My DIY electrostatic headphones
Apr 6, 2014 at 10:11 PM Post #1,261 of 4,059
 
I can't find anywhere on the site mentioning that it's 0.5 micron.  

 
The owner of indoorspecialties told me it is the place to get 0.5 micron. This page has a bit more information: http://www.micronwings.com/Products/OSfilm0.5Micron/
 
As far as I know, that is OS film and they're all going to be the same.
 
This page (not much credibility) indicates that OS film is mylar: http://www.homefly.com/reference/Covering%20Weights%20Product.htm
 
Apr 6, 2014 at 10:48 PM Post #1,262 of 4,059
I think it's one of these two:
http://www.innoviafilms.com/Our-Products/Packaging/Propafilm-OS.aspx
http://www.cryovac.com/na/en/food-packaging-products/oxygen-scavenging-headspace.aspx
 
I've looked on the Dupont website for films before and never saw any mention of "OS film".
 
Apr 7, 2014 at 9:01 PM Post #1,263 of 4,059
  I think it's one of these two:
http://www.innoviafilms.com/Our-Products/Packaging/Propafilm-OS.aspx
http://www.cryovac.com/na/en/food-packaging-products/oxygen-scavenging-headspace.aspx
 
I've looked on the Dupont website for films before and never saw any mention of "OS film".

The first website mentions OS film being "Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP)" as opposed to mylar's "Biaxially Oriented Polyethylene Terephthalate (BoPET)" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BoPET)  Not sure what that means in terms of performance, but it does seem to mean that OS film is not mylar.  Then again, perhaps mylar is copywritten and this is a way around that copyright.  I'm really just guessing there...
 
 
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BOPP#Biaxially_oriented_polypropylene_.28BOPP.29 on BOPP:
"When polypropylene film is extruded and stretched in both the machine direction and across machine direction it is called biaxially oriented polypropylene. Biaxial orientation increases strength and clarity. BOPP is widely used as a packaging material for packaging products such as snack foods, fresh produce and confectionery. It is easy to coat, print and laminate to give the required appearance and properties for use as a packaging material. This process is normally called converting. It is normally produced in large rolls which are slit on slitting machines into smaller rolls for use on packaging machines."
 
I'd never think that much engineering goes into plastic wrap... 
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Now, I'm about to ask some very silly questions -- questions that will no doubt reveal the very depths of my ignorance of the fundamental electricity principles of an ES headphone driver.  I'm confused about the wiring of an ES driver:
 
1. The normal bias stax plug has two separate bias connectors.  Is there one for each driver, or should each bias connection attach to each driver?
 
2. Each channel has a positive and negative connection.  I'm assuming the positive connection goes to one stator and the negative to the other (and it is important that that the two channels are in phase.  Is this correct?
 
3. More generally, how does an ES driver work?  I understand the basic idea, but I keep getting stuck on the notion that a signal is passed through the stators when there is only one wire connected to each stator.  Is there a weakness in my 10th grade electricity rule that for a circuit to be complete, it must connect the negative and positive terminals?  Any analogies to water, hoses, crimping would be appreciated.
 
Thanks,
OnyxOcelot
 
Apr 8, 2014 at 1:15 AM Post #1,264 of 4,059
Mylar is DuPont's brand of BoPET film.  There are others such as Hostaphan, etc.  BOPP is different altogether.  Another alternative is PEN but I haven't found any as thin as what's typically used here. 
 
Each driver should have a direct connection to the bias line of the cable and gets connected to the diaphragm.  In 6 pin Stax used 2 lines for bias along the entire length of the cable, in 5 pin they just split the bias line at the Y-splitter. 
 
Yes, one goes to the inner stator and one goes to the outer stator.  AFAIK absolute polarity isn't audible, but they need to be in phase with each other (ie. you can't have one channel with the + on the inside and the other channel with - on the inside).  I've read in the past that almost all Stax are wired out of absolute phase, and I think that even showed up in Tyll's measurements. 
 
There are websites that can explain this better and more in depth, but basically you have a thin, electrically charged film suspended between two conductive plates.  The audio signal is amplified to a high voltage and as it runs through the plates, the stator with opposite polarity to the film pulls the film towards it while the stator with the same polarity as the film pushes it away (opposites attract, think of magnets).  The plates have holes in them so that when the film vibrates it can push air through the holes and out of the driver, making sound.  The amount of force applied to the film by a stator is a function of the distance between the two, and the closer they are together the stronger the force (think gravity/magnetism).  Since two stators are used, we are able to keep a linear force on the diaphragm at all times under normal operating conditions. 
 
Apr 8, 2014 at 2:10 AM Post #1,265 of 4,059
  More generally, how does an ES driver work?  I understand the basic idea, but I keep getting stuck on the notion that a signal is passed through the stators when there is only one wire connected to each stator.

