Massdrop x Koss ESP/95X Electrostatic System Reviews | Drop

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Massdrop x Koss ESP/95X Electrostatic System

Dec 24, 2019

Verified Buyer

AN UNBOXING, and an EDITED REVIEW AFTER RUN-IN/BURN-IN, AND Other CHRISTMAS MIRACLES.....

...like Fedex SmartPost actually delivered inside 6 months! ;) anywayz......... We'll get photos here in a moment. But FIRST, I want to talk about stars. And what my review and opinions are about. Stars; I give audio stars not just on how things sound,(which is the MOST important weight in my audio reviews), but on how something presents out of the box. These required assembly and offered me a pet peeve regarding connectivity. A BIG pet peeve. So these are discounted a star immediately. The remaining stars were given happily because this system is doing a good job at DOING the job. And it's not even run in yet. Review and opinions; I have said this almost every time I do a review anywhere, and I will say it again here- Evaluating audio is SUBJECTIVE, (mostly, as technical stuff should still be about FACTS, not opinions), how I appreciate what something sounds like, or feels on my head is about ME and what I hear/feel. Other people will have entirely different views and what they listen to will be different than what I am listening to, which will affect what's coming out of the package, and maybe their source will be better than, or inferior to, my source for noise..... anyway, you catch my drift as to how to understand subjectivity and opinions and how to read whether you will agree or disagree with what I am tossing down here. One of these days I will put my test music list on my profile so that I can just link to it for your perusal, instead of having to post the entire thing on each review. But here we go again; Kind of Music chosen; (Yes, you've seen this list before, because it's THE SAME LIST I ALWAYS USE),Lots of classical with much strings, voice, Beethoven through Bernstein and Glass. Lots of electronic music a la Wollo, Boddy, Roach, Serrie, etc. Much Leo Kottke guitar happiness, with some Bluegrass and Appalachian schtuff tossed in. Classical piano. Silk Road Ensemble. Popular and Rock, from Joplin to Foo Fighters to Neil Young to classic Santana, to The Killers to Maroon 5 and so on. Jazz and Blues , Muddy Waters, early Severin, Puente, Bill Evans, Getz, Davis, Monk. I don't really do Rap, Dub, or Hip-Hop, although I did run a little Black Eyed Peas and Outkast through it. My musics were chosen to represent the spectrum and check out what this rig offers in the way of clarity, speed, presentation of details. Source- I am starting out with the Aune X1 Mini DAC/amp off my Apple iMac playing the musics AFLAC and Lossless etc. At some point I will run from various other sources, but because this Electrostat has no DAC, this is where I start since I listen a LOT at my desktop. And, right now, we're running/burning in, so it's a fair start, especially since I can play with those EQ settings that have already been much discussed. Comparison- These are Electrostatics. Therefore, my only comparison will be to my Stax. I don't think comparing to anything else is really pertinent. Okay, so that's my opener for this review. You have the preamble...we now turn to The Unboxing and set-up;

Nice box, neatly compartmentalized in shaped foam insert.

The Goods

Required assembly of the headphone/yoke, which wasn't SUPER-easy, having a fiddly attachment. WARNING; DON'T ACCIDENTALLY PRESS THE EAR SPEAKER RELEASE BUTTON,(way too easy to do, btw), as the ear speaker will PLUMMET off of the yoke. This was part of that one-Star loss.

Assembled and NOT plummeting just here. Note the massdrop colour way, which I find appealing and a bit less exposing of any dusts that can well be attracted to all things headphone and electrostatic. Oh, and about "flimsy" remarks- They are NOT. They are lightweight, which I absolutely prefer to the Stax "Tank" weight, but the yoke size adjustment is a bit more "slippy" than I am happy with. I'd rather just a tad more friction.

Extension cable provided so that you don't have to sit 2 feet from the power box...

Also provided, an interconnect cable. I will probably use a custom set with better impedance and shielding, but this seems adequate.

THE PET PEEVE and Biggest Part of the One-star deduction; If you are sending me a mid-to-high end piece of audio equipment, don't you DARE send me this, (and I had to provide the min-to-1/4" adaptor, btw);

It should ALWAYS, IMO, be 1/4" jacks and plugs, with a downsizer adaptor provided, if one must attach to a mini-jack. Yes, yes, I can use the interconnects to a desk rig or DAC or whatever. But I just have a thing about min-pins and min-ports. I don't like places where impedance and signal adequacy can be worsened/degraded, and where shielding can break down. The audio input port on the front of the box is a MINI. Ack. The Box;

