[TheRealRalph]

These are some of the lightest headphones I've ever worn, perhaps the same weight as the Koss ESP/95X. Build is really nice, actually. I think we can all infer where he got the design from.

 

[TheRealRalph]

I had the privilege of trying these from a very generous Chinese DIYer. His claim is that these rival Stax 009. Big claim, ain't it?
It uses this weird, absolutely massive connector. I asked him why he didn't use the Stax 5-pin connector like many DIY electrostats, and he says that he didn't want people to mess up the headphones by plugging them into (unadjusted) Stax driver units -- these have a lower bias voltage from Stax pro. I'm no engineer, so I'll do as he says.

The energizer is even weirder. No pics because it's pretty boring -- just a silver box with RCA inputs, 9V in and the weird plug. Though it takes RCA in, the maker gave me an RCA to banana jack adaptor, saying that line-level will be much too quiet and that headphone amps aren't powerful enough. He was right. I ended up using my speaker amp for the energizer. The strange thing is, even when completely unplugged from the power source, I can hear faint music playing when I give it a signal. What kind of circuitry is in there? I don't know.

 

[DenverW]

So you tried these and mention they claim to rival the 009 yet give no impressions? Bit of a tease!

 

[TheRealRalph]

So you tried these and mention they claim to rival the 009 yet give no impressions? Bit of a tease!

I got tired and forgot that I started this thread...
Do they sound as good as the 009? Not really. Do they kind of sound like them? They kind of do, and these are priced at a little under 500 dollars... That is a scary thought.
Bass is extremely lacking. You can hear exactly what's going on, but it carries no impact. It's kind of like looking at pictures of food rather than actually tasting food.
Mids are great. Very transparent, great resolution, like the 009. Not as good, obviously, but it's got the idea. It's kind of like trying to cook to a Michelin 3 star chef's dish by yourself for the third time -- all the ingredients and steps are there; just a bit of quality is missing.
Highs are very resolving, but pretty dry and on bad recordings, some sounds get piercing.
Soundstage is pretty good. Pretty good separation of instruments, too.
Overall, they sound great (especially considering its price tag -- certainly among the best 500-dollar headphones I've heard). Truly great resolution and transparency, but they are not very musical and are very picky about source and amplification (yes, despite having an energizer, they still need speaker-level power).

 

[SilverEars]

Did DCA VOCE have sex with Hifiman HE-6?

 

[quintoben]

I feel I may be more interested in ES1a

 

[TheRealRalph]

I feel I may be more interested in ES1a

Keep in mind that the ES1a is about thrice the price of these... and does not come with an amp (which, at the level of ES1a, has better be more expensive than the DIY headphones). These DIY electrostatic and the ES1a are not in the same price tier.

 

[Dingding123]

I got tired and forgot that I started this thread...
Do they sound as good as the 009? Not really. Do they kind of sound like them? They kind of do, and these are priced at a little under 500 dollars... That is a scary thought.
Bass is extremely lacking. You can hear exactly what's going on, but it carries no impact. It's kind of like looking at pictures of food rather than actually tasting food.
Mids are great. Very transparent, great resolution, like the 009. Not as good, obviously, but it's got the idea. It's kind of like trying to cook to a Michelin 3 star chef's dish by yourself for the third time -- all the ingredients and steps are there; just a bit of quality is missing.
Highs are very resolving, but pretty dry and on bad recordings, some sounds get piercing.
Soundstage is pretty good. Pretty good separation of instruments, too.
Overall, they sound great (especially considering its price tag -- certainly among the best 500-dollar headphones I've heard). Truly great resolution and transparency, but they are not very musical and are very picky about source and amplification (yes, despite having an energizer, they still need speaker-level power).

