ESX900 Impressions: Slamhead’s Delight

I sold my TH900 4 years ago for a mere $450.
It paired best with RNHP for me. It helped the glare a little, but the mid dip made it unusable for me (monitoring purpose).

I should have kept it and mod it.

 

1. holy motherof godd! Did you connect your garden hose in the sennheiser?

 

@purr1n

@DEATHxMACHINE is sending me a used TH900, I have pads and cups on the way from overseas (the red cups are of questionable authenticity on this pair, plus I'm jazzed to work with super-dense Palo Santo and prefer not to have the stock branding).

I'm expecting everything to get here by week's end, add another 1-2 weeks for the mods. They'll go on tour but can make their way to your place first since you're not too far away. Brent's going to sit-in as I do some new tweaks since he wants to know if more upper mid presence is possible while retaining the mostly-peakless FR profile for his own future pair (assuming he likes what I cook up).

Hopefully I'll finalize two standard mods - one more balanced overall, and one tuned for my own hedonistic pleasure. The latter will likely be DeathxMachine's and the one that'll go on tour first til I can fund / finalize a second pair, at which point I might do round 2 with a more 'general purpose' tuning.

 

When is the Asian leg of the ESX900 concert tour scheduled?

 

So I recently received my ESX900 retuned by @E_Schaaf , I'll call this ESX900 V3. This was the 2nd retuning done by Evan, where in the V2, the highs were a bit too sharp and could not crank these up for maximum fun. I usually don't like dips in the upper mids (BBC dip), but localized and narrow BBC dip is actually better for more fun tuning and not bothersome at all in my experience. I decided to do another write up because it sounds pretty different from the initial review and more closely to the finalized tuning /loaner pair (with some subtle differences)

This is the current tuning, graph provided by Evan. Not sure if I'm allowed to disclose which specific pad type, so I'll leave that up to him to disclose. Majority of my listening time was done with this pad.

This is how it sounds with the pancake pads that was used in my initial review. Haven't gotten to this pad yet because I already like the sound so much with the deeper pads. I'll update this portion later.

Instead a picture with my main listening rig, I'll include this picture I took as I'm writing this review. Sounds just as lively and slammy!

Listening rigs:
macbook pro > ESX900
Pi2AES > SFD2 > DNA Starlett | Elekit 8800 > ESX900 | JAR650

- Overall tonality is much more even and agreeable sounding to my ears and preference. Very grateful for Evan having the patience to work with me to make sure I get the sound that I works for me. It's still a downsloping FR, but I think I can see more people enjoy and live with this tuning. Works well with "audiophile music" too now such as Classical and Jazz. Very well done. Not sure if it's fair to compare it to the Verite Closed now, because it sounds more like its own thing.
- slam/macrodynamics are still one of the best I've heard. I did have a chance to compare this against LFF Code 6 briefly couple weekends ago and I didn't feel like I was losing much/ if not at all running through with EC's Ultralinear amp.
- clarity, especially in the mids have much improved from the first iteration that I heard from Evan. It no longer sounds congested as it did before.
- treble seems to be smoother, yet still retaining that liveliness. Even on poor recorded tracks, it never quite gets to the bothersome level.
- staging seems to have improved since the V1, better positional/directional cues and better separated despite being a closedback. A very welcome change. The finalized tuning has a fk ton of air (without being overdone) it's pretty crazy how open it sounds despite it being closed. It still doesn't have the airiness of a fully openback reference, but much better compared to the initial pair I heard.
- I can now enjoy this at both moderate or loud listening levels. V1 I mainly only enjoyed listening it on ridiculously loud levels, V2 was a bit too sharp and square sounding for me to crank up the volume, and now the V3 just seems to work well for both options.
- transients are sharp and snappy without murdering your ears. When cranked, drums and other percussive instruments will smack like it hurts (I really like this expression that Marv used in his wavelight review) No overly smoothed butter BS. Evan did asked me whether I wanted a slightly wet or dry sound, which I initially opted for the wet sound (V2) which had a bit too much resonance/ringing despite being fine in terms of FR. So V3 (the one I'm reviewing right now) is better damped that can be enjoyed both at loud & quiet listening levels.
- Overall resolve and plankton would be probably somewhere in between Auteur and Verite, closer to the Verite while having a similar natural and smooth timbre like the Auteur.
- superb microdynamics with its lively and engaging overall sound that can portray nuances of music with ease. This can will keep you late at night listening to your favorite tunes, so listeners be ware!
- IF you're looking to go all in with this can, I'd pair these with a nice SET amp like DNA Starlett (Or Elekit on Triode mode, but Starlett is more known here so) that seems to improve on its tonality and headstaging capabilities while retaining its liveliness. I'd be perfectly fine listening this off of a portable source too, so don't feel pressured to get a "TOTL Tube route." No idea how it'll sound with something like 3F, I'll ask @pure5152 about it when he borrows the ESX900 in the future.

