Koss KSC75 Portable Stereophone Headphones
by Koss
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List Price: Our Price: $10.40 You Save: $9.59 (48%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: CE See more product details |
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Koss KSC75 Portable Stereophone Headphones
Customer Review: Highly Recommended
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had these for quite awhile and they are my favorites. Price was right and sound is incredible. I've become somewhat of a headphone junkie and tried Philips, Panasonic, Sony, about 12 different models. I've ended up returning ALL of them due to either no bass, no treble, distortion problems, or they just felt uncomfortable. Koss seems to have arrived precisely at the right amount of bass, mid-range, and treble, without wrongly coloring the music like other brands do! With these I distinctly hear everything and never touch my equalizer! Many headphones seem to add too much of one thing, thus dropping another thing so severly that no amount of adjustment can bring it back-in at a level that's acceptable. This is the only under $20 pair I've found so far that doesn't.
Examples: I've tried like 3 different Panasonic under-$30 XBS series headphones and all add way too much bass, killing off the entire treble, and no level of EQ can bring back an acceptable range of treble. The symbols and hi-hats couldn't be recovered AT ALL on several heavy rock and heavy metal CD's. Next, the Sony MDR's (tried about 3) seem to have no bass, and no amount of adjustment can bring an acceptable amount! Philips, tried a couple, and they either hurt my ears, the music was actually distorted and distant. Their HN100 $60 Noise Cancelling pair had horrible distorted sound. Gave them one-more-shot today and picked up the Philips Turbo Bass (HS405), and like many bass heavy headphones it has no treble, and no adjustment brings it back in at an acceptable level. Also tried here the Creative Labs HN-505 $30 Noise Cancelling headphones and returned them, found them to be horrible buzzing-and-distorting garbage that shouldn't even be sold!
Couple of more things about these gems, the music seems incredibly close, its like the band is playing in your living room and not down-the-street. Alot of under $20 phones can't do that, and faithfully reproduce all ranges of music. At first I was hesitant buying these due to the earclips. I've tried other brands that either rest on top of the ears (sports/neck bands), or clip to the ears, these are the most comfortable. I truly forget at times, after the music has stopped, that I still have them on.
As you've seen from above, I've tried numerous headphones from the $10-$60 range, and these were the ABSOLUTE BEST out of all of them! Are they worth $20? As good as they sound if Koss/Amazon charged $40-$60 I'd pay it and not blink, after all the time I've spent trying and returning the garbage other manufacturers produce! These could very well be for most people the ONLY pair of portable headhphones they need! And don't forget most Koss' have a lifetime warranty! Should something happen to them Koss can count on me buying another pair!
Customer Review: Incredible bargain...sound better than my old $40 Sonys
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had these for about a month and I am very happy. I was specifically looking for a pair of "clip-on" phones that don't have a horizontal bar connecting them in the back, like many "street-style" phones which were pioneered by Sony. I loved my old pair of MDR-G72s, but I decided I couldn't deal with the bar in back for two reasons: (1) if I laid my head back on a bus/train/airplane seat, the bar would get squished and would force the phones off my ear, and (2) it was virtually impossible to wear them under a tight-fitting winter hat, which I wear about 5 months of the year up here in Boston.
I hesitated on the Koss KSC75s because the brand name has always said "2nd fiddle" or "poor man's Sony" to me. But I figured the worst that could happen was that I waste 14 bucks. After all the positive reviews I went for it. So glad I did! After doing side-by-side comparisons between these and the $40 Sony's I used to use, I actually prefer the Koss phones. The soundstage feels wider, and WAY clearer in the midrange and high-end. I am able to pick up nuances and ambient details that get totally muffled with the Sonys. The only area the Sony's excel in is slightly (but noticeably) better bass. But honestly, I think too much bass is annoying and gives me a headache.
Some reviewers have pointed out that they think these are difficult to put on and become unclipped too easily...I can see why they would feel that way, but I think you just need to take your time and not just cram them on your ears with reckless abandon. I have short hair and these are a peice of cake to get on and off. They stay in place so well that after a few minutes I can't even feel them, I just hear the great sounds.
So, to sum up, you need to know what product you are buying - basic clip-on phones. If that's what you want, these are the best value I have ever seen. Best $14 I ever spent. Thinking about buying a 2nd pair just in case. BUT if you expect these to have ANY noise-cancelling qualities, you are looking in the wrong category. These phones will NOT suit you well if you plan to wear them on a loud commute with cars and people flying by...you would have to crank the volume so loud you'll damage your ears. And the flipside to the lack of noise-cancelling properties means other people will hear your music if you're in a quiet place like a library or waiting room. But for $14, I can live with those minor and temporary inconveniences.
Oh yeah, and if you plan to wear these under that tight-fitting winter hat like me, that's when you get the best sound possible. Your hat will keep the phones pressed to your ears, giving you way better bass response than when they are "floating" slightly off your ears when in the usual position.
Customer Review: Won Over
Summary: 5 Stars
I have to admit: I've never given Koss products more than a passing glance before conducting some research on lightweight, portable and, most importantly, cheap headphones that sound better than the sum of their parts.
Every indication seemed to point to the KSC75 as the headphones I'd want, but I remained skeptical. Koss just didn't seem high-end enough compared to the likes of Sennheiser or other prestigious brands. I kept looking into other options from other highly regarded manufacturers but couldn't commit. I had an itch I knew I had to scratch, and one day the opportunity presented itself when I found these gems for under $13 shipped. At that price, I figured I had little to lose.
For the record, these share the same drivers as Koss's legendary PortaPro, but there's a slight difference in the sound. The PortaPro's headband tension causes its earpieces to clamp onto the ears more so than the KSC75's earclips, which results in somewhat muddier bass compared to the more relaxed and open soundstage of the KSC75.
What this means is that this is effectively a more open-sounding, cost-effective version of the PortaPro, and I highly doubt there's another product out there that can match its sound quality at its MSRP, much less for under $13. The bass is tight, the highs are detailed without being overly bright and the mids are nicely balanced in between. On pure performance alone I'd recommend these without hesitation.
Some sticking points, though, include less-than-desirable aesthetics and questionable build quality. I haven't had any issues at all with my pair so far, but the earclips snap off given moderate force (losing an earclip isn't out of the question) and I can't but help feel a little self-conscious when running around with these in public. The wires that form the earclips protrude at right angles from the head and defy any resemblance to elegant design.
However, these are minor quibbles compared to the value and performance these headphones offer compared to, say, the Philips SHS5200, which are comparable in price and look better. They're even built better and rated slightly higher to boot, but the sound quality is inferior (I also own a pair of these); the KSC75 outclasses it to the point where listening to them again actually makes music less enjoyable.
If you're looking for a fantastic sounding pair of headphones and performance matters more to you than style or superb build quality (not that the KSC75 is held together by duct tape), do yourself a favor and give these a shot. I doubt you'll be disappointed and you might even end up looking at Koss in a whole new light.
Customer Review: Epic sound. Epic price.
Summary: 4 Stars
After my old headphones broke I had to get a new pair and had a hard time with it. I am a bit of a snob when it comes to sound quality after using my 100$ pair of USB plantronics for so long. They had amazing sound quality. I purchased a few pairs and ended up sending them back because they sounded like garbage. These were the 3rd ones that I got and I am very satisfied with them. They actually sound better than my 100$ ones. I am giving them a 4/5 for a few minor reasons that I will list as pros and cons.
Pros:
-Sound quality and depth. If you are an audio snob like I am you won't be let down with the amount of base and clarity you get with these.
-Price. These were around 10 dollars cheaper than the ones I ended up returning and far superior.
-Comfort. I wear these while I work, clean and exercise and they haven't slipped off yet. The metal clip is surrounded by a thin layer of tough, flexible plastic that you just clip onto your ear. Simple and effective technology.
Cons:
-Portability. More easily portable than standard headphones but not as good as ear buds. I take my laptop to work with me and I put these headphones inside the bag. They fit okay and all, but they get tangled very easily and I feel like I have to be careful with them because they could break. While I am working and a customer approaches I have to take them off and put them in my pocket. They fit, but again I feel like I have to be careful so I don't break them.
-Ease of Use. This was probably the most silly and stupid flaw of these headphones. It does not specify which side is left and right. I had to plug them into the computer and run a program to tell me which was which. As an audio snob it is important to listen to music the way it was created. So you don't want to mix the sides up. So I got a marker and put a little L on one and a R on the other. Took a few minutes, but no longer an issue.
-Reliability. One of the clips popped off after a few weeks of use. It is bonded together at a tiny pivot with cheap plastic and it snapped. But it wasn't an issue because I guess they were prepared for something like that and you can just pop it back into place without that pivot actually being connected. But as I stated earlier I really feel like I have to be careful all the time with these because they look like they could break easily.
So that's that. Sound quality, comfort and price 5/5. Appearance and reliability 4/5. Portability and ease of use 3/5. So all in all 4/5. Hope this helped.
Customer Review: Beer Budget Audiophile Cans
Summary: 5 Stars
We have 3 pairs of these in my house. My son loves them for his Nano, I use them in place of my $400 Westones when I am looking for an open air headphone to take with me.
And here are a few comments about using the Koss KSC 75s.
1. They are not as efficient as lots of other buds or in ear phones so you will have to turn the volume up to get them to be pretty loud. This can be an issue with many players since some distort way before the "10 level" on the volume control. An amp will help them out immensely if you don't mind carrying a good $100 add on around with your portable setup.
2. They are fairly flat but lack the extreme highs and lows and are mildly recessed in the mids. They will not have hyper exaggerated treble that burns your ears off, so if you like that sort of unnatural analytic quality then stay away. They are just nicely balanced. Do NOT be tempted to EQ your way to a $400 sound signature. Most portable players EQ circuits suck. They add distortion and if you want to punch up the bass you will run out of amp power to cleanly do it way before you might like. It adds loads of distortion from your struggling amp chip.
3. The fit is a bit loose and on the ears. They do not clamp like sealed headphones. To get a proper fit you may need to put these on like sunglasses and swivel the ear clips from a 12 o'clock postion to about 6 o'clock when looking at the side of your head. That keeps them in place and lets them go on a bit easier. You may need to unclip the earclips from the phone itself and bend them slightly outward if you have fatter ears (sorry, all of us don't have the same ears)
4. These are not sealed headphones and will leak music and allow noise to come in. So I would not be using these on an airplane. Not only will you still hear the engine noise, you'll tick off your neighbor. They are good for those folks who run or use where they want to hear what might be going on around you. While running you do not get the footsteps coming through your ear like you do with in the ear deigns. And you can sweat up a storm and take the foam off and wash them.
5. Value- forget about it. You will not find a more well balanced headphone under a $100 in many cases. I have had about 30 headphones and I still like these the best for under $100. More than Sennheisers, Bose, Apple, etc. No wonder they are the most recommended on the ear budget headphones on headfi, the mecca for headphone freaks.