Un nouveau fabricant/modèle de casque électrostatique ?

[Nicodim.dom]

NOUVEAU CASQUE ELECTROSTATIQUE: l' EH-1.2B. Avoir ICI tout un fil avec de magnifiques photos. Il coûterait environ 1 000 $:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/heaudi ... es-287277/

Rectificatif: Le modèle en photos est la version 1-3 qui était un prototype. La version actuelle 1-2, modèle définitif (?) est différente et apparemment mieux finie.
Voir le lien ci-dessous (photos en page 4 et ailleurs aussi)
http://www.head-case.org/meet_impressio ... ionfi-t2...

[Nicodim.dom]

Le voilà

By Nicodimdom

[Nicodim.dom]

Un compte-rendu: (pas de moi, comment écouter ça? )

"okay. i'll throw out some initial impressions. but bear in mind a few things. i was told that the headphones need 50-100 hours of break in (mine have about . i have little experience with electrostatic headphones. i have listened to the HE60, HE90, and O2 as well as various other stax headphones on a few occasions but always at meets. i have a general idea about what they do and how they sound, but i have never owned a pair myself. also, i am using what is probably considered not an ideal setup. i have a prototype solid state amp, the quality of which i am unclear of and which also has no burn in. the amp is set for 240 volts, so i am using a 500W voltage converter with the amp and the voltage converter has a european plug, so connected to that is a euro to u.s. adapter. add to that new RCA cables (nordost heimdalls) and a silver power cord (aural thrills), both of which have little break in and may be too clinical for this setup as well.

as for the construction, the EH-1.3 is very light and b/c it is almost all wood, i would be scared to drop it from any height. but the build quality actually seems fairly decent. as mentioned, the cups and outer frame are solid wood and the head band, top and lower portions, as well as the earpads are genuine leather. the ribbon cable is very flexible and of good length. i could not imagine it breaking or fraying. the cable is terminated with a quality silver neutrik (or neutrik looking) 5 pin plug. the only point of concern with the cable is where it connects to the left and right cups. i think a sharp pull here would not be a good idea. also included is an adapter, which i assume allows the headphone to operate on stax amps or amps with a stax plug. but since i am using a he audio amp, i connect the headphones directly to it without the adapter. the carrying case is very nice looking and sturdy - all hard plastic and metal. as for looks of the headphone, i agree that the 1.2 version, modelled closely on the HE90, looks nicer. but i'll get used to this look. although the headphone is very light and feels less than substantial, it has as nice snug fit on the head as there is some clamping force to the headphones and the cups swivel for additional fit. the headphone is very comfortable too. could easily wear it for a few hours straight.

as for sound, my initial impressions are the following. the bass is very good. not only quality but quantity. there is depth to the bass and it has good force. i would say it is easily on par with the HD650, but not as good as the L3000, which is the best bass i have heard from a headphone. no other headphone has the slam of the L3000. my general complaint with most lower end stax models (at least what i have heard) is they tend to sound a bit thin and slightly unmusical. the EH-1.3 has very good rhythm and a quick pace. it has some body to it as well but definitely not the rich, layered texture of the 650, which is something i find unique to that headphone.

the sound is forward. almost like a grado. you seem to be in the first row or close to it. the soundstage is average. not bad but not spacious. no where on K501/701 level. however, the left to right presentation is very good. very wide, like an HP1. it can place an instrument or sound effect a few feet to one side or throw it some several feet away. imagine sitting in the first few rows of a stage where the stage is long (left to right) but not deep. that is what the presentation seems to be like. there is also height. just the overall depth seems limited.

the instrument separation is also as good or better than any of my dynamic headphones (balanced or single ended). voices have great articulation. you can hear clearly the syllables of the words being pronounced and sung. closely related is detail. the detail is very good but strangely not always sharp. on some tracks, there seems to be a somewhat echo feel to voices. there is also a bit of brightness to everything, esp of some female vocals where the highs go high. this is possibly due to the newness of the headphone and amp and nordost (speed of light) cables and silver power cord. may experiment with some copper at a later point.

percussion and cymbals and electronics (and voices) sound very good on this headphone. as mentioned, the bass is surprisingly very good. the headphone also seems very fast. violin is so quick on this thing. not a note is missed. it has great attack one would say. but i'm so sure how good the decay is. the headphone does not want to slow down. on acoustic guitar and piano there is little resonance after the chord or key is struck. acoustic sounds better on my grados and piano may be a weak point. i actually purchased the EH-1.3 for classical. the violin pieces and works for solo voice i listened to sounded very good, but i'm not sure they sounded any better than my balanced K701 - my main classical phone at the moment. i somehow had it in my mind that stats were ideally suited for that genre. but my initial impression is that the EH-1.3 may turn out to be an electrostatic rock headphone - and a very good one i might add.

that's it for now."

