I’m interested in getting entry level Electrostatic headphones. I want the Koss set on Massdrop but there is an issue with DHS apparently doing a messed up thing where they massively overcalculate shipping and duties and you end up paying way more than necessary to bring them across the border.
Are there any other good quality, affordable entry level ES headphones that folks recommend?
That’s unfortunate, I really like the koss 95x. The stax srs-3100 is solid but lacking a bit of low end with a strange timbre, but it is a good place to start
I was looking for electrostats and like for some reason, companies like Hifiman and Sennheiser only make them at two prices 8000 dollars and like OH MY GOD THAT’S A DOWN PAYMENT ON A HOUSE expensive. I’ll be sure to check out the Stax srs 3100. I’ll also look for used stuff on Ebay or Canuck Audio Market
I’ll also look into if I can get the Drop Koss shipped to a US friend who can then fedex or UPS them to me.
Edit: It seems that Hifiman makes less expensive Electrostats But still WAY too over priced and doesn’t come with an Energiser.
There is a hifi audio store not too far from me that has a pair of Stax SR 507’s for 300 dollars off. Are they any good?
Edit: Holy crud the energizers are expensive. lol
The jade 2 system from hifiman is around 2500 usd with the headphones and energizer
They are allright, but imo the l300 is a bit more refined. I still prefer the koss though
I’m gonna talk to my friend about shipping them the Koss and then having them send them to me. For the price point. Even with the like, extra 200 that might get tacked on they are still the cheapest electrostats by a mile it seems.
The jades look great but with Exchange rate adding another 25 Percent onto the cost plus 15 percent HST it gets pretty high.
Yeah, the koss is a great bang for buck option. Another choice could be used systems, but I would check to see if they are actually well maintained first
Also you are putting together quite the setup lol
lol yeah. I still need to purchase a better set of regular headphones that I can use for just listening, I’m still using my HD280 pros. Aside from the Koss Electrostatics, I’m probably gonna get the 660s and maybe a closed back headphone of some kind.
I find the tech behind electrostatic headphones fascinating and always kinda wanted to have one. I don’t really know anything about Planar Magnetic headphones but I’m gonna be doing research into them too.
Essentially you can think of a planar as a mix between the aspects of a dynamic and an estat. Kinda sound that way too. Personally I think that planars kind of give the best of both worlds sometimes, with great detail and speed, and if tuned correctly a more natural timbre and frequency response
That’s really interesting. Are there any Planars you recommend?
Well, what type of sound signature do you prefer? And would it be more for music enjoyment or studio work?
This would be more for music enjoyment and maybe watching films.
What about a budget? And what amp would you be using again?
I’ll be using the built in amp on my hugo tt2. I know planars don’t play well with any of the tube amps/kits I’ve been looking at.
As for budget. Midrange, like… 500 max. Maybe 700.
The hifiman sundara is great if you want a detailed brigter neutral signature, the audeze lcd 2 classic is a warm and bassy signature. If you want a larger presentation, the hifiman edition xx is great for a very large planar. The sendy aiva is a very in your face and aggressive v shaped planar
I think the LCD 2 classic sounds more to my taste.
Zeos posted a review today of an Aiva clone that’s apparently very good and less aggressive than the real ones
The blon b20
Still a bit skeptical, but interesting. Just at their normal price you could get a b stock sendy for 100 more, so it doesn’t make sense to me
While I have not personally heard them, people that I trust report good things from the kaldasresearch RR1. These headphones probably require a beefy estat amp though.
Lol, HD280 Pros are so easy to beat. I used and loved mine for more than 10 years (2 pairs), but… Prepare to be blown away by anything and everything suggested in this thread!