I like the EST drivers when they're done well and subdued. The imaging is fantastic without the graininess I hear in lots of BAs. But I also wouldn't mind the planar taking the treble duties (and don't get me started on piezo). I do need a DD subwoofer though. Planar just doesn't slam like DD. And while capable, the original DD from the I3 does leave some room for improvement.... Maybe the smaller shell will help in that regard....
The other challenge of pairing a planar magnetic driver with electret drivers is the current requirements, as both like a considerable amount of it. Planar magnetic drivers that I've seen the raw specs for also tend to want to be crossed over at around 5kHz before their response deviates from their usual ruler-flat FR curve. This is a bit low for electrets to pick up from, as their impedance gets quite high below 7kHz, so they're really not great for lower treble performance. You would ideally want to bridge this with a midrange BA, which only further complicates matters. Of course, I certainly wouldn't try to dissuade a company from attempting a quad-brid, or would it be a tetra-brid? I don't really know which language root the community wants to use for that. The only other example I can think of is the MEST and MEST II, which feature bone conduction exciters along with DD, BA and EST.
You could try the Toneking P10. Their graph looks quite nice for a single 10mm planar magnetic driver and the price isn't that far off from the raw drivers themselves at low unit volumes.
they do need a amount of current, and mest and mest II are so expensive.
Thank you for your recommend, I will take a look and take a try if I can. I am considering dethonray T1 recently which have a single planar driver.
I think the Toneking P10 is one of the cheapest planar magnetic sets on the market at the moment, and they did at least do the decent thing of providing a graph in their listing. It took a bit of digging, but I did find a graph for the Dethonray Tender 1:
I will try T1 this weekend and I can get a P10 because my friend can help me, so after I try them I will post what I like and their sounds.I think the Toneking P10 is one of the cheapest planar magnetic sets on the market at the moment, and they did at least do the decent thing of providing a graph in their listing. It took a bit of digging, but I did find a graph for the Dethonray Tender 1:
compared to the graph for the Toneking P10:
Unfortunately, no third-party measurements of the Toneking P10, so prepare the amount of salt you feel appropriate for graphs from the manufacturer...
Wow! That escalated a little too quickly!
I agree entirely! That is why I love the I3s. In my view they are not permanently bass heavy, but when the track calls for it....that visceral bass just speaks to me.
Yeah. The i3 made my $900 RHA CL2 more or less obsolete.... The CL2 is much cheaper now but unless you really want a pure planar, I don't know why you'd pick it over the i3 other than fit.
A bit "ouch" though to make $900 redundant! I hope your Rah are still worth listening to.
Actually, I wouldnt worry the size affecting the soundstage a lot. Sony managed to keep the huge soundstage on the XBA-Z5 when they released the smaller XBA-N3 (both the drivers and physical size are smaller) albeit a little bit smaller but every other aspect got improved on it.
They did release the graph for the i3 Pro:
