FS: Koss ESP-950

Selling my pair of Koss ESP-950 headphones that are likely new. When I say likely, I sent in a 7 yr old pair to Koss for an erratic volume issue and they shipped out a replacement the same day, so my assumption is they are either new, or cosmetically perfect refurbs.

Upon reentry to Casa Crazychile they were briefly tested to ensure not DOA and properly blessed by listening to the entirety of Oingo Boingos “Nothing To Fear”.

The ESP-950's have the advantage over the Massdrop version as they come with the swanky 90's fashion leather (maybe pleather) bag and the portable battery pack where you still have to supply the batteries. So go wild and rock these out in public if you want to. However I am not responsible for the creative insults you may incur while doing so.

Bonus 1: In addition to the stock walwart, I am including an aftermarket (from Mouser, I think) power supply thats supposed to be LPS. No guarantees though as it was made in China. You'll still need to add your own IEC cable to that. I thought it made a little improvement over the stock walwart, but maybe it didn't. Either way you have a back up PS.

Bonus 2: Comes with a set of Vesper pads. They're still in decent shape. The headphones will arrive with the stock pads on them that have had approximately 40 minutes of use.

Bonus 3: Also comes with the 6ft extension cable which I'm pretty sure I purchased separately. Makes it long enough to get some serious distance from the energizer and either trip on it or get caught underneath your office chair. A must have.

In all seriousness, these are great headphones that I've always been impressed with when coming back from another set. I just rarely use headphones now and otherwise they would likely just sit in a box somewhere. Better they get a new home. If you really need pictures I can provide them but they're boxed up, and they're new so cosmetics is as expected.

PRICE: $400 net to me via Paypal. Includes shipping in CONUS. Friends and Contributors .

Open to International buyers. I'll cover a portion of the shipping comparable to CONUS. You'll need to provide the proper power supply for your country. Send me a PM and we can work something out.

 

Updated to lower price and International Friends and Contributors welcome.

 

I forgot I had posted these for sale. Price updated to $400.
As a reminder, these appear to be new, back from Koss service. Includes shipping in CONUS, and Vesper pads.

 

These are still available. Giving them a bump.

I also have an original Schiit Loki EQ that I would use with the Koss frequently and that was a nice combo. If that idea appeals to someone interested in the Koss we could work out a combo price

 

This is such a good deal and although I am seriously tempted, they would end up with a similar fate in my possession. They also respond to mods very well - it has been a while but the last pair I modified came exceptionally close to the SR007 but with much better bass response. It is hard to match the value of these..dB

 

If the vespers clean up nice - you have a pretty solid 400 system.

 

Extra cool feature also is the extension cable isn't too expensive to get one more and throw a stax pro connector on the end. Even more flexibility. I switch between the E90 and an eXStata.

 

Open to reasonable offers. Might even consider a trade for the right vintage DAC.

 

Ok this has been up for almost a year now, and I am reminded every so often when I trip over the box in my small lab space. Still open for offers, interesting trades, whatever. I want to see these go to someone that would appreciate them.

 

These respond well to moding too , so ideal for anyone who likes to tinker and as tempted as I am , this would quickly escalate into fixing the exststa and who knows where . Someone will be getting an awesome deal.

 

Hmmm…

Might these be useable via Kara’s built-in headphone jack (1/4”) output feeding the Koss Energizer (e.g. a 1/4” to dual RCA input?). or would I be forced to use SE/RCA outs from the Kara? (My instincts say shouldn’t matter, but… again, headphone super-noob here).

Reason is because if I use Kara RCA outs, then I need to physically disconnect the Kara XLR outs which go to my main amp/speakers which will always be in the same room; whereas the Schiit Kara auto-switching/muting when plugging/unplugging headphones combined with it’s ability to mute selectively would work a treat if could go the 1/4” front panel jack.

 

I'm not familiar with the details of the Kara but have a Freya S which should be similar. Why couldn't you use the RCA preouts and leave the XLRs intact? Maybe I'm missing something here....

I don't know if the headphone output would work very well. You'd be going through an additional amplifier stage so if it worked you'd have to hit the magic spot on the Kara before the headphone output overloads the inputs on the Koss energizer. You'd still have to be careful through the preouts but the usable range on the Kara volume control would be a lot more forgiving.

Optimally, one of your sources would have an extra set of RCA outputs and you would use those, but you'd be limited to one source without swapping cables.

 

PM sent. TL;DR - I think the Kara HP out is exact same output drive topology as that which drives the XLR/RCA line outs, so may not be an issue..

 

Ugh, I have an iESL... this is a bad idea. Someone buy my iESL before I have more bad ideas.

 

PM sent. I’d like them.

 

Sale Pending

 

SOLD @shotgunshane @jexby please close this thread