šŸ”¶ KOSS ESP/95x

Donā€™t have them personally, but found these review on them. Have to say, Iā€™m interested.

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I had these for less than a year but a week ago my power supply overheated and cooked my energizer somehow. It doesnā€™t turn on even after getting a new power supply. This has considerably bummed me out because these headphones are my baby. I havenā€™t even looked at another pair of headphones since getting these ones, they have fulfilled my sticky headphone desires completely. They weigh nothing and itā€™s easy to just have them on forever. The separation between instruments is far beyond what I assumed was possible. When I first got them I was struck by how the sound physically sounded large. Probably because of the size of the drivers. Itā€™s like looking at the sound through a magnifying glass, particularly with vocals, they just jump out. When I first got them I actually felt like the sound was coming from the ceiling maybe because I wasnā€™t used to having that region of my hearing covered. Before now the only issue I ever had was in the first week I got them one of the drivers screeched like a banshee. But after that it never happened again and I totally forgot about it until reading this thread. There is absolutely no good solution to the fact that my energizer is dead. I have so far lacked the technical capacity to even open it properly let alone diagnose anything inside it. For warranty I would have to send everything including the headphones to Milwaukee from Australia. That would take a trillion years in shipping each way not including the time they spend fixing it. I messaged several hifi equipment servicing places if they could look at it but they wonā€™t. They all have their specific brands that they work with. There is exactly 1 in australia in a different state that supports Koss so I guess they might be the best bet. My other idea is to Karen at a phone repair place. I think they probably would be able to fix it because its all like 90s technology in there, I donā€™t think thereā€™s anything surface mounted at all. Its probably just a dead capacitor or something they would find with their multimeter and just cut off and replace. Other than fixing the energizer I could potentially get a stax one, but the only vaguely affordable (still overpriced) one is the most basic and shittest one thats probably just on par with the koss energiser and not worth the expense plus the effort of trying to get and adapter cable. Iā€™m finding it very hard not to just walk in to the shop and buy thousands of dollars of new equipment since I would need a different kind of amp and headphones and everything. That could very well be what happens. I donā€™t feel like losing out at the moment. Even if I just got a new esp950 that would be 3x the cost of what the mass drop version cost me. If I got something cheaper I would just feel like I was wasting money on a compromise and I wouldnā€™t enjoy it. I already impulse bought a HD 6XX that has no hope of getting here before I lose my mind. My only currently functional headphones are ATH-M60x which I like the sound of but are NOT all day headphones. As they crush my ears they are actually crushing my soul. If I get a new setup I will probably be testing out the cheapest stax and some planars from audeze and hifiman.
In conclusion these are amazing until something goes wrong then they are exotic and annoying.

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Get the nectar hive as an upgrade.

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What the heck is this? He builds them by himself? Iā€™m actually more interested in his DIY amp.

I have ordered the Yaxi pads, a set of purple Gradoā€™s also for one of two pairs of jacked Grados I have that Iā€™m going to detachable mod.

Oh trust me itā€™s legit. Iā€™ve heard from several reputable sources that it can go toe to toe with the best in its price category. It is an upgrade over esp/95x for sure

Doesnā€™t really make up for the fact that just a decent stax amp by itself costs as much as an amazing planar setup

If youā€™re looking for the cheapest option itā€™s likely finding some sort of electronic tinkerer/enthusiast to take a look at the amp, just networking around with friends or something until you find someone who might be able to help. You could try and find a PC or phone repair shop, but Iā€™d be slightly concerned about what they potentially might do depending on the place, Iā€™d personally make sure you didnā€™t take it to a chain location as theyā€™re both more likely to either not help or potentially screw it up (at least from my experience with computer repair places in the US, the chain stores typically suck ass).

You could get a new energizer, but if you did you might as well upgrade it, yes they are expensive for the good ones, but you will get a jump in sound quality that could still potentially make it worthwhile

Very satisfied with the Yaxis, though they were surprisingly tough for me to stretch on!
I have not had the Dekoni pads to compare them with, but Iā€™m pretty confident Iā€™d prefer the Alcantara contact patch over the fenestrated. Not sure if center-imaging is a bit less focussed now, but vocal timbre does feel more natural and I think its a little less honky in the mids. Much-improved long-term comfort, and I love these ear speakers, just an effortless presentation I really appreciate. I try not to bring them out too often to preserve them from the horrors Iā€™ve read so much about.

Hello - Iā€™m new to the community and was just desperate looking for some answers.
Iā€™ve bought ESP 95X - used but it included 220V adapter. While trying other 9V adapters with replaceable ends, I could not find any luck in powering the energizer.

It FLASHES red, once I turn it on. The AC adapters that had LED light of some kind was either blinking along with the energizer or have turned off.

Is there someone who knows what 110v adapter works with the energizer - or do you know if the flashing red light is sign of something else? Thanks

Welcome to HFGF! Just so I can better understand: you bought an ESP95X for 220V and are using a Transformer to step down for 110V? Or did you change the Power supply included with it?

Thanks!

I meant that Iā€™m not using the included power supply/adapter and instead bought a separate ā€œUSā€ adapter that meets the spec.

Iā€™m pretty ignorant in this area - but someone recommended this in the DROP community, and itā€™s not ā€œworkingā€

Hum, I see. According to the photos Iā€™ve seen and people on the Drop post about the 95x, it should use a 9V 1A power supply. The one you posted should be enough in terms of power, just make sure you turned the red ā€œknobā€ to 9V.

If the voltage is settled correctly and it still doesnā€™t work, it would be good getting a multimeter or similar to check if the output voltage is actually 9V or if the power supply is wrong. If itā€™s fine, Tham maybe the unit itself is at fault.

Sometimes this very cheap power supplies have fewer and worst quality components, so one thing to look for is a better unit. Ifi is particularly well regarded here so they are a interested option. Meanwell also comes to mind.

https://www.audiophonics.fr/en/power-supply/mean-well-acdc-switching-power-adapter-100-240v-ac-to-9v-4a-dc-p-14623.html

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will these things ever be in stock on drop again?

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Thanks for the suggestions.
Will try the multimeter method first and possibly try other adapters. Thanks!

And what also could help is a pic of the included power brick, because stax energizer have the positive on the mantle of the jack, also switched compared to nearly every other power supply :wink:


I shouldā€™ve included in the first place, thanks!

Ok so the adapter is wired normal, so most power supplies should work

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Careful! 9V happens to be where a lot of guitar pedals sit, and they are centre negative.

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Adapters are not dirt cheap but available.
Curious what the thoughts are on points of diminishing returns folks have found with using Stax energizers with the Koss earspeakers. Is the Koss unit so bad? Has anyone had experience using Stax earspeakers on the Koss energizer?