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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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Koss KSC75 Portable Stereophone Headphones
Customer Review: Hard To Beat For The Money
Summary: 5 Stars
I picked these up based on recommendations from various web sites. They are used with my iPod Nano and 5th generation iPod. Currently they are not being run through a headphone amp of any type. They are used at home, at my desk at work and walking the dog. In addition to these headphones I also use a pair of Sennheiser 212 Pros and Sennheiser 580s. While this isn't a comparison of the KSC75s, I mention my other `phones to give you a sense of what I'm used to.
These headphones are, as the title suggests, an excellent value for the money. For under $20 delivered they are light years ahead of the buds that ship with iPods. Among my other problems (mostly mental most would say) the canal in my right ear is deformed slightly. This makes in ear monitors like the buds that ship with iPods and other DAPs extremely uncomfortable. These `phones clip on to the ear and rest nicely on the outside. When compared to the in ear phones it would seem that these would not want to stay in place but that isn't the case at all. They stay planted where you put them for the most part and aren't fatiguing either on the ears or when listening to them.
The cord is, well, a cord. The length is right and it has a nice right-angle connector. This may sound like a small thing but it helps a lot.
The sound is wonderful. Nice and crisp mids, slightly subdued highs and respectable bass for such a small driver. I found the presentation to be very accurate but since they are of an open design outsides sounds will make it to your ear (a good thing when I'm walking my dog). If you are used to full size, expensive cans you will not be overly impressed by the sound. If you are using ANY phones that shipped with your DAP you will be astounded. I had a chance to A/B compare these with a pair of Sennheiser PX100s and PX200s. Even if they were the same price the KSC75s would still be my choice and I'm a hardcore Senn fan.
If you're using stocks buds, do yourself and your music a favor and spend $20 on a set of these. You will not be sorry!
Customer Review: Everyone is right
Summary: 4 Stars
All I can say is wow. The sound on these are amazing for <$20. Natural sounding, a bit bright at times, hopefully breaking them in will reduce that a bit, but even if it doesn't I am very happy with this purchase. It's nice to have an option other then sticking my IEM's in my ears. It's not going to overwhelm you with bass but it's there. I bumped the bass on my EQ just a tad.
The sound of these is not going to change your life... but the sound for ~$20 is very good. No excuses its a nice sounding set of phones for not very much money.
They don't feel secure while on but shaking my head doesn't make them fall off. I can see where I will forget that I have these on. My winter hattie will hold them on nicely and up the bass a bit by holding them closer to my ear A headband might be just the thing for these when I wear them riding my unicycle. Nice long cord but jack feels cheap and strain relief is not existent and plug is straight instead of my preferred L shaped. Frigging IPods are making everybody switch to straight plugs. I plan to put some heat shrink tubing on the plug/wire to give it more strain relief.
My one criticism is that they are not very loud, but with my Fuze set to 'high' sound output they are loud enough for me since being able to hear outside sounds was one of my goals in getting these. I know an amp would help these but these are my outside/workout phones so no amp in my future.
This is one of those rare products where the hype is well deserved. I am very happy to have an open set of phones that are inexpensive enough that I don't have to worry about losing them or breaking them. Plus from what I read Koss has a very liberal warranty. So win/win.
I plan to order the PX100/PX200 ear pads as an option to see which I like better. I may just order a 2nd set of these phones to go with those pads.
Gave them 4 stars because at $[...] bucks there are more expensive phones that sound better. But value for the money is 5+ stars.
Customer Review: Value for your $14...
Summary: 5 Stars
I needed a replacement for the default iPod phones. (Which, by the way, was not a smart move on Apple's part. You're selling a $300 product for audiophiles, the least you can do is throw in headphones that are worth more than $3.) After about a week, I picked Koss' KSC75.
I read reviews before I purchased this that this set is on par with $100 headphones. I'm not sure if I agree with that generous an estimate... they probably couldn't match up to $100 noise-cancelling Sonys or similarly priced behind-the-ear Bose phones.
But if you're on a budget, and you like behind the ear headphones - you really have only three choices - Panasonic's hs48k for less than 10 dollars (or the similar hs52), Sony's q22lp for 16-18 dollars, and these Koss pads for about $15. I picked the Koss, and I'm glad I did.
