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ESS 422H Headphones

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ESS 422H Headphones

Name: ESS 422H Headphones
Brand: ESS Labs
SKU: ess-422h
Price: 125 USD
Availability: OutOfStock
Rating: 3.896552 (58 reviews)

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Product Description

Featuring a 40-millimeter moving-coil dynamic driver and ESS’s Art of AMT technology, the 422H headphones deliver a full range of natural sound. Describing the improved multi-fold Air Motion Transformer, Major HiFi says: “It pushes currents back and forth in a way that prevents air from escaping in the wrong direction Read More

Customer Reviews

3.9

(58 reviews)

(17)

(28)

(6)

(4)

(3)

81% would recommend to a friend

By Feature

Build Quality

4.0

(1)

Sound

5.0

(1)

Comfort

4.0

(1)

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Tocotronic

Aug 3, 2024

Music Genres:Electronic, Rock

Verified Buyer

Great headphones (but need some modding)

These are fantastic headphones for the price - if you are ready to spend some more money and time to modify them. I agree with most of the other reviews that were complaining about comfort and fit - out of the box, the ESS are close to horrible... First, I change the earpads to Brainwavz sheepskin earpads (in brown, which additionally gives them a very nice look) - with the bigger distance between the ears and the drivers not only do the become much more comfortable than the original (very thin) earpads, but also the sound improves significantly. Second, as the clamping force of the headband is very strong (and the headband is very uncomfortable, causing constant pain where it rests on the head), I added 2 Dekoni Nuggets under the headband (so that they don't rest with the headband anymore on the skull, but in the Nuggets). This doesn't really improve the looks (it rather looks a bit odd), but makes it possible to wear them for a longer amount of time. And third, I changed the very flimsy and thin cable against a more sturdy one - there are a lot of decent options, as the connection is simply a 3.5mm jack on both sides (I am using a VanDamme cable from Best Cables). Finally modded, the sound is outstanding for this price point. Very clear and full treble (as it can be expected by the AMT), providing great transparency. The bass is also very impressive - deep and fast, and with a lower mid range that delivers a good reproduction of voices. When taking them out for a listen after not having used them for a while, I was so impressed that I had to compare them to my trusted higher-priced cans (like the Fostex TH-X00 or the Beyerdynamic DT 177X GO, which are still my favorite headphones), and only in direct comparison some limits became audible (like the deeper bass of the Fostex of the better soundstage and overall tonal balance of the Beyers), but again, for the price they were sold at on Drop, and even after adding the cost for the modding, these are exceptional headphones that can easily play along in a much higher price range. A clear recommendation!

Recommends this product? Yes

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RipTrip

Jan 20, 2023

Verified Buyer

They resonate decently

nothing too crazy but they serve they're purpose and make music come to light the highs are pronounced and lows really breathe but most of all the bass is theatre like

Recommends this product? Yes

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marekskwarek

Nov 26, 2022

Verified Buyer

Cool headphones

Recommends this product? Yes

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LesleyM

Sep 20, 2022

Verified Buyer

Good for the price

Build quality is ok for the price. Camping pressure is perfect for me. Head band not padded. They stay in place. Attractive wood cups. Thin signal wires look like they could easily be damaged where they are exit the head band. Laid back presentation.

Recommends this product? Yes

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entreprenerd

Jul 14, 2022

Verified Buyer

All that's wood isn't beautiful

Hard pass on these headphones. They sound good, but are so uncomfortable and poorly built, that you cannot really wear these for long enough to enjoy the sound. Th headband is misshapen, mostly, the ear cup slider has no resistance at all and the ear pads are weirdly small on the inside. If you took the drivers and placed them in a different chassis, these could be good, great even...perhaps retain the wood cups...but obviously this is not a realistic option, unless you're a modder. Nothing to see here, folks. Get something else please :-)

Recommends this product? No

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Average_closed_back_enjoyer

Jun 19, 2022

Verified Buyer

Great sound for very little money

Pad swap saved these, the stock pads COVER the AMT driver. Now they sound great, a little too mid heavy for me but that can be fixed with EQ

Recommends this product? Yes

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red_buffet

Nov 23, 2021

Verified Buyer

Awesome, but make the adjustments

As many have mentioned, these need new earpads. I ultimately went with the Brainwavz sheepskin pads and they made a huge difference in sound and comfort. I also picked up a geekria adhesive headband pad for $7 that made them way more comfortable as well. The clamping pressure does loosen the more you wear them. As for sound, I mainly run them through an es100 and they sound amazing, but even sound good straight from my phone listening to Spotify. I feel like I'm in the studio. Surprisingly spacious sounding for a closed back. They isolate really well too. Having to make some extra effort to improve them out of the box may turn some off, which I get, but with where I have them at now, I won't be looking for new closed backs for a while.

