I think the issue is not whether to have a balance control or not. the issue is that it's nearly impossible to adjust the volume without affecting the balance. As you know, the channel balance is very important and it's changed every time you adjust the volume.
Look at Stax amps. They have balance control, but you have to make an effort to adjust it.
For the Koss amp, I either tape the two knobs together or I also have a white line on both knobs so at least I can visually line up the white lines to know that I am at equal output levels.
True enough -- one of the issues was the ergonomics of this particular concentric dual pot. The comment I was objecting to was whether a balance control has any use in a headphone rig. This is a seperate issue. I am also not sure how accurately the 2 sections of the pot track each other, especially at the bottom end of their range, so I would "dot" the controls by ear, or by measuring output with a calibration signal...
I just hold both parts of the knob between my thumb and index finger and never really have a problem adjusting volume without throwing balance out of whack. Grip a little tighter than you normally do.
N3rdling, I've been meaning to ask you for awhile why you still keep the ESP950 around when you have such an impressive collection of arguably superior 'stats. Are you just a collector of sorts, or is there something special about them that appeals to you?
A couple of reasons:
- I like to collect stats
- It's really good for the price
- It sounds a bit different from most other stats
- Perhaps most importantly, the lifetime warranty makes this the ultimate stat for testing on amp builds. If the amp blows the phones I can just send them in and I don't have to worry about ruining other headphones.
His body's not a canvas, and he wasn't raised by apes.
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It's a long thread and the search is too vague......are there any other amp options for the Koss ESP-950, or do you have to replace the pin plug with one that fits Stax amps?
It's a long thread and the search is too vague......are there any other amp options for the Koss ESP-950, or do you have to replace the pin plug with one that fits Stax amps?
I've been following this thread for awhile and I'm not aware of any other amp using the Koss cable plug. You either have to replace the plug or buy an extension cable terminating with a Stax plug.
I've been following this thread for awhile and I'm not aware of any other amp using the Koss cable plug. You either have to replace the plug or buy an extension cable terminating with a Stax plug.
I've been following this thread for awhile and I'm not aware of any other amp using the Koss cable plug. You either have to replace the plug or buy an extension cable terminating with a Stax plug.
I don't think there are any other amps with the Koss 5 pin connector. But fortunately the bias voltage on the ESP-950's is close enough to the Stax pro bias that the ESP-950's work great with any Stax 5 pin amp. As @Buddhahacker said, all you need is to replace the plug or for the most compatibility, recable the extension cable with a Stax plug, or buy one already reterminated.
You can make your own. A spare extension cable is about $16 from Koss service. Solder on this Stax-compatible connect from Moon audio and you're good to go:
You can make your own. A spare extension cable is about $16 from Koss service. Solder on this Stax-compatible connect from Moon audio and you're good to go:
Yep. That was what I did. My solder sucking days are over. I spent two summers as an engineering intern and most of it was spent designing and building one off test equipment. I can't tell you how many hours I spent soldering during those summers. The one positive outcome was it made me realize that I needed to change majors
His body's not a canvas, and he wasn't raised by apes.
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Agree. I leave it to the professionals now....just haven't got the patience anymore. I remember back in the 80's, I used to dismantle Walkmans/tape decks, swaps heads, motors and the like. What a wuss I've become
other than the fact that he is using the male amphenol connector which
really isn't the right size and will eventually damage itself and the sockets
you plug it into...
I hope to be making some Teflon connectors with both the right pins and
the right spacing soon. Then send sample to china and have a bunch made
real cheap.
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