[XTTX]

I'm just wondering why it is that the most expensive headphones appear to be electrostatics? Is it due to its sonic value, manufacturing cost, demand and hype, or a combination of these factors?
 
I understand that the thinness of the diaphragm allows for higher frequencies to be reproduced. Since dynamic headphones (or at least the better ones) are capable of producing sound up to the limits of audible levels, can the electrostatics sound that much better? I haven't been able to find a FR graph for a set of electrostatic headphones; I'd be interested in seeing one.

 

[nikongod]

The diaphragm weighs nothing, but can you apply any force using the electrostatic method? Just something I have always wondered. 
 
Dynamic drivers can reach very high frequencies. 
 
I think its just that some people really like the frequency response of certain electrostatics. Interestingly, when asked many electrostatic-people will happily mock the some of the worse electrostatic headphones - just like ortho-people or dynamic-people. The fact that its an electrostatic transducer means nothing except that its an electrostatic. 
 
The problem comes that there are only some 200 electrostatic headphone designs, very few were designed as "average consumer grade crap", and a large percentage of the group were designed to be truly top of the line statement products by people with functional hearing for people with functional hearing. 
 
With dynamics there are thousands of designs, with quite a large percentage as "average grade consumer crap", and relatively few being designed as top of the line products. 
 
Id consider orthos "fringe" beyond electrostatics, but look at the history of orthos, and target markets, and all that... 
 
The odds of randomly picking an electrostatic headphone that flat out sucks are much lower than with dynamics... Its not that the high end electrostatic is necessarily better, Id argue against that, its that there are fewer turds at the bottom of the heap stinking up the group. If you cherry pick the best dynamics like people do with electrostatics you will find dynamics give electrostatics a solid run for their money and depending exactly what you are looking for may come out on top.

 

[TheWuss]

very well put, nikongod.
/thread

 

[Roger Strummer]

 
Excellent post nikongod!
 
Anyways, one can find  measurements of some electrostatic headphones in the ryumatsuba site, here is a link to the google translation:
 
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.geocities.jp/ryumatsuba/review.html&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&twu=1&usg=ALkJrhgor4BZJqhCeX9d-elzgdOdkj8AoQ
 
The translation doesn't help much beyond helping to find the models, but it is interesting to compare electrostatics and dynamics measured (presumably) in the same system.

 

[scompton]

For the most part, dynamics have caught up in price to electrostatics too.  Some argue that because you have to buy a special amp they're more expensive, but most people who buy the most expensive dynamics, have equally expensive amps to go with them

 

[Amarphael]

As Nikongod posted, Electrostatics always were, and still to this day remain a niche market. Today only one company specializes in this field and "Stax" and electrostat headphones, er "Earpeakers", are pretty much synonymous with each other. That's because there are what, two other offerings besides them? IIRC spritzer once noted that the SR-007 drivers are fairly relatively cheap to produce, So one can assume that the price tag could largly be a derivative of it's flagship status.
 
Quote:

If you cherry pick the best dynamics like people do with electrostatics you will find dynamics give electrostatics a solid run for their money and depending exactly what you are looking for may come out on top.

 
I currently own a dynamic and electrostat rigs which can be considered high-end, AT HA5000/W5000 and KGSS/O2 respectively. While i can't say the AT rig, which is about half the cost of the Stax setup, gives it any kind of run for the money the AT sound prestation is still very unique, the mids flavor in particular is still second to none that i heard IMHO.