[darinf]

Well, I just spoke to someone at customer service. Extension cables in stock, and my price would be $20 each. Today.

She was familiar with the Massdrop 95X, and said the only 'cushions' available from her were the original stock at $5 per pair.

Good luck, Darin.

I am not sure what's going on, but Koss assured me that the CSR you spoke to was misinformed and they are not selling extension cables. And they are not $20 even if they did sell them.
Oh well...Maybe I should have someone try an actually order one and see what happens.

 

[barondla]

Not surprised extension cables are difficult to obtain. They weren't going to be offered in the Massdrop package originally. 665 ESP-95X have been sold. That's a lot of extra cables Koss didn't plan for. Takes time to manufacture them. If another company makes the cable, Koss probably had to pay extra to move up in line.

 

[ratboi]

Sorry, I have no idea. There is a poll at this link with no explanation. Kinda lame. For all we know, the question is "what is under princess Leia's hair buns?

_that_ is a line I've been trying very hard not to respond to...

 

[fjf]

Just got my Massdrop ESP-95X. Wow. These things sound incredible. So detailed and natural. ANd yes, they come with an extension cable, because the attached cable is short.

 

[barondla]

Just got my Massdrop ESP-95X. Wow. These things sound incredible. So detailed and natural. ANd yes, they come with an extension cable, because the attached cable is short.

@fjf agree they are amazing sounding. It is very hard to explain the sound to people that have never heard electrostats. They believe there will be a slight resolution difference comparable to changing driver material or tuning. But, it is a much greater improvement. Like comparing HD to 4K tv. Stats are so much faster and store so much less energy, their resolution is on a whole different level. People don't realize this unless they experience it.

This is a 30 year old headphone design. Have we really accomplished much sonically in the last 30 years? With stats becoming more popular, it will be amazing to see what develops.

Enjoy your headphones and all the "new" music.

 

[Allanmarcus]

re: extension cables

1-800-USA-KOSS
1-800-872-5677

option 3, customer service

Spoke to Ruby. They are out of stock. No ETA for stock, or if new stock is coming in.

 

[adeadcrab]

Just got my Massdrop ESP-95X. Wow. These things sound incredible. So detailed and natural. ANd yes, they come with an extension cable, because the attached cable is short.

Same here, except that I am in Australia and using a US->AUS plug adaptor results in a ground loop hum. I've emailed koss to ask whether another 9V 1A adaptor would fix this, if anyone else has some tips to deal with ground loop hum I'm all ears So far I've found the hum stops when I ground myself by making physical contact with chassis of my preamp, or my keyboard.

I was prepared to be underwhelmed but the ESP 95/X is su-perb. Truly.

 

[donato]

Just received mine. Quick impressions. Headphones are highly plasticky that it almost feels like a toy. The energizer/amp is also modestly constructed. The double volume control is super annoying and I already abandoned it by just using the lineouts on my V281 and using that as a preamp for my volume control. I'm getting a little bit of buzzing and low level squeal(?) from the left channel, but I've got so much equipment around and I just threw it on top of a stack of my other gear, so maybe it's interference of some kind (seems to be minimized/non-existent now that it's warmed up?). All that being said, the sound quality is quite nice for the money. It's not analytical at all which is great for me. Minimal sibilance. Tone and timbre are quite good. Stringed instruments (the string and the body), piano sound great. Sub bass is rolled off. Not as dynamic as well, a dynamic driver. Overall, it's a very pleasant and enjoyable sounding HP so far.

Is there a burn in period with these (sorry, I need to go back a bit in this thread and read up)? Any tweaks/mods?

 

[adeadcrab]

...The double volume control is super annoying and I already abandoned it by just using the lineouts on my V281 and using that as a preamp for my volume control. I'm getting a little bit of buzzing and low level squeal(?) from the left channel, but I've got so much equipment around and I just threw it on top of a stack of my other gear, so maybe it's interference of some kind (seems to be minimized/non-existent now that it's warmed up?). All that being said, the sound quality is quite nice for the money. It's not analytical at all which is great for me. Minimal sibilance. Tone and timbre are quite good. Stringed instruments (the string and the body), piano sound great. Sub bass is rolled off. Not as dynamic as well, a dynamic driver. Overall, it's a very pleasant and enjoyable sounding HP so far.

