[SteelCookie]

In case if you were curious with what the drivers in the 95x looks like. Had some rattling in one of my cups, looks like something was loose and was rattling around. In front part of the driver theres a super thin film for what I'm guessing is to prevent from dust from entering the driver. Probably chocking something up to 3D print for fun since I don't really use these phones much nowadays.

 

[klyrish]

Got these in on Tuesday and haven't been able to stop listening to them. I've had music playing through them 24/7 for any burn-in that may occur and I definitely do notice more detail, better bass and treble extension, and much better separation/imaging now 48 hours after the initial listen.

The Vesper pads just arrived and I installed them. The difference is pretty noticeable: bass feels punchier/tighter and the whole signature is a bit darker now with treble still being beautifully detailed.

I absolutely love these headphones. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about them given the comparisons to the HD800 (which I have and don't much care for) but they have surprised me plenty. There's a lot more bass here than I was expecting (using the oratory1990 Harmon 2018 target parametric settings in Roon) and it's surprisingly satisfying. Definitely doesn't have the slam of my Ether 2 but they hit about as hard as the HD800 and with the tighter (but still delightfully wide) soundstage, I greatly prefer the ESP/95X to the HD800. They sound more natural and realistic. Distorted guitars sound wonderful. These are doing great with my daily diet of metalcore, hardcore, and NIN and I'm definitely preferring them to the GS-X mini/Ether 2 combo that was my daily driver at the moment.

I've seen a lot about the stock amp not being great so if these sound this good through a mediocre amp/energizer, I can't wait to hear them through something like the Stax SRM-353X.

I didn't read through the whole thread so I'm sorry if this has been covered multiple times but how do you keep dust out of them? I'm currently just hiding them under the cover of their box but that's not going to work long term. I was thinking about picking up these antistatic bags to put them in when not in use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074SDBGQQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3TJA36NYNJMMS&psc=1

I'm really glad I picked these up. Now, to sell the HD800...

 

[theangelboy]

Got these in on Tuesday and haven't been able to stop listening to them. I've had music playing through them 24/7 for any burn-in that may occur and I definitely do notice more detail, better bass and treble extension, and much better separation/imaging now 48 hours after the initial listen.

The Vesper pads just arrived and I installed them. The difference is pretty noticeable: bass feels punchier/tighter and the whole signature is a bit darker now with treble still being beautifully detailed.

I absolutely love these headphones. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about them given the comparisons to the HD800 (which I have and don't much care for) but they have surprised me plenty. There's a lot more bass here than I was expecting (using the oratory1990 Harmon 2018 target parametric settings in Roon) and it's surprisingly satisfying. Definitely doesn't have the slam of my Ether 2 but they hit about as hard as the HD800 and with the tighter (but still delightfully wide) soundstage, I greatly prefer the ESP/95X to the HD800. They sound more natural and realistic. Distorted guitars sound wonderful. These are doing great with my daily diet of metalcore, hardcore, and NIN and I'm definitely preferring them to the GS-X mini/Ether 2 combo that was my daily driver at the moment.

I've seen a lot about the stock amp not being great so if these sound this good through a mediocre amp/energizer, I can't wait to hear them through something like the Stax SRM-353X.

I didn't read through the whole thread so I'm sorry if this has been covered multiple times but how do you keep dust out of them? I'm currently just hiding them under the cover of their box but that's not going to work long term. I was thinking about picking up these antistatic bags to put them in when not in use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074SDBGQQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3TJA36NYNJMMS&psc=1

I'm really glad I picked these up. Now, to sell the HD800...

Nice, I'm glad are enjoying them! Your impressions of the vesper pads are promising. I should probably get a pair at some point.

As for keeping dust off of them, this is what I use.
I'm using a 15 inch cloche I got from VaseMarket.com for about $30 shipped. Pretty inexpensive, all things considered, and works great for keeping the dust off and I can still admire them on my shelf.

EDIT: Here is the link to the one I have.

 

[robo24]

Got Alcantara Vesper pads myself and also think they're a big improvement over Drop ones or cheapy pleather ones from eBay.

A Stax amp was also a big step up for me, with the 323A (which isn't hugely different than the 353, at least in terms of having the same power). I'll be selling that amp as some point if I can ever find a used iESL.

