KOSS ESP-950 Thread
Oct 12, 2019 at 11:05 AM Post #3,542 of 4,052
Hey, @stuck limo-didn't know you had the 950...how do you like it?
 
Oct 12, 2019 at 12:36 PM Post #3,544 of 4,052
Cool-I have one, used to split time between the Hifiman 560 and the Koss for over ears. Then I got the Hifiman 1000, the other 2 got very little listening time after that. And, then I just started listening mostly to in ears...
 
Oct 12, 2019 at 1:43 PM Post #3,545 of 4,052
Cool-I have one, used to split time between the Hifiman 560 and the Koss for over ears. Then I got the Hifiman 1000, the other 2 got very little listening time after that. And, then I just started listening mostly to in ears...

I would have bought the Stax but I felt, while technically impressive, was not engaging enough for me. I may go back to it one day but right now I'm more interested in the 950 which, to my recollection, sounds like-ish my beloved Senn 600. We'll see.
 
Oct 12, 2019 at 1:55 PM Post #3,546 of 4,052
I would have bought the Stax but I felt, while technically impressive, was not engaging enough for me. I may go back to it one day but right now I'm more interested in the 950 which, to my recollection, sounds like-ish my beloved Senn 600. We'll see.

You think the 950 sounds like the HD600? I owned both (just sold my 600) but I didn't think they sounded similar at all. The Senns were awesome but I really think the Koss is better all around. I really wish I would have discovered the 95x and Stax a long time ago. It could have saved me a lot of money. The tipping point for me with the 95/x was putting the Vesper pads on it. Before those pads the headphones were good but the poor sealing really hurt them. New pads not only made the seal awesome but really brought the cans to another level. More so then swapping amps IMO.
 
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Oct 12, 2019 at 1:59 PM Post #3,547 of 4,052
You think the 950 sounds like the HD600? I owned both (just sold my 600) but I didn't think they sounded similar at all.

From what I remember from half an hour of listening, they shared the same type of qualities, not necessarily that they sounded "like" each other. shrug I didn't think it was a big departure in sound signature from the 600s to the 950. We'll find out, I guess. I got a good deal on them. $485 with bonus Vesper leather earpads.
 
Oct 12, 2019 at 2:05 PM Post #3,548 of 4,052
@stuck limo Fair enough. The only recommendation I have other than vesper pads (which you have) is a better amp. I think the Koss amp is good if you listen at low to medium volumes but once you start to crank the volume this amp starts to fall apart. (anything past 12 o'clock. I think right at 1 it just goes to hell.) My Stax amp was a decent improvement and then my Mjolnir really is a BIG improvement. I can go as loud as I want and the headphones just take it. Love this amp.
 
Oct 12, 2019 at 2:14 PM Post #3,549 of 4,052
@stuck limo Fair enough. The only recommendation I have other than vesper pads (which you have) is a better amp. I think the Koss amp is good if you listen at low to medium volumes but once you start to crank the volume this amp starts to fall apart. (anything past 12 o'clock. I think right at 1 it just goes to hell.) My Stax amp was a decent improvement and then my Mjolnir really is a BIG improvement. I can go as loud as I want and the headphones just take it. Love this amp.

If I enjoy the 95x enough, I'm either going to have a guy heavily mod the amp or I'm going to go to a better, bigger amp. One of those. I have read about the stock amp extensively and most reviews seem to say exactly what you did --- the amp is the weak factor in the chain.
 
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Oct 12, 2019 at 10:14 PM Post #3,550 of 4,052
I love the clear and fast details on my koss
I'm looking for closed-back headphones that have the same sound quality of koss, I know it's difficult I mean not the same as koss 100 percent but the closest one
 
Oct 13, 2019 at 12:01 PM Post #3,551 of 4,052
I love the clear and fast details on my koss
I'm looking for closed-back headphones that have the same sound quality of koss, I know it's difficult I mean not the same as koss 100 percent but the closest one
In electrostatics closed back ones are rare! Koss made several models in the 60’s and 70’s that were a closed design. All of those models used an energizer that needed to be hooked to an external amp. They also made an ESP 950 model for use in MRI labs these are rare. Stay made one a while back again rare. If you include iem phones, Shure has a current sealed iem.
 
Oct 17, 2019 at 1:29 AM Post #3,552 of 4,052
I had a pair arrive from Drop recently. It's been a while since I checked out a relatively inexpensive 'stat rig. I noticed that the PSU is 9V/1A, so I grabbed a spare random linear (I think) PSU with those specs (which happened to be one for an old Audio-gd Digital Interface) and it pushed the SQ up a bit.

It's a nice pairing with the new Bifrost 2, but sounds good even with the Modi Multibit. The only problem is that I am tempted to put a blob of glue on the volume control, as it is a split-channel one that is hard to keep aligned when turning, though there are marks.

Koss ESP-95X-16.jpg
 
Oct 17, 2019 at 1:50 AM Post #3,553 of 4,052
In my experience one channel can be up to a notch (the space between markings) less in volume, so gluing them together should be avoided unless you've channel matched first.
 
Oct 17, 2019 at 4:55 AM Post #3,554 of 4,052
I had a pair arrive from Drop recently. It's been a while since I checked out a relatively inexpensive 'stat rig. I noticed that the PSU is 9V/1A, so I grabbed a spare random linear (I think) PSU with those specs (which happened to be one for an old Audio-gd Digital Interface) and it pushed the SQ up a bit.

It's a nice pairing with the new Bifrost 2, but sounds good even with the Modi Multibit. The only problem is that I am tempted to put a blob of glue on the volume control, as it is a split-channel one that is hard to keep aligned when turning, though there are marks.

Instead of gluing the volume knobs together invest in more Schiit. Use a Sys as volume control and never touch the Koss again.
 
Oct 17, 2019 at 5:17 AM Post #3,555 of 4,052
Better still, I should just use the Mojo as the source.
 

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