The bass is better than anything I've heard on any headphones I can remember wearing. It's a deep reverberation only a few light years away from a $500 Logitech 5.1 surround system, and that's really saying something. Listening to Linkin Park and Jay-Z's Numb/Encore, and Eminem's Sing for the Moment, I couldn't believe the sound quality. Ditto for the other side of the spectrum - Sinatra's Over the Rainbow.
The fit is also really good. Possibly a little too big, but it still feels somewhat snug. If you're in a hurry, you can still fit it on quickly and have it stay on for a rapid walk (but not for a run). If you spend a few seconds securing it right, it's great for vigorous exercise.
The cord's comfortably long - quite right. Can't complain.
For the narcissists such as myself: it does look fairly cool. It's not white as depicted in the snaps online. It's a deep metallic gray, and does look appealing. It's not the coolest looking pair of headphones I've seen; but it's more than good enough in that respect. Besides, looks was not my primary consideration in this purchase.
I'm throwing my iPod headphones in the trash right now.
Customer Review: UH-MAZE-ING! Extremely phenomenal for the price.
Summary: 5 Stars
I am EXTREMELY picky and VERY critical. I RARELY let good things wash out bad things about a product. These headphones are phenomenal for the price.
First and foremost, they are headphones, so I have to say that they sound very very good. The bass is rich and accurate. The highs are clear and not tinny. MOST importantly, the highs, mids, and lows almost never interfere with one another. This is critical for any traditional headphone set with speakers in the earpieces because this is what most cheap sets suffer from. These headphones sound like an $80-100 set EASILY! They would put $100+ sets a run for their money in terms of sound and clarity.
build quality is cheap. what did you expect? they're $10. that being said, the important parts that are likely to break are beefed up such as the ear clip and its hinge. the rest of it looks like it suffers a little from cheap production methods. the most notable down side to this is that the wire they use is very cheapish, but they're good enough. the quality is nothing to really complain about. its plenty good and more than sufficient.
they stay ON your ears. I suffer from 'odd-ear-itus.' Most sets just fall off my ears within minutes with me just sitting here. these will DEFINITELY hold up while running. they are also comfortable for extended periods of time.
the biggest problem with these is that they are MADDDD ugly. but whatever, they're not absolutely horrible. they're headphones, and they're not really that large so nobody's gonna make fun of you for it.
the ONLY other problem is that you probably shouldn't plan on using these in the library since there is no real privacy factor to them. they are actually traditional headphones without the part that goes over your head...
but really, for 10$ you can't go wrong. they are especially good for the gym/working out because of the deep rich bass, ear stability, and cheapness in case they break.
Customer Review: Fantastic Value in Portable Headphones
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm no headphone aficionado... but as corny as it sounds, when I put these on, I couldn't help but smile. They are great portable headphones.
I had been using JVC Marshmallows, which I THOUGHT were pretty good (and they were, compared with the stock headphones I got with my Zune.) But for about the same price, the Koss KSC75's are far superior. It's night and day. I can't comment with technical jargon, but they just sound great. A nice, balanced sound that seems to handle everything from hip-hop to rock to jazz. Particularly with hip hop, there is great definition between the base, treble and voice elements of the music.
The 'open' design is both good and bad. Good, because I like being able to hear a little bit of what is going on around me (especially at the office), bad because sound does leak, and the people around you can hear what you're listening to (unless you keep it low.)
My only criticism is of the fit and comfort. Putting on the phones is a bit tricky at first, and I'm still not sure I am wearing them 100% correctly. Originally, I tried place the earpiece like I would with a pair of glasses, against the head, but this quickly led to discomfort. Now, I wear them so that the earpieces rest lightly between the top of the ear and where a glasses earpiece would normally rest. Much more comfortable this way. They seem pretty secure, but the light weight gives the sense that they could fall off at any moment...
They also look a little weird. You can't tell from the amazon picture, but the ear piece is connected in the front with a rectangular piece of thick chrome 'wire'. It looks like part of a fishing lure, or a strange earring. Not that I'd be embarrassed to wear them in public, but they definitely don't look like what I expected.
Overall though, for this price, these are some great sounding headphones. I might try the KTXPRO1, which are supposed to sound the same but have a headband.