Moving to a dynamic speaker from a Electrostatic

Czar,

I have old Stax phones still that I use regularly and just added a set of Sennheiser Momentum phones, which deliver the expected Sennheiser sound out of a more portable and easy to drive package than some other Senns.

Sennheiser and Stax are two different beasts with two different sounds for sure, but I do enjoy each on their own terms in that each is VERY GOOD, but in different ways.

Headphones are interesting in that no two probably sound exactly the same, yet so many can be quite enjoyable. REinforces to me what I already believe in that there is no absolute sound. Just like there is no absolute wine, ice cream, car, woman, etc. But with headphones, there is a huge # of very good ones to choose from these days, geared towards different users.

Interesting stuff.

I think my price point will be near 15k and less.My system right now has audiovalve challenger monoblocks with kt88's and I also have a pair of roland model 6 monoblocks so I can go either way but maybe leaning to going back to solid state. I always find myself recommending Merlin speakers to people so it will probally be one I will be considering as well as Aerial, YG Acoustics, Focal, Wilson, Nola, Von Schweikert and Verity.

I would recommend that you also consider the Daedalus Ulysses, which I believe is presently just slightly above the price point you indicated. Or, if the Ulysses is too large for the space or more expensive than you would prefer, consider the smaller Athena model.

The Daedalus speakers manage to combine a rich, full-bodied, natural and unfatiguing tonal character with speed and resolution that I don't think you would be disappointed with. They would also be compatible matches with pretty much any well-designed amplifier known to mankind other than very low power SETs, although the two models you have are most likely more powerful than necessary (the Ulysses are 98 db/1W/1m; the Athena 96 db).

I've never had electrostatic speakers in my system, but I regularly use a pair of older Stax electrostatic headphones. Obviously their presentation is very different than that of my Ulysses, and each has its strong points and weak points relative to the other, but when I listen to the speakers it's rare that I find myself missing the speed, resolution, clean transient response, etc., of the headphones to a significant degree.

Regards,
-- Al

I haven't made the move, but for me the obvious answer is: Thiels.

Stats do things that no other speaker design on the planet can do. The maggies are nice but don't have that incredible micro inner detail that makes you tingle. I don't think you can get the sound out of a box that you do our of a stat panel - for anywhere near the amount of money. I agree on the Raidho's and I feel that you would need to spend much more than $15k to approach the stat sound out of a pair of cabinets.

Take a look at the speakers I have used in my system pics and if you wish to discuss any of them feel free to contact me.