catscratch
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2004
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Sounds like you're going to need some actual high-end cans.
What position do you listen in? If you're not listening lying down, then the K1000 could be up your alley, especially seeing how you already own a solid speaker amp. I'm not sure if it can drive the K1k, you'll need to double-check that separately, but if money isn't an issue then you can easily get something that will drive it well. My K1k is out of commission currently so I can't give any good amp synergy advice, but it's been discussed here ad-nauseum. UTFSE
K1k doesn't sit on your ears like a traditional headphone, so there's no pad contact with the cheeks and it simply cannot get hot by design. All the pressure is on your temples, but it's not a whole lot of pressure to begin with. It does have a rather electrostatic-like sound signature, very fast mids, clear but not harsh highs, and bass that's very punchy, present, full, but doesn't go very deep. The headphone does have a tendency to sound lean and dry, so you will want a lush signal path. Don't overdo it though, since the K1k is certainly transparent enough to tell you exactly what your signal path is doing.
Then, there are actual electrostats. Stax Lambda-series phones (303, 404, etc) have a very low clamping force and are quite comfortable, but are also somewhat tilted up in the upper mids. If you want warm, liquid mids this isn't the thing for you, but if you want speed, detail, very large (artificially so) soundstage with lots of air, and a more analytical but still very airy presentation, then this will do the trick. Audition first, since the newer Lambda-style headphones are still in production, and you can hear what you're getting. Vintage Lambdas I have no experience with, but the original SR-Lambda and SR-Lambda Signature (not the Lambda Nova Signature, very different phones!) are highly recommended but hard to find.
Then, there's the Omega 2. The original O2 Mk1 has a ruler-flat FR, has all the dynamic range you could wish for and then some, and has bass that is deep enough to extend to the very bowels of Hell. Seriously one of the best headphones ever made. I find it to be very comfortable, more so than the Lambdas, but it does clamp more, and it does get hot. That's the nature of the beast, since you need a good, very IEM-like seal with the ear in order for the O2 to perform up to par.
The Mk2 version has boosted midbass and boosted upper mids, while at the same time less deep bass than the Mk1. It's more forward, but also colder. It also has a wider soundstage and sounds a bit more diffuse. The Mk1 makes no compromises to artificial airyness and the soundstage is very concise with razor-sharp imaging. It takes some getting used to but it is a very technically correct presentation. The Mk2 is more traditional high-end-heaphone type of sound with artificial airyness but it works well if you're into that sort of thing. It's really closer to the Lambda sound than the original Mk1. And, the best part is, you can audition it, though if you do, use the solid-state amp, since the 007t2 just doesn't have the juice to give the O2 the dynamic range it needs. This is a very, very dynamic headphone with tons of puch, but off most Stax amps, you just don't get that kind of impression. The Mk1 sounds even more dynamic, if anything, since while it doesn't have the boosted midbass it does have the very focused, concise sound, and that adds to the perception of impact and dynamic range.
[Edit: last final observation... electrostatic headphones don't have to sound like electrostatic speakers. There doesn't have to be this sense of ethereal, immaterial sound originating out of thin air. Now, if that's your thing, then the new Lambda series phones will be the closest to that, though they don't have much warmth. The O2 (Mk1) OTOH doesn't sound anything like that. It just sounds like music, and doesn't have much of an electrostatic, or dynamic for that matter, coloration. It's a very high-end headphone in the right rig and is well past the level where transducer technology has a strong say on sound signature.]
What position do you listen in? If you're not listening lying down, then the K1000 could be up your alley, especially seeing how you already own a solid speaker amp. I'm not sure if it can drive the K1k, you'll need to double-check that separately, but if money isn't an issue then you can easily get something that will drive it well. My K1k is out of commission currently so I can't give any good amp synergy advice, but it's been discussed here ad-nauseum. UTFSE
K1k doesn't sit on your ears like a traditional headphone, so there's no pad contact with the cheeks and it simply cannot get hot by design. All the pressure is on your temples, but it's not a whole lot of pressure to begin with. It does have a rather electrostatic-like sound signature, very fast mids, clear but not harsh highs, and bass that's very punchy, present, full, but doesn't go very deep. The headphone does have a tendency to sound lean and dry, so you will want a lush signal path. Don't overdo it though, since the K1k is certainly transparent enough to tell you exactly what your signal path is doing.
Then, there are actual electrostats. Stax Lambda-series phones (303, 404, etc) have a very low clamping force and are quite comfortable, but are also somewhat tilted up in the upper mids. If you want warm, liquid mids this isn't the thing for you, but if you want speed, detail, very large (artificially so) soundstage with lots of air, and a more analytical but still very airy presentation, then this will do the trick. Audition first, since the newer Lambda-style headphones are still in production, and you can hear what you're getting. Vintage Lambdas I have no experience with, but the original SR-Lambda and SR-Lambda Signature (not the Lambda Nova Signature, very different phones!) are highly recommended but hard to find.
Then, there's the Omega 2. The original O2 Mk1 has a ruler-flat FR, has all the dynamic range you could wish for and then some, and has bass that is deep enough to extend to the very bowels of Hell. Seriously one of the best headphones ever made. I find it to be very comfortable, more so than the Lambdas, but it does clamp more, and it does get hot. That's the nature of the beast, since you need a good, very IEM-like seal with the ear in order for the O2 to perform up to par.
The Mk2 version has boosted midbass and boosted upper mids, while at the same time less deep bass than the Mk1. It's more forward, but also colder. It also has a wider soundstage and sounds a bit more diffuse. The Mk1 makes no compromises to artificial airyness and the soundstage is very concise with razor-sharp imaging. It takes some getting used to but it is a very technically correct presentation. The Mk2 is more traditional high-end-heaphone type of sound with artificial airyness but it works well if you're into that sort of thing. It's really closer to the Lambda sound than the original Mk1. And, the best part is, you can audition it, though if you do, use the solid-state amp, since the 007t2 just doesn't have the juice to give the O2 the dynamic range it needs. This is a very, very dynamic headphone with tons of puch, but off most Stax amps, you just don't get that kind of impression. The Mk1 sounds even more dynamic, if anything, since while it doesn't have the boosted midbass it does have the very focused, concise sound, and that adds to the perception of impact and dynamic range.
[Edit: last final observation... electrostatic headphones don't have to sound like electrostatic speakers. There doesn't have to be this sense of ethereal, immaterial sound originating out of thin air. Now, if that's your thing, then the new Lambda series phones will be the closest to that, though they don't have much warmth. The O2 (Mk1) OTOH doesn't sound anything like that. It just sounds like music, and doesn't have much of an electrostatic, or dynamic for that matter, coloration. It's a very high-end headphone in the right rig and is well past the level where transducer technology has a strong say on sound signature.]
