[barondla]

I wouldn’t say headphones that must be tethered to a box that needs to be plugged in to an outlet are “portable”

They were designed 30 years ago to take on location to monitor symphony orchestra recordings. The box did not have to be plugged in to the AC wall socket. They shipped with a battery box. Sure things have become smaller (just like cellphones). But, there are people today that carry Sennheiser HD800( or similar size phones) & amp in their suitcase while traveling. 30 years was a long time ago.

 

[ratboi]

They were designed 30 years ago to take on location to monitor symphony orchestra recordings. The box did not have to be plugged in to the AC wall socket. They shipped with a battery box. Sure things have become smaller (just like cellphones). But, there are people today that carry Sennheiser HD800( or similar size phones) & amp in their suitcase while traveling. 30 years was a long time ago.

And...

I took my calfskin bag, 6 C-Cell holder included, to work when I first got mine, and ruined several of my coworkers for listening to their A-T, Senn, Bose, Beats, etc headphones. Fellow I was working for today said it well - you don't know what you're missing until you try it. At least Drop has them down to a (relatively) nice price now. Yeah, maybe some of the Stax are better, but $$$. At least I have one of their later model SRM-313 to power my ESP950. Thanks Mr. Fong for the adapter...

Yes, they don't connect to my Galaxy on the go, and that makes me a little sad. Yes, I have a portable DAC, but I can't do open back at the office, so the ATH-MSR7s have to do there for now. Thank goodness at least for Soundworks Tru-Fi...

PS: Silver Sharpie on the E/90 concentric volume knob down the middle, and you'll never wonder if you've got your channels balanced. Yeah, the SRM has a better clutch, and a better current reserve/slew rate. Still, you _can_ make the E/90 work adequately, IMHO...

 

[Allanmarcus]

I wouldn’t say headphones that must be tethered to a box that needs to be plugged in to an outlet are “portable”

They were portable in 1990.

 

[PolloLoco]

Today I did some pad rolling. I previously reported buying cheap aftermarket pleather pads from Ebay. My Koss ESP95X came with velour pads, and I bought the original pads for $6.

I've never been a fan of velour pads, for comfort or sound. I hadn't used them since the first month I bought the Koss set. Going back to them, bass immediately died. The treble did not improve, these became entirely mid centric. I think too much sound escapes between driver and ear.

Next I tried the Koss Esp950 stock pads. I actually liked them. Most comfortable of all 3. Very little change in sound imo. Not much seal, they dont get warm.

I went back to the pleather aftermarket pads. The seal and clamp was immediately apparent. My skin gets warm quick under these pads. Bass increases notably. These pads make the headphones much more neutral. It's still mostly bass you can hear instead of feel, but every once in a while a track surprises me.

Edit: One other notable piece of evidence that the pleather pads seal better than stock is that after a couple songs I realized I needed to drop the volume a tick. This was after listening for a couple hours using the stock pads, then switching to the aftermarket pleather pads.

I'd say the aftermarket pads are totally worth the $12. If I stuck with velour, I'd have sold these headphones. I'm sure the Vesper pads are better yet, but $80 better? If Massdrop released Lambskin pads for say $50 I'd probably buy.

Another thing I learned over the last few months, to get a good seal I adjusted the length of each earpad to the band - to the bare minimum. That works well for my ears.

My next experiment, I imported a Stax SRM 300 from Japan for a great deal. I have a voltage adapter. A friend will help me make a Koss to Stax adapter this week. I read that most Stax desktop pro units have a slightly lower bias voltage, but higher current (except for the stax srm252) which makes for a good match relative to the Koss. I'll report back if improvement is notable.

 

[Allanmarcus]

Today I did some pad rolling. I previously reported buying cheap aftermarket pleather pads from Ebay. My Koss ESP95X came with velour pads, and I bought the original pads for $6.

I've never been a fan of velour pads, for comfort or sound. I hadn't used them since the first month I bought the Koss set. Going back to them, bass immediately died. The treble did not improve, these became entirely mid centric. I think too much sound escapes between driver and ear.

Next I tried the Koss Esp950 stock pads. I actually liked them. Most comfortable of all 3. Very little change in sound imo. Not much seal, they dont get warm.

I went back to the pleather aftermarket pads. The seal and clamp was immediately apparent. My skin gets warm quick under these pads. Bass increases notably. These pads make the headphones much more neutral. It's still mostly bass you can hear instead of feel, but every once in a while a track surprises me.

Edit: One other notable piece of evidence that the pleather pads seal better than stock is that after a couple songs I realized I needed to drop the volume a tick. This was after listening for a couple hours using the stock pads, then switching to the aftermarket pleather pads.

I'd say the aftermarket pads are totally worth the $12. If I stuck with velour, I'd have sold these headphones. I'm sure the Vesper pads are better yet, but $80 better? If Massdrop released Lambskin pads for say $50 I'd probably buy.

Another thing I learned over the last few months, to get a good seal I adjusted the length of each earpad to the band - to the bare minimum. That works well for my ears.

