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ESS 252 Closed-Back Headphones

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ESS 252 Closed-Back Headphones

Name: ESS 252 Closed-Back Headphones
Brand: ESS Labs
SKU: ess-252-closed-back-headphones
Price: 75 USD
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 2.833333 (6 reviews)

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Product Description

ESS has been in hi-fi audio since the 1970s, and now the company brings its expertise in speakers to the world of headphones. The 252 headphone is particularly eye-catching, with medium-density walnut ear cups and a shiny metal frame Read More

discussions112

Sep 23, 2020

This thing worth it for pairing with VModa BoomPro for gaming?

Vote

Daeronicus

268

Jul 20, 2020

Guys, does anyone know where I can get a replacement for the headband?, mine broke after one year of use.

Vote

Calaverasgrande

1486

Mar 24, 2019

the copper tinged trim just pushed this into the dry heave category for me. Don't care how good or bad they sound. The slim chance that I could suffer a stroke and be found dead with something this hideous on my head mean a 'no buy' from this guy.

Thoughtfully_Critical

Jan 1, 2019

Hi all, in *no* way to disparage this drop but if this model were built around ESS's original "Heil Air Motion Transformer" (ESS marketing term), a folded ribbon, I'd buy them in less than a heartbeat, lol. I owned a pair of the original ESS 'phones. Imho, those were the closest I'd heard to my reference Koss electrostatics, and could def play louder. Hope all who buy these enjoy, as at $100, they seem a good deal. Thanks!

Daeronicus

268

Nov 17, 2018

OK, i must say i'm semi-dissapointed with this headphones. My pair arrived today and i have been testing it for a couple of hours now. I have pros and cons. PROS:

A very pleasant sound experience.
Vocals and mid-range are balanced. To my ears at least.
Bass is not too loud or deep but detailed. The overall sound experience was fantastic.

CONS:

A bit heavy. I was able to feel the presure on the top of my head. Is not too heavy but after a couple of tracks it was unconfortable to use.
Too rigid. I got a headache for the presure on my ears, is just too much for me.
Sometimes i could hear only trough the left side, because the imput zone on the headphone was not quite secure, i had to play with the connector to hear the sound on both sides. A little touch on the headphone connector and the sound was gone on the right ear.

I guess that the clamp pressure will get loose after some use, but i am very concerned about the audio jack on the headphone. It's the only quality issue i have detected, and i don't wanna be moving the audio jack all the time to fix it. **This was mostly machine translator so forgive if sound weird to you.

Marcus22687

328

Oct 7, 2018

Headfonics review of the ESS 252 https://headfonics.com/ess-252-headphones-review/

(Edited)

Vote

rslatara

287

Oct 5, 2018

Company's pushing these cans need to get review samples out to Joshua Valor, Metal571, DMS3 TV or Z Review.

ChumbWumba

271

Jan 2, 2019

rslataraI agree for sure... I enjoy and appreciate all of those reviewers for different reasons. Joshua Valor is typically spot for me as far as sound preferences go and I always enjoy the quality of the videos he produces!

kraken2109

Sep 30, 2018

How can nobody know if these are over-ear or on-ear? None of the reviews seem to mention this either!

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AK770

Jan 1, 2019

+1 (VERY helpful)

tutetibiimperes

266

Jan 1, 2019

The biggest weakness of both of ESS’s headphones are the pads. I just received my ESS 422h from Massdrop on Christmas Eve and they’re awful with the stock pads. I followed Zeos’ advice and swapped them with Shure 1540 pads and it completely transformed them, they’re awesome with those pads.

LX_Emergency

215

Sep 30, 2018

On ear or over ear?

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bigcjm

Oct 3, 2018

Just got a pair in. these are on the tight side....

Daeronicus

268

Nov 17, 2018

bigcjmOn the tight side? They are on the alien facehugger side, they will grab your head to never let it go. It feels like the diadems want to touch each other through your brain.

(Edited)

tsnoich

Sep 30, 2018

A well spent $99. Haven't finished breaking them in yet, but I'm very happy with the comfort and sound quality. I wanted a pair of (relatively) inexpensive headphones that would fold down and provide good sound while travelling. These work for me. I'm using them with a Hiby R6 using the 3.5mm jack and the Hiby has plenty of power to drive these.