GRAMOPHONE DREAMS
At noon on a cloudless, ridiculously bright 97° day, John Atkinson and I auditioned Audeze’s new-but-not-yet-released CRBN electrostatic headphones. The audition took place at a sneak preview hosted by Audeze’s principal, Sankar Thiagasamudram, in a sleeping room at New York’s hipster-chic Ace Hotel on 29th Street and Broadway. Décor in this unusual sleeping room included a bathtub with feet, an antique wood ironing board, a vintage Gibson guitar, and a working stereo system with a Music Hall turntable and an assortment of vintage LPs.
On my way there, I was remembering some of my lifetime experiences with electrostatic transducers. People who know me know that I’ve always been partial to electrostatic loudspeakers and headphones, but I’ve never found any that engage me fulltime, long-term. Over the years, my two pairs of Quad ESL loudspeakers taught me to enjoy the pleasures of a scintillating, perfectly detailed midrange. The original MartinLogan CLS (not the II or IIA) and the Stax ELS F-81 electrostatics took that learning to a higher level: Both speakers thrilled me with their raw, succulent, ultradetailed presentation. Unfortunately, both tended toward odd or gone-missing bottom octaves. Worst of all, they were beamy. And compressed. And staticky. But I loved them anyway.
Likewise, I’ve been drawn to Stax’s SR-009 headphones. I’ve always wanted to love them, but I found the original 009 unsatisfying for daily use. I regard the current SR-009S, which makes proper bass, as one of the most revealing, exciting-to-use headphones of all time.
What I am trying to say is: I’ve been thrilled forever by the quick, vivid beauty of electrostatic transducers, but sooner than later they start sounding like electrostatic transducers. At that point, I go
