[BubbaJay]

These are starting to ruin my other headphones for me. Everything just sounds so clear and good on these that my other headphones don't sound the same anymore, like they sound different to me now. Maybe because I've only been using these the past few days and I need to let my brain adjust back to the sound. All I know is the 95X sounds amazing for $500 and why more people don't get them is crazy.

Now I will say you need a way to boost the bass because stock they are way to soft for me and I'm not a basshead. They do take to EQ'ing the bass really well and I've gone all the way up on my Loki and they handled it no problem. For me though I feel like 4dB to 5dB is perfect and they actually hit kinda hard now.

 

[adeadcrab]

Try this eq, 6db increase @ 90hz, among other things.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vpktmiuj5ogw67p/Koss ESP:95X.pdf?dl=0

 

[BubbaJay]

I just use my Loki which starts at around 60Hz and gradually falls of from there. It works great and I like it more than any digital eq I've tried.

I've already looked at some Stax doing a little day dreaming. I'm not getting them anytime soon but it's nice to think about.

 

[barondla]

@BubbaJay the Koss show up even expensive dynamic headphones. Auditioned Sennheiser HD800, Focal Utopia, AKG 8**, and ZMF. All nice, but all so colored and slow. The Focal were in a $8K system! My 2nd fave was HiFiMan totl planars. Still preferred the Koss. Stats are amazing. They have all the detail, but highs are never sibilant.

 

[BubbaJay]

@barondla I'm really quite surprised just how much better they sound over most of my other headphones. It's not just the clarity and detail but the soundstage and imaging are really good also. They aren't the widest sounding but they have plenty of width and depth. Anyone looking for a headphone in the $500 range would be crazy not to consider these.

 

[BubbaJay]

I'm blown away everytime I listen to these that you can get this kind of top-tier audio quality for only $500. It's been a little while since I heard the HD800S but from what I remember I think these sound better with just as much detail. Why people aren't running to get these is beyond me because they sound as good as any headphone I've heard. I'm seriously considering selling most of my other headphones now because there's no need for them anymore.

 

[Amish]

@BubbaJay Want to know why they aren't more popular? Because they aren't expensive looking. That is it. If they had wood on them or some other fancy looking material or exotic looking they would be popular no doubt.

Let's face it, these things are cheap as hell looking and feeling. They sound great but I think most 'audiophiles' want high end looking and trendy headphones.

I don't really care because I for one don't give two bits what they look like. Sound is all that matters to me.

 

[BubbaJay]

I've taken a few days to compare these to my other headphones I use the most and the one thing the 95X is missing compared to the others is dynamics. My planar and dynamic driver headphones all sound more dynamic and some much more but that doesn't mean I don't like the 95X it just has a different sound. They still have wonderful clarity and detail without ever sounding harsh or bright and I love that. It's great because I have so many option now so depending on what I want I have a headphone that can fit my need. I didn't think I get to this point but I feel like I'm done buying headphones, at least not for a long time which is great because now I can focus on getting a good sim racing setup.

 

[adeadcrab]

I've taken a few days to compare these to my other headphones I use the most and the one thing the 95X is missing compared to the others is dynamics. My planar and dynamic driver headphones all sound more dynamic and some much more but that doesn't mean I don't like the 95X it just has a different sound.

I find myself agreeing, compared to the Elex the 95x sounds.. slow. Which is not meant to be the case for electrostatics?

The 95X does have that taller imaging due to the size of the drivers. And better overall soundstage / imaging compared to using the Elex through a sub-par headphone amp.

 

[BeyerMonster]

I picked up my ESP/95X from Drop a few months back. I've noticed that they tend to have a sporadic crackling noise. This is my first set of estats, and I've glanced through the last few pages of the thread but haven't seen anyone else mention this.
Plenty of past experience listening to full size Martin Logans and never noticed something like this.

Is the unit meant to be left on all the time and/or for a long warm up period to prevent this? I don't think the problem is upstream because the same DAC is hooked up to my HeadAmp and I've never noticed this phenomenon with any of my other headphones.

 

[adeadcrab]

Is the unit meant to be left on all the time and/or for a long warm up period to prevent this?

Are you leaving the energiser on 24/7? I had a similar issue and found turning off the aftermarket linear power supply + energiser stopped this sound.

There is a different kind of crackling sound at the beginning, in my experience this goes away after a few weeks.

 

[BeyerMonster]

Are you leaving the energiser on 24/7?

Nope. The only things I leave on all the time are my Yggdrasil and Gumby.

There is a different kind of crackling sound at the beginning, in my experience this goes away after a few weeks.

I guess it's sortof a break-in type thing. I did notice it happens less than it did before. I guess I'll just keep listening.

Thanks!

 

[adeadcrab]

Thanks!

How is the 95X with the Yggy? I have a Topping D50 but I want to upgrade to an R2R DAC, likely one of the Soekris units.

 

[BubbaJay]

Now that I've had a few weeks with my 95X I think it's a nice first step into electrostatic headphones. They do lack the dynamics of my other headphones and I think they also sound a bit to warm and even dark at times but all in all for $500 it's a nice little set up. I might get a different energizer to see what that does but other than that I don't plan on going further in the electrostatic game right now. I feel like a good dynamic driver and planar are what I like most in headphones but I still enjoy the 95X when listening to certain types of music.

 

[Amish]

@BubbaJay That's a good example of how different our ears are. Listening to the 95X was an eye and ear opening experience that pushed me towards buying the L700mkII and better amps. I cannot imagine going back to dynamics full time. I haven't put on any of my Grados, Audeze, Senns since. The 95x isn't near as good as the L700mkII though. Not even close.