KOSS ESP-950 Thread - Page 9

There a Wes Ges on sale do you think it would be good with ESP-950, im afraid it would be too much tubey and loose even more high??

Or SRM323???

Or Exstata??

I wish i could hear them on KGSSHV first... since it's kinda crazy to have one build if i don't like it afterwards

Right now, I can't say i'm satisfied with the Koss ESP-950... wish i would be since they are so comfortable..

I'm really not a fan of the 323 or 727 w/ any Stat I've tried tbh.  I do think Stats are pay to play proposition wrt amps unfortunately.  No idea about WES except ears I trust are not big fans of most of the Woo stat amps.

I'm skeptical a new amplifier will create the kinds of dramatic change you want. The 950 is fairly "neutral" or "clean" compared to a lot of dynamics (even the K701 can sound a bit wooly in comparison), and what you're describing as a "want" implies more coloration. I'm not sure if you can get that in a 'stat (neither of my stats would align with what you described wanting to improve on the 950). I'm not sure what to tell you about the soundstage - I think it's quite good (even relative to the K701 or F1), how big and spacious do you want though? (It does not do the "from the front" presentation though - thus far the F1 is the only headphone I've ever heard that can recreate that without some other massive flaw). 

 

Just a random thought, and I hate to throw this out based on something I've never heard, but have you considered one of the Japanese woodies? (Like the DX1000) They're generally described as fairly colored/textured, and as having fairly large/good headstages. The downside here is, even if that's dead-on right, I have no idea which one is for you (I don't really do closed headphones). 

 

 

 

I actually like the sound of the koss in general.. the main thing is that (left, top/in the head, right) soundstage that i find weird...

most i've heard are left front right at least... hehe it's actually the soundstage depth...

I don't need big change just left front right is acceptable... I guess maybe i could try to upgrade my dac instead to push the soundstage deph

better resolution and high definition would be welcome too.. it's kinda a little too dark sounding right now with HE90 amp but i really like the fact that it's totally not harsh even with mp3 and electronic music

Maybe i could mod the headphone too.. what are the 3 most important mod?

and 3 most important for HE90?

i dont want big complicated mods but those important

as for dac I have a bifrost on order but maybe i should go for something with best sabre chip like Anedio D1
since soundstage is very 3d and very high resolution... maybe a little harsh but since the ESP-950 is kinda very smooth it might be a perfect match.

Also the AVA dacs are very tempting.. but costly
any recommendation of a dac for ESP-950 (to add 3d soundstage, resolution and air)
Edited by sinae - 2/9/12 at 8:07pm

Depth is complicated (both to judge and to recreate). The ESP/950s do a "good" job, but the only headphone I've yet heard that can do something approaching a fully-3D stage would (again) be the F1. The 950 are better in probably every other possible way. 

 

 

I'm responding to your edits:

When you say HE90 amp, do you mean the HEV90 (which goes with the Sennheiser HE90), or the Koss E/90 (which comes with the ESP/950)? They are very different things.

 

Anyways, I was going to add in: remember that depth/space is also part of the recording - if the music itself doesn't have any sense of depth/space/size/etc then it won't matter what you listen with. I'm again skeptical of an amplifier making some big dramatic difference; at the absolute best it will just enhance what the 950 already does.

 

Edited by obobskivich - 2/9/12 at 8:20pm

Try another headphone.  One of the vintage Lambdas might be what you're looking for and they're not terribly expensive.

I'm talking about the E/90 sorry...

Yes I might try other headphones of course.. maybe stax 407/507 or OII mk1(seem heavy)...also SRH1840 since they seem to be way to much comfortable hehe hope they sound great and miles better than old shure... (didn't like the mid-high emphasis)

I will continue with the koss for a while and make them sing with a good signal path before i judge..

I wouldn't say depth is easy to judge but it's not that hard either hehe. Just have to listen...

I wonder how you F1 compare to the K1000 imaging and soundstage..

Anyway on my side i'm still looking for intimate sound similar to koss but with good not to far not to near in front soundstage... not necessarily very far, very wide, and distant sound, like some headphones..

I would have gone LCD3, if it weren't for the weight and comfort.
Edited by sinae - 2/10/12 at 8:43am

I really like the sound of the koss but it's not there yet i really need that exstata at least anybody have one to sell or rent?
Edited by sinae - 2/10/12 at 8:00pm

silly question maybe, have you tried crossfeed to fix the soundstage?

No but it's an interesting idea... I still don't understand the stupid volume on the E90 amp hehehe

Maybe i should cancel my order of the bifrost and buy a lavry DA11 with crossfeed

use foobar 2000 you can sample crossfeed plugins, I have noticed you look for soundstage in many posts. Even a rockboxed player has crossfeed as well as channel width. I set my rockbox clip+ to 80% width with crossfeed on, very natural presentation. Foobar of course is much more flexible. These are the things I use when I'm looking for position, a close your eyes and see the band as if you are there. At times with a particular artists material it may seem more natural. bs2b version 3.1.0 at sourceforge may be what your looking for.

saves buying an amp to check if crossfeed is "it"

After trying Isone Pro 1.01... Wow now i'm sad snif With Isone Pro i can finally fix this in the head soundstage but something is lost in the clarity of the sound..

Anybody can check with Isone pro and tell me if it's the same thing.. You can have the singer in front and not everywhere in the head hehe and instruments doesn't go too far left and too far right like without the crossfeed plugin.. but the vst change dynamics and also seem to add or remove something in the sound.It's a lot less clear than without it.. but still WOW now I see how bad the koss soundstage is hehe..

I wonder if it's my pair or E90 that is defect or the headphone itself that just can't do little in front soundstage.

It's sad since I really really really like the sound but that poor imaging and soundstage kill it has a mixing tool, movies, games also will suck.

Tired of this

My bifrost was shipped today... I should have tried those crossfeed first and order a lavry da11 or stage dac with crossfeed instead dammit.

Tho with good crossfeed to fix soundstage + exstata to give sound a little more dynamics.. i think the koss will be very nice indeed

Anybody could tell me the quality of the stage dac crossfeed and the lavry da11 crossfeed versus Isone and others plugins??
Edited by sinae - 2/20/12 at 9:29pm

Give it time.  It will image in a unique way for you once you get used to it.
 

 

Anybody found a third party earpad replacement for the koss.. THEY suc!k!..

 

when you move your head you hear all kind of squishy noise and i have some faint clicks,pop, even without the amp turned on..

my guess is it's from inside the pads..

found out that

http://www.thomann.de/gb/beyerdynamic_dt100ohrpolstervelour.htm

 

I wonder if they would fit