[FrankCooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeymad /img/forum/go_quote.gif Cheers Frank.... Agreed... your amp was not embarrassed by any amp at the show. And I think that your design and implementation of the Electrostatic is very good. What I really like is your creativity in using what you have available to make your amps. Looking forward to seeing more.

Mikey, building an amp of this type inevitably becomes an inadvertant social statement. It's entertainment, but it's also a homage to a bygone industrial era when companies like Western Electric, RCA, Collins, and many others made the U.S. the world leader in high quality electrical equipment. Many of the components of the era are still world class by any standard. I have a lot of fun giving this stuff a new life. If it raises some questions some questions about our history and contemporary society in the process, then so much the better.

 

[gilency]

Frank: I saw your equipment at CanJam: yours, EdStrelow Ironbutt's were wonderful. I was very impressed. There was another guy who had a large DIY amplifier (not electrostatic if I remember) who had a very retro look with old style gauges. Your work and his were amazing. They looked so professionally made I was very impressed. The other guy told me he had been a cabinet maker before and also had some training in electric engineering if I remember correctly but don't recall his name. Guys like you compose the core of this forum.

 

[fraseyboy]

Listening to Lambda Pro's right now.

People have said they're bass heavy but to my ears they're not bass heavy AT all. In fact the Gamma's seem to have more bass. They are also more trebly than the Gamma's, and more laid back with a bigger soundstage. The mids are more recessed also.

It saddens me to say that I'm not incredibly impressed so far.

There's also quite a bit of sibilance which makes words with 's' in them sound weird.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Listening to Lambda Pro's right now. People have said they're bass heavy but to my ears they're not bass heavy AT all. In fact the Gamma's seem to have more bass. They are also more trebly than the Gamma's, and more laid back with a bigger soundstage. The mids are more recessed also. It saddens me to say that I'm not incredibly impressed so far. There's also quite a bit of sibilance which makes words with 's' in them sound weird.

Sounds just like the last two pairs I didn't like and sold off...

Sorry.

 

[fraseyboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sounds just like the last two pairs I didn't like and sold off... Sorry.

I just can't seem to get used to them. They're too boring and laid back... The Gamma's present almost the same amount of detail but are a bit more up-front, whilst still maintaining a big soundstage (though admittedly not as big). Plus, the treble tends to be a bit fatiguing on certain songs, and also makes them sound thin.

I won't condemn them this early. I'll give them a bit more of a listen... But...

Are there any electrostats around the same price as the Lambda Pro's that have reasonable bass slam (ie around the same as the AD700), does NOT sound boring and has non recessed mids, whilst still maintaining detail? Or would I be better off sticking with my (awesome) AD700's and being a rich man, or trying some other dynamics (I did like those DT880's...)?

 

[edstrelow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just can't seem to get used to them. They're too boring and laid back... The Gamma's present almost the same amount of detail but are a bit more up-front, whilst still maintaining a big soundstage (though admittedly not as big). Plus, the treble tends to be a bit fatiguing on certain songs, and also makes them sound thin. I won't condemn them this early. I'll give them a bit more of a listen... But... Are there any electrostats around the same price as the Lambda Pro's that have reasonable bass slam (ie around the same as the AD700), does NOT sound boring and has non recessed mids, whilst still maintaining detail? Or would I be better off sticking with my (awesome) AD700's and being a rich man, or trying some other dynamics (I did like those DT880's...)?

What are you using to drive these phones? Your listings don't show anything for electrostatics. I trust it is not a low bias transformer, cause if it is that's the problem. If you have a high bias transformer then there may be some lack of power in the power amp. I recall that you at one point you seemed to have too many things hooked up to the amp. I also find that most stats need some extended use befoe they seem to settle down. Even my SR007 sounded pretty poor in its first few hours of use. Probably something to do with getting charged up properly.


Finally it may just be the Lambda pros. I wouldn't say that any of my three Lambdas (404, Signature and Nova Classic) are bassy phones, although they are more than adequate in that department. Even the Lambda Nova Classic can sound pretty impressive on Pink Floyd's The Wall. with a basic amp such as the SRM3. However I have no real knowledge of the Lambda Pro.

 

[fraseyboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by edstrelow /img/forum/go_quote.gif What are you using to drive these phones? Your listings don't show anything for electrostatics.

Still haven't updated my sig.

I'm running them out of the SRD-7 Pro which I'm borrowing from Webbie (I also have an SRD-7 MK 2 but it only has one pro bias output and I want to compare with the Gamma Pro's) which is connected to a NAD T744 Home Theatre receiver.

One thing they do do well is Explosions in the Sky. Not as good as the DT880's as far as I can remember though...

Edit: The bass seems to be more now and, possibly because of this, they sound much fuller. Not sure if they just needed to be charged up after not being used for a while or what. I still don't like that treble though...

 

[doping panda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just can't seem to get used to them. They're too boring and laid back... The Gamma's present almost the same amount of detail but are a bit more up-front, whilst still maintaining a big soundstage (though admittedly not as big). Plus, the treble tends to be a bit fatiguing on certain songs, and also makes them sound thin. I won't condemn them this early. I'll give them a bit more of a listen... But... Are there any electrostats around the same price as the Lambda Pro's that have reasonable bass slam (ie around the same as the AD700), does NOT sound boring and has non recessed mids, whilst still maintaining detail? Or would I be better off sticking with my (awesome) AD700's and being a rich man, or trying some other dynamics (I did like those DT880's...)?

