[PsychoZX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mercuttio It really kind of makes me wish that Koss was a high end headphone maker as well, with a competing product to the 650 and RS1.

Well they do have the ESP-950.

 

[Mercuttio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PsychoZX Well they do have the ESP-950.

Huh, I knew they made an Electrostat at one point, but I didn't know you could still get one... I haven't heard anything about how these sound. Are they in any way comparable to Sennheiser or Stax?

 

[Nights_85]

Ive heard they're more comparable to the hd650 once you ditch the stock wall wart power supply and give it some real juice with *insert brand/model here*....

 

[kartik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mercuttio Huh, I knew they made an Electrostat at one point, but I didn't know you could still get one... I haven't heard anything about how these sound. Are they in any way comparable to Sennheiser or Stax?

IMHO, the ESP/950 is definitely superior to the HD600and the SR-325s. Different sounding from staxen but apparently more musical and rich than the stax. What you give up in accuracy to the stax, you make up in richness.They have an interesting signature. They have a prominent foreground and slightly out of focus background. If you're listening to opera or orchestral music the lead instrument or vocal can be very musical while the back ground is quieter. Besides differences in signature is an extremely able set of cans and has a great price.Tweaks including replacing the wallwart with an Elenco variable high amperage power supply and using a preamplifier to feed the amp a hotter signal. For those with more money, Mcalisteraudio.com has a custom amp that can replace the stock amp which is crappy.

Some reviews and information about the ESP/950
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...t=koss+esp-950
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...t=koss+esp-950
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...t=koss+esp-950

 

[BluesDaddy]

You're mom and I must be close to the same age. I received a pair of those Koss for Christmast when I was 17 or 18 (around 73 or 74). Had them for a number of years but have no clue what happened to them. Probably went to the Goodwill during one of my moves after I got married.

Wish I still had them, it would be interesting to see how the sound compares to today's cans.

 

[Mercuttio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BluesDaddy You're mom and I must be close to the same age. I received a pair of those Koss for Christmast when I was 17 or 18 (around 73 or 74). Had them for a number of years but have no clue what happened to them. Probably went to the Goodwill during one of my moves after I got married. Wish I still had them, it would be interesting to see how the sound compares to today's cans.

They're not too expensive! You can still get em...

Koss Pro-4AA

 

[Jahn]

immtbiker is going to do a comparo on the new vs old versions in the next tone audio mag methinks!

 

[Mercuttio]

I'm just curious... anybody know what these retailed for when they were new?

 

[dan1son]

I've got a pair of those bad boys sitting in a box waiting to be shipped to cost to be fixed/replaced. After this weekend I will have moved 3 times in the last 6 months so I haven't shipped them yet.

They have pretty much identicle issues to what you mentioned, except the cable is still stock. The earpads and headband are completely shot... I can't wait to hear those things. There are pictures of me as a youngster with those big heavy phones on my head.

 

[kramer5150]

I wonder why Koss still markets these? They've pretty much killed off everything else from the 80s. Do these really sell that many?

You would think the Bose crowd would find them ugly and totally devoid of style, while the head-fi crowd would prefer something better sonically. Both would could easily find something more comfortable and lighter on the scalp.

???
Garrett

 

[muckluck]

I miss my Pro3s

. They were the best portable can I ever used. Good isolation, rugged, decent sound, sounded decent unamped, and I just liked them... They have been replaced by the PortaPro.

 

[dan1son]

One thing with the Pro-4AA originally was the liquid filled ear cups... they did a heck of a job blocking out outside noise. They even still have the microphone mount on the side. They were used in airplanes quite a bit.

They might be big and heavy, but they sound relatively decent and block out more sound than most sealed cans.