[mulveling]

The decision was simple, acquire the X9000 and the DIY T2, to do a 3 way comparison (ES1a, X9000, SR-Ω) and be content.
Oh how life throw a spanner in the works. Having kids and realizing, they don't make R10, L3000 and 4070 anymore.
But the X9000 and DIY T2 are still in production, well the T2 sort of.
So the decision was simple, when all 3 got listed on 2 different platform I jump to it.
As this situation most likely will never arise ever again and I might regret it later on.
Which I'm glad I didn't let the opportunity slip, because all 3 are so unique and have such amazing history.

What's there not to like regarding the ES-R10, considering most TOTL headphone aren't very great in terms of value.
This one knock it out of the park.
I'm glad you like the ES1a, I love them too, gotta say ES Labs makes amazing stuff.
I'll be posting up comparisons between them and the SR-Ω later on when I get the chance to, but don't hold me to it anytime soon.

That logic is solid - I don't blame you for getting those rare beasts while they're get-able. I do believe you'll eventually find the T2 makes for a bigger positive sonic return (on your omega-class electrostats) than almost any headphone-to-headphone change can yield (at this level)

 

[Mach3]

That logic is solid - I don't blame you for getting those rare beasts while they're get-able. I do believe you'll eventually find the T2 makes for a bigger positive sonic return (on your omega-class electrostats) than almost any headphone-to-headphone change can yield (at this level)

Funny thing was, this journey all started with me trying to find my ultimate speakers, the Quad ESL-57.
Which lead to me to into the electrostatic world, couldn't find a decent good condition ESL-57.
So I ended up picking up an ultra rare Stax ELS-F81 in a garage sale (panel has been fully restore all circuit upgraded).
That purchase lead me into researching the best electrostatic headphone.
Enter the HE90 and the SR-Ω, after getting these 2 gem I was sworn to only needing the T2 amp.
Well the X9000 came to light and ES Labs started making ES1a (got this as a backup just in case the SR-Ω fails)
Then the ES-R10 made my curiosity dance around the idea of the best closed headphones.
So here I am, 2 more piece of the puzzle. X9000 and T2. I would like to audition the X9000 doesn't sound like I would like them from all the impression I read so far.

 

[omega1990]

How loud is the sound leakage coming from 4070? Probably buy one for a headphone to use in the office.

I did not have anyone with me to test sound leakage from the 4070, so unfortunately the only thing I could do was play music at normal listening volumes and cover the pads with my hands. I was able to cover both pads up completely and I could still hear music playing clearly but it's generally pretty quiet.

I think if you were sitting next to someone, they would be able to make out what you're listening to. However I think if you were several feet away from someone passing by, I think they might have to stop and try to focus to hear what you are listening to. This headphone was made for studio and broadcast applications. So being closed was to help these type of workers find what they were looking for in their recordings. So I think this headphone wasn't made to isolate for casual listening in public outside of those type of work environments. It does block outside noise well when playing music.

Also keep in mind as a studio monitor it is the opposite of the 007 in that it is unforgiving and transparent. If you play a poorly recorded track, the 4070 will immediately let you know. Essentially a bad recording might sound worse and a great recording will sound fantastic, there is no sugar coating here. In general music sounds good and I'm not coming across many tracks that sound particularly awful.

 

[urs]

I did own the 4070 a long time ago....
Here you may find some impressions , also from other users

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-stax-thread.189204/page-67#post-2499005
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/stax-4070s-are-in-the-house-pics.303509/page-3#post-4007897

Regards
Urs

For very good sound insulation in & out, I now "converted" to (Custom) IEMs

 

[Mach3]

I will be posting impression of these two later this month.
Brief comment thing that grabs my attention are I don't find the ES1a dark.
Build quality pretty good compared to the ES-R10 and the SR-Ω

 

[oneguy]

I will be posting impression of these two later this month.
Brief comment thing that grabs my attention are I don't find the ES1a dark.
Build quality pretty good compared to the ES-R10 and the SR-Ω

Ive never seen an ES-1 with the white letters and removable cable. Very interesting

 

[mulveling]

Ive never seen an ES-1 with the white letters and removable cable. Very interesting

Yeah...what the heck? lol

 

[Mach3]

Ive never seen an ES-1 with the white letters and removable cable. Very interesting

Didn't even notice that the lettering wasn't common until you mentioned it.

Yeah...what the heck? lol

Removable cable was an experimental when I asked Benson from ES Labs if he could make the ES1a with removable cable.
He ask he why, I told him I got spare cable when I got my SR-Ω. It would be great to compare the ES1a vs the SR-Ω sound wise.
If they both using the same cable, would take away the equation if the cable affected the ES1a sound in any way.
He told me it would take a few month for R&D if it was feasible. A bit over a month later I think, he said here the total and send me this pic.
This one is number 57, who know if you ask him I'm sure he will do it for you if you ask nicely. It a premium on top of the base price.

UPDATE: ES Lab accepts request ES1a with removable cable.

