Samson SR950

nickpinla

New Head-Fier
Pros: Great sound quality out of the box.
Cons: Design! LOL! It does look like they cut of the rubber end off the plunger.
First off, I am not in the habit of reviewing headphones but these headphones are worth thrice more than what I paid for. I like to listen to good audio i.e. I have separates as my main audio system and value good sound. The headphones I have are the JBL Synchros S500, Sennheiser Momentum 2 Over ear, Samson SR850 (modded), Sennheiser HD598 (now with my brother). 
 
I am running this with the Fiio X5 1st Gen and I listen to all FLAC files and let me tell you that this combo will be my main listening combo for a long time to come. The X5 has no problems driving these 32Ohms cans. I find these headphones to be open sounding than most closed headphones. The SQ did tend to get better with use. The bass response seemed to get more accurate over time. About the bass, it's tight as hell and doesn't seem to linger thus very quick. I listen to a variety of music from The Beatles to Dire Straits to Diana Krall and the vocals are superb and accurate. The treble is smooth and not at all harsh. The treble is there and I believe in the advertised frequency response. While listening to Jazz or Classical, there is exceptional clarity to instruments. Nothing sounds muffled or subdued. I think this is also in large part due to the source i.e. the X5. 
 
I am not one of those to claim that I am hearing things I didn't hear before 
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 but what I hear out of these cans is crystal clear and extremely satisfactory. I HATE the design of these cans and will change i.e. add some white element to it but in the meantime, this will be my last headphone purchase for some time to come.
C
chinof3
Would you have an idea if they are the same as the Superlux HD662, and how they compare to the Superlux 669 (which I have) in sound?

Trevayne10

New Head-Fier
Pros: Very clean, natural highs, mids have great presence, bass & sub-bass have full, real depth. Responds well to EQ. Inexpensive.
Cons: Homely as sin (but I didn't buy them for looks).
Just got these, and right off the bat they're very impressive.
 
Full, clear sound, plenty of energy & balance throughout the entire audio spectrum, with slight humps in the 20 - 100 Hz region (+3.5 dB) and from 6 KHz on up to 14 KHz (also around +3.5 dB). I flattened these right out with Peter Verbeek's excellent APO EQ system. Everything sounds very natural and clean. Sound stage is also very well delineated - especially for a completely closed design like this. Isolation also very good.
 
50 mm drivers, neodymium magnets, 10 Hz - 25 KHz frequency response, +/- 5 dB
 
Sensitivity is 96 dB/mW, and the impedance is 32 Ohms, so they're easily driven.
 
I am just floored in a good way at the sonic qualities of these things, especially given the $38 USD I paid for them (new).
 
Velour ear pads very comfortable.
 
Aesthetically, they're just flat-out ugly to look at, but I knew that before I bought them.  They just sound great, and are very comfortable.
 
Very immersive; I found myself drawn right into the music, as opposed to just listening to the headphones themselves. Ideally, for the best experience of musical reproduction, audio transducers (whether headphones or speakers) should disappear (or should become utterly "transparent"), so that only the music remains.  These headphones accomplish just that; they get out of the way and they let the music take over.
 
Clamping force on the head is a bit tight, but they're brand new, and I'm sure they'll break in nicely. I stretched them out overnight, using the Samson box they came in.
 
I've included an image of Samson's original OEM spectrum trace ("SR950_FreqTrace.jpg"), along with an image of the EQ-corrected humps, using the APO equalizer ("SR950_APO_1_sm.jpg")
 
UPDATE:  I just listened to Bruce Cockburn's "You Get Bigger as you Go" at 1080p right here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wefFe9zlXTQ  -   in my experience, this is probably the highest quality audio recording in all of YouTube. When this is played at 1080p resolution, the sound quality through these SR-950s is nothing short of breathtaking.  The harmonics and overtones of the guitar literally sparkle - without being sibilant, and with no hint of breakup - the brass of the cymbals sizzles, and the toms and kick drum slam and thump hard and deep.  Amazing results with just a modest amount of EQ.  So glad I got these....really enjoying them.
 
 
  
 
  

Emid

New Head-Fier
Pros: Bassy, brilliant mids and high, wide soundstage
Cons: Tends to be muddy on high volumes
I have been using Samson SR950 for a week now so this review will not be too detailed. It was a blind purchase as there are no helpful reviews available. I bought two headphones; Beyer DT880 pro and this one. Beyer is still in the box because I was excited to demo this one first. 
 
