[tjkurita]

In my limited experience, I found electrostatic headphones (Stax OII specifically) to be a little "polite" without the punch of dynamic cans.  I had a Stax O2 setup with a 007T amp.  It was a really good sounding system, refined and delicate.  But that could also be considered a criticism.  It has a lot of speed but the not the race car kind of speed.  More like a really luxurious Mercedes kind of speed.  Qualia cans on a Dynamight has sportscar speed.  I could hear a difference between the two.  My dynamic setup (custom 6SN7 driving 300B, 5AR4 rectifiers, Tango OPTs, Senn. HD600 w/equinox cable) is, to my ears, better than just about any electrostatic setup because the refinement of electrostatics can be reached with a really good dynamic setup.  But the punch and impact of a dynamic setup cannot be matched by e-stats. 

 

[Anaxilus]

Admittedly I only have the Koss ESPs and have nothing to brag about for powering these to their utmost capability...yet.  However, as much as I love the character of what my stats bring I can't imagine preferring it regularly to a quality Ortho like an LCD2 or a well tuned TP.

 

[Solude]

Anytime I see O2 and no impact/polite I think amp or source.  The O2/KGSS combo is the highest impact combo I have.  Which in turn makes it my all time favourite rock rig.  I think what some people may not like about stats is the air.  Its almost like the effect a room has on a speaker rig.  Truth be told the real limitation of stats is the market.  Dynamics have lots of options, stats we have 1 maybe 2 in production cans, and 2 maybe 3 amps.  2 of which cost $5000, so really only one for those still paying a mortgage =P

 

[Happy Camper]

I've used the analogy that stats tickle the ear and dynamics slap them. The limitations are bass impact and midbass down musical weight. The newer stats speakers have cone woofers but still don't mesh as well as dynamics. Once the woofer takes over, you loose the details the stats offer.
 
Other than that, nothing.

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

I've used the analogy that stats tickle the ear and dynamics slap them. The limitations are bass impact and midbass down musical weight. The newer stats speakers have cone woofers but still don't mesh as well as dynamics. Once the woofer takes over, you loose the details the stats offer.
 
Other than that, nothing.

I've never liked "hybrid" electrostatic speakers, such as Martin Logans. Big, slow woofers and panels just don't mate. As far as I'm concerned, either go big with a full-sized Soundlab that has no need for dynamic woofers, or go home and buy a box.
 
As for headphones, the Omega II can either be pretty good, or it can be a world beater, depends on how much amp you can bring. Unfortunately none of the currently made Stax amps are up to the job, and the T2 is arguably the only one that was ever up to the job.

 

[Uncle Erik]

My criticism of 'stat headphones is how difficult it is to amp them. The best designs are very expensive and/or require you to build them yourself. You can get great dynamic headphones and a superior amp for much less and much easier. It's actually easier and cheaper to run electrostat speakers. Used Quads run about the same as a pair of O2s and you can pick from several great amps in the $1,000-$3,000 range used. In addition, you get a dipole soundstage that headphones will never match.

That being said, I'm hanging onto my O2s because they sound pretty damned good. I might tackle one of the more difficult 'stat amps in the future.

 

[Currawong]

Uncle Erik: The KGSSHV seems to be the go for people like us.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Uncle Erik: The KGSSHV seems to be the go for people like us.

I've been looking at it. But there are a bunch of tubes and transformers that need to be wired together before I get to it. I'm also thinking about talking to Frank Cooter about replicating one of his 'stat amps. He's done some amazing work. I'm comfortable going point-to-point with tubes, so that might be a better way to go.

 

[TheAttorney]

Quote:

Uncle Erik: The KGSSHV seems to be the go for people like us.

The KGSSHV may also be the way for me too, but only if they ditch those dreadful (usability wise) separate volume controls on either side of the KGSS
 

 

[Nebby]

Who do you mean by "they"? If you're building the KGSSHV then you have the option of using whatever volume control you want to use
 
Quote:

The KGSSHV may also be the way for me too, but only if they ditch those dreadful (usability wise) separate volume controls on either side of the KGSS
 

 

[Lil' Knight]

Quote:

The KGSSHV may also be the way for me too, but only if they ditch those dreadful (usability wise) separate volume controls on either side of the KGSS
 

A 4-gang volume pot would do the trick.

 

[TheAttorney]

Quote:

Who do you mean by "they"? If you're building the KGSSHV then you have the option of using whatever volume control you want to use

Maybe it's just my ignorance on these models, but I would only be interested in a ready built one, in which case "they" is headroom, which I suppose is mostly "he" Justin. So I'm refering to the KGSS for sale on the headroom site and I made an assumption that one day it's bigger brother would appear next to it.
Excuse the thread divert.
 

 

[Solude]

Its HeadAmp and the photo is old.  Mine from 2006 is a single 4ch DACT.

 

[spritzer]

Justin isn't Headroom, he runs Headamp.  I'm with you though, the dual volume controls are also very annoying.  I also despise stepped attenuators and would never buy and amp with one so 4-gang pots are it for me.  Not many types around but the TKD's are beyond excellent and I'm sure Justin would fit one in an amp for you instead of the dual DACT's.  
 
As for amp requirements, I'm the one who is mostly responsible for the "moar powah!!" line with ESP's but how many have tried the truly great budget amps with a SR-007?  I will never dismiss the effect of something like a BH or a T2 but the SRM-323 is very good and so is a rebuilt SRM-1 Mk2 (rebiased too) for the money.  The SRM-717 is by a mile the best deal going and I hope the 727 will be even better with a very simple mod. 

 

[goodvibes]

Quote:

I'm not an engineer either but volume is indeed just voltage, same goes for gain.  Voltage is the easy part to do, even the tiny Stax amps can drive the SR-007 to deafening levels while only being rated at 4W.  The hard part is power (as in current) and being able to supply enough current into any load presented by the transducers.  Those familiar with electrostatic speakers know their impedance varies wildly, the Quad ESL57 goes from 28ohm down to 2ohm depending on frequency.  Now this is after the step up transformer so multiply by a rather large number to show the true impedance swing they present.  
 
According to Ohm's law, if voltage is to stay fixed as impedance varies then the current has to increase and decrease accordingly.  The voltage is the volume level so if the amp can't supply enough current into a given load (say the bass) then the voltage drops and the amps control over the diaphragm is diminished.  That's why we have those huge heatsinks for these amps, to supply all the current the phones would ever need while running the amp with high Class A bias. 

True but the 57 is 28 ohms in the bass and 2 ohms at 18k. Stable amps don't even get warm and they're still voltage devices.

 
Quote:

I've never liked "hybrid" electrostatic speakers, such as Martin Logans. Big, slow woofers and panels just don't mate. As far as I'm concerned, either go big with a full-sized Soundlab that has no need for dynamic woofers, or go home and buy a box.
 
As for headphones, the Omega II can either be pretty good, or it can be a world beater, depends on how much amp you can bring. Unfortunately none of the currently made Stax amps are up to the job, and the T2 is arguably the only one that was ever up to the job.

Logans are just odd anyways. You can integrate subs to even fmore controlled Quads without issue if you know what you're doing.