[timb5881]

Just finished reading/skimming this thread, and my brain hasn't 'sploded. I got in on the drop fairly early (#12 maybe), as I knew these wouldn't make it 'til Monday (45 pairs at that price... riiiiight). Really looking forward to them. Already ordered the more recent (still EOL'd) AC/DC adapter from Mouser ($21, WTH), and am contemplating pads. The Vespers are really tempting, esp. as I'm a stickler for better pads (have you seen the schiit HiFiMAN ships? so you know... Oris all the way ). I like modding, so I may order a pair or two of the stock pads and mess around per New Reformation's ideas. But I'm a-feared they still won't be good enough.

Alcantara is nice, but wouldn't all leather + memory foam give a better seal? Also, endangered species! Hello! That's my experience with the Ori pads on my various HFM cans, once worn for 30 min. or so. They just conform to the head so nicely. Darin, if you're reading, are all your pads the hybrid type? If so, can I order all leather direct from Vesper (if they're reading)?

Thanks for the funny, informative posts (I sprinkled a few Likes around), and esp. the ideas. Oh yeah, I'm definitely up for drilling out the rear panel's RCA openings if my homemade interconnects don't fit. If you ain't moddin', you're just along for the ride

So your ordering a new power supply? Can you give me a link to that at Mouser.

 

[ThurstonX]

So your ordering a new power supply? Can you give me a link to that at Mouser.

https://www.mouser.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?r=675-MENB1030A0903F01

NB: only 3 left (were 5 when I got mine), so I wouldn't delay. They're slow to ship, but I chose the cheapest, cuz no point in paying more.

Also, I found it from the page of the old model, no longer sold by Mouser. There is no current/new/upgraded/successor version listed, and Mouser's search function for any other device with the same specs turned up nothing. The older version is still available at one of the other parts sites (Parts Express maybe), but costs $10 more.

 

[youngarthur]

I purchased that power supply a while back,and though it may make a difference, I didn't notice any.

 

[gardibolt]

I got in on the Massdrop Black Friday special too; #36 of 45. Really looking forward to my first taste of electrostatic goodness. I can wait a few months to get used to them before I see whether or not I'm feeling compelled to go for the Vesper pads; I'm not really excited about pad rolling, especially where the replacements are a tough fit like these are. Interesting thread (yeah, I read all 202 pages), though it's really more Stax than Koss overall.

 

[denwenz]

I am shopping for a Koss ESP-950 to Stax adapter cable. There is a seller on Ebay, ctech-electronic which is selling a cable adapter for $129. There also is a seller on Amazon, Darin Fong Audio which is selling an adapter for $169. I would appreciate any feedback any of you may have who have purchased one of these cable adapters in the past-thanks

 

[rexhu100]

I am shopping for a Koss ESP-950 to Stax adapter cable. There is a seller on Ebay, ctech-electronic which is selling a cable adapter for $129. There also is a seller on Amazon, Darin Fong Audio which is selling an adapter for $169. I would appreciate any feedback any of you may have who have purchased one of these cable adapters in the past-thanks

You definitely get convenience buying these, but they are too expensive for me. I'll just buy a Stax male socket and convert the extension cable that comes with your Koss. Darin Fong has the conversion chart on their website.

 

[Allanmarcus]

For DIY, this is what you need (I think)

https://www.moon-audio.com/stax-5-pin-din.html

For the cable, you can buy one from Koss for $20. Only way to order it is to call Koss at 1-800-872-5677 and use option 3 for Customer Service.

here is the wiring diagram
https://fongaudio.com/koss-esp-950-to-stax-5-pin-adapter-wiring-diagram/

 

[denwenz]

Thanks to Alan and Rexhu for responding to my question. DIY requires soldering skills, which I do not have-therefore I will be buying one of the adapter cables I mentioned in my earlier post.

 

[Allanmarcus]

Thanks to Alan and Rexhu for responding to my question. DIY requires soldering skills, which I do not have-therefore I will be buying one of the adapter cables I mentioned in my earlier post.

Then I would get it from Darin.

https://fongaudio.com/store/default...koss-esp-950-to-stax-5-pin-adapter-cable.html

 

[doctorjazz]

I can't compare, did buy the cable from Darin, use it with my Stax amp (323b, or something like that), and it has been fine for quite a while now.

 

[Kukuk]

Just got these yesterday. Consider me part of the fan club! What a wonderful sound. They're very dynamic, yet very polite. My T5Ps are very dynamic as well, but they can be a touch grating on some material. And the mids, oh my god. I never thought I'd find mids that topped the CD900STs. They have a huge presence, more like the T5Ps in that regard, but have a balance more like the CD900STs. The T5Ps are somewhat thinner on the lower mids, and the CD900STs have a slightly smaller and closer image. The ESP950s just take all the best from both of these, and my god do they blow me away!

I'd also like to say I'm really impressed by the bass. Frequency response graphs and impressions on them suggested that they had really rolled off bass, but I'm not hearing that at all. To my ear, it's just around neutral, with maybe a slight rise above.

My only qualms with them so far is a get a little bit of a chirping noise in the right ear. Tapping the cup usually fixes it, so it's a minor issue. The bigger issue is the right/left volume knobs. It's getting real old. It's hard to adjust them perfectly, so I always end up having to open a mono track to retune them. Really tempted to just glue them together.