Plus que prometteur, non

[Nicodim.dom]

Diaphragme de 0,5µ.
Pour rappel: Sennheiser HE90 = 1µ
Stax = 1,5µ

Où s'arrêtera-t-on ?

Et ça se branche sur les amplis pour Stax.

[Nicodim.dom]

Pas automatiquement de chez Stax. Ex: Le Woo audio un excellent partenaire si l'on en croitles forumiens US qui ont fréquenté le salon audio de NY récemment.


By Nicodimdom

[Sky of September]

A voir la finition, on croirait une réalisation d'amateur et le design s'inspire fortement de Sennheiser...

[Nicodim.dom]

Ta remarque est vraie concernant Senheiser et le concepteur ne s'en cache pas vraiment: le HE90 a été son modèle avec l'envie de faire encore mieux. Pour la finition, c'est plus contrasté et les avis diffèrent: Ceux qui l'ont touché et essayé au salon de NY ont l'air de dire que les critiques de finition sont infondées. D'ailleurs, as-tu vu toutes les photos publiées dans les liens indiqués? certaines montrent qu'ils ne doit pas (physiquement ) être si mal que ça. Comme il est encore qualifié de prototype ou presque, il a pu y avoir quelques problèmes cosmétiques. Attendons qu'il vienne chez nous... au double du prix pour voir!

Bon dimanche

[dub]

Fait main dit-on:
http://www.head-direct.com/upload/2008F ... CT1346.jpg

http://www.head-direct.com/product_detail.php?p=22#

Ceux qui ont le modèle précédent 1.3 peuvent le retourner chez Head-Direct pour up grad.
~650€ livré chez soi — ensuite, faut trouver l'ampli qui l'alimentera (le brancher sur un ampli de puissance est sans doute la meilleur solution).

Vue la finesse du diaphragm, la longévité ne me paraît pas assurée.

Cdlt

[Nicodim.dom]

Fait main dit-on:
http://www.head-direct.com/upload/2008F ... CT1346.jpg

http://www.head-direct.com/product_detail.php?p=22#

Ceux qui ont le modèle précédent 1.3 peuvent le retourner chez Head-Direct pour up grad.
~650€ livré chez soi — ensuite, faut trouver l'ampli qui l'alimentera (le brancher sur un ampli de puissance est sans doute la meilleur solution).

Vue la finesse du diaphragm, la longévité ne me paraît pas assurée.

Cdlt

Je ne sais pas où tu as vu qu'on pouvait le brancher sur un ampli classique. Peut-être, j'ai effectivement lu quelque part qu'il était livré avec un adaptateur (peut-être le premier modèle) mais sur le site ce n'est pas mentionné. Sur les photos il est toujours branché sur un ampli du style STAX ou destiné aux Stax (580V comme les casques Stax). En tout cas il fonctionnera avec un ampli de salon c'est sûr avec un adaptateur pour STAX à sortie PRO comme l'Illusion, c'est sûr.

Quant à la finesse du diaphragme, tu as peut-être raison mais rien n'est moins sûr. L'usage le dira. Pour moi 1,5µ (Stax ) me paraissait déjà incroyable et l'usage montre que ça ne pose pas de problème. Je me garderai donc de tout à priori.

Pas cher en tout cas s'il est du niveau du Sehnneiser

[Nicodim.dom]

D'autres avis, autre fil:
http://www.head-case.org/meet_impressio ... 512.0.html

Avec en particulier des photos (du casque définitif = modèle 1-2 au salon de NY) en page 4 (pour ceux qui ne veulent pas tout lire )

J'ai d'ailleurs rectifié mon premier message dont les photos du lien indiqué montraient le prototype (1-3). C'est sûr quel maintenant il ressemble vraiment au Sehnn

[dub]

Je ne sais pas où tu as vu qu'on pouvait le brancher sur un ampli classique.

Pour les mêmes raisons qu'on pouvait (et qu'on peut encore) brancher un électrostatique Jecklin sur un ampli de puissance avec l'adaptateur adéquat…

L'usage le dira. Pour moi 1,5µ (Stax ) me paraissait déjà incroyable et l'usage montre que ça ne pose pas de problème. Je me garderai donc de tout à priori.

