KOSS ESP-950 Thread

[mrscotchguy]

@mrscotchguy
: seems legit .  The bushmaster should be a good companion then : Airy, detailed & open.

I think so. Still haven't found a sabre dac that I'm in love with. But always tempted to get the audio-gd nfb28 as everyone claims it is smoother than other es9018 dacs. For a budget dac, the bushmaster is truly a beast. It drives the pants off of the hd580/600/650. Had I bought it before I went down the rabbit hole, I may have ended with just the Bushmaster, my hd580, and the esp-950. That could've been end-game enough for most...

Ignorance is bliss, I tell ya!

 

[mrscotchguy]

probably OT for now but here's pic of the esp950's new amp




not quite finished but getting there. hope to have it done in the next coupla weeks...touchwood. maybe then i can say, with all sincerity, i love the Koss!

Btw, that's a real beaut'... what is it?!

 

[scottiebabie]

So I'm still sitting on the borrowed +/-20 year old 950, got some 100% deoxit and cleaned the amp up for my friend, if he ever requests for it back...

Anyway, after some more listening, I have come to the conclusion that the 950 is heavily dac dependent. More so than most of my headphones, maybe even more than my hd800 (maybe...). Feeding the little e90 from my wolfson wm8741 Audio-GD dac, these cans sound super warm. With the Beresford bushmaster, they never did. Soundstage was also congested on the AGD by comparison. But bass was much fuller and buttery.

Ultimately, the dac made these seem almost like different headphones. For my tastes, I would recommend a hyper-detailed, bass-tight dac over the smooth, warm sound of a wolfson 8741 chip.

As always, imho and ymmv...

 
nice! i have no doubt that a better dac will be discernable with the esp950. there are so many things i liked about the koss that i made the decision to explore e-stats further. indeed the (as yet unfinished) amp u commented on is a 500v KGSShv. in the meantime i'll be diy'ing a koss2stax adapter cable as well. touchwood....i'd be able to enjoy the koss as its meant to be.

 

[Sorrodje]

I think so. Still haven't found a sabre dac that I'm in love with. But always tempted to get the audio-gd nfb28 as everyone claims it is smoother than other es9018 dacs. For a budget dac, the bushmaster is truly a beast. It drives the pants off of the hd580/600/650. Had I bought it before I went down the rabbit hole, I may have ended with just the Bushmaster, my hd580, and the esp-950. That could've been end-game enough for most...

Ignorance is bliss, I tell ya!

 
 
I didn't like the Bushmaster amp section so much . I found it too much colored ( warm and forward) . So is the amp in the Caïman mkII.  As Standalone DAC the two beresford are IMO really great at any price point.

 

[HemiSam]

I'm running the Beresford Caiman Mkii as a DAC only into the E90 and I think the Koss sound great.  I think they'll benefit from a bit more amping, but I won't know for sure until my KGST arrives.  The Beresford as a DAC into my Woo WA7 driving my HD650's and 700's and CIEM's is a great chain.  The 650's in particular are probably my favorites.
 
I wasn't a big fan of the amp section of the Caiman compared to the Woo.  Wasn't a fair battle.
 
HS

 

[mrscotchguy]

I didn't like the Bushmaster amp section so much . I found it too much colored ( warm and forward) . So is the amp in the Caïman mkII.  As Standalone DAC the two beresford are IMO really great at any price point.

I can see why you say that. I only really like the amp section with my HD580. Beyond that, nothing else particularly paired well with it. But as a dac, it made the 950 sound effortless. Curious if there's any other dac that work well with the 950 that are not a fortune...

 

[Avi]

Anyway, after some more listening, I have come to the conclusion that the 950 is heavily dac dependent.

I've been listening to mine exclusively through a DACport LX. One of these days, I should bring it home and feed it from the Meier Daccord and see if I notice a difference.

 

[Sorrodje]

I would have adviced the Meier DACCORD too. Great sound, great features, great price, great craftsman.  I like the Caïman but its sound is obviously more analog and the Koss would match better with a more neutral DAC imo.
 
That been said, the STAX/DACCORD pairing does wonders to my ears .

 

[Keithpgdrb]

The 950 is often available on amazon for about $600 bucks new.  People are asking that much on the used market as well.  very odd.  Not that they aren't worth it, especially with the warranty, but geez. 

 

[darinf]

  The 950 is often available on amazon for about $600 bucks new.  People are asking that much on the used market as well.  very odd.  Not that they aren't worth it, especially with the warranty, but geez. 

I wouldn't say "often". Yes, you could get them on Amazon for $600 in December of 2014, but before that it looks like Black Friday of 2012 was the last time. Generally Koss does offer them for $600 once a year on Black Friday direct from Koss.
 
Here's the historical pricing data for Amazon:
http://camelcamelcamel.com/Koss-160416-ESP-950-Electrostatic-Stereophone/product/B000056ULH?context=browse

 

[Keithpgdrb]

  I wouldn't say "often". Yes, you could get them on Amazon for $600 in December of 2014, but before that it looks like Black Friday of 2012 was the last time. Generally Koss does offer them for $600 once a year on Black Friday direct from Koss.
 
Here's the historical pricing data for Amazon:
http://camelcamelcamel.com/Koss-160416-ESP-950-Electrostatic-Stereophone/product/B000056ULH?context=browse

huh.. I swear I've seen them at that price at least twice in the past year.  oh well.  maybe I'm loosing my mind.

 

[doctorjazz]

I like the sound of my Geek Out SE, and recently purchased a CEntrance Hifi M8 LX, also good sounding. Haven't figured out how to get line out from GO SE, don't think it can. CEntrance is more flexible, but comes with minimal instructions, so I'll have to play with it.
been mostly using it with Pono line out into Stax 323 amp, which is a very nice combination.

 

[Avi]

 

  The 950 is often available on amazon for about $600 bucks new.  People are asking that much on the used market as well.  very odd.  Not that they aren't worth it, especially with the warranty, but geez. 

I wouldn't say "often". Yes, you could get them on Amazon for $600 in December of 2014, but before that it looks like Black Friday of 2012 was the last time. Generally Koss does offer them for $600 once a year on Black Friday direct from Koss.
 
Here's the historical pricing data for Amazon:
http://camelcamelcamel.com/Koss-160416-ESP-950-Electrostatic-Stereophone/product/B000056ULH?context=browse

I got mine for a bit more ($699); it was after the sales, but I was given the "almost" sale price. I decided that it was worth $99 not to have to wait an entire year

 

[doctorjazz]

My experience as well, it's not always available at $600, anything in the $6-700 range is a good buy as far as I'm concerned.

 

[HemiSam]

I think they sound great for the money.  I was listening to mine last night out of the E90 amp....jazzy blues guitar.  Fantastic.
 
The build quality you have to get past.  I think they'll last a long time, but it's plastic and pleather.
 
HS