Gosh I have these too. With all due respect sir, your impression of these babies' bass is just... wrong. Your impression sounds quite typical of a pair of cans that's underpowered and I suspect the energizer is the culprit.
These cans have some of the hardest hitting electrostatic bass I've ever heard, when paired with a proper amp of course. I built a KG Grounded Grid just for these, running at dual 400V rails and 500V bias (drifting up to 520V when warmed up), and they are absolutely wonderful.
The resolution is definitely way above the HE6 on dynahi. The tonality is definitely warmer than the 009(non s), with a more full-bodied sound. The soundstage is expansive and immersive, and imaging is clear and precise. It is definitely one of the most engaging headphones I own, and one of the most versatile cans I've heard. For one moment they could immerse me in an orchestra, while the next I would find myself tapping my feet to Zedd and Ed Sheeran.
Here's the best part, since these are so cheap, I can open them up and modify the tunings with some extra filter paper. I added just 1 layer to filter off some of the treble sparkle. I guess anyone could just modify it to his preferences.
I don't own either stax 009(s) or 007, so I can't do a direct and detailed comparison using the same set-up, but from my impression (bias alert!) of the staxes on T8000 amp at my local audio shop, these DIYs are slightly less detailed than the 009s but warmer and slightly more intimate. They sound more like the 009 with a more thumpy bass and more intimate vocals. However, do take this comparison with a big pinch of salt.
BUT, there are a few downsides to these hidden gems though.
One, they are super insensitive and a b*tch to drive. On my Grounded Grid with Susy Dynalo (running at dual 20v) as pre-amp, these ES cans needs almost 70% volume pot position to sound loud enough. When the grounded grid amp is driven to clipping, the cans are only at a volume that is just barely unbearable. This is probably due to the monstrous diaphragm size, of around 90mm in diameter. Not sure how they will fare with a standard 580V bias and dual 450V voltage rails. I might do some destructive testings when I grow tired of these, but I don't see that day coming anytime soon.
Two, they are massive. Each side uses a massive 11cm earpad. This is definitely something that not everyone can get used to, and can feel bothersome when I turn my Asian head to the sides.
Three, the workmanship is truly DIY-level, with the kind of quality that you won't expect from a branded product. The driver housing design, though light, is not original, and is made of 3d printed nylon. It is electrocution proof, but I'm not so sure about the durability of this material compared to say, aluminum in the long run, especially after prolonged sun exposure for years.
But heck, why would these points matter. The headphones sound miraculous and I don't need to put on a C-collar to wear these, that's all I care about.



Edit: added the part regarding tuning. Someone needs to create a chifi thread in the summit-fi forums haha. Their humble origins shouldn't dictate their position on the Head-fi heirarchy.

 

[Dingding123]

As for the energizer, I have opened them up to see. It is essentially a SRD-7 - two set-up transformers with a 9v to 500v upconverter. The upconverter is a sealed blackbox, but it works to produce some small amount of charge for the stator bias. The transformers are likely to be output transformers for tube amps connected in reverse. Not sure what specs they have, but the DC resistance of the primary coil is merely 0.5ohms, so I'm not so keen to wire them up directly to my amps.

 

[TheRealRalph]

Gosh I have these too. With all due respect sir, your impression of these babies' bass is just... wrong. Your impression sounds quite typical of a pair of cans that's underpowered and I suspect the energizer is the culprit.
These cans have some of the hardest hitting electrostatic bass I've ever heard, when paired with a proper amp of course. I built a KG Grounded Grid just for these, running at dual 400V rails and 500V bias (drifting up to 520V when warmed up), and they are absolutely wonderful.
The resolution is definitely way above the HE6 on dynahi. The tonality is definitely warmer than the 009(non s), with a more full-bodied sound. The soundstage is expansive and immersive, and imaging is clear and precise. It is definitely one of the most engaging headphones I own, and one of the most versatile cans I've heard. For one moment they could immerse me in an orchestra, while the next I would find myself tapping my feet to Zedd and Ed Sheeran.
Here's the best part, since these are so cheap, I can open them up and modify the tunings with some extra filter paper. I added just 1 layer to filter off some of the treble sparkle. I guess anyone could just modify it to his preferences.
I don't own either stax 009(s) or 007, so I can't do a direct and detailed comparison using the same set-up, but from my impression (bias alert!) of the staxes on T8000 amp at my local audio shop, these DIYs are slightly less detailed than the 009s but warmer and slightly more intimate. They sound more like the 009 with a more thumpy bass and more intimate vocals. However, do take this comparison with a big pinch of salt.
BUT, there are a few downsides to these hidden gems though.
One, they are super insensitive and a b*tch to drive. On my Grounded Grid with Susy Dynalo (running at dual 20v) as pre-amp, these ES cans needs almost 70% volume pot position to sound loud enough. When the grounded grid amp is driven to clipping, the cans are only at a volume that is just barely unbearable. This is probably due to the monstrous diaphragm size, of around 90mm in diameter. Not sure how they will fare with a standard 580V bias and dual 450V voltage rails. I might do some destructive testings when I grow tired of these, but I don't see that day coming anytime soon.
Two, they are massive. Each side uses a massive 11cm earpad. This is definitely something that not everyone can get used to, and can feel bothersome when I turn my Asian head to the sides.
Three, the workmanship is truly DIY-level, with the kind of quality that you won't expect from a branded product. The driver housing design, though light, is not original, and is made of 3d printed nylon. It is electrocution proof, but I'm not so sure about the durability of this material compared to say, aluminum in the long run, especially after prolonged sun exposure for years.
But heck, why would these points matter. The headphones sound miraculous and I don't need to put on a C-collar to wear these, that's all I care about.



Edit: added the part regarding tuning. Someone needs to create a chifi thread in the summit-fi forums haha. Their humble origins shouldn't dictate their position on the Head-fi heirarchy.

