KingSound

KS-H3

靜電頭戴式耳機

I was first introduced to the KingSound’s personal audio incarnations at local Chicago Audiophile Society meetup tucked into the back room of retailer Toska Audio. The electrostatic design they utilize is made up of the stuff from the ultra high end of the hobby, usually inhabited exclusively by the Stax brand. While the company’s 009 model headphone has been oft heralded as the best, the spicy price point keeps it out of the hands of many mainstream hobbyists.

Now, I will just cut straight to the chase on this one. I was immediately impressed by the sound I heard that fateful day, but I was even more impressed by the extremely competitive price of this new electrostat. While Stax could run you around $5k for the 009 and easily another $5k for proper amplification, the H-3 by KingSound runs a mere $875 on [Moon-Audio.com] and another $625 for the solid state M-10 matching amplifier (discounted together for $1,250). The now-discontinued Sennheiser Orpheus could be considered another entry in the ring, but the limited supply has now pushed the collectors demand for the product above its $16,000 initial asking price.

Now where most hobby purchases over a grand may have a hard time getting the term “value” to stick to them, the evidence in this case feels overwhelmingly positive. So where does sound quality fall?

The overall detail level is easily on par with the $1000+ range. Vocal presence feels surprisingly inviting while still keeping a whisper quite noise floor and finely tuned articulation within the midrange. The H-3 manages to convey that ever-so-subtle mouth noise that precedes singing passages and start/stop moments throughout a song. This granular information is presented in full view along with excellent timbre and balance moving into the treble. I found the high frequencies from the H-3 to be very even handed and leaning very hard on my EQ preferences for both quality and quantity. It felt right at home next to my reference pair of Audeze LCD-3s, with a slightly laid back extension compared to the new LCD-X’s (with Fazor technology). Balanced and fair, the KingSound excels at classical and jazz genres, strings sing and brush strokes come alive. High relative dynamics and a fine black background add to the already stunning dimensionality thanks to the impressive sonic resolution.