Lambda normal bias might actually be what you're looking for. The mids on the normal bias Lambda are fairly forward while the bass has reasonable impact imo. I haven't listened to the AD700 yet so I can't make a comparison, but the Lambda easily has more bass impact than the K500 and probably like 70 to 80% of the HD580 bass impact. The amount of impact will depend partly on the recording. A recording with emphasized bass like Tom Wait's Blood Money will have respectable bass impact depending on your source and amp while a bass shy recording will sound bass shy. Most modern rock records have a high bass response or just they're just loud in general so for a lot of the music to which you listen the normal bias Lambda will have at least respectable impact. Of course, it'll never be on the level of a Denon Dx000, but from what I read neither will the AD700. The level of detail of the normal bias Lambda isn't as much as that of an O2/BH combo or big money stat rig, but it's far better than that of any dynamic I've owned.

 

[fraseyboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by doping panda /img/forum/go_quote.gif Lambda normal bias might actually be what you're looking for. The mids on the normal bias Lambda are fairly forward while the bass has reasonable impact imo. I haven't listened to the AD700 yet so I can't make a comparison, but the Lambda easily has more bass impact than the K500 and probably like 70 to 80% of the HD580 bass impact. The amount of impact will depend partly on the recording. A recording with emphasized bass like Tom Wait's Blood Money will have respectable bass impact depending on your source and amp while a bass shy recording will sound bass shy. Most modern rock records have a high bass response or just they're just loud in general so for a lot of the music to which you listen the normal bias Lambda will have at least respectable impact. Of course, it'll never be on the level of a Denon Dx000, but from what I read neither will the AD700. The level of detail of the normal bias Lambda isn't as much as that of an O2/BH combo or big money stat rig, but it's far better than that of any dynamic I've owned.

They sound good. I'm quite happy with the amount of detail which my Lambda Pro's reveal. Any more would be excessive IMO. I wonder if I'd be able to do a straight out trade of my Lambda Pro's for some Lambda's...

Edit: Loving the Lambda Pro's more now. They must have changed due to SOMETHING. The bass is MUCH more noticeable. Still though, the treble is VERY piercing and fatiguing, especially on hot recordings like Pablo Honey. And the mids aren't quite up to scratch. Nice though. They're more energetic now.

Also, there is a very very low frequency humming noise coming from my Lambda Pro's which seems to have developed as I've been using them... It's not really that much of an issue since you can't hear it when music is playing. Any idea's what it could be?

 

[manaox2]

Don't know about the humming, possibly your speaker amp and the headphones are making it show. The adapters do take time to charge up the headphones.

I also don't know about the treble energy, but changing from different sources and amps can help. With the T1 and Gamma, the Signature I use now are really bright, while with the buffalo and the T1, they are just bright if that makes any sense. The treble energy doesn't bother me as much.

With the Lambda Pro, the mids are not forward, that and the "smoother" sound does make them laid back IMO. I think that has been a main beef for most others who have owned them as well. I really enjoyed them when I owned them.

 

[audiod]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are there any electrostats around the same price as the Lambda Pro's that have reasonable bass slam (ie around the same as the AD700), does NOT sound boring and has non recessed mids, whilst still maintaining detail?

Koss ESP-950 powered by Stax.

 

[edstrelow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audiod /img/forum/go_quote.gif Koss ESP-950 powered by Stax.

I would have to disagree on that. The 950 has adequate bass and is fairly balanced across other frequencies , but the 404 has more punch at the bottom but a somewhat prominent upper midrange.

At any rate if anyone disagrees maybe they will want to buy my set which has just been refurnished by Koss and is going up for sale, complete with a Koss amp and Stax adapter.

 

[fraseyboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by manaox2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't know about the humming, possibly your speaker amp and the headphones are making it show. The adapters do take time to charge up the headphones. I also don't know about the treble energy, but changing from different sources and amps can help. With the T1 and Gamma, the Signature I use now are really bright, while with the buffalo and the T1, they are just bright if that makes any sense. The treble energy doesn't bother me as much. With the Lambda Pro, the mids are not forward, that and the "smoother" sound does make them laid back IMO. I think that has been a main beef for most others who have owned them as well. I really enjoyed them when I owned them.

The humming is not from my source or my speaker amp, since it is still there when they are all turned off. It is also not present in the Gamma's, only the Lambda's.

 

[edstrelow]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fraseyboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif The humming is not from my source or my speaker amp, since it is still there when they are all turned off. It is also not present in the Gamma's, only the Lambda's.

Does it sound like 50Hz hum? Is your transformer powered from the mains? If so it may have a problem with its power transformer or a grounding problem somewhere in your system.

 

[fraseyboy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by edstrelow /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does it sound like 50Hz hum? Is your transformer powered from the mains? If so it may have a problem with its power transformer or a grounding problem somewhere in your system.

I've compared it to a 50hz sine wave and they sound pretty similar. The one in the Lambda's is extremely quiet and I can only just hear it.

Yeah, the transformer is powered from the mains. It could have been that I couldn't hear it before because the Lambda's weren't performing to their full (due to not being used for a while). I can't hear it at all on the Gamma's either since they probably don't extend as low. What can be done about grounding problems?

The good news is, I'm enjoying the Lambda's now. They certainly have more bass than the Gamma's now, though the mids aren't as good and the treble is more fatiguing for some reason.

Edit: Tried another transformer and it has the humming to, so its not a problem with the transformer.