Recent content by Tim

I am not so big on streaming, mostly sacd and cd’s. I listen almost exclusively with headphones so true soundstage is not there, but when I do use speakers, soundstage is better with higher resolution. But ultimately it is down to the source and how well it was mastered.

It should not be a touchy situation! It is a product from a well known manufacturer. Now if it was from let’s say from John and Abdul salvage and towing, I would be concerned! Us in the estat crowd are an odd bunch, but I am more in the let me listen to it or read people’s honest opinions...

So I think I will wait a bit before buying one. I would like to hear more reviews and member’s experience.

Outside of used, there is not much in the way of entry level e-stat amps. I use the SRD7 Pro which a couple of different speaker amps to drive it. I really think there is a need for a nice entry level amp that shows the advantages of electrostatic headphones. The now discontinued Stax SRM-...

A pro headphone will play at normal bias,280v, just lower volume and dynamics. To the best of my knowledge, doing so should not harm the headphones.

Yeah that’s what happens when you do that

General rule of thumb, if the amps bias is the same or lower than what headphones bias is rated you generally ok. Using the reverse, higher bias amp than the headphones that have a lower bias, then you get burned and or stuck diaphragm on the stators. Sometimes even smoke!

Stax bias for pro is 580v, the Koss ESP950 is 600v. I should point out that the prior Koss e-stats had a much lower bias, I have heard that they are 400v or less. So your Koss ESP950 is safe on a Stax pro bias.

Any new info on this

I am eager to see this work out.

The Nectar is a great deal when the basic model was $349. However, the Hive version at $649 faces stiff competition. The Koss ESP950 is a stellar value when it is under $700, I have them. Even the Stax basic setup is very good.

I still have one dedicated CD player an onkyo 18 bit player plus a Sony DiscMan with optical out.

No way to prove other than direct comparison. Just my observation.

I would argue, that other than different mastering methods, headphones may not give you enough information. Where I am going with this? Simple soundstage with speakers is where you can mostly hear differences. You will not so much hear sonic differences as you can hear differences in how...

I guess you could say that glass cables are not needed at home. Not sure how much the the error correction kicks in with plastic optical, but way back when many at Stereophile folks stated that they perceived a difference for the better with glass optical cables. One can buy glass cables, 3...