Koss ESP/95x Electrostatic System

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by VonAtlas, Sep 14, 2018.

  1. No_One411

    No_One411 Fired by Jude

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    $9 for warranty and $10 for return shipping. Well worth it for the ESP950 in my opinion, maybe not so much for their cheaper KSC75 or Portapro line. They didn't replace accessories though. (ie. bag)
     
  2. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    There's a bit of a moratorium on Massdrop products due to possible shillery. It will get resolved eventually I hope.

    Jude has suspect commentary but I have no reason to doubt his measurements.
     
  3. spwath

    spwath Hijinks master cum laudle

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    Im using a lot of effort right now to not hit the buy button. Thinking of better things that money could be used for. But it's hard...
     
  4. JimL

    JimL Tongues KG's hairy starfish for fun

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    Not sure how good a deal this is considering that:

    1) this doesn't have the portable case and battery pack
    2) Koss periodically puts these on sale for about the same price but including battery pack and case
    3) if the velour pads don't seal as well as the stock pleather the sound could be worse
    4) they don't ship until Feb, 2019
     
  5. VonAtlas

    VonAtlas New

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    Is there a different thread talking about this?
     
  6. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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  7. Cspirou

    Cspirou They call me Sparky

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    Although i would think comments from senior members should be fine since this is basically a rebranded product.
     
  8. nithhoggr

    nithhoggr Author of the best selling novel Digital Jesus

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    Considering that most people say to ditch the energizer for a Stax amp at the first opportunity, is the battery pack really that important? And sure the case would be nice, but I'm not sure it's a make-or-break inclusion...how often are you going to be schepping around your estat setup?

    Nobody seems to be commenting on this bit, but this really seems important. Right now, AFAIK Koss-to-Stax adapters go for ~$150 (at least the ones I can find), so there's a bit of a hidden cost to what's otherwise a set of budget estats. If Massdrop can put out a reasonably priced adapter, that'd be a gamechanger for these.
     
  9. crazychile

    crazychile Eastern Iowa's Spiciest Pepper

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    Does anyone even use the battery pack and bag? I never have and they've been sitting in the box since day one. Maybe this was a cool thing back in the early 90's so you could walk around with your Discman and the ESPs to look like the cast of Revenge of the Nerds. Losing these accessories to me would be a no brainer to save costs.

    If MD makes a reasonably priced Koss to Stax adapter cable I'd probably still buy another one. I had to make my own from a Stax extension cable and the spare Koss extender. I probably still have $110 in parts invested, but at least it has a proper Stax plug on it. But if it ever gets to a point of disrepair I'd like to have another one around.

    Koss used to do a big 40% off sale around Black Friday weekend each year to bring the ESP-950 bundle down to $600. I bought mine a few years ago this way. I seem to recall though that the last 2 years they either excluded the ESP-950s, or the discount wasn't as good. If any of you are thinking about holding out for this sale this year so you can get the extra bag and battery pack. I wouldn't recommend it because it might not happen. I'd jump on the MD deal pronto.
     
  10. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    couple things:
    • I think at this price the energizer is a freebie.
    • @No_One411 is a senior member.
    Personally, I think this looks like a badass deal. Use the energizer until someone has an affordable stat amp and pick that up.

    There is no moratorium. @purr1n has been in the hospital and stats aren't @Hands' thing. MD has so much stuff that we need to start testing out more among the senior staff.
     
  11. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    I do wonder if the Stax SRS-3100 might not be a better gateway drug, mind you. Isn't it under 800USD? Easy as hell to resell if you hate it six months down the line, too.
     
  12. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    I’ve owned a bunch of stats including the 007 mk1 with some good pairings. With a better amp, I’d strongly recommend the Koss over anything Stax outside of the high high end.
     
  13. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    I've never really had enough time with stats to claim that. Only briefly heard the 007 and 009 on a single amp. I'd have happily tested this and reported back if asked. Actually, have always been curious to try it.
     
  14. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    No soup for you.
     
  15. Grattle

    Grattle Friend

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    If using "massdrop blue" is why they don't ship until 2/19, then, I'd rather they just stick with stock and stick a "Made Possible by Massdrop" logo somewhere. At least with the HD58X - there was a new driver to tune.
     
  16. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    I've asked @CEE TEE for a sample unit. At $499, it's a no brainer if you wanted to get a different sound from dynamics and orthos. I'd take this package over any of the cheaper STAX Lambda packages. The KOSS provided amp does the job.

    I'm not really sure it's going to sound better from an STAX energizer, especially if you are trying to be cheap and your power amp is mediocre. Much better off taking that money toward a dedicated STAX amp. Keep in mind I've played and done all this shit before five, six, seven years ago.

    I'm mostly curious about the tweaked pads.
     
    Last edited: Sep 19, 2018
  17. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    The energizer isn't what you think of as an energizer @purr1n, no power amp required. It's actually just a butt amp on its own.
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Oh, I was responding to OP about getting a STAX energizer (not a STAX amp). What I was trying to say is that the Koss "energizer" or amp is fine and that a STAX SRD-7 Pro energizer + cheapo power amp might not yield better results. The STAX SRD-7 Pro destroys fidelity.
     
  19. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The ESP950 have always been highly thought of going back to the Changstar days. It seems that @CEE TEE's tweaked pads ameliorated one of its weakness - a tendency for mid-bass and lack of bass extension. I prefer the frequency response of the ESP950 to that of ANY STAX headphone. At $499, as far as I am concerned, it's a SBAF Golden Schlong candidate.
     
  20. M3NTAL

    M3NTAL Friend

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    If you get these, try to check out the Verum pad also. I'm very happy with improved comfort and getting a better seal + bass to go along with it.
     

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