[greenkiwi]

Did hear of the late June release date, but not the price. That's not bad. I don't think it qualifies as vaporware anymore.

I think vaporware was in response to the iFi ESL. That it's been demoed, but no clear path to production has been stated (or at least I think we haven't heard that path and timing.)

Can't wait to put my order in for the ESTAT

 

[Fastnbulbous]

Yes, that is clearly what we were talking about. iFi said the release date is late June in this thread.

 

[Thaudiophile]

I got in some time with Ether Stat before the room got loud at the Atlanta meet last weekend. First of all, I prefer the 007 to the 009 if that helps understand my preferences. The 007 and ES were actually somewhat similar. I preferred the ES for two reasons.

1. The sound stage width and depth was considerable better on ES. I was somewhat surprised at this. Possibly because I listened before the room got loud I was able to observe this difference more so. Once the room got noisy the cavernous sound stage of the ES seemed to get drowned out.

2. I prefer the mids on ES, especially on the BH that Justin brought. I mostly listen to vocal centric music, jazz and modern folk/Americana. I was hearing voices that were more naturally rendered with lot's of detail. Breathing between notes, chesty guttural notes from deep in the chest. Also the bass is clearly more punch and dynamic than most stats that I've owned or auditioned.

I still love the 007 and it remains my favorite production stat. I'm hoping that it can be improved on with something modern and at a friendly price point.

Lol is owning Sr 007 alongside Ether es even worth it? Are they different enough?

 

[Fastnbulbous]

From what little I heard, I liked the sound signature of the Ether ES better than the 009. I'm not the only one. However I know some prefer the 007 over the 009 and I haven't heard that.

 

[pbui44]

I think a preference in gimbal joint designs, clamp pressure and pressure points, ear pad preferences, and overall fit-and-finish will also make a difference between choosing electrostats.

I have made these smaller, but long-term significant, differences between the Stax SR-009 and a MrSpeakers Prototype Ether ES 5/2017 model for at least 2 sessions (at least one hour each) for each one:

1. The SR-009 has more spherically-adapted gimbal joints, whereas the Ether ES 5/2017 has a more parallel-angled gimbal joint design.
   
2. The SR-009 has overall slightly more clamp pressure than the Ether ES 5/2017, possibly from a more suspended headband design.
   
3. The SR-009 ear pads have that infamous "Stax fart" (audible and sharp sound from foam compression/decompression), whereas the Ether ES 5/2017 ear pads have very slightly more stiff foam, making the foam "fart" less audible, though the Ether ES ear pad leather is very slightly stiffer in texture than the SR-009 ear pad leather texture.
   
4. The SR-009 frame and headband materials feel more solid and luxurious than the Ether ES 5/2017 materials, but the overall SR-009 weight is heavier as a result.

I rank the importance for each listed point from least-to-most: 1, 3, 4, 2. I did this ranking as a single-line as this is my opinion, as I prefer the Ether ES 5/2017 over the SR-009 on this order of importance and leaving the list for others for however they want to look at my observations. The sound signatures between the two electrostats will vary greatly by what source, DAC, amp, etc. used, so I feel a sound preference would be redundant at this point. The gimbal joints between the two are very similar with the headband-to-gimbal angling being slightly different, but the other points will start showing their differences. The "Stax fart" from the SR-009 ear pads is somewhat distracting during fitting, but the softer leather texture kind-of make the fitting worth it, though jaw movements and neck movements may reproduce the "Stax fart" for a split-second. The SR-009 frame and headband materials do make for a more solid and luxurious feel, but having it on my head for more than an hour starts to show its cost in added weight with slight neck strain (not sure how it is for weeks, months, or years). With the added weight in mind from the more solid and luxurious materials, the slight clamp pressure will get slightly worse over time and may start to take your attention away from the sound signature.

With this said, I prefer the Ether ES 5/2017 with its lighter weight, more flexible headband, much less ear pad foam sound interference, and more-accommodating gimbal joint design for my head. This leaves me to listen and do whatever else, like typing. Hope this helps.

 

[Stillhart]

Yeah we've made great progress. The core design elements are finished, the cable is really cool. Because we have to work with such high voltages we had to design our own connector on the headphone side. It's removable so this is a 'stat with a field replaceable cable, which I know people will like, though the connector adds a bit of bulk vs a wire with strain relief, no free lunch but this should reduce service headaches for people.

We'll have what I think is the final industrial design at the LA Audio Show and we'll be showing in the Xtreme gear room on a fantastic system we're putting together.

This might be the one thing I'll regret missing by skipping LAAS.

Oh well, I'm sure there will be a show in Vegas before too long.

 

[TSAVJason]

I believe MrSpeakers has won a very prestigious award for these terrific ES headphones at the LAAS2017

 

[mrspeakers]

I'm pleased to announce our ETHER ES pre-production won the LA Audio Show's Best Luxury Ear Gear Award! (We think that is the award title we'll confirm or correct this when we get the official award materials)

The Xtreme Gear room at the LA Audio Show had a great collection of the TOTL headphones including the HE1 and Shangri-La so we're really honored by this award!

I'm also pleased to announce we are targeting September for release of the headphone.

The metalwork is updated with a light grey finish and a one-arm gimbal and headband configuration similar to AEON.

Also, the new DETACHABLE cable is everything we hoped for; silver plated copper for a smooth yet super resolving sound with a soft and supple feel. Best of all the low capacitance cable is round not flat and is really lightweight and it transfers almost no cable microphonics.

 

[Tom Blake]

Sounds great Dan! Congratulations on the award! I am keenly interested in the ETHER ES. Have you heard the iFi iESL drive it? If so, what is your impression? I have an iCAN Pro and am looking into getting an iESL partner to power my Stax L500's with an eventual upgrade to the ETHER ES.

 

[mrspeakers]

Sounds great Dan! Congratulations on the award! I am keenly interested in the ETHER ES. Have you heard the iFi iESL drive it? If so, what is your impression? I have an iCAN Pro and am looking into getting an iESL partner to power my Stax L500's with an eventual upgrade to the ETHER ES.

Thank you! We have an iFi in house now but I won't have a chance to hear it until next week. However, it's always a tricky thing for vendors to discuss each other's products without violating MOT guidelines.

 

[Tom Blake]

Understood! Seems like a really good mid-priced option though. I believe it has been shown with your ETHER ES prototype at several shows to broad acclaim. If you have any general thoughts would love to hear them perhaps by PM?

 

[mrspeakers]

Sure... another energizer to consider is the Woo Wee, which is a transformer based solution.

 

[Tom Blake]

Yes I have looked into the Woo WEE but the natural synergy of the iESL with the iCAN Pro makes it very appealing. I don't need to supply another speaker amp with it either as the iCAN Pro serves that purpose and the only connection between them is a custom HDMI cable. You don't even need to provide power to the iESL when used with the iCAN Pro.

 

[anach]

Can Ether ES be driven with the likes of STAX SRM-353X?

 

[mrspeakers]

Can Ether ES be driven with the likes of STAX SRM-353X?

It'll work with any 5 pin Stax compatible amp. Efficiency is about like the 007.