HELP KOSS ESP6A Electrostatic Stereophones , Advice from the LADS required

[Audio Al]

Picked these up at my local boot Sale today :eyebrows:
Very pleased with myself until I arrived home and realised a bit is missing :(

Its referred too as a

For speedy hookup the ESP-6 should be connected directly to the output terminals of the amplifier through the model T-3 speaker / headphone / transfer switch and 3 circuit jack assembly provided ( this is the bit thats missing )

Now in the wiring diagram it looks like a switch to choose listening through the phones or switching over to the speakers

So is it OK for me to plug these into the headphone 1/4" jack without blowing them up :scratch::eek:

Advice please , or will I need a headphone amp :scratch: Ooo I'm all confused :D

[Barry]

Picked these up at my local boot Sale today :eyebrows:
Very pleased with myself until I arrived home and realised a bit is missing :(

Its referred too as a

For speedy hookup the ESP-6 should be connected directly to the output terminals of the amplifier through the model T-3 speaker / headphone / transfer switch and 3 circuit jack assembly provided ( this is the bit that's missing )

Now in the wiring diagram it looks like a switch to choose listening through the phones or switching over to the speakers

So is it OK for me to plug these into the headphone 1/4" jack without blowing them up :scratch::eek:

Advice please , or will I need a headphone amp :scratch: Ooo I'm all confused :D

The output from a typical headphone jack on your amplifier won't be sufficient to power your Koss ESP 6As. You do need to connect them to the speaker terminals. From memory (I have a pair myself - but I don't like them. They are uncomfortable to use for long periods. But then I don't really like listening on headphones) the T-3 'box' contains a couple of resistors and a capacitor. Perhaps you could make one up yourself?

[hermit]

I think this (http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/i-just-picked-up-koss-esp6-electrostatic-stereophones.283925/) thread on AK has some useful info Allen

[Audio Al]

I think this (http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/i-just-picked-up-koss-esp6-electrostatic-stereophones.283925/) thread on AK has some useful info Allen

Thanks Paul

[Barry]

Al, the ESP6s are self energising; the polarising voltage is derived from the signal. This means the signal has to be much higher than is required by the more common dynamic headphones.

The headphone jack on an amplifier is normally connected to the LS terminals via a 100 or 200 Ohm resistor. The Koss ESP6s need a series resistance of only 2 - 5 Ohm, so in the absence of the T-3 switch box, wire a 3.3 Ohm 5W resistor in parallel with the current limiting resistor inside your amplifier.

Being self-energised the ESP6s need a few seconds to 'wake up'. Also if they haven't been used for a long time, they need to be 'run in' for an hour or two, by playing music through them at a high volume (high enough, so the neon indicators light up).

I would like to tell you that Koss will still honour the lifetime guarantee - unfortunately they no longer service the 6s.