My next experiment, I imported a Stax SRM 300 from Japan for a great deal. I have a voltage adapter. A friend will help me make a Koss to Stax adapter this week. I read that most Stax desktop pro units have a slightly lower bias voltage, but higher current (except for the stax srm252) which makes for a good match relative to the Koss. I'll report back if improvement is notable.

The material of the pads is only one of many factors. The density of the foam, the type of foam, and the material all combine to form the pad. It sounds like the stock Drop sells with the 950 aren't very good, which it too bad. The vespers are both comfortable and provide a slightly deeper bass than stock pads.

 

[adeadcrab]

If I was to upgrade pads, it would be the Vesper alcantara variety. Would this give a better seal and increase bass?

 

[Allanmarcus]

If I was to upgrade pads, it would be the Vesper alcantara variety. Would this give a better seal and increase bass?

The (alcantra) vespers are both comfortable and provide a slightly deeper bass than stock pads.

 

[IBJamon]

My right ear has a low level crackle (kind of like rice crispies) on my 95X. At first I thought it was just the pads scratching my stubble but that's not the case.

Is there some kind of cleaning I can do to fix this?

 

[adeadcrab]

My right ear has a low level crackle (kind of like rice crispies) on my 95X. At first I thought it was just the pads scratching my stubble but that's not the case.

Is there some kind of cleaning I can do to fix this?

Not sure, I replaced my 95X because of a similar sound in the left channel. The replacement also has this sound, intermittently, in the same channel. Been less than a week which points me away from dust and to power supply.

I'm going to try using the stock power transformer, and if it continues, try the aftermarket LPS into a double adapter directly into the wall. Currently it's in a power board along with a ton of computer plugs.

 

[IBJamon]

Not sure, I replaced my 95X because of a similar sound in the left channel. The replacement also has this sound, intermittently, in the same channel. Been less than a week which points me away from dust and to power supply.

I'm going to try using the stock power transformer, and if it continues, try the aftermarket LPS into a double adapter directly into the wall. Currently it's in a power board along with a ton of computer plugs.

Hmm. It may be a source issue, or it only happens when the E/90x heats up. I'll let you know what I figure out. (I plugged in my phone this evening and didn't experience the popping.)

 

[PolloLoco]

Hmm. It may be a source issue, or it only happens when the E/90x heats up. I'll let you know what I figure out. (I plugged in my phone this evening and didn't experience the popping.)

As I mentioned on this thread before, I have that intermittent issue as well. A barely audible whine or crackle in my right ear. It goes away for days or hours, but comes back. I briefly thought I'd solved it by running off a battery, but the sound came back. Same thing with the linear power supply I briefly owned.

Another forum I recently visited had a theory that bias voltage was to blame. Supposedly Koss requires you to send the Energizer back for warranty repair or replacement. One person claimed to have measured the Bias voltage when it came back fixed of this issue, and the voltage was lowered.

It's a theory I cant prove, but others claimed that a Stax Energizer similarly solves the issue. Most Stax Energizers have slightly lower bias voltage while providing higher current.

I recently bought a Stax SRM300 and hope to test that. A friend is supposed to help me make a Koss to Stax adapter, but he hasn't had time.

I will say that on THIS forum, the most common theory is dust from manufacturing.

 

[IBJamon]

As I mentioned on this thread before, I have that intermittent issue as well. A barely audible whine or crackle in my right ear. It goes away for days or hours, but comes back. I briefly thought I'd solved it by running off a battery, but the sound came back. Same thing with the linear power supply I briefly owned.

Another forum I recently visited had a theory that bias voltage was to blame. Supposedly Koss requires you to send the Energizer back for warranty repair or replacement. One person claimed to have measured the Bias voltage when it came back fixed of this issue, and the voltage was lowered.

It's a theory I cant prove, but others claimed that a Stax Energizer similarly solves the issue. Most Stax Energizers have slightly lower bias voltage while providing higher current.

I recently bought a Stax SRM300 and hope to test that. A friend is supposed to help me make a Koss to Stax adapter, but he hasn't had time.

I will say that on THIS forum, the most common theory is dust from manufacturing.

Well I'm fortunate enough to have two pairs here (my wife has one also), so next time it happens I can try swapping cans and see what happens (assuming she is not using them).

 

[IBJamon]

Well I'm fortunate enough to have two pairs here (my wife has one also), so next time it happens I can try swapping cans and see what happens (assuming she is not using them).

Well the charge on the plates seems high enough after a while that even after being unplugged it makes noise for a while. I plugged my wife's in and it's fine, but it's hard to say if it will stay that way. I am letting hers run on my amp for a while to see what happens. It does seem like it might be the headset rather than the amp, but one could easily exasperate the other. Time will tell.

 

[IBJamon]

My wife's has the buzzing/whining sounds in the other ear.

I'm gonna say it's the phones, though as you say maybe the lower bias voltage helps.

 

[IBJamon]

From what I can tell, it seems like the plates charge, and if they get too 'hot' they start to make noise. It seems to come and go; once warmed up it's there, but if they cool down it goes away for a while.

That's my current theory anyway.