[Joeybgood]

   
I can only offer up an Ygg and Carbon or KGST, personally.  I'll have one there.
 
HS

That's it huh?

 

[Jimbob Andrews]

I found the highs emphasized a little more than I would have liked, especially when compared to the STAX 007a. Very revealing and open, though. On another note, after hearing the Ether C, I am suddenly not satisfied with my Primes. That will be my next buy I believe.

 

[Greggo]

  I found the highs emphasized a little more than I would have liked, especially when compared to the STAX 007a. Very revealing and open, though. On another note, after hearing the Ether C, I am suddenly not satisfied with my Primes. That will be my next buy I believe.

 
Is this feedback  from the Houston meet?  Can you tell us what the chain was for both the estat and the Ether C?
 
Either way, thank you for sharing your impressions.

 

[Jimbob Andrews]

Yes it was from the Houston meet and both were with this set up
headinclouds KGST ear speaker driver tube amplifier
iPad mini or Mac Air
Schiit Yggdrasil DAC

 

[HemiSam]

I think Jimbob's review is fair.  I confused him, though....my apologies.  I intended to bring my KGST and had it on the equipment list, but I elected to bring my KGSSHV Carbon (Kevin Gilmore design) as I figured the Ether E's could use the additional power based on what I had read.  I also personally think the Stax 007A's benefit from the Carbon's additional power.  
 
The chain was 44/16 FLAC files sent to the Ygg DAC via USB.  XLR's from the Ygg to the KGSSHV Carbon amplifier.  The Carbon uses the Golden Reference HV power supply unit (psu) and this psu has four capacitors that are rated at 680uf and capable of handling over 500v's.  It has a DACT stepped attenuator.  This is a really nice piece georgeP put together for me...450v at the rails.  It's a beast.  Weighs 35lbs and is built like a brick house. Extremely stable at start-up and can be left on overnight with zero drama...as I did last night.
 
First, big thanks MrSpeakers for shipping the units to Paul so we could experience a prototype at the meet.  That's very cool and I, personally, appreciate your doing that for us.
 
They were fun out of the Carbon.  They need a LOT of power...I had the volume at 2 o'clock and that much power has the 007A's screaming loud.  So if the design remains as is, I suggest one heck of an amp to get the most out of them.  A couple of the guys at the meet tried the Ether E prototypes on a new Stax 252s (baby) and a more substantial Stax 006t with NOS tubes and I heard they were underpowered (someone please chime in if you heard this differently).  
 
I do not have golden ears or any of that so take this with a grain of salt.  Relative to the 007A's I found the treble and upper mids to be more forward.  They had less impact down low which surprised me from what I was told previously, but again...they're prototypes and likely evolving as they are modified.  
 
They sound fun.  There were far fewer of the microdetails you get with the stats I have heard.  Specifically, at the meet were the new Stax L300's, a nice pair of Stax 404 Signatures and the relatively new Stax 007A's.  IMO the Ethere E's were less holographic...that instrument separation and location one hears with stat rigs that's like nothing else I've heard including out of some pretty fine dynamic cans (I own the HD650 and the TH900's amongst some others at the moment).
 
They shout out loud if you are sitting next to a person listening to them and I didn't realize how much so until I passed them on to someone else and was sitting there watching...it's like there's an old school radio playing next to you.  Not a huge deal, but it's the loudest I've heard and simply an observation.
 
Overall, I enjoyed them.  They are a fun listen, a different signature to the Stax, and I think it'll be cool to have another option available to the community.  Thanks again for allowing us the opportunity to enjoy them in Houston.
 
HS

 

[georgep]

   
Some thoughts:  
 
....
 
Also, I've been told that because of the extremely high voltages in stat amps, they tend to have very large chassis...es to prevent electrical arcing.  I'd be surprised if they could get a stat amp in the body of the Carbon.
 
 
....

 
 
Regarding the chassis size issue, you have been misled on the relationship of the chassis size and the high voltages. The only things that dictates chassis size is heat dissipation and whether everything can fit - like any other amplifier out there. That said, there probably aren't many estat amp designs out there that could fit in the Cavalli Carbon chassis.

 

[Stillhart]

   
 
Regarding the chassis size issue, you have been misled on the relationship of the chassis size and the high voltages. The only things that dictates chassis size is heat dissipation and whether everything can fit - like any other amplifier out there. That said, there probably aren't many estat amp designs out there that could fit in the Cavalli Carbon chassis.

 
I was told it was to prevent electrical arcing both between components and between the case.  I'm not an engineer so you could be right.  I'm just repeating what I was told.

 

[VandyMan]

KingSound makes an electrostatic amp that is smaller than the Cavalli Carbon.

http://kingsaudio.com.hk/m03.html

Edit: STAX also makes some that appear to be smaller.

 

[Stillhart]

  KingSound makes an electrostatic amp that is smaller than the Cavalli Carbon.

http://kingsaudio.com.hk/m03.html

 
Wow, cool!  I wonder if it will drive an Ether E... How much do those run?

 

[VandyMan]

I can't seem to find any place selling it in the USA. Shows it can be done though.

 

[greenkiwi]

   
I was told it was to prevent electrical arcing both between components and between the case.  I'm not an engineer so you could be right.  I'm just repeating what I was told.

There are rules around this, and around how grounding works.  Some grounding levels require a certain distance between the case and the components.  I remember something along those lines when putting together my nCore amp.  I think that if you didn't chassis ground it, you needed an inch or so of "air" space.

 

[tjl5709]

Looking at how quiet this thread has been over the past couple months, I hope the FLOW launch does not set this project back to far.
 
The idea of being able to possibly move into the e-stat environment at a more palletable price point is exciting.

 

[mrspeakers]

We've been hard at work on this.  We'll have updates at RMAF.  

 

[greenkiwi]

I can't wait!  I enjoyed listening to them in SF...

 

[mrspeakers]

I'm excited to say that we've made great progress on the electrostatic.  We feel we've optimized our balance of extension, driver stability and efficiency (among other things), and now have a tuning we really love.  We've reached the point we're ready to go to production, and announcement details will not be too far off.  
 
Here are a few preliminary technical details the electrostatic enthusiasts will like:
 
Ultra-thin driver (we have 8 Km of material, that's enough to make a few headphones)
 
Significantly improved driver stability
 
Extended bass; -3dB ~17Hz
 
Significantly higher efficiency than earlier generations
 
81mm driver
 
We'll be showing at RMAF, and we look forward to hearing your feedback soon!