Wow. That is super interesting. I guess I was really under-powering them. What results have you had with their original energizer? Where did you obtain the female socket for that forsaken plug? Also, what amp were you using to drive the original energizer? Sadly, not everyone has the expertise to DIY build an amplifier.
Did you purchase them in China, and if so, are you still in the country? If so, you should be aware that the same DIYer sells a planar magnetic model that is also highly regarded, although I’ve never heard it. What I heard, though, is that that planar is also incredibly power-hungry; the DIYer tells buyers to just hook them up to speaker amps.

 

[TheRealRalph]

As for the energizer, I have opened them up to see. It is essentially a SRD-7 - two set-up transformers with a 9v to 500v upconverter. The upconverter is a sealed blackbox, but it works to produce some small amount of charge for the stator bias. The transformers are likely to be output transformers for tube amps connected in reverse. Not sure what specs they have, but the DC resistance of the primary coil is merely 0.5ohms, so I'm not so keen to wire them up directly to my amps.

Note — the original seller did indicate that you may directly connect the energizer to your speaker amp with 4 ohm output and very light touch on the volume dial.

 

[Dingding123]

The socket is a Weipu WS20 6 pin, available on Amazon.
Initially I unknowingly hooked up the original energizers to a DIY balanced CFA2, and the output transistor simply overheated and smoked. I was quite puzzled so I decided to take some simple measurements on the energizer transformer, and realised that the energizer essentially caused a short circuit. Regular power amps can tolerate the load, but my class A headphone amp was not built for that.
I got the headphones shipped over to Singapore along with some matched planar drivers, and yeah they are some power hungry little beasts too. I'll PM you about the planars to avoid veering off-topic of this thread.

 

[Focux]

Did DCA VOCE have sex with Hifiman HE-6?

Definitely without a rubber hence the birth and existence of these..

 

[Focux]

Gosh I have these too. With all due respect sir, your impression of these babies' bass is just... wrong. Your impression sounds quite typical of a pair of cans that's underpowered and I suspect the energizer is the culprit.
These cans have some of the hardest hitting electrostatic bass I've ever heard, when paired with a proper amp of course. I built a KG Grounded Grid just for these, running at dual 400V rails and 500V bias (drifting up to 520V when warmed up), and they are absolutely wonderful.
The resolution is definitely way above the HE6 on dynahi. The tonality is definitely warmer than the 009(non s), with a more full-bodied sound. The soundstage is expansive and immersive, and imaging is clear and precise. It is definitely one of the most engaging headphones I own, and one of the most versatile cans I've heard. For one moment they could immerse me in an orchestra, while the next I would find myself tapping my feet to Zedd and Ed Sheeran.
Here's the best part, since these are so cheap, I can open them up and modify the tunings with some extra filter paper. I added just 1 layer to filter off some of the treble sparkle. I guess anyone could just modify it to his preferences.
I don't own either stax 009(s) or 007, so I can't do a direct and detailed comparison using the same set-up, but from my impression (bias alert!) of the staxes on T8000 amp at my local audio shop, these DIYs are slightly less detailed than the 009s but warmer and slightly more intimate. They sound more like the 009 with a more thumpy bass and more intimate vocals. However, do take this comparison with a big pinch of salt.
BUT, there are a few downsides to these hidden gems though.
One, they are super insensitive and a b*tch to drive. On my Grounded Grid with Susy Dynalo (running at dual 20v) as pre-amp, these ES cans needs almost 70% volume pot position to sound loud enough. When the grounded grid amp is driven to clipping, the cans are only at a volume that is just barely unbearable. This is probably due to the monstrous diaphragm size, of around 90mm in diameter. Not sure how they will fare with a standard 580V bias and dual 450V voltage rails. I might do some destructive testings when I grow tired of these, but I don't see that day coming anytime soon.
Two, they are massive. Each side uses a massive 11cm earpad. This is definitely something that not everyone can get used to, and can feel bothersome when I turn my Asian head to the sides.
Three, the workmanship is truly DIY-level, with the kind of quality that you won't expect from a branded product. The driver housing design, though light, is not original, and is made of 3d printed nylon. It is electrocution proof, but I'm not so sure about the durability of this material compared to say, aluminum in the long run, especially after prolonged sun exposure for years.
But heck, why would these points matter. The headphones sound miraculous and I don't need to put on a C-collar to wear these, that's all I care about.



Edit: added the part regarding tuning. Someone needs to create a chifi thread in the summit-fi forums haha. Their humble origins shouldn't dictate their position on the Head-fi heirarchy.

so you’re the one selling Dynahi on Carousell 0.O

 

[Dingding123]

Yep, I see that you recognised the amps on my table