That "acoustic level" knob is a 2-step balance knob, with the outside/ back ring being Right volume, and the inside/front knob being the Left volume adjustment. This a very nice feature, and I like that they offer me the control, less fiddling with EQ for something so elementary. PART TWO: How They Sound, and Do The Job; Overall- I like these. They are comfortable and do NOT fatigue my head and neck as do my Stax "Tanks". I think that they are an EXCELLENT kit for the first-time venture into electrostats, and they are no slouch for those of us who have some experience with high-end electrostats like Stax. They have a clean and detailed sound- I am experiencing none of this "muddy" or horribly FLAT or dull sound that some have remarked. Nothing shrieking or horribly strident either. I have not yet run them in adequately to be super comparative yet, but I have NEVER EVER had an occaision where run-in actually made anything sound worse. Not much "stage" yet, but that's often the case with cans not-yet run in. The ss is immediately fairly neutral out of the box. Which, in MY view, is a good thing, as I prefer cans that are "honest", with the presentation being pretty neutral. I want what the performers did, not something coloured by headphone manufacturer preferences. As noted by others on the discussions of these cans, EQ can be a mighty tool to get what each listener wants from the equipment. So. After another day or two, THERE WILL BE AN EDIT OF THIS REVIEW to provide a far more detailed update to how these sound after appropriate run-in and how they compare to my ludicrously costly Stax headphones. But my initial impressions are promising and pretty solidly good, and I think that the purchase was a good one at an EXCELLENT price point for entry level electrostatic headphones. They Do The Job well. I expect these to actually exceed expectations for gear inside this cost bracket. HERE BEGINS THE, (VERY SUBJECTIVE as all audio reviews tend to be), POST-Run-in/Burn-in EDITATION...(and without reading anybody else reviews, keeping it pure as possible) ; First let me say how much I REALLY love these, this system. I like how inexpensive it is and how MUCH bang for the buck it really is. It has indeed exceeded expectations. And, honestly, it's nearly as good-sounding as the Stax. I find myself choosing these over the Stax quite regularly, as they are INSANELY more comfortable and easy on the neck muscles, and sound just about as good. At least, to me. They don't feel particularly cheap, when being handled and examined, unless one equates light-weight materiels* with cheap. The Sound; Has opened up quite nicely with run-in, the range has extended in both directions. These have the transparency and clarity that one associates with electrostatic headphones, yet they don't highlight modest flaws and make high frequency stridence unbearable, the way my Stax can, at times. There is much improvement in "stage", and the open-back construction gives the sound much wide-ness. If you cover the grill with your hand, you can hear how much the open-backed construction MATTERS. They sound a bit more smooth than the Stax, but there really isn't some terribly audible V to them....if you like a V, you really will want to play with the EQ to get what you want from them. The good news is that they are easily responsive to EQ variations. These have a nimble sound production to them. And are very lucid, they have a ready clarity for both live and studio. I really prefer the way these sound, vs. Stax, when listening to vinyl, for instance, as they don't highlight the little scratchy/staticky flaws that exist as part of the vinyl experience. When listening to Jon Serries "space music", such as "Thousand Star", you have available a bunch of NEARLY inaudible noises/sounds and the farthest reaches of human hearing. You can't hear this stuff with all headphones or speakers. THESE PRODUCE THEM, audibly, clearly, cleanly....but without harshness or anything overly forward in the production, which is how Serrie meant this stuff to sound. Odd little background electronic whistles and clicks meant to evoke the cosmos or interstellar travel...EXCELLENT for testing headphones and making comparisons regarding performance...*** I feel that the Stax are, perhaps, a bit faster, with a bit more "sparkle", but not hugely so, and certainly not enough to validate spending 3000+ buckeroonies for Stax.** Value; If you want to try electrostats, it's almost STUPID to not buy this rig. You get pretty much the whole pig experience for way less money. The Koss not-X-Massdrop version, (ESP950), is the same headphone, so the sound will be the same, the difference is in the Energizer with a battery pack. Which, IMHO is NOT worth the additional 500 dolares. Yep. FIVE HUNDRED smackeroons for an only modestly different rig. I've never seen electrostatics listening as a portability thing anywayz, so it doesn't register for me.... ...and the sound qualities difference is NOT 3000 bux-worth better as far as purchasing Stax goes. With that, you really are just paying a bunch for image/ego boost/hype, proof that you can spend cash on that which isn't accessible to the many. These are ATTAINABLE. I have to check into this- Lifetime warranty. I am sure that it applies to the 950, I think it applies to this 95X. But I don't want to leave this review box to check it..... This being true, then any breakdown in "cheap" build will be covered by Koss, which eliminates it as a concern from my perspective. The Take-Away; Just buy them. If you ever considered buying electrostatics, BUY THESE. They are ridiculously inexpensive and are nearly every bit as nice sounding as electrostatics that cost a ba-JILLION dollars more. They offer the same honesty and transparency,(especially after run-in!), in sound reproduction that one associates with electrostats...at a fraction of the cost. I may just be happy enough with these, (again, after run-in), to consider selling off the Stax....**** Just pull that trigger my bro-heems and sis-heems! oh. and Happy Holidays, DROP and all peeps Droppy. ;) *I find myself wondering if the use of these materiels helped with dropping the cost into the accessible range.... ** I am moderately chagrined to have spent that cash.... not having been aware of this Koss rig. *** If you are into evaluating headphones, or just seeing what yours can do...or enjoy stuff that tickles your ears, even, I highly recommend this music. The right equipment will take you to a whole 'nother world of auditory experience. ;) ****.....as somebody paying off med school.....for, like... EVER... :(