Anyway, still need more time to solidify my impressions, but I think I'll definitely start selling off some of my collection! It makes a lot of headphones like the K612, M220, and CD900STs redundant!

 

[darinf]

Just got these yesterday. Consider me part of the fan club! What a wonderful sound. They're very dynamic, yet very polite. My T5Ps are very dynamic as well, but they can be a touch grating on some material. And the mids, oh my god. I never thought I'd find mids that topped the CD900STs. They have a huge presence, more like the T5Ps in that regard, but have a balance more like the CD900STs. The T5Ps are somewhat thinner on the lower mids, and the CD900STs have a slightly smaller and closer image. The ESP950s just take all the best from both of these, and my god do they blow me away!

I'd also like to say I'm really impressed by the bass. Frequency response graphs and impressions on them suggested that they had really rolled off bass, but I'm not hearing that at all. To my ear, it's just around neutral, with maybe a slight rise above.

My only qualms with them so far is a get a little bit of a chirping noise in the right ear. Tapping the cup usually fixes it, so it's a minor issue. The bigger issue is the right/left volume knobs. It's getting real old. It's hard to adjust them perfectly, so I always end up having to open a mono track to retune them. Really tempted to just glue them together.

Anyway, still need more time to solidify my impressions, but I think I'll definitely start selling off some of my collection! It makes a lot of headphones like the K612, M220, and CD900STs redundant!

Glad you are getting to experience the ESP-950's!

The split volume knob is a pain. I cut a thin piece of white tape and taped the tape over both knobs after lining them up. Then I cut the tape so that you can quickly visually verify that the knobs are aligned. You could also paint a line on both knobs.
Or just tape both knobs together. Gluing is too permanent for me.

 

[crazychile]

The chirping issue shows up on these occasionally, even with new ones sometimes. I've never had a problem with mine. But you can send them in under warranty for this if it ever gets to bothering you.

 

[ratboi]

Just got these yesterday. Consider me part of the fan club! What a wonderful sound. They're very dynamic, yet very polite. My T5Ps are very dynamic as well, but they can be a touch grating on some material. And the mids, oh my god. I never thought I'd find mids that topped the CD900STs. They have a huge presence, more like the T5Ps in that regard, but have a balance more like the CD900STs. The T5Ps are somewhat thinner on the lower mids, and the CD900STs have a slightly smaller and closer image. The ESP950s just take all the best from both of these, and my god do they blow me away!

I'd also like to say I'm really impressed by the bass. Frequency response graphs and impressions on them suggested that they had really rolled off bass, but I'm not hearing that at all. To my ear, it's just around neutral, with maybe a slight rise above.

My only qualms with them so far is a get a little bit of a chirping noise in the right ear. Tapping the cup usually fixes it, so it's a minor issue. The bigger issue is the right/left volume knobs. It's getting real old. It's hard to adjust them perfectly, so I always end up having to open a mono track to retune them. Really tempted to just glue them together.

Anyway, still need more time to solidify my impressions, but I think I'll definitely start selling off some of my collection! It makes a lot of headphones like the K612, M220, and CD900STs redundant!

Re the split knob, the first thing I did was a full rotate left and then right - to determine center. A fine point silver Sharpie filled in the corresponding groove; I'm OCD so an Xacto blade cleaned up the excess after it set. To my ears/head, as long as I keep those grooves lined up, the voices in my head stay in the middle.

Re the wonderful sound, I want to admit I almost stumbled into these. I was all set on getting some Beyer T90, seemed a good compromise on performance and price, Black Friday sales were in full force. Amazon and I had a disagreement over them, and in the ensuing flailing about I saw these for 'only' $350 more. WTH, 6 more months to pay for them, why not?? I've been in heaven ever since. Still a couple orders of magnitude less expensive than putting some Martin Logans in the living room, and easier to turn them up without bothering the wife and neighbors.

Yes, I prefer the neutral bass, but since you use foobar, consider screwing with it a bit with the harmonic exciter I've mentioned in other posts. If for no other reason, when you show these off to your friends, they won't wonder where the thump went!

 

[ratboi]

snipz...

Alcantara is nice, but wouldn't all leather + memory foam give a better seal? Also, endangered species! Hello! That's my experience with the Ori pads on my various HFM cans, once worn for 30 min. or so. They just conform to the head so nicely. Darin, if you're reading, are all your pads the hybrid type? If so, can I order all leather direct from Vesper (if they're reading)?

Ok, I just can't hold back anymore. WHY would we be looking for a better SEAL with open back headphones?? And, leather will seal to your head better than ultrasuede/alcantara ? Well, a real maybe, if your head is shaved, AND you use some gel.

The Koss earpads just leave the diaphragm too close to my ears. Vespers provide welcome separation - and some breathing room. I got Alcantara for the comfort, plain and simple. And, I ordered mine from Belarus, so I could have the leather done in Putin red. Maybe memory foam would make a difference, but mine are just fine as are. When I ordered them, the advice from Vesper - and some early adopters - was that standard foam would make better pads. OK, maybe the sides of my head are extra flat. Isn't the memory foam more dense? Whatever on that one...

re endangered species - cloning experiments have gone well, the labs are overflowing now, and they are harvesting the younger and more supple Alcantrae. Think calf skin vs standard leather. It's all good...