The violetric V281 may be smoothing them out, still quite a nice pairing if you like that. My unit sounds utterly transparent, from what I can compare to in the past. The very high end treble (cymbal overtones) might be not as detailed as the DT880, but I'm aware the DT880 has an unnatural peak in the treble region.

Is there a burn in period with these (sorry, I need to go back a bit in this thread and read up)? Any tweaks/mods?

I don't believe electrostatics burn in, there's nothing *to* burn in.

 

[barondla]

The violetric V281 may be smoothing them out, still quite a nice pairing if you like that. My unit sounds utterly transparent, from what I can compare to in the past. The very high end treble (cymbal overtones) might be not as detailed as the DT880, but I'm aware the DT880 has an unnatural peak in the treble region.


I don't believe electrostatics burn in, there's nothing *to* burn in.

My Koss ESP95X burned in. The diaphrams are stretched like a drum head. Playing them should loosen the tension some allowing a little more excursion.

Acoustat speaker company recommended using a blow dryer to tighten their panels.
Here is a thread about it. https://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/vt.mpl?f=mug&m=193477

Also the E90 amp, like any amp, has parts to break in.

 

[ratboi]

re: extension cables

1-800-USA-KOSS
1-800-872-5677

option 3, customer service

Spoke to Ruby. They are out of stock. No ETA for stock, or if new stock is coming in.

Oh well. Maybe I should have tried before they 'fixed' the ordering system. I guess this is the kosst of their newfound popularity.

I'm impressed, the 95X are stock at Massdrop now. Probably surprised the ssoks off the Koss ppl...

OKoss, I'm done...

 

[ratboi]

Just received mine. Quick impressions. Headphones are highly plasticky that it almost feels like a toy. The energizer/amp is also modestly constructed. The double volume control is super annoying and I already abandoned it by just using the lineouts on my V281 and using that as a preamp for my volume control. I'm getting a little bit of buzzing and low level squeal(?) from the left channel, but I've got so much equipment around and I just threw it on top of a stack of my other gear, so maybe it's interference of some kind (seems to be minimized/non-existent now that it's warmed up?). All that being said, the sound quality is quite nice for the money. It's not analytical at all which is great for me. Minimal sibilance. Tone and timbre are quite good. Stringed instruments (the string and the body), piano sound great. Sub bass is rolled off. Not as dynamic as well, a dynamic driver. Overall, it's a very pleasant and enjoyable sounding HP so far.

Is there a burn in period with these (sorry, I need to go back a bit in this thread and read up)? Any tweaks/mods?

Re the stacked volume control... Silver sharpie in a groove when you've got them lined up, quick cleanup with isopropanol. Turn them together, easy to see if you get them out of alignment. The more gear you put in the food chain - even of the quality of a V281 - the more chance for signal degradation. And, ground loops. That amp of theirs needs grounding, for sure. You want dynamic from those phones? There is an abandoned dsp project you can still find, a harmonic 'exciter', that works with foobar. I like it more than just juicing the lower EQ. Search the thread if you might be interested. A good EQ is still recommended, though...

I'm enjoying my other - more portable - headphones since discovering the balanced output I get with the help of Sonarworks, but these still make the others take a back seat when I'm home. After squaring with Uncle Sam, next step is figuring out how to get these to and from Latvia for a good calibration.

 

[adeadcrab]

Has anyone tried a linear power supply instead of the stock adaptor? I was thinking of something to solve ground loop and found this:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/15V...1c-4061-af8e-9086f4d51f1a&transAbTest=ae803_5

It does 9V / 1.25A apparently, while the stock adaptor does 9V/1A. Would this linear power supply work? Is that close enough in line with stock specs?

 

[barondla]

Has anyone tried a linear power supply instead of the stock adaptor? I was thinking of something to solve ground loop and found this:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/15V...1c-4061-af8e-9086f4d51f1a&transAbTest=ae803_5

It does 9V / 1.25A apparently, while the stock adaptor does 9V/1A. Would this linear power supply work? Is that close enough in line with stock specs?

@adeadcrab this power adapter would work. As long as the votage is correct (at 9v it is) and the amperage is at least 1.0A (more is fine) all is good. The adapter also needs to output DC and have the correct size barrel connector wired in the correct polarity.

I tried an ifi adapter that is an ultra clean 2A switching supply. It hums because of a ground loop. Haven't had time to figure out a fix. Much earlier in this thread people were using a 3A linear supply and most thought it was a sonic improvement.

 

[adeadcrab]

Ok, so >= 1A, and 9V only? I'd better get one.