Electrostatic Headphones - Warwick Acoustics

Electrostatic headphones produce low distortion and incredibly accurate sound. The larger ultra-thin diaphragms are very responsive resulting in an incredible transient and tight bass response. They typically have an extended frequency response spanning beyond the range of human hearing.

Warwick Acoustics first product was the excellent Sonoma One system, its name derived from the DSD recording and mastering workspace initially developed by Sony. Warwick Acoustics created the revolutionary Model One to deliver exceptional reproduction of today’s ever popular High Res audio formats.

Warwick Acoustics was formed by several skilled enthusiasts, including David Kawakami, Gus Skinas, Andrew Demery and David Walstra, who met while working at Sony on DSD and SACD projects. Chief designer, Dan Anagnos works for WAT Ltd.

Their headphone systems are so good due to the exclusive patents held by Warwick Acoustics for their products. Starting with electrostatic panels; this High-Precision Electrostatic Laminate (HPEL) transducer which are constructed in the UK. Their systems differ from conventional thinking in that instead of employing a thin membrane with a conductive layer between the conductive grids, whereas the HPEL uses a thin malleable metalised laminate film for the “front” grid. With HPEL the shape of the insertion crafts eight separate “drum-skin” diaphragms from an individual piece of film while a stainless-steel mesh forms the back grid.

Warwick Acoustics have been able to refine the features of the ‘drum-skins’ to give diverse resonant frequencies. Each cell is acoustically autonomous, but driven in parallel. The sound combines but the liberated resonance average out, evading large resonant peaks in the audio band (as you would be evident with a single driver). The result if these technological advances is that the panels remain linear upto 60kHz, and the panels bring amazing levels of consistency and matching between the transducers, less than 0.8db difference across the channels.

The materials for Warwick Acoustics products are chosen with care and acoustic performance in mind. The M1’s housing, termed “earcups”, are constructed of injected magnesium that is a third lower in weight and features superior sonic characteristics compared to aluminium. The earpads are top-grain Cabretta sheepskin, hand-sewn in Germany, and tanned by Pittards in the UK, which has been tanning leathers since 1826. The headband is made from Nylon 12 (aka Polyamide 12). The Nylon 12 also acts to dampen noise and vibration.

The aim of Warwick Acoustics headphones is “to convey high-res audio in unmatched sound quality and to offer the best in listener comfort.” Their headphones systems take the brand closer to an eventual near-perfect headphone transducer, accomplishing uncoloured and reference-quality audio regardless of the source.

Electrostatic headphones apply a static charge evenly across an ultralight film that floats between two perforated stator plates, without touching it for minimal interference. The electrons move the film, instead of moving around it. In contrast, conventional headphones usually have a coil of wire inside a magnet, glued to a stiff cone or dome and secured with a springy suspension, all of which is moved by electromagnetism.

The transducers on electrostatic headphones convert audio signals into corresponding sound waves. The stator plates are made of conductive metal and hold alternating electric charges. The diaphragm is attracted to the negatively charged stator while being repelled by the positively charged stator causing it to move back and forth between the plates.

The rapid transient response of the driver results in transparent, natural and detailed sound. This driver weighs less than the air around it and has no resonances or energy storage. The small acoustic space of a headphone lets it cover the entire audible spectrum without crossovers for low distortion.

Regular headphones amplifiers typically work to boost signal strength at a low impedance matching the headphones. Electrostatic headphone amplifiers uniquely send the signal to the step-up stage, raising the voltage of the audio signal to fully charge the plates, before delivering it to the electrostatic headphones. They also supply the diaphragm with the DC biasing voltage required to hold a fixed charge (usually 200 VDC to 700 VDC).

All electrostatic headphones require a dedicated high-voltage headphone amplifier to produce sound.