Electrostatic Headphones

Electrostatic headphones are frequently considered the most transparent, natural, detailed sounding listening devices possible. This is due to the extremely quick transient response of their ultra-thin driver elements, which unlike traditional headphone and speaker drivers, lack heavy wire coils and magnets.  Instead, the electrostatic driver is charged with a high DC bias voltage (typically 580V on most models), and moves in response to a high voltage electric field created by opposing stators on either side.

The small acoustic space of a headphone or earphone enables the electrostatic driver to cover the full audible spectrum without crossovers, making for an incredibly transparent and low-distortion sound.  Bass can be tricky for electrostatic headphones, however it has improved greatly in recent years on models, particularly like the Dan Clark Audio Corina and STAX SR-X9000.

All electrostatic headphones require a dedicated high-voltage heapdphone amplifier, like our flagship Blue Hawaii SE, to produce their sound. Hence they do not come with a standard headphone plug on their cables.