SAMSON SR950 Professional Studio Reference Headphones, black

I have fell in love with it, paired along with Apple Music lossless service, the songs I loved, give me goosebumps and every time I play them I find more and more things. Thank you to Samson for making it this good and cheep. ( I have been listening to them for a month or so) sadly on my left ear cup the Samson branding was missing when it arrived, this is the only problem I have had till date with them.The ear cups are so comfortable and passive noise cancellation is also really good too 😊.

I think there’s a fair chance you are looking at these wondering if they are worth spending more on than the 850s. I wrote a three star review on the 850s as well, and if you find it helpful then please give these reviews a vote as it helps other people find the comparison.
The breakdown photo of these headphones make it seem that the drivers are the same as in the 850s. So also does the tone profile of the headphones, which need a remarkably similar kind of equalisation to bring to a neutral kind of profile. The 950s are heavier though and the clamping pressure on the head is greater.
The 950s have a pronounced peak in response in the 5KHz treble region, and also a substantial peak in the 2KHz region. However the 2KHz region peak is easier to live with. In comparison with much more expensive headphones made of more exotic materials, I find the high midrange “presence” to treble rather coarse, like the 850s also. More expensive and exotic headphones offer finer resolution in this range though not greater raw strength of treble response.
These headphones are ultimately better as a finished article than the 850s. The 950s have more bass extension than most floorstanding speakers. The open back 850s on the other hand, even though they may be temporarily attractive on a dull source are harsh and breathy, and give the illusion of seeming bass-light to people who are not turning the treble down to compensate for them. I’d turn down the treble on the 950s too, only a little less.
Some have dogmatic ideas about closed headphones but I wouldn’t worry about that; the closed cups on the 950s seem to bring some measure of sanity to the response of these drivers. Whereas I can find it difficult to tolerate the 850s in many situations I can get used to the 950s by turning the treble down a lot and their big sound is an advantage. Organ music is grand but agreeable on them, without the excessive pipe squeal that the 850s give.
Big, bouncy, a bit rough, and if you have tone controls they’re worth a go, because they sound more powerful and have more detail than typical cheapish headphones. The question mark over them is whether you can tolerate the strong clamping pressure and the warmth of the huge earpads.
I’d definitely give these four stars on value, I just am reluctant to give them more than three stars overall regarding the equalisation they need to make them pleasant.

I wanted budget around ear, closed-back headphones that are made for velour earpads. There probably is nothing else in this price range matching these criteria.

Unlike pleather earpads, velour doesn’t flake and disintegrate. Although there are replacement velour earpads for pleather headphones, they are known to change the sound a lot.

There is a significant boost in the low end as well as the high end in the SR950. The high end feels very harsh and I had to use an equalizer to tone it down.

Sound quality perception and ear sensitivity to different frequencies is subjective, so my responses are based on my experience owning ATH M30 and Sennheiser HD600.

In conclusion, these are very comfortable due to the earpads and for casual listening over long hours they can work fine with some EQ.

They are good within this budget but I would recommend them mainly for comfort and the longer-lasting earpads, instead of the sound quality.

Great headphones for monitoring. Sound is on the bright side. Needed stretching as clamping force is too much. Great value for money. Ordered brainwavz xl suede for it to make it have more bass. Lets see how it goes.

Update: Jack wire became loose sound started cutting off on one side. Only plays from both in a fixed arrangment now.

I thought my old headphones (Superlux HD662 monitor) were really good. This is a step above. Bass is deep and the soundstage is really better. The mids are clear, the highs are sharp and overwhelming. I thought there was sibilance, but it turned out to be bad audio source. I put some cotton padding to reduce the highs. An amp is not required to use this headphone but with an amplifier these perform better. Bass is much better with an amp compared to not using one. Plus with an amp you can listen at lower volume than required.
The sound isolation in these are just OK. I mean you can hear the door bell or kids shouting and screaming (a bit faintly) while playing. You can drown the outside noise if you listen at high volume but it will definitely kill your ears fast.
I haven’t heard any Sennheiser or AKG’s or any other brand so cannot make a comparison between these and them.