So TL;DR, this headphone still rocks, really excited to see what the loaner tour folks will say about this can aaaand Bravo @E_Schaaf !

 

Thanks for your impressions @tommytakis! Third time's the charm.

Your pair is ESX900XL - the distinction being yours have the deeper cups than the normal Foster-variant cups. As a general statement the deeper cups will give better staging and slightly more forward mids compared to the smaller cups. The smaller cups tend to be slightly mellower in the midrange and a touch rounder in transients. Still the same driver so the difference is fairly subtle, but the ear can tell the size of the space the sound is coming from. The loaner pair is not XL as the cups are built to the same dimensions as the stock TH-series cups.

The difference between V1 and V3 is that V3 has solid front foam rings, some different baffle venting, and the Sushi mod that is now standard and helps to narrow the dip in the 2k-4k area (depends on cup depth, 2.5khz in this case). Plus the pads.

Top measurement in Tommy's post is with Audio Technica AP2000Ti solid lambskin pads. I keep a stock of them at all times. They are hit or miss depending on the mod implementation vs the pancake pads. Pancake pads always measure a bit flatter in general, but also highlight any resonances in the mids. See the second FR graph in Tommy's post.

The AP2K pads have a bit more color, are more comfortable, and the more rigid leather does help with conduction of bass against the head for a better sense of 'tactility' as a trade-off for the slightly less smooth FR.

 

I will try to post impressions this evening regarding my pair that will be used for the loaner. It is a fabulous headphone and I want to give it the thorough write up it deserves.

 

Ended up listening to them for about 20 mins then dozed off. 12 hour day on 3 hours of sleep. I brought them to work and will update this post with my impression.

My first impression is of the dac/amp I brought. It sucks but I didnt expect much for 100 bucks on sale. With a good amp and dac, the esx900 has scary dynamics. Which I gives a sensation of effortlessness to the sound. Freaking anti-veil. The dac/amp immediately feels congested and compressed.

 

Sorry for the delay. I have just been trying it with a variety of amp and dacs. It astonishes me how easily I can hear the differences. Normally it takes me time and I really need to focus. But with these headphones it is immediately apparent. The biggest thing I have learned so far with these headphones is how truly inferior delta sigma dacs are compared to r2r/multibit dacs. They really lack the dynamics and depth of r2r/multibit. I can almost say the same about opamp based amps. With a discrete amp and r2r dac they are easily the one of the best headphones I have ever heard. Its a real competition between these and esx he6.

I have been afraid to post a in depth impression of the verite c because I dont agree at all with other peoples impressions but I wonder if Zach didnt compensate the tuning enough for the much harder iron wood compared to the leopard wood. But quite frankly the verite c dont hold up to the esx900. The vc has a incoherent vision. The bass seems a little light, mids are peaky and too in your face (I call them shouty) and there is a peak somewhere in the low highs. I cant increase the volume of bass to my liking or the treble becomes literally painful.

