spritzer Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 It could be that the wires are too close inside the cup or that the metal pins were overheated while soldering and damaged something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadhead Posted May 4, 2009 Report Share Posted May 4, 2009 I had a similar noise on mine after some blowing it went away mostly. Also it seemed smaller or non-existent with the E/90. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadhead Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Well the left channel is buzzing now, more with Stax SRM and less with the E/90 but with both (barely audbile with the E/90). It's something to do with the bias voltage because it buzzes even after being detached from the amps. One would think the E/90's higher bias would cause more buzzing but who knows. I opened the driver up and took a look and nothing is obvious (though it may be in backwards since to line up with cable entry the wire needed to be flipped). I guess I will be sending these to Koss for repair yet again. Which will probably take 2 trips because they will say there is no buzz with the E/90 because they're deaf (as shown by the last fiasco). Which means I will be without a pair of headphones when my KGSS arrives. Fuck these headphones. :mad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPH Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Shit, that sucks. You must have the worst luck ever. I'm pretty happy that my new pair doesn't squeal. I don't have anything other than the Koss amp right now though, so I can't validate faust2d observations, but from what I remember, when I had the KGSS and SRD-7Mk2, the squeal was present no matter which amp was used. The ESP950 are surely not plug and play headphones... It's almost necessary to recable them and buy another amp and apparently they are not built well. In the end, I enjoy these cans quite a bit so I'm keeping them, but they're not "user-friendly" if such a thing can be said about headphones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadhead Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 Thanks for the sympathy. My issue is the well built/serviced part. Unfortunately I have not listened to them much since I got them back the second time but I thought they were quiet (as posted previously) but I think my excitement blinded me. I then went on to my DAC comparison which I had to do using my dynamics because I don't have a balanced ES amp (yet). When they aren't on my head these phones sit in a plastic bag in a closed drawer so there is no new dust or anything. They came from the "repair" this way which is just ridiculous. I know there are lots of people that would say I'm obsessing over something very quiet and a lot of people probably wouldn't even hear it but I don't care. If I pay the kind of money these headphones cost I would expect them to come from the factory Dead Quiet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faust3d Posted May 7, 2009 Report Share Posted May 7, 2009 What are these popping noises you hear? Do they sound electrical in nature? I hear noises when I move them around or open my mouth. I think it's the dust cover or diaphragm. They are always very soft and don't bother me. So far no high pitched electrical sounding stuff that might indicate a problem. I also don't listen to my set that much and keep them in the bag at all times. Addendum: This was when I was using them with SRM-1 or E90, when used with T1 they do make annoying sounds as I found out last night. Even on SRM-1, if I listen carefully I can hear some noises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadhead Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Well I emailed Koss support with my sob story. I proposed that they ship me an entire new package of headphones etc and charge my credit card and I would ship them the warranty pair for them to do with as they wish and refund me my money. I doubt they will take me up on it but I figured it was worth a try. I've become convinced what they did was replace the right driver because the left driver has a much larger range of motion etc which would point to age. I think when the right was squealing I couldn't hear the left because it was so much quieter. Now it's the big PITA. Anyway wish me luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manaox2 Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 Well I emailed Koss support with my sob story. I proposed that they ship me an entire new package of headphones etc and charge my credit card and I would ship them the warranty pair for them to do with as they wish and refund me my money. I doubt they will take me up on it but I figured it was worth a try. I've become convinced what they did was replace the right driver because the left driver has a much larger range of motion etc which would point to age. I think when the right was squealing I couldn't hear the left because it was so much quieter. Now it's the big PITA. Anyway wish me luck I dunno man, mine has a slight channel imbalance that only shows up on the stax amp (maybe crosstalk in play) and *when I get noise* I only get it with the stax amp in the left channel. The right channel has never given me problems either. This seems too common for me to quickly pass it off as a coincidence. I'm thinking it might be common to the adapters for Stax amps. The noise continues when I disconnect as well, but I listened for three hours last night and eventually (after about twenty minutes) it was silent on both. I can't find a common factor to create it except the Stax adapter or SRM-T1 and sometimes no problem at all.... this annoys me greatly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadhead Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I dunno man, mine has a slight channel imbalance that only shows up on the stax amp (maybe crosstalk in play) and *when I get noise* I only get it with the stax amp in the left channel. The right channel has never given me problems either. This seems too common for me to quickly pass it off as a coincidence. I'm thinking it might be common to the adapters for Stax amps. The noise continues when I disconnect as well, but I listened for three hours last night and eventually (after about twenty minutes) it was silent on both. I can't find a common factor to create it except the Stax adapter or SRM-T1 and sometimes no problem at all.... this annoys me greatly. As I wrote them the email I was listening to the buzzing out of the left channel and it was connected to the E/90. I can tell you that my newer right driver is dead quiet on both amps which points to something being wrong with the driver. As far as the imbalance goes It's probably not a good sign that the E/90 has build in balance