armani006
Member of the Trade: DIY cable maker
Super quality ! I will order more pads.
what kind of copper wire ?oth cables end with a 4pin mini XLR connector
All cables are their Empathy CL type, I believe. I asked them to help choose a cable type for portability.what kind of copper wire ?
Hello! Just got my custom pads and headband cover from Vesper for my Koss ESP-950's!
Here's some pics first off:
My impressions so far are very good! First off, the headband, WOW! For the $15 paid I was fully expecting just a piece of cut out simple leather with some Velcro stuck on, which for the price I was fine with. Instead what I got was a custom fitted padded all sewn headband that fits precisely and tightly and is seriously some impressive work! Honestly is looks damn near like I replaced the original. Absolutely great attention to detail. Surpasses my expectations 100%!
As for the pads they're equally amazing. Fit is perfect. What I asked for is exactly what I got. The memory foam is soft and giving yet supportive, the leather is super supple and soft. Sewing work is top notch, has a very "manufactured" quality to it in a good sense. None of this stuff comes off as that sometimes slightly janky "handmade" type quality. Everything looks like it was made specifically for this headphone from day one. Superior craftsmanship, you can tell they know what they're doing.
All of it is super functional as well. The pads fix the seal on these cans which helps a LOT with the bass (don't get it twisted by reviews, when EQ'ed the 950's are a beast) and the pads being thicker help clamp just that ever bit more that these headphones really need. The headbands extra padding is nice and the leather on all the pads run way cooler than the cheap pleather of the stock pads. I don't get sweaty at all in these, stock I did all the time. The Vespa pads also added a greater feel and sense of quality to these cheap plastic feeling ESP-950's. They genuinely now look and feel closer to what they cost and less like cheap Koss headphones.
Since I am being honest I do have a couple issues, both maybe major or minor depending on the person.
First issue, I asked for the inside of the pads to be blue leather on one and red leather on the other to signify the left/right channels and just to add some color and uniqueness, right? The problem is that the blue leather is SUPER dark and almost looks black (the blue looks a LOT more blue in the pics due to the cameras flash, here's more what I see: https://i.imgur.com/dsHXtHp.jpg). Now why is this a problem? Well, one, the pictures I was provided of the blue leathers they have aren't quite accurate it appears and might be misleading, not intentionally of course but still, looks a lot more blue than it does in person. Secondly since I wanted the colors to contrast well with each other and knowing pictures can be misleading I asked for them to use their discretion in which blue leather looked right with the red. Seeing them in person I honestly don't see how anyone thought they looked good together...should have gone with a lighter tone blue clearly, the red is not a darker toned red in the slightest.
Secondly the leather quality, while nice in terms of the leather, has some flaws. They're very minor but there are a few nicks and slight scratches on the black leather...might just be how it is though so I don't know if I should be critical or not. Speaking of flaws there also appears to be what looks like slight specs of white paint on the blue leather, maybe nicks in it that cut below the colored surface? Not sure and there aren't many, mind you, but they're there.
Either way I've contacted them about these issues and to see about some other options with the blue leather so I'll update if need be.
But yeah other than these issues I love them and they're certainly worth the asking price even as is. I was a little hesitant at first as you don't really know what you're getting (lesson learned!) and it is a decent chunk of change for some ear pads but now that I have them and see how well they're made...man...totally would do it again in a heart beat! Really top notch stuff here. I will say again to make sure you know what you're getting, for sure.
After all is said and done I do want to give a big shout out and thanks to Vespa Audio for transforming my most favorite headphone into something I can now truly say is my own and into the quality feeling and sounding headphone that it should be!
Great review, thanks! Apart from the improvement in bass, did you notice any other changes in sound with the these pads? Oh and how much did you pay if you don't mind me asking?
Sorry for the late reply, just seeing this response! Apart from the bass they sound the same for the most part. As for price I think it was like $115 all said and done for the pads and headband, shipping included. DEFINITELY well worth it, I'm still impressed everytime I put these Koss on!
Thanks! I spoke to someone else who bought the leather Vesper pads but with suede on the ear-facing surface, and they said there was some loss of upper treble 'airiness' compared to the stock pads. Do you notice anything like that with your full-leather pads?