koss esp 950 or stax omega ?
Sep 8, 2006 at 5:50 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 33
retro

retro

New Head-Fier
Joined
Sep 8, 2006
Posts
21
Likes
0
Hi to every one ! im new here and i dont know how things work around here but im sure i will figure things out slowly ! im in the market for a set of headphones but i have never had any experiance with hi-end phones before but now im making this big jump and im going straight to the best of the best and im happy to spend some big buks if what ever i get will make me happy ? so far from the things that i have readed i was thinking of geting the koss esp-950 or the stax omega with the valve amp ? can some one please help me here!( by the way i have never lisened to electrostatic headphones before !
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Sep 8, 2006 at 5:52 AM Post #2 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by retro
Hi to every one ! im new here and i dont know how things work around here but im sure i will figure things out slowly ! im in the market for a set of headphones but i have never had any experiance with hi-end phones before but now im making this big jump and im going straight to the best of the best and im happy to spend some big buks if what ever i get will make me happy ? so far from the things that i have readed i was thinking of geting the koss esp-950 or the stax omega with the valve amp ? can some one please help me here!( by the way i have never lisened to electrostatic headphones before !
smily_headphones1.gif



Stax omega
wink.gif
You're talking about the stax Omega I right?
 
Sep 8, 2006 at 7:18 AM Post #4 of 33
Ergh... no offense to 007 and 007t owners, but I've never been that happy with that combo. You owe it to yourself to get an amp that brings out more from the 007.

Oh, I have no experience with the Koss. It sure is an interesting headphone though.

Best regards,

-Jason
 
Sep 8, 2006 at 7:43 AM Post #5 of 33
Well, the Omega 2 is certainly the better headphone, but neither of them are by any stretch bad.

Where you're going to get caught up is in the amplification department. Both need (or at least deserve) really nice amps to shine. The 717 and 007t aren't bad, but aren't exactly wonderful either. The E/90 amp is a big pile of fetid horse manure.

In any case, listening to a pair of electrostatics first might be a smart idea, especially if you plan on taking the more expensive options. Quite a few members here own electrostatics, so you might be able to find someone locally with some who'll let you pop over for a visit.
 
Sep 8, 2006 at 7:43 AM Post #6 of 33
$400.00 to $600.00 for the Koss, $2,000.00 to $3,000. for the Stax. Quite a spread. I have the Koss and several Staxen, but not the Omega.

The Koss needs a better power supply to reach its full potential. I have used a bench power supply capable of 3 amps. This cost about $70.00. With this power source, the Koss equaled or bettered the Stax 404 with a Stax Srm3 amp, playing rock/pop but not the with the Stax 707 amp. The Stax was always somewhat better with classical.

So it may depend on what you want to pay and what you mostly listen to.
 
Sep 8, 2006 at 9:52 AM Post #7 of 33
Thanks for info guys ! My problem is that where i live there is not so many hi-fi shops especialy when it comes to headphones there is nothing here and becouse i dont mind spending a fare bit of money the only thing i can go by is YOUR expiriance with these headphones ! my main source is a revox 215 tape deck i know its not a hi-end divice but i just love that analog sound i also do have a disent cd player its a kenwood k-cd01 car cd player to be exact it uses 24 bit burr-brown dacs and i use a labratory type power suply for power ther not wat you call hi-end but im very happy with the set up i like to try out difrent things all the time my music is a bit of every thing from some rock to classical ,techno but mostly i like synthesizer music so i would like the headphones to be open and have lots of depth and good detail ! if i go for the omega 2 headphone only what amp would be the best to match it ?
 
Sep 8, 2006 at 10:02 AM Post #8 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by retro
if i go for the omega 2 headphone only what amp would be the best to match it ?


Basically the best amp you can afford. The O2s scale greatly with the amp you use them with. The Singlepower ES-1 is a popular choice, but at $4000 for the base model, it ain't exactly cheap.
 
Sep 8, 2006 at 1:02 PM Post #9 of 33
My leave Head-Fi behind rig is a Stax O2 and HeadAmp KGSS. One it sounds awesome, two is makes upgrading very difficult since dynamic cans aren't usable
biggrin.gif
Win, win!

I'm sure I'll still be rolling sources and amps but SinglePower isn't on the short list, their asking price reflects market demand it's just not a good value. ES-1 $4000, KGSS $1500. I'll take a KGSS. If you want all tube, there is WooAudio and McAlister at significantly less cost than either.
 
Sep 9, 2006 at 12:36 AM Post #10 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by Solude
My leave Head-Fi behind rig is a Stax O2 and HeadAmp KGSS. One it sounds awesome, two is makes upgrading very difficult since dynamic cans aren't usable
biggrin.gif
Win, win!

I'm sure I'll still be rolling sources and amps but SinglePower isn't on the short list, their asking price reflects market demand it's just not a good value. ES-1 $4000, KGSS $1500. I'll take a KGSS. If you want all tube, there is WooAudio and McAlister at significantly less cost than either.


How do you know it's not a good value if you've never heard it?
tongue.gif


The Stax OII is $1500. The HD650 is $300. Why don't you take the HD650 instead then?
rolleyes.gif


However, I agree that the McAlister is a good value, and should definitely be checked out.
 
Sep 9, 2006 at 1:46 AM Post #11 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by Solude
My leave Head-Fi behind rig is a Stax O2 and HeadAmp KGSS. One it sounds awesome, two is makes upgrading very difficult since dynamic cans aren't usable
biggrin.gif
Win, win!

I'm sure I'll still be rolling sources and amps but SinglePower isn't on the short list, their asking price reflects market demand it's just not a good value. ES-1 $4000, KGSS $1500. I'll take a KGSS. If you want all tube, there is WooAudio and McAlister at significantly less cost than either.


after listening to the es-1 make my o2's sound better than EVER while driving the he90 i will tennatively oppose that statement. i say tenativel, because i have not heard a KGSS. i will say that the es-1 was not as "tubeish" as its physical appearence would imply.

while driving both of those 2 cans the es-1 still whooped my srm-717 with the task of just the o2.
 
Sep 9, 2006 at 4:31 AM Post #13 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by retro
What amp is better with the omega 2 cans the WooAudio or McAlister ?


I don't believe there has been a single comparison between the two in the history of Head-fi. Anyone feel like taking one for the team?
 
Sep 9, 2006 at 6:08 AM Post #15 of 33
I have to say a word or two in defense of my ugly little plastic friend, the Koss E/90 amp. The odd thing about it is that even though it's dressed up to look like a big stay-at-home amp, there's not much inside that box, plus.. it's designed to run on batteries. In other words, it should be compared to the Stax SRD-X or even the Xh. The average price points in that direction too.

Considering all that, it's not such a horse-apple as has been implied. Is it the limiting factor in the ESP/950 sound? Does the ESP/950 deserve better? Most definitely. I wonder what the Equibit or IcePower boys could come up with to give the 950 a leg up.

.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top