C'est très exactement ce que je voulais dire: ça sera sans doute aussi "inusable" qu'un Stax: peut-être pas plus — mais certainement pas moins………

Cdlt

[Nicodim.dom]

Un avis encore où on le dit au moins égal au 02 de Stax (?!):

"They have a huge soundstage and they are crystal clear. The bass is slightly lacking in the same the way the bass is on a HE-90 comparing to a HE-60. I tried to compare them to my Baby-O's using a Stax 007t with 2 pro bias ports, but each time I have to volume match, so I lose the memory of each comparison. The soundstage is vertical as well as "back of head to tip of nose". Some people might feel that this is not a good thing when comparing to live music (except what you hear in Carnegie Hall). I personally find the soundstage quite satiating.

To sum it up, anyone who already owns a stat amp, should have one of these in their stable due to their low cost and close proximity of being an Orpheus clone. They are extremely comfortable and have no fatigue factor, actually quite the opposite. They are light and hold nicely without clamping on my head even while lying down. The detail is there and I can't really find anything downsides about them except for 2 flaws.
Where the cables enter each cup, there is no shrink tubing or epoxy, so there is a chance that a mistaken "cord stepping" could cause the wires to be stressed. Also the 3 connecting wires to the stator/membranes are exposed inside the cups and I feel they should be covered to separate 600V biasing from a wet head or dust build up. I have discussed this with the manufacturer, so we will see if my issues are addressed when the production model surfaces.

The current model comes bundled with a SS amp for ~ $1350, which I found was bright during some extremely high crescendos, but later found out that it was a 240V version with a Rat Shack stepup transformer that was underpowered for the task. It had 2 40 watt transformers, when it is believed that it needs 2 60 watt. That, plus the amp only had a couple of hours of play before the meet. Being that it needs a 600V biasing, I'm happy using my GES or a 007t as a substitute.

Taking into consideration that it is a reverse engineered (I assume) clone, for the money they are equal to or better than the more expensive 60's and O2's and are a keeper. Of course the build quality isn't up to Sennheiser standards, but then again, I feel that the 90's swivel cups are flaky and could have been better built for $7500 and screws fall out easily on the Orpheus..

I have some stats:

Type : Electrostatic open-air type headphone
Frequency Range : 10-50000Hz
Capacitance, including cable : 140pF
Sensitivity : 100dB/100V r.m.s.
Earpad : Leather
Bias voltage : 600 V / DC"

[Nicodim.dom]

Finalement, en parcourant les différents posts US, je n'arrive pas à savoir réellement à quoi ressemble le casque qu'ils livrent actuellement. Peut-être bien au modèle tout bois de mon premier post car à en juger par le message suivant d'un forum US, ce serait la première version (1-2) qui ressemblerait au Sehnn. Suite aux remarques l'appelant le clône du HE90, l'aspect aurait changé. Voici ce message ci-dessous:

"The "He" in HeAudio is called that because the maker of these headphones is Mr. He, actually pronounced Mr. "Heh".
As far as soundstage is concerned, the 1.2's have the biggest soundstage of any headphone I have ever listened to (JP118101 might attest to this). They go from the floor to the ceiling and from the back of your head to the tip of your nose. I believe, and hope that the forward presentation of the 1.3's will change once the headphones have some time on them.
The whole reason for the design change is our fault, because we (those who saw and tried them at meets) all were calling them "HE-90 clones" which concerned Mr. He and caused the design change. If these don't warm up and take on the same sound characteristics of the 1.2's maybe he (He) will re-release the 1.2's. I was told that these were a project in the works since 2002 and there were 4 different prototypes, with the 1.2's yielding the best results and Mr. He had only limited use of a HE-90 (there were little in China).
I put 12 hours on them yesterday (4 on and 8 off) and the sound is changing drastically for the better.
I am bringing the 1.2's to "Mayberrry on Acid" in 2 weeks and neilvg should have his 1.3's any day now, and hopefully he will burn them in and we can do a serious comparison that will be posted in the meet impressions.
I am using them through my Woo Audio GES and am probably hearing a different sound that vcoheda is, for the moment.
Maybe David can come to my house this week and we can see if there's a difference."

[Nicodim.dom]

By Nicodimdom
Avec l'ampli prototype du fabricant non commercialisé encore.

[Nicodim.dom]

Lequel est lequel?