 

[klyrish]

Nice, I'm glad are enjoying them! Your impressions of the vesper pads are promising. I should probably get a pair at some point.

As for keeping dust off of them, this is what I use.
I'm using a 15 inch cloche I got from VaseMarket.com for about $30 shipped. Pretty inexpensive, all things considered, and works great for keeping the dust off and I can still admire them on my shelf.

Thanks for the tip on that cloche. Is this the one you use? And have you tried fitting the stand with the Fostex Purplehearts on it under that dome? I have two of those exact same stands and am hoping they'll fit under the linked cloche. Of course, my desk has an overhang that's 13" high so this thing will have to be in front of that since it's 16" high. :rolleyes:

 

[theangelboy]

Thanks for the tip on that cloche. Is this the one you use? And have you tried fitting the stand with the Fostex Purplehearts on it under that dome? I have two of those exact same stands and am hoping they'll fit under the linked cloche. Of course, my desk has an overhang that's 13" high so this thing will have to be in front of that since it's 16" high. :rolleyes:

I got this 15x10 inch one since it's cheaper. I just tried it and both of my wooden omega stands (both are a slightly different design) fit under it, although it's tighter horizontally and there is a lot more dead space above it compared to the stand I'm using. You might be able to get away with a shorter cloche with an omega stand as long as the diameter isn't smaller than 10 inches. You might be able to get away with this 12x12 one but the height is going to be a really close fit depending on your particular omega stand. It's also more expensive. I didn't see any others on the site that would fit under your desk but also fit the stand.

 

[klyrish]

Thanks for the additional info. I mis-measured and only have about 11" of clearance so none of them are going to fit. Oh well. It's looking like I need 10" of internal width and 11" of internal height so I'll see what I can find. Thanks again for the tip on these; I really like this idea.

 

[PolloLoco]

In case if you were curious with what the drivers in the 95x looks like. Had some rattling in one of my cups, looks like something was loose and was rattling around. In front part of the driver theres a super thin film for what I'm guessing is to prevent from dust from entering the driver. Probably chocking something up to 3D print for fun since I don't really use these phones much nowadays.

Thanks, the thin clear crumpled mylar is the dust protection. The white and silver piece with the holes is the stator. There should be one each on either side of the driver. Which should look like clear glass, but is actually tensioned mylar I think.

When you pulled the driver, did you find any foam on the grill side? Spritzer said that on older versions of the esp950 there used to be excessive damping that he used to remove.

 

[SteelCookie]

Thanks, the thin clear crumpled mylar is the dust protection. The white and silver piece with the holes is the stator. There should be one each on either side of the driver. Which should look like clear glass, but is actually tensioned mylar I think.

When you pulled the driver, did you find any foam on the grill side? Spritzer said that on older versions of the esp950 there used to be excessive damping that he used to remove.

No foam at all. There was kind of like a thick dust cover/filter I guess? Edit: Felt... Felt was the word i was looking for.

 

[PolloLoco]

No foam at all. There was kind of like a thick dust cover/filter I guess? Edit: Felt... Felt was the word i was looking for.

Thanks, I was expecting a thin dust protector like on the pad side. Is it possible the felt was separate from the dust protector?

Were you able to reassemble your headphones and get them working?

 

[SteelCookie]

Thanks, I was expecting a thin dust protector like on the pad side. Is it possible the felt was separate from the dust protector?

Were you able to reassemble your headphones and get them working?

It was easy to reassemble, I forgot about that there is a dust protector on top of the back of the driver as well.

 

[PolloLoco]

That's really interesting, thanks. Now I'm going to be tempted to take that felt out and see what effect it has on the sound...

You said yours were rattling, are they working well now?

 

[SteelCookie]

That's really interesting, thanks. Now I'm going to be tempted to take that felt out and see what effect it has on the sound...

You said yours were rattling, are they working well now?

Yeah there was just a plastic washer that got loose in there, not sure what from but it had no affect on the build and ofc the rattling stopped.

 

[PolloLoco]

Yeah there was just a plastic washer that got loose in there, not sure what from but it had no affect on the build and ofc the rattling stopped.

Awesome. Based on your description I was worried you might have something between your dust screen and the driver. That could have caused some serious damage, so that's good luck.

 

[jotaku]

OK, so I'm about to get the Koss ESP-95X. What are all the noteworthy mods? Can someone describe the differences in recommended pad swaps?