With the XRK audio diy desktop amp and parasound 2000 dac, these things are the definition of what I think is the perfect sound. There is a coherent vision to the sound. There is a fantastic balance of everything.
-The bass is tastefully elevated without bloating the mids and is super tight and impactful. These really slap the side of your head. But they don't over due it when it is not needed. It doesn't feel out of place with lighter music.
-The mids and highs are absolutely clear without being intense and in your face. The mids and highs are very flat and smooth so its hard to describe them any further. When asked, I requested these headphones to be on the drier side because I hate bloated bass and mids. And he delivered. There is so much plankton without being fatiguing.
-While it doesn't have the greatest soundstage it has enough air for the music to breath. Pushes everything out to allow separation for amazing imaging. Instruments feel like they are an arms length away but don't fell crowd and in your face.
-But the timbre and dynamics (both micro and macro) are just scary. There is so much meat to strings and horns that I am not used to in a closed headphone.
-And the louder you crank em the better it gets. They maintain their sound signature had high volumes.

I keep on saying these have anti-veil. When you have a dynamic dac and an amp that can grip these headphones by the cojones they can f***ing sing. E_Schaaf describes them as dark but I would say they just aren't bright. They really show you can have an analytical headphone without being bright and still have elevated tight bass.

I am very excited for other people to hear these headphones.

Edit:Sorry if it is incoherent. I am tired.

 

Sounds like something might be off with your VC, we don't change the tuning based on the wood used. Sent you a PM - we should take a look at them for you.

 

Damn it @E_Schaaf thats why I am nervous about posting verite c comparison. Now I feel bad.

 

I don't mind at all to check the headphones out, if that's how you hear them that's totally cool, but your description is so far off of measurements and other's impressions (as you noted) that I think it's worth seeing if something is up with the headphones. No need to feel bad regardless! We are always here to help with headphones that may be off for one reason or another.

 

it might add a bit more perspective to both sides (ZMF owners and ESX900 loaner people) to maybe mention what db you're listening in for both cans. ESX900 is probably one of the only headphones (That and maybe LFF Code 6?) I actually enjoy listening at both low and high db. If you try to listen to the Verite Open/Closed at the same skull shaking level (90 to 100+db), I think I can see how @DEATHxMACHINE can get these impressions.

I don't think it's a matter of differences in FR, but more about the difference in resonance in light wood vs. hardwood? I definitely had a similar experience as you until when I opted for the "wet sounding" tuning in my ESX900 v2 versus a more "dry sounding" tuning in my current ESX900.

Anyways, welcome to the ESX900 club @DEATHxMACHINE !

 

I'm not a 90-100db listener by any means -- mostly 75-85db. But I believe what @DEATHxMACHINE thought might be very accurate not only for VC but also for entire Verite family. Once we take every delta in FR into consideration, the points he claimed makes a lot of sense to me. I'm kinda suspecting Verite just didn't work for him, which is cool (note that this hobby is super relative and subjective by nature). For the reference, all those points mostly serve as primary reasons why I still treasure my Verites. Haha.

That said, I half believe half doubt now because of the 'relativity'. Surely I can't say much now without actually hearing them but we will see .. at least I expect to get my hands on them next March at the latest? (guessing based on the tour list).

 

this pair - https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...ream-of-consciousness.9452/page-2#post-324220 might also find its way to a few members on the tour roster, but that's mostly for those who are considering a build and may want a different flavor vs what's there on the loaner (though I do think the loaner tuning is great for general purpose moderate volume use as well as blasting off).

#7 is less thick and rich, slightly leaner and dryer. Less mellow and less color overall, but also less crankable. Tossup on which I prefer. The loaner pair is definitely prettier - #7 is more of an ongoing experiment, but it does have some unique strengths.

I already have a few Friends lined up for builds. I'll follow the tour order with #7 for those specific Friends if requested, but I want to focus mostly on DEATHxMACHINE's pair unless someone thinks it's way off the mark and wants to get a feel for variation. #7 is currently my daily driver after all so I'm only going to consider shipping it out to those who are definitely interested in a build and also might be dissatisfied with the loaner tuning (don't think this will happen). I'm hoping to have both pairs at Marv's place at the same time at a minimum.

I'm unsure when @DEATHxMACHINE expects to start the tour with @Inoculator , but he can post on the loaner thread when it ships!

 

My main concern is that he's describing having to turn the volume up to get ample bass. With the stock autuer and universe pads that just shouldn't be the case, and something I haven't encountered a user experiencing before with the V closed. So anyways - best we check them out regardless.