I will be very critical as these cans claim to be for critical listening and monitoring. In other words, they are not hi-fi as per the company. Review is based on listening to classical genre only but you can apply it on any style based on the information. Please note that I am listening LOTR OST HQ while jotting down the below points so as to not leave anything to the best of my knowledge and hearing. My review is only about the one-week-impression of headphones and not how your mixes translate on studio monitors. Price £39.99.
 
Edit: For some reason my rankings are not showing what I wanted even after editing. Please read the review instead.
 
Soundstage
I am surprised by its big soundstage despite it being closed cans. Stage is wide and detailed. You can literary hear sounds coming from all corners of the hall if you know what I mean. One can close his eyes imagining sitting in a medium to big hall and you will be "tele-ported" in your imaginary environment. It doesn't mean the sounds are distant; they are good enough 'in your face' type.
 
Highs
25Hz, crispy and crunchy. Sometimes they are harsh on high volumes but NOT all the time. Probably it depends on the quality of music (I have yet to experiment with this point). For now, They are clear but not very clean when there is a rise effect in a score. But all in all awesome highs. 8.5/10
 
Mids
And the mids! These cans are all about mids. Those who love mids and monitor them will love it. From high mids to low, they are quite impressive. Very detailed, balanced and clear. Lots of texture and comprehensiveness. All very well glued with thorough information. I think mids and highs are the selling point of these cans. I tried removing too much bass to know how high and mids will respond and the results came out pretty good. I think they are similar to SR850 in this context. A blend of mids and highs seems accurate but mids and lows is cloudy. 9/10
 
Lows
They have good bass response (10Hz) as stated in specs, and I think they have managed to deliver it quite honestly. I have read SR850 reviews and most of them complaining lacking in bass so here is the right version of Samson series for bass lovers. My only gripe is bass tends to become muddy on build ups, or on high volume or anything complex going on. They can't handle it properly. They try to glue music in an awkward way in these situations but turn out to be muddy. 7/10
 
Comfort and usage
Quite comfortable but tiring after a while. Self adjusting headband is still too tight after adjustment and has given me pain over the left ear cartilage several times. Benefit of doubt will be given here as they might stretch after some time. If a score has too much lows and high you will get tired after a while. At least this happened to me. 7.5/10
 
Some extras: They are not flat. The sound is awesome if the volume is around 60 to 80 percent and the music is HQ. The closed-ear design for maximum isolation is up to the mark. They are entry level monitors and very good for starters and people on budget. Not every minor details can be heard but they do very good job in their capability and you won't miss. This review should not be sought conclusive but as a one week impression as they may deliver more after some more burning. Overall 4 stars.
egosumlux
egosumlux
Nice impression I would love it if you contrst it with similar headphones for they seem to be tuned for bass heads according to you
cbark
cbark
Thanks for the detailed review! I'm really curious as to whether the bass ever sounded like it was getting/got cleaner over time? Also, if you're able, could you say more about how the isolation (keeping noise out especially) compares to other models you know?

adevriesc

New Head-Fier
Pros: HUGE clean bass, velour pads, V or U shaped sound signature
Cons: Very, very mild treble spike
My audio chain is MP3@320 or FLAC > HiFimeDIY USB Isolator > HiFimeDIY Sabre U2 > Fiio 6" cable > Objective2 w/ 16v 400mA adapter > SR950.
 
The SR950s are fairly detailed headphones possessing a well designed V or U shaped sound signature. They can output massive amounts of clean bass. Without mid bleeding. Massive.
 
Whatever the sound sig is, it is very pleasing when listening to most music. They don't do classical well, but everything from metal, pop, and rap to rock is covered. The vocals remain surprisingly forward for a mild V/U shaped sound signature, and the highs are crisp.
 
They isolate well, have a heavy clamping force, and use velour pads. Comfy for me, but an easy fix is the classic box stretch.
 
The closest comparison I can make is the M-Audio Q40. Quite simply, the SR950 blows them out of the water. Cleaner bass, better overall sq, no overt sibilance, velour pads. The lack of a removable cable is their only loss in comparison.
 
I'd buy them again just for listening to metal/alternative/genres with heavy elements... That seems to be the area where they shine.
 
The sound/price ratio is excellent.
PETEBULL
PETEBULL
Strange that you like these and dislike JVC HA-FX101. They both sound pretty much similar.
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