(Edited)

Recommends this product? Yes

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gaurangpatkar23

Dec 26, 2019

TiffanyPoodleslideCould they be as good as DT 1990?

Dec 26, 2019

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TiffanyPoodleslide

1402

Dec 26, 2019

gaurangpatkar23well, they are not the same kind of animal. These are electrostatics, the 19990s are Beyerdynamic tesla neodymiums, so the SS is going to be quite different, and the way you listen will be different too. Theoretically, electrostatics should be "better" than other types of headphones, they should be more neutral and true to the recording,(provided that your source is true, you know, "garbage in, garbage out"). To get that, though, they are typically more expensive, because they DO require the "energizer" to function. Which also means far less portability, you're going to want to be listening to these at your desktop or in your listening room, and so on. If you have read any of my discussion up in here, you probably know that I am a HUGE fan of Beyerdynamic products. The SSs are different enough that I do prefer my various different Beyers for different listens over these Koss cans. Even within the Beyerdynamic family, I will choose one set over another, depending on what I will listen to. Or go with a Sennheiser. But as these run in, I am loving them more and more. If you already know the Beyerdynamic sound, and want to give something different a whirl, these are a worthy purchase. I don't think you will be disappointed...

Dec 26, 2019

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gaurangpatkar23

Dec 26, 2019

TiffanyPoodleslideI currently regret my decision to buy these over used beyerdynamic dt 1990 which I was getting for 350 usd. Koss has mostly mixed reviews while Dt 1990 have mostly positive reviews. My initial decision to buy these over DT 1990 was for saving money on amplifier. I currently used NE5532 opamp as amp. I currently have spent all my pocket money on Koss in hope that estats atleast have something that is better than 1990 in sound department. Currently they rest with my sister who lives in USA and I would probably get them few days after new year but I don't think there is anything to get excited for these now.

Dec 26, 2019

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TiffanyPoodleslide

1402

Dec 26, 2019

gaurangpatkar23FWIW...I am enjoying these more and more as they are being "run in". Stage and range have improved dramatically, I am hearing more of the bass now than I was a couple days ago. Likely, by tomorrow I will feel that it's time to update the review. It's all so so subjective. I think you will always find mixed reviews.... especially if the reviews are presented before the rig has had an ample chance to become adequately run in. If you dig around in some of the reviews, you start to find remarks about how, after going back to them post-run in, they are more satisfied with their purchase. But hey. I am not here to sell people on these things. I just am posting up MY experience in the interest of giving other persons something to work with when making decision about their purchasing. I really have nothing to gain by liking something, I really am not going to defend my reviews. SUBJECTIVE really doesn't need that. ;)

Dec 26, 2019

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gaurangpatkar23

Dec 26, 2019

TiffanyPoodleslideLets see how they turn up. Hope they come without a hum although I have LPS if its due transformer defect. I am excited to see how they compaire against Stax. I will be waiting for your review.

Dec 26, 2019

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TiffanyPoodleslide

1402

Dec 26, 2019

gaurangpatkar23oh, yeah, about that hummy stuff and crackles; NONE here, but I suspect that it's an artifact of feedback loops, poorly shielded gear, and static/magnetic field build up. I also keep, rather rigourously, to the discipline of cable management; I NEVER have cables running through, or too close to, power sources, amp cables, or draped across the tops of my gear. I regularly turn off and unplug much of my audio gear. I have a degausser coil,(NOT TOO CLOSE TO THE HARD DRIVE!!!!), I also use a zero-stat gun. I do absolutely believe that this allows amps and energizers and turntables to sound better because you release static build up. I think that was part of what was going on with crackles and hums complaints.

Dec 26, 2019

gaurangpatkar23

Dec 27, 2019

TiffanyPoodleslideI shall try to make necter audio amp some time and see how it compaires to stock one.

(Edited)

Dec 27, 2019

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