An ES driver is a capacitor. There is a transfer of charge through an electric field, not through electrical conduction.
If you look up some explanations of capacitors and get a vague idea of how they work, then that will flow into your understanding of ES drivers.
 
Interestingly, the converse is also true. Capacitors are also ES transducers, just terribly inefficient.
Once I had a class B power amp driving a dummy load, and I was overloading it severely. Aside from the fact the mains transformer was trying to vibrate the chassis apart, the main power supply caps were actually outputting audio, quite soft and heavily distorted, but audible none the less. Probably a bit more useful than using caps as speakers, I've seen people use poly caps as microphones too. Get an interesting colored vocal from them. Don't have any links off the top of my head, but i'm sure google might find something.
 
Apr 8, 2014 at 6:39 AM Post #1,268 of 4,059
I was wondering about the food wrap , it can work? I want to try making a diy stat someday, maybe after the kids grow up a bit and I get some time again :wink:.
 
Apr 8, 2014 at 7:20 AM Post #1,269 of 4,059
Have you guys ever tried food wrap plastic as diahragms yet? If not, try it. You'll be surprised how good it can sound.
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I can imagine, also the dust protectors on most e-stat drivers are pretty much food wrap plastic, right?
 
Apr 8, 2014 at 11:40 AM Post #1,270 of 4,059
  An ES driver is a capacitor. There is a transfer of charge through an electric field, not through electrical conduction.
If you look up some explanations of capacitors and get a vague idea of how they work, then that will flow into your understanding of ES drivers.

Thanks.  This analogy definitely helps.
 
And thanks n3rdling for the explanation of the wiring / polarity / principle.
 
It seems most of your DIY ES headphones use a bias closer to Stax's "Pro Bias" of 580v.  Is there a reason that using a higher bias is easier for DIY construction?  I imagine the thickness of stators, spacers, and diaphragm coating should change proportionally with bias voltage for an equal volume output (if my understanding of n3rdlings explanation is correct).  If I'm going ahead using a 230v bias, what thickness dimensions would you recommend?  Apologies if this was hashed out earlier in the thread -- I don't recall anyone using the lower voltage bias...
 
Apr 8, 2014 at 11:45 AM Post #1,271 of 4,059
  I can imagine, also the dust protectors on most e-stat drivers are pretty much food wrap plastic, right?


No, I don't think so.  The stuff used by Stax is definitely not similar to food wrap.
 
I think I have posted this video before, but anyway, here it is possibly the easiest DIY electrostatic headphones ever built using food wrap as diaphragms.  I think they sound pretty good.
 

 
Wachara C.
 
Apr 8, 2014 at 12:11 PM Post #1,272 of 4,059
  Thanks.  This analogy definitely helps.
 
And thanks n3rdling for the explanation of the wiring / polarity / principle.
 
It seems most of your DIY ES headphones use a bias closer to Stax's "Pro Bias" of 580v.  Is there a reason that using a higher bias is easier for DIY construction?  I imagine the thickness of stators, spacers, and diaphragm coating should change proportionally with bias voltage for an equal volume output (if my understanding of n3rdlings explanation is correct).  If I'm going ahead using a 230v bias, what thickness dimensions would you recommend?  Apologies if this was hashed out earlier in the thread -- I don't recall anyone using the lower voltage bias...

 
Well, actually, you'll want to use higher bias voltage possible, because it gives you good efficiency.  However, as you increase your bias voltage, you have to make sure that you've done everything right.  And that's quite difficult.
 
I go with 580V bias voltage simply because it's a Stax standard for all of their new headphones.  And I can just plug my headphones in any of Stax amp.  It makes my lives easier.
 
Why are you aiming at 230V bias voltage?  I don't know what spacer thickness you should use, but if I'll do it,  I'll probably go for 0.35 - 0.4 mm. 
 
Wachara C.
 
Apr 8, 2014 at 12:57 PM Post #1,273 of 4,059
Wachara,
 
I'm only aiming at a 230v bias because I recently purchased an SRD-7 (sb) Stax Energizer to power my as-yet-unfinished 'stats.  This is probably not ideal.  It does, however, allow me to play around with DIY 'stats without a serious investment.  I will post back with results once I've completed them.  
 
Eventually, I would like to build a DIY 'stat amp, but have only limited experience populating PCB's, and thought it best to avoid starting with such a high voltage system (insert smiley being zapped here).
 
OO
 
Apr 8, 2014 at 1:00 PM Post #1,274 of 4,059
There's nothing wrong with making them for 230v. Also there's nothing wrong with running 580v headphones at 230v, you just need more drive amplitude. 
 
At the NY meet on Saturday I blind tested Lambda standard bias (230v) against Lambda pro bias (580v), and aside from the different in sensitivity, I was unable to determine any difference between the two. The sound was absolutely identical.
 

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