 

I have been writing this post for the last couple of days, as I have received the ESX900 on Monday and have been listening to it pretty much exclusively. That can be your TLDR if you wanted, I have Verite, Hive, Utopia, and had Clears here at the same time as the ESX900 and while I have had these here, I have not touched any of them.

First I wanna say that @E_Schaaf is a pleasure to buy from, is transparent through the whole process and really is a great person. I would highly recommend buying this just from how passionate and helpful he is. The turn around for this was about a week since I have the stock cups still. I am partial to their looks.

I would say this is the headphone that I have been looking for. I'm not sure if @tommytakis remembers, but about half a year ago, I talked to him about how I felt my current setup of Modius > Asgard 3 > Auteur was good, but I feel like I don't have that slam or macrodynamics. It felt weak, and didn't give me the presence and slam I was looking for. When he told me about this mod, and I saw the thread on it when I was on a business trip, I was pretty obsessed. I knew I wanted to try one, and I wanted to own one. I am glad I did because it really does live up to its hype from those who have it.

Chain:
Yggdrasil GS > Starlett/EC BW2 > ESX900.

I don't really wanna do a bass/mids/treble review this time around, and do more a stream of consciousness and write what I feel about this. I will start off saying that the downsloping FR is a bit deceiving. A person looking at this would think that this is simple a dark headphone, or lacking in treble. But that is not the case, the headphone, the treble is there. I can hear it and it is present and it is detailed. But its never peaky or bright. It is there and lively, but never harsh or overpowering.

Its obvious that this is a macrodynamic/slam king. There is no way around it. This simply slams harder than any other headphone I have tried. It is really no competition. This slams like it's nobodies business, but it never bleeds into the mids. I have to attribute this to the way the FR is, but it slams, and never seems congested. The mids on this are really a dream. I have told others that this is some of the best mids I have heard on a headphone. I know @E_Schaaf mentions that on this pair that the upper midrange is slightly recessed, but I don't really hear that. Maybe it is, but it doesn't feel like it. Maybe I am just too used to the midrange scoop on the Verite.

Staging is really impressive, yes I know its not a full closed back, but it's close enough. I would say the staging feels similar to something like the HD650. But this doesn't mean it feels closed in, in fact it does layering and imaging really well. It makes the stage feel larger due to the space allowed between instruments.

Detail is very impressive, I have been telling others that is the Auteur is 7.5, Utopia is 10, and Verite is 9.5, then the ESX900 would be about a 8.5-9. It really is in competition to the Verite in terms of detail. Timbre however is closer to the Auteur. This really is like if the Verite and Auteur had a baby and it took the best qualities from both.

So, this is the best headphone around right? I mean, I would say its in the running honestly. But there are some people who would not like this. IF you are sensitive to bass or prefer not to have a lot of bass, this isn't for you. If you prefer a more open and airy presentation, also not for you. If those 2 criteria are not you, then you will love this.

I think the most impressive thing I have to say about this headphone is that if I could only have 1 headphone only, I think this actually would be it. I am having a very hard time finding anything to say is wrong with it. Like really maybe it is the honeymoon period, but even with my other headphones I had criticism of them. There was something that I felt like it could do better, with the ESX900, I can't really think anything to say.

I would tell anybody who is interested in the mod, just do it. You will not be disappointed. There is something special here, and I am not letting mine go anytime soon. I will also shill these to anybody and everybody. If you haven't experienced these, they need to be experienced.

" @E_Schaaf can you let me go from my prison now? I shilled it enough right?"

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

I’ve had an ESX900 for about 2 weeks now and would like to share my thoughts.

TLDR food analogy:

These are fantastic buttery smooth rich flavorful stout dark coffee with nice acidity/alcohol levels to balance it all out.

I got on the loaner tour and received a ESX900 that was created with a THX00 that had transplanted TH900 drivers. It was then given the ESX900 treatment which is quite an extensive set of modifications outlined here.