Recommends this product? Yes

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Fight-On

Sep 17, 2021

Verified Buyer

It's beautifully made

Before purchasing the 422H headphones, I've listened to the ESS AMT 1 speakers with the Heil Air Motion Transformer a long time ago. The speakers sounded great, I remembered. When I saw this on Drop at a fairly reasonable price, I decided to get it. First impression, it's beautiful and very well made, but it's kind of heavy. After listening to it for a while, it did not live up to my expectations. I was hoping it would sound as good as the AMT 1, but it didn't. I remembered the high notes were so clean from the AMT 1. Then again, the current successor to the AMT 1 is over $4000, not a fair comparison. Compared to other headphones, the 422H didn't sound any different than other closed back dynamic headphones, kind of similar to my Senn HD280, but with slightly crisper high's. To me, the AMT really doesn't add much extra. In fact, my Senn HD-6XX sounded much better. PS, I did not do any mods, and no EQ.

(Edited)

Recommends this product? No

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Shad-Harm

Aug 14, 2021

Verified Buyer

Great sounding headphones... If you are prepared to tweak them.

"Sound as clear as light" is the marketing, sound wise, for me, so far, they are within the ballpark of the most clear in terms of sound that I have heard from a pair of headphones so far. Fresh out of the box, I grabbed my Hiby R3 to see how they sound, I will admit, I was surprised by the phone cable that was supplied, but the sound without a pad-swap is... Intense, I could listen to them without the change in pads, but, not for long periods. I plugged the 422H into my phone's headphone to see how they react, if my phone is anything to go by, it can power them, the sound was darker than my DAP, On a whim I have been trying the 422H on my Drop+THX One amp, it doen't need the extra power, but anything in my collection that is on the louder-side of recording keeps my fingers not far from the volume knob. My Mods: Brainwavz pads: The Micro-suede pads made the sound a little less intense, the perforated PU pads were the same as the Micro-suede, with a little more emphasis on the bass, with the Velour pads being the winner so far. Headband: I also added a bit more padding up the top in the form of a headband protector made from wetsuit material, I ball-parked a guess that the cover made to fit a pair of Audio technica ATX M40x/Fostex T50rp headband would fit and guessed well, there is enough play that I could add an off-cut of foam, which I may end up doing, as the weight of the headband becomes unbearable after wearing for two to three hours. The fit: If you have a largish head, the clamp force is pretty intense, I reversed flexed the headband a few times to make it more tolerable for my own head, the Headband adjustment slides with no tactile click, it's not loose, but a slight bump can adjust the fit without warning (I hope it does not get worse with age). Weight: The wooden cups are surprisingly light in comparison to the Sendy Aiva's that I own, with the majority of the weight in the headband, if you don't like something heavy sitting on your head, I would suggest to buy some Dekoni nuggets or go down the same road that I have. Overall: The sound these give is amazing, if Drop turned around and announced that they are doing a revision of these at the current price or even +$100 to the current markdown, provided Drop addressed the comfort and sound issues, I would buy the revision, no question. At the current price, they are a good headphone mod project, as they are worth the extra $$$ in pads and mods, but in terms of "pick-up-and-use" headphone, these are not what you are looking for. Edit: I ended up adding that piece of foam, it's still a bit fatiguing for long periods, but it is now tolerable than uncomfortable.

(Edited)

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Mrvoje

Aug 12, 2021

Verified Buyer

Better than good headphones

I've gotten these as my first "higher" quality set, but mostly decided to do so because of the dedicated tweeter. Surprisingly out of the box these headphones are very dark, complete opposite of what was expected. Swapped over to shurepads (listened to Z), they opened up but remained dark. In comes global AMP via APO, with generous push in the high freq. (4db) and some push in 1-6k range (stepped from 0.6-2.3), and they become what i expected, thump in the lows is preserved while getting a bright but not thin sound, some of that darkness is preserved in deeper vocals (very nice) but easily allows high pitched vocals normally found in power metal to shine through. Worth mentioning is that they can be pushed a lot in the lows without affecting rest of the sound negatively, they get that... ugh, cinema like thump/vibration, very interesting when watching movies. Not the most comfy thing on one's head but no bother for me, I'd recon it's cause of my big head clamp holds more weight than the top of my head. Have no issues wearing them 4-8h at a time. Definitely changes and relaxes with use, sound between day 1 and 7 is different. Can easily recommend for certain type of listener, especially on a budget and living in a busy street as they isolate greatly as well. Have to have con, and honestly, it's probably not a con a the price point, but if you are going to make them wood + metal, spend more time designing the rails as these are probably the worst ever, no stops, no clamp, no end stops... They just do not hold at same place between uses. Edit: Forgot to mention, even as a newbie in the hobby, I can definitely tell they lack a bit of power being driven off a MB. Deeper into the hole I go...

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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