Article: HiFiMan Jade II Electrostatic Headphone System Full Review

[skatbelt]

52 minutes ago, gmgraves said:

Personally, I don't see anything wrong with either the build quality of the headphone set in general (that's 'phones and amplifier/energizer) or the headphone cable in particular. 

 

A non-detachable cable is this price category is a laugh..

[skatbelt]

9 hours ago, gmgraves said:

Not with electrostatic Headphones it's not. The cable carries ~600 volts of polarizing voltage and you don't want a detachable cable with that kind of voltage. It could come loose while one is listening and give the listener a nasty shock. The Koss ESP925s don't have detachable cables, neither do any of the Stax ES offerings including their flagship headset, the SR-009S at more than $4000 for the headset alone!. The Sonoma ES 'phones do have a detachable cable as do the Mr. Speakers ES phones, both of which are much more expensive than the Jade IIs, but I wouldn't want either due to to the possibility of shock. BTW, neither of HiFiMan's Shangra-la models, the $50,000 set nor the $8000 set have detachable cords. Believe me, it's not an economic issue with HiFiMan (after all, their cheapest planar magnetic offerings come with detachable cords), it's a safety and liability issue that does not exist with dynamic phones. 

 

I agree with you that safety is very important. So care has to be taken into designing the connector for these higher voltages. Mr. Speakers for instance did and I would use their hp's without hesitation. Actually if it comes to build quality and quality control a lot can be said about Hifiman. A reviewer from Asia actually reported some kind of leakage from Jade II and this was acknowledged by Hifiman.

 

Headphone cables have to deal with a lot of movement during their lifespan and this can create wear and defects, especially close to the connectors. Same as with chargers for smartphones, laptops etc. A detachable cable makes easy replacement possible. And above that, most audiophiles care about experimenting and finetuning with different cables designs....!