt. Please don't quote me on the output voltages, but that's the jist. Cops in Connecticut were getting testicular cancer from holding the radar guns in ther lap, while in standby...talk about hazardous duty. I would think that the Stax, while using 500+ volts through the grid, use very little current.

The relevant thing to measure output with is actually power (in watts) not voltage. Old booster-station analog cell phones could use 5 watt external antennas but the maximum for a handset has always been 3 watts. A CB radio operates around 5 watts, as do higher-powered walkie talkies (the expensive professional kind security guards and the like use). All cell phones always have been line of sight and have always used the nearest available cell - that's why they're called cellular phones.

The major improvement of digital technologies is allowing more calls on each cell's individual frequency band, as well as better reception at (somewhat - between .5 and 1 watts) lower power.

I doubt any individual case of cancer has ever been conclusively linked with cell phone use - it seems to me a lot like the people who wear tinfoil helmets.

EDIT: Sorry for the off-topicness, so here:
Electrostats wouldn't even be in the same ballpark as the debatable cell phone issue. Any radiation they'd emit would be mostly magnetic fields, not photonic radiation (light, radio, x-rays, etc), and a magnetic field strong enough to cause any kind of problems with a mammal would be so strong that headphones with such a field would tear themselves apart.

Further, even if they did emit photonic radiation, it would be relatively low frequency and not terribly powerful or dangerous. The real reason things like radar, x-rays, and gamma rays are so dangerous is because of the extremely high frequencies involved.

 

[Nak Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jnewman Electrostats wouldn't even be in the same ballpark as the debatable cell phone issue.

Excellent info jnewman, thanks !
Quote:

Remember - just for comparison - using a current headphone is like placing 5-10 computer monitors (not the TFT-models, the old ones) directly around your head. Using PROline by ULTRASONE reduces this by up to 98 %. In numbers: a monitor has 200 nT in 12 inches distance. Current headphones go up to 2.000 nT, PROline has a maximum of 50 nT, which is less than the area around the user has.

What do you think about Ultrasone's statement here ? I remember Focal tweeters have much more 'teslas' (not really sure whether that's the correct magnetic field strength unit) so what would be the ballpark tesla figure when you said "magnetic field strong enough to cause any kind of problems with a mammal would be so strong that headphones with such a field would tear themselves apart." ?