I’ll post a few links that was sent to me they are in Chinese as there’s a few post on Erji.net with more technical details on the construction and a brief summary of how this pair came to be, basically he’s been fixing busted sr Omegas and decided to try to make a headphone after.
ES1a Build quality:
I’ll start from the cables, at first I thought ES lab was able to make flat cables or found a supplier when I got it. Thought this since the cable sleeve felt different from my SR009 and the 5 pin connector was clearly not stax one. However after email it turns out these are stax extension cables that have been modified, I’m assuming he used non stax connector on some pairs as he likely ordered the longest extension cable so some cables would need new connectors. Otherwise very nice cables, nice and low capacitance like it should be for estats.
next some comments about ear pads, they are held in place with screws. They are made of a very nice lamb skin or sheepskin leather the stitching is pretty good. On my pair their is a slight cosmetic issue with the stitching placement on part of the seams but it’s not weak or anything just a bit odd, tho this can be a pre production unit as this pad I have is a new version that will replace the other two style pads that was mentioned on his site and the Eriji.net post. The pads appear to be the same thickness as the SR009 at it’s medium thickness part, these ear pads for the ES1a are uniform in thickness so no angling like the SR009 or SR007. The foam used is nice but I’m not sure if the opening and depth on the inside is as roomy as the original omega but in either case it’s good for me and looks like it should be for most.
about headband and cups, they headband arch is printed plastic as is the lambha style slider. Compared to the Stax sigma pro on hand It might be a a straight up clone for the most part. The part of the headband assembly that forks to half circles to attach to the cups however are CNC aluminum as are the ear cups themself.
next I want to discuss the stators. ES labs decided on the same 90mm stator size and use of copper as well. Unlike the SR omega the stator are not of a mesh construction nor uses any kind of metal plating like gold plating that the SR009s and if I’m correct the SR omega used. Instead there was some kind of insulating layer applied as he described it, he mention it maybe some kind of acrylic or epoxy based coat but unsure as it was done by a company to meet this particular use case. Not sure if that mixture is secret or he never pressed for details. But a very interesting option I’m not sure what current estat does not do any plating.
other bits like dust cover is traditional stax way, no new unconventional ways here unlike the Kaldas RR1 conquest. The wood box is nice but it feels like a softer wood, I don’t have my sr009 box on hand but from memory it’s like that soft about. So dings and stuff is very possible.
the links to Erji:
http://www.erji.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=2172045
http://www.erji.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=2171070
http://www.erji.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=2170411
this is ES labs statement about how the SR009 and this ES1a differs from a email exchange, I’ll post my own impressions later on as I’m terrible at describing stuff.
“Thank you for your enquiry
ES-1a sounds more similar to omega than to 009. 009 has a higher density of music notes and more condensed while es1a is more airy. They two have a different bass presentation as well as soundstage presentation.”
Photos:
check out the pads to see what I mean though it may just be a rough draft as they are a new design. Also on close inspection the pads are angled but very slightly and not uniform in thickness as I thought.
Links to some photos I took here: https://imgur.com/a/sFUOz0S
ES1a Build quality:
I’ll start from the cables, at first I thought ES lab was able to make flat cables or found a supplier when I got it. Thought this since the cable sleeve felt different from my SR009 and the 5 pin connector was clearly not stax one. However after email it turns out these are stax extension cables that have been modified, I’m assuming he used non stax connector on some pairs as he likely ordered the longest extension cable so some cables would need new connectors. Otherwise very nice cables, nice and low capacitance like it should be for estats.
next some comments about ear pads, they are held in place with screws. They are made of a very nice lamb skin or sheepskin leather the stitching is pretty good. On my pair their is a slight cosmetic issue with the stitching placement on part of the seams but it’s not weak or anything just a bit odd, tho this can be a pre production unit as this pad I have is a new version that will replace the other two style pads that was mentioned on his site and the Eriji.net post. The pads appear to be the same thickness as the SR009 at it’s medium thickness part, these ear pads for the ES1a are uniform in thickness so no angling like the SR009 or SR007. The foam used is nice but I’m not sure if the opening and depth on the inside is as roomy as the original omega but in either case it’s good for me and looks like it should be for most.
about headband and cups, they headband arch is printed plastic as is the lambha style slider. Compared to the Stax sigma pro on hand It might be a a straight up clone for the most part. The part of the headband assembly that forks to half circles to attach to the cups however are CNC aluminum as are the ear cups themself.
next I want to discuss the stators. ES labs decided on the same 90mm stator size and use of copper as well. Unlike the SR omega the stator are not of a mesh construction nor uses any kind of metal plating like gold plating that the SR009s and if I’m correct the SR omega used. Instead there was some kind of insulating layer applied as he described it, he mention it maybe some kind of acrylic or epoxy based coat but unsure as it was done by a company to meet this particular use case. Not sure if that mixture is secret or he never pressed for details. But a very interesting option I’m not sure what current estat does not do any plating.
other bits like dust cover is traditional stax way, no new unconventional ways here unlike the Kaldas RR1 conquest. The wood box is nice but it feels like a softer wood, I don’t have my sr009 box on hand but from memory it’s like that soft about. So dings and stuff is very possible.
the links to Erji:
http://www.erji.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=2172045
http://www.erji.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=2171070
http://www.erji.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=2170411
this is ES labs statement about how the SR009 and this ES1a differs from a email exchange, I’ll post my own impressions later on as I’m terrible at describing stuff.
“Thank you for your enquiry
ES-1a sounds more similar to omega than to 009. 009 has a higher density of music notes and more condensed while es1a is more airy. They two have a different bass presentation as well as soundstage presentation.”
Photos:
check out the pads to see what I mean though it may just be a rough draft as they are a new design. Also on close inspection the pads are angled but very slightly and not uniform in thickness as I thought.
Links to some photos I took here: https://imgur.com/a/sFUOz0S
Last edited: