Samson SR950 Closed-Back Professional Studio Reference Headphones
The SR950 is the isolation-first option in Samson's SR range. A closed ear design shuts the room out, which is what tracking demands: the click and the backing track stay in your ears instead of leaking into the microphone in front of you.
- Closed ear design: built for maximum isolation, so you can monitor loud next to a live mic.
- 50mm drivers: exceptional reproduction and wide dynamic range, with solid bass response and ultra-clear highs.
- Frequency response: 10 Hz to 25 kHz.
- Impedance: 32 ohms, easy for an interface, mixer or laptop output to drive.
- Self-adjusting headband: a secure, comfortable fit that does not need setting up each time.
- Gold-plated adapter included: 3.5 mm to 6.3 mm, so they work with studio gear and portable devices.
Samson positions the SR950 for engineering, mixing and playback, and lists it as suitable for home audio, content creation and recording. If you want a wider soundstage for mixing and do not need isolation, the semi-open SR850 is the alternative in the same family.
Samson's SR950 Professional Studio Reference Headphones are aimed at precise monitoring in a studio context. The design brief is straightforward: a closed ear cup for maximum isolation, 50mm drivers for wide dynamic range, and enough comfort to keep them on through a long session.
Closed back, and why that matters
The closed ear design gives maximum isolation. In a tracking room, that keeps the headphone mix out of the microphone, which saves you from a recording with a ghost of the backing track printed into it. It also keeps the room out of your ears, so what you hear is the mix and not the air conditioning or the drummer next door. This is the practical difference between the SR950 and a semi-open model.
Drivers and specification
- 50mm drivers for exceptional reproduction and wide dynamic range.
- Frequency response of 10 Hz to 25 kHz.
- 32 ohm impedance.
- Solid bass response and ultra-clear highs.
- Gold-plated 3.5 mm to 6.3 mm adapter included.
The 32 ohm load means an audio interface, a mixer headphone output or even a laptop will drive them to a usable level, so no separate headphone amplifier is needed to get started.
Comfort for long sessions
A self-adjusting headband finds a secure, comfortable fit on its own, which sounds like a small thing until you have shared one pair between four people at a session. Combined with the closed ear cups, the SR950 is designed to be worn for the length of a mix rather than the length of a song.
Where they fit
Samson describes the SR950 as perfect for engineering, mixing and playing back audio, and lists them for home audio, content creation and recording. They are the tracking and general purpose choice in the SR line. If your priority is a wider soundstage for mix decisions rather than isolation, look at the semi-open SR850 instead.