Koss ESP950

I just got a pair in last week and I'm really digging them so far, they're a really nice change of pace from the Sennheisers.

Apparently these pads are made of protein leather and don't appear to be the same as the stock ones, might pick up a pair and give them a shot: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Replacement-Cushion-Ear-Pad-cover-For-Koss-esp950-esp-950-esp-950-headphones-/172165474909?hash=item2815dcaa5d:g:53UAAOSw8RJXDQqA

 

Great work. I would also be interested in a source for the memory foam. My only criticism of this would be that the electrical tape could get gummy after time? What do you think of taking this one step further but using some adhesive to glue a thin piece of leather over the area that was cut and stuffed?

I might have to experiment with this. I have an extra set of pads laying around.

I don't have any experience with this, but I wonder what it might cost to commission a run of 50-100 pairs of these in leather from alibaba.com or someone equivalent.

 

Those pads look great! I'm getting my 950 back from Koss repair soon, and I will make a decision on ordering custom pads. Looks like $47 for custom leather pads might be a good deal. How thick are you pads?

 

Since there is nothing very dangerous about these mods, you could always give it a try and only be out $10 if it doesn't work out. The craft materials are from Hobby Lobby and Michaels. Both stores always have substantial coupons available, so you can get all the materials you need for cheap.

We should see what the smallest order we could order in "bulk" for memory foam pads with leather covers. I would definitely be in on getting custom pads made. Before we did a mass order, it would be awesome if we could develop a prototype and have it tested by someone who has a measurement rig.

I definitely understand your concern about the tape, as I had a similar concern when I was first buying materials. The best thing you can do to prevent this is to not cheap out when buying electrical tape. Don't buy the dollar-store stuff. You will have to pay $4-$6 for a small roll of professional grade tape that won't turn into a gluey mess. Long term, I will be looking into a 100% permanent solution, but while experiments are still be conducted permanency is actually counterproductive.

For the memory foam, I picked up a 1 inch memory foam topper on Amazon. After actually working with the stuff, I now know that the pads really need 2 inch thick foam once compression takes its affect. I can't find the one I purchased so it might not be for sale anymore. It was in the $40 range so it represents a larger investment than the other components required for modification. You do want to make sure that it is some decent quality foam though... scratchy foam that isn't dense enough would be disastrous.

In regards to how thick the pads need to be, I might be an outlier, but because I am very tall I have proportioned ears that need a little more room than the stock pads offered. After the modification of the pads and baffle there is around 1/4 inch in added room for the ears.

 

Good point about the electrical tape. I have rolls of cheap Harbor Freight crap for general use, and I also try to keep some 3M stuff around when it matters.

This may be a Fall project for me, but I might call around about seeing if someone in the US could make these to avoid the language and shipping issues with having them made overseas. The trick will be to find someone that won't ask $5k to do a small run of them.

 

I'm curious... Do you include the SR-009 here?

 

I've owned a pair of ESP-950s for almost 2 years now to affordably check out the electrostatic sound. I like them a lot but they're kind of a gateway drug. For the last year or so I've considered taking a leap up into some higher level Stax and a KGwhatever amp, but that's not something you can ease into financially so I've decided against it.

I bought a pair of HD-650s recently and enjoy them at least as much. They don't sound the same and for certain kinds of music the Koss' are a little better. But for what I listen to my other headphones have gotten more use and the Koss have been sitting for a few months. I might end up just selling them to simplify things a bit. I'm not a collector so if something doesn't get used for a while I sell it or donate it.

 

I run my ESP-950s with a Mjolnir Audio ExStata amp where Birgir upgraded the power supply. It was an improvement over the stock Koss amp, but not a huge improvement. I suppose it would get better with a more expensive amp, but as I mentioned before, I'm not really willing to sink more money into a large electrostatic upgrade to do it.

 

[fyi: cross posted on HF]
I finally got my custom ESP950 pads from http://vesperaudio.com ([email protected]). Price was about $50 for the pair. Pretty darned reasonable.

It took two tries to get the pads right, but I think they are pretty good. I would still like the pad cavity (the ear-hole) to be a few mm wider, but the pads fit the cans well, are very comfortable, and add a little lower level energy to the sound. Leather outers and alcantra pad hybrid. vesper audio can make them all leather if preferred.

They are in Russia (I think), so transit time is a week or two to the USA. I paid with PayPal, but they prefer western union or unistream. Throw a few extra bucks in there if you pay PalPay. They are legit.

The pads are a bit of a pain to get on, but patience and perseverance will overcome. Since VA already has the measurements, it's easier for them to make pads for the ESP950. Again, I would ask them to make the cavity 2mm larger, but even if they used the template from my pads, they are very good pads.

 

Are there measurements for these pads, as in FR/Thd? I'd love to see the ESP950 get some good news, but I'm always wary of pad rolling.