Planar Magnetic vs Electrostatic Headphones Explained

[@audio46]

Team Planar or Team Electrostatic?

[@HermeticAscetic22]

Both. 😁

[@Usmvalor3]

I only ever listened to Stax's offering in my local audio store. But in home, I'm Hifiman... man. Owning 400se's and edition xs's atm.

[@jsfbay1]

I had a pair of Stax headphones in the early 1990's (they looked a lot like the ones you showed in this video) and they were fabulous! They were a tad delicate, as in you had to handle them carefully so as to not break them. But that's the only negative I can think of besides the crazy high price. I don't know the model number (I sold them a couple years later so I could buy some other audio toy) but I wouldn't hesitate to buy their current offering!!!

[@antonyserranosoto9099]

Team Planar

[@soumen700]

Team Electrostatic

[@Rick-pi9zn]

as a more visual person I would have loved to see some animations, but you explained it in such a exciting way that I could easily follow!

[@audio46]

Thanks for the comment! I also would have really liked some animations lol but alas all I had at my disposal was my hand motions!

[@danialhussin7747]

When design is involved. A visual aid would help alot.

[@betchbetchington6019]

I feel like a lot of people prefer dynamics because that's what they've heard their entire life but then I also must admit that bass "feels" much better with dynamic drivers in general, but it doesn't actually sound better. I have many headphones of all 3 types but I always come back to my Stax SR-007A because nothing else gives me that level of detail. If I want to feel bass I'm just not going to use headphones, period. I've also always appreciated nice clean airy treble over bass though so that's probably why I love electrostatics so much. They're definitely not for everyone, they're just something else.

[@U.S.A.]

I like bassy earphones, I don't have any headphones yet, but because they have bigger drivers, headphones are probably bassier and because of this I'm planning to buy a pair of headphones and I've heard this on the internet that planar headphones are bassier than the dynamics but you've said that "bass "feels" much better with dynamic drivers", so I should or shouldn't get a planar headphone if I want to get a very bassy headphone?

[@betchbetchington6019]

@@U.S.A. Well the quality of the bass will be much better on planars, they can be much faster than a dynamic driver generally could because a planar driver is much lighter than a dynamic driver. However that's where they fall short of dynamic drivers. You get way more "punch" or "slam" out of a dynamic driver because of it's weight. If you think about how a driver produces sound, it has to move back and forth really fast to create those frequencies. So a lighter driver (Planar) will have much less trouble moving back and forth without distorting but they will be moving that air with less force than a dynamic driver would. It's like comparing an 8inch sub to a 12inch sub. The 8inch may be able to reproduce all the same frequencies as the 12inch sub, but it will not have the same impact as the 12inch sub. Planar driver: Physically lighter, more agile, better texture in the bass but has a little less punch than dynamic. Dynamic driver: Physically heavier, a bit sloppier but punches harder. Personally I would go for planar over dynamic, it's not like they lack bass, it just might not scramble your brain like a good dynamic driver could. However, all drivers are different. There are bad planar drivers and there are amazing dynamic drivers. I don't think you would be disappointed if you decided to get a pair with planar drivers though. They're still plenty bassy and you have the advantage of big bass not muddying all the other frequencies.

[@RetroPlus]

I would love to try a pair of planar headphones just to see if they're worth it

[@philipeisenberg6984]

Finely explained.

[@halimj7]

Bismillah I have tried several Planars, but my favorite headphones are dynamics. Generally dynamics have more natural decay and more impact in the lower frequencies. Sometimes these qualities are combined with great speed, detail, separation, lower impedance and a more compact form factor, like the Utopia. For me this makes dynamics a better choice overall.

[@audio46]

I totally respect that view. Sometimes Planars just sound a bit too much like a Planar and I want the more familiar, natural sound of good old dynamic driver

[@aqwandrew6330]

planar better

[@iamhereyouarehere]

Isn't regular music haram for most people?

[@electricsnut]

The best part of electrostats is the very fast response, frequency response doesn’t tell the story

[@gingkaize]

Very nice explanation! Easy to understand and well delivered

[@audio46]

Thank you so much! Glad this was helpful

[@maxking3148]

Hyperx Cloud orbit s was my into to planar drivers, my favorite pair I've ever had

[@ALEXStudio5680]

+ I have this headset)

[@xhappymasksalesmenx4092]

Good tips for people that like planars but feel the bass isn’t hitting. EQ it. Trust me. Planars eq like nothing else because of the low distortion. It really thumps with some good eq while maintaining all the other good qualities.

[@storsenderchannel]

this doesn't rip the aluminium traces of the mylar after a while? Looking at my Ananda, the traces look very very frail

[@stefanhansen5882]

Great explanation!

[@audio46]

Thanks so much! Hope this was helpful even without visuals

[@roroflowazoro]

best video explaining the diffrent types of drivers

[@cochiesteban1]

i upgraded from audio technica m50x to monolith m570 (planar magnetics) and ITS SICK! WTF SOUNDS SO GOOD I DONT GIVE A FK THOSE WEIGHT 500 GRAMS, COMFORTABLE ASF

[@audio46]

You've fallen in love! It's true those magnets can get quite heavy

[@egeayvala1799]

thank you fellow stranger on the web,it is not confusing at all at least to me,because i have dissasembled about most of the stuff i have broken in my life,it got your points clear (y)

[@RobHTech]

thanks for the vid. Can't you dial back your recording volume so that you don't sound like you are screaming at me?

[@musclecarfan74]

Good explanation

[@drachnem2385]

Good breakdown, I watched this with Electrostatic cans ;)

[@mark4837]

Planars and electrostatic aren’t going to have as good low end as dynamic headphones will your Planars and electrostatic will play kids and highs better. So if your music has nice lows you’re not going to get as much out of them. And before you say dynamics are muddy they all aren’t. Electrostatic better highs. Planars better kids. And dynamic better lows. So I guess it’s all about what your preference is. And I don’t think dynamics are just for hip hop or rap. My dynamics sound great of club and trance. If I want to listen to classical i prefer Planars . So I can get mid range and good highs

[@audio46]

Thanks for the comment!

[@aqwandrew6330]

planar low end is better than dynamic

[@victoriadelacroix8570]

The midrange curve of electrostatic headphones is extremely flat. This means that it can restore the midrange frequency very well. High frequency, although not as good as genelec 8 series speakers. But also the best performance in the headphones. stax's low-frequency strategy is to cut out all the parts that do not perform well. So the curve below 60hz will become a big downhill. In addition, in Japan, stax electrostatic headphones will be sold at a much lower price than Europe and the United States. Even the price of the L300 is only equivalent to a Sennheiser HD660. The price of the L700 is only equivalent to a HD800s.

[@DroidLocks6971]

I Am Enjoying My LetShouer S12s IEMs

[@laika25]

Some drawings/graphics 'd be great help

[@Netanel55]

now I feel better with my audeze mobius

[@mechantl0up]

Trying to explain these operating principles without a visual presentation aka graphics shows how cheaply this was made. The person speaking is well aware of this and is clearly struggling despite using visual terms and comparisons and hands and all.

[@hanseriksson6736]

If you skipped the background music it would be easier to follow.

[@jacknelson3619]

Animated graphics would have been a big help.

[@coopergirard7531]

Mehmed