control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manaox2 Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I can tell you that my newer right driver is dead quiet on both amps which points to something being wrong with the driver. As far as the imbalance goes It's probably not a good sign that the E/90 has build in balance control. Shit-fuck. Not cool! I love these phones, just like I love my UE11. Its the small things that kill my buzz though like not sounding balanced between left and right. I can sell these though I would much rather have matched drivers instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padam Posted May 8, 2009 Report Share Posted May 8, 2009 I've contacted KOSS and it seems that I am able to send it to the USA even from the EU which is good news. Trouble is, which shipping method to choose, it won't be cheap even if I send only the phones (without cable) and the amp and it will take a lot of time as well. And what happens if I get it back and the problem comes back...it wouldn't be nice at all. But I need to test it with the E/90 as well because that's what they will use to test out the channel imbalance and the misterious noises. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padam Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 WTF? I fired it up today and there is no imbalance! I've checked it multiple times (I always used the volume knob to correct it) and it is really gone! Maybe it was the amp? Needless to say I am very happy. It is not perfect because if I turn the volume to zero there is the occasional slight noises from the left but zero squealing so it seems fine. Still haven't tried it with the E/90, I guess I will go and get a wall wart for it later in the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Chalk Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Congratulations, you lucked out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padam Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 Congratulations, you lucked out! Thanks! I'm finding it quite funny that it means the opposite in UK English, I guess it is always good to learn something new Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manaox2 Posted May 20, 2009 Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 WTF? I fired it up today and there is no imbalance! I've checked it multiple times (I always used the volume knob to correct it) and it is really gone! Maybe it was the amp? Needless to say I am very happy. It is not perfect because if I turn the volume to zero there is the occasional slight noises from the left but zero squealing so it seems fine. Still haven't tried it with the E/90, I guess I will go and get a wall wart for it later in the week. My ESP950 was always balanced on the E90 and only sometimes unbalanced on the SRM-T1 as well. Its such a weird issue. Hope for you that it never comes back again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepak Posted May 20, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2009 ESP/950 are a strange headphone. On my first pair the squeal would mostly stay in one channel, but would then move to the other channel intermittently. The second pair were fine, but I didn't put too many hours on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padam Posted May 23, 2009 Report Share Posted May 23, 2009 Today's ESP950 experience: I had some noises again, this time from the right side. I tried pushing towards my ears, it changed but didn't go away. Then I read this wafting thingy might work, at first it didn't but then I decided to waft from the side panel (not the earpad side), and it did work. And now it became even better 'cause for the first time it is completely silent now. So this is a good excuse to postpone getting a wallwart for the E/90 again I guess having a de-foamed set plays a significant role in these events. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPH Posted May 23, 2009 Report Share Posted May 23, 2009 wafting thingy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padam Posted May 23, 2009 Report Share Posted May 23, 2009 Blow, waft I guess it means the same I just didn't know which word to choose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPH Posted May 23, 2009 Report Share Posted May 23, 2009 Blow, waft I guess it means the same I just didn't know which word to choose. Ok, thanks. Good to know that you've solved the problem, well, until it comes back again. My current pair is almost always silent, but I've heard the infamous squealing noise a couple of times. Perhaps it's influenced by room temperature or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padam Posted May 23, 2009 Report Share Posted May 23, 2009 So far so good ;-) I don't know, but since I live in a small flat in a big town, dust is an issue. Maybe one day I will try to upgrade the dust cover. Anyway, I agree that it is not the 'wow' phone, I like it much better after a few weeks have been passed, only the bass which I'd like to be a bit tighter, I guess some extra power should help with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spritzer Posted May 23, 2009 Report Share Posted May 23, 2009 If blowing on the outer side worked then there is something stuck inside the drivers. There isn't a solid (i.e. film) dust cover on the back so you were able to shift what ever debris which is causing the short. You could try opening up the drivers (I've never done it so I'm not sure if it is even possible) or add some damping to the back to give the bass a bit more punch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreadhead Posted May 25, 2009 Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 Well Koss sent me another mailing label so I figured what the hell and sent them off again. I had taken the driver apart and got the squeal to go pretty much away using a air blaster but what the heck it's worth giving them one more try. I have the Omega 2 for company anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepak Posted May 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 25, 2009 Well Koss sent me another mailing label so I figured what the hell and sent them off again. I had taken the driver apart and got the squeal to go pretty much away using a air blaster but what the heck it's worth giving them one more try. I have the Omega 2 for company anyway They're paying your shipping to them? Bastard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grawk Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 I just want to say that as of right now, I'm ecstatic with my blue hawaii with my ESP950s. I want to compare them to the KGSS and SRM1, but wow, this is a spectacular combination. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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