 

[bigjako]

It’s great to see so many new ES-1a owners. The headphone, and Bensons deserve the attention and appreciation. My question for you guys is how you feel it sounds on tubes vs solid state, if you’ve been able to do such comparisons. I’m so close to going back to all-tubes but the ES loses some of its speed and transient edges on tubes for me. I’ve rolled a bunch of tubes and no change to that, so I wonder if it really is just best paired with solid state (to be fair, my CCS modded hybrid 006t sounds great with it, but that’s not really what I consider a tube amp like the Electra). Anyone listen to it on a T2?

 

[mulveling]

It’s great to see so many new ES-1a owners. The headphone, and Bensons deserve the attention and appreciation. My question for you guys is how you feel it sounds on tubes vs solid state, if you’ve been able to do such comparisons. I’m so close to going back to all-tubes but the ES loses some of its speed and transient edges on tubes for me. I’ve rolled a bunch of tubes and no change to that, so I wonder if it really is just best paired with solid state (to be fair, my CCS modded hybrid 006t sounds great with it, but that’s not really what I consider a tube amp like the Electra). Anyone listen to it on a T2?

The ES1a has really impressed an audiophile buddy of mine who generally dislikes (or has a hard time engaging with) headphones. He also loved the ES-R10. And @purk came by yesterday and was impressed with the ES1a too It feels like this is what the 009S should have been (sort of vexing that the 009S costs more than 009, while the 009 is still better IMO). My initial complaints about ES1a's darkness have been melting away in the last couple weeks. They are still reasonably warm, especially compared to 009. They do pair excellently with a particularly neutral KGSShv (my favorite variant of 5 different sounding versions I've heard - minis too bright, Sanyos too warm).

I'll hopefully get to run the ES1a on T2 in a few weeks. Maybe @number1sixerfan can fill in his experience there? ES Lab is looking like the best value in high-end headphones today. Mad respect for Benson, here.

Remember that the T2 is kind of "magic". It will warm up and fix tonality of the 009. Then it will open up the 007 Mk I. And it will grant the he90 balls for rock. There's no way a single amp can do all that - except for magic! So I don't expect the ES1a will be any kind of mismatch, there.

 

[number1sixerfan]

I'll hopefully get to run the ES1a on T2 in a few weeks. Maybe @number1sixerfan can fill in his experience there? ES Lab is looking like the best value in high-end headphones today. Mad respect for Benson, here.

I haven't posted here much, as work is really doing a number on me lol, but I have been mainly spending time with only the T2 over the past few weeks and have had a few lengthy sessions with the ES-1a. My original quick impressions were based on just two small sessions. What hasn't changed is they are still quite dark in tone, which isn't necessarily my preference; however, they absolutely sing out of the T2. Very enjoyable. Very spacious, great detail (although not as much as the 009 for example), really great punch and bass. I intended to do a full comparison between the 009/007/Es-1a, with an hour or so each, but each time I ended up sticking with the Es-1a for 3-4hrs. For the price, you can't do better. (also to be clear, I'm sure the ES-1a also is really great through the BHSE/Aeras I was testing with before, I just didn't give it the time to really delve into and the darker tonality is what stood out early)

Still would like to get a better handle on how they compare in each aspect of sound to the others, but I just haven't gotten there yet.

Also, if anyone is interested, my original x9000 order is now in route to me, ETA Sunday. I originally intended to sell the pair I have now discounted, as I think it was a demo pair due to a few nicks it came with, but I'm going to keep them (I actually overpaid for them significantly when the supply/demand was absolutely terrible). Will sell the new pair, NIB, still under retail. Message me if interested, if not I'll put them in the classifieds later this week.

 

[bigjako]

Thanks both of you. I don’t feel the ES-1a is dark, to my ears at least, particularly compared to the Mk1 007, but it certainly comes across darker than the Lambdas. For whatever reason (impedance?) the 007 sounds great on both the Electra and the Carbon, and I honestly can’t pick a favorite between them. But the ES-1as loses some of its magic on the Electra. A long time ago I read someone say that the ES-1a didn’t pair well with tubes and (T2 notwithstanding) wanted to see if anyone ever found a good tube amp pairing for them.

PS - I’ve spent the last few weeks a/b/c testing between the Carbon, a Dominik CCS-modded 006t and a stock 007t. Carbon wins, obvs, but the CCS’d 006t beats out the stock 007 clearly and isn’t miles behind the Carbon, even with the ES1a and 007 mk1. I wish I could CCS mod the 007t but that seems to be a bridge too far.

 

[oneguy]

@bigjako I’m running the ES-1a/KGGG combo here and like it. I had a fellow audiophile over bout 2 weeks ago and he was wowed by it as well.

 

[Kiats]

Quick Q for owners: What is the headband of the ES-1a made of? I am seriously considering the ES-1a but am just a bit concerned about longevity.

 

[mulveling]

Quick Q for owners: What is the headband of the ES-1a made of? I am seriously considering the ES-1a but am just a bit concerned about longevity.

It's plastic (product page says CNC'd aluminum and nylon plastic parts). They sell spare headbands if you're concerned
I'll say the metal cups are fairly impressive, and the build is beautiful overall. The 009 headband is plastic, too!