I first heard about @E_Schaaf modification abilities from a local Friend who commissioned a modded HE5SE from Ev. I haven’t heard it yet (stupid Covid), but I very much trust this Friend’s opinion. He said that Ev’s work is genius-level and this is in comparison to the beast LFF CodeX.

I then noticed @tommytakis held up his gear-cycling when he got an ESX900. I pay close attention when people who own a lot of gear or cycle are impressed.


A caveat is that I haven’t heard a stock TH900, but I’ve read enough to stay away.


The loaner ESX900 is one of a couple of headphones that I put on and had a “Oh sheeeeet!” moment. I found them comfortable to wear with a wide open feeling despite being closed backs. I didn’t hear a veil or haze at all. In fact I thought these headphones showed me more into the recording than anything else I’ve listened to. I’ve only clearly heard reverb trails and room reflections like this via EC gear, so I assumed it was germane to $$$ tube gear with HF heaters and stuff. This clarity was consistent on all of the music I tried; spanning acoustic, electric, instrumental, vocals, you name it.


Importantly this was all with Qobuz via iPhone dongle! No fancy amps or DACs needed. This headphone has proven to me that transducers have the biggest impact in the chain.


All listening was sober and without EQ or anything.


All impressions were consistent across the loaner pair and my personal pair acquired the same week. I originally thought there was a small difference and got the loaner back to compare. Listening A-B to loaner vs mine, the difference is subtle at best. I was concerned about variation in a hand-made product, but my audio memory tends to exaggerate differences. Luckily, I could have both at home for a day to check it out.


I thought ESX900 was the smoothest headphone across the entire frequency range that I’ve experienced. Imaging is far better than any closed backs I’ve tried and superior to many open backs like Focal Clear and Elex.


It was a no-shit instabuy for me.


I’m on the ETA Discord which is a great place and I posted a WTB ESX900 the next day. Luckily, Tommy tipped me to one available. I’m pretty frugal when it comes to gear, but I immediately procured the pair which was at a bit of a premium.


I’m going to go against the theme that these headphones are for bassheads or slamheads. This is not the headphone equivalent of a trunk full of subs with your molars and windows vibrating. I’m not a basshead and I’m not a slamhead. I listen to music across genres but mainly focused on jazz and acoustic music. I’ve always thought headphones in general are not the best at bass. I’ve owned ZMFs and HFM searching for a headphone that reproduces bass in a way that is textured and faithful to the instruments I know and love. I enjoy listening to bass guitar players like Charlie Hunter, Victor Wooten, and Michael Manring, but through Sennheisers and Focals, their beautiful work comes across as monotone. Not so with ESX900!


Charlie Hunter is one of my favorite musicians and he gets involved in some amazing projects. The ESX900 allowed me to experience his work in a way I’ve been searching for. Checking out his latest work with the Sam Fribush Organ Trio, I was struck by a couple things. I could easily experience the room the recording was made in, I even perceived a space above me which has the same feeling as being in a large room with high ceilings. The organ’s bass was so detailed and the layering of the organ, guitar and drums was stellar. I could pick out what was going on with ease. I was listening to the tracks “Spanish Joint” and “The Root” when I remembered that I heard these before on D’Angelo’s standout album “Voodoo” where Charlie Hunter plays on a few tracks. While I was listening to Voodoo I went to another favorite “Left and Right”. I could easily hear Method Man and Redman’s voices coming from separate spaces.

In comparison to my 2-channel system, I’m hearing stuff I normally only hear via my Rhythmik sub.


The ESX900 is so smooth and cohesive and demonstrates Ev’s ability to tune a headphone to allow the strengths of these drivers to come through clearly. I can listen for extended periods of time similar to my KISS HD6XX. I’ve yet to hear a headphone that is so detailed without weird peaks.


Clearly, I’m extremely impressed and excited about these headphones. I’m eagerly awaiting what the guys at ETA are cooking up. Ev and Tommy said that the ETA Genesis will share the same “house sound” as the ESX900.

Keep up the excellent work @E_Schaaf

 

Great review! This disclaimer was my favorite part. Everything sounds amazing after a few beers I find, haha.

Your review was quite effective in growing my anticipation for my pair. I can already hear my Auteurs saying "please don't sell me".