Koss KSC75 Portable Stereophone Headphones

Foobar2000 > Magni 3+ / Modi 3+ - No DSP used - No EQ used
*Note - Price is factored into the score.

Non-auditory observations: Comfort is excellent. Arguably the most comfortable headphone that I have ever used. These headphones are lightweight, but they rely on the base and center of the ear to hold it up: some people might find this uncomfortable. The durability is not good. My experience with them is that they last ~1 year because of damaged wiring. The cable on the KSC75 is stiff and the 3.5mm plug is right-angled, which I find provides more durability. Now, the KSC75X is Drop's version of the KSC75, and they measure around the same minus the bass from 10-100Hz. These cost slightly extra but the cable behaves better and is rubberized. My suggestion would be to get the KSC75X.

Tone: Not too many complaints. Sound is mostly natural with some plasticky notes. Treble focused and extremely subtle sub-bass. Mid-bass and midrange is neutral. Treble sounds forward and splashy in a good way: good treble definition.

Tech: Average soundstage that is limited by its driver size and also wearable form that places the driver on the ears. Good separation because of the lack of present bass in general. Imaging is okay. Treble detail is good. Midrange and bass notes are lacking in some detail because they are less defined and distant.

Song Tests: (VS KSC75X modded with Fibonacci grilles and a 0.5in coin/quarter cutout in the center of the foam)
Evan Call - Back in Business



(0:00 - 0:15): The strings at the left are introduced more distantly while the bass is not strong at all. There is a subtle "tap-dancing beat" that starts at 0:03 and ends at around 0:16 in the song. This part is hard to nail and with the KSC75: they were barely audible and not dynamic enough. With the KSC75X, the strings are introduced more intimately, more natural and better defined. The bass is more present and the "tap-dancing beat" is slightly more audible with more range.
(1:18 - 1:21): This short-stringed part is played with no congestion. The strings are not too well-defined. The KSC75X sounds more warm with a slight amount of congestion from the instruments and the added audible bass.
(1:30 - 1:36): While the separation is good, the piano notes and the main instrument are quite distant.

Ragdollz - Mangekyo



(1:12 - 1:20): Tones are good but it sounds pretty boring. Mids and bass sound flat but the cymbal taps do stand out.
(1:46 - 2:04): Less overall dynamic sound on the KSC75. The constant cymbals do really stand out at 2:00. Less center imaging on the KSC75.
(2:04 - 2:22): The fast kick drums sounds pretty flat and the electric guitar is well separated, but doesn't have a great, full tone.

Hiroyuki Sawano - Blumenkranz



(0:47 - 1:10): Main vocals are distant and the whispers are barely audible. The KSC75X picks up the gasps/air-intakes during the whispers better, but the whispers are also barely audible. Better center imaging on the KSC75X.
(1:38 - 2:00): The drums sound less warm with less real reverb. The cymbal-like sound is nice and splashy. The drums introduced at 1:48 has little authority. But again, the KSC75 has better separation and more soundstage.
(4:00 - 4:18): Nice spacing between instruments but the main blooming instrument is slightly off: not enough haze.

Thoughts
The purpose of me comparing the two nearly-identical headphones is that you could mod and change the sound-profile of the KSC75 if you want: not too drastic, but enough to increase the midrange detail and the note definition. The Fibonacci grilles creates more openings for sound to travel through, theoretically making the sound more intimate and perhaps more detailed. I suspect that the kramer mod does similar things. With the quarter mod, solderdude noted that the drivers sit slightly closer to the ear. It creates less dampening for a more direct and detailed sound. The compromise is that the stage is less, especially the sense of depth. The notes become more congested with the increase of other sound elements. Are the mods worth doing? For what I hear to be a more natural and more defined headphone with less soundstage and more congestion: I think they are. I normally use crossfeed for headphones. Crossfeed + stock KSC75 = an even less dynamic listening experience.

Conclusion
For the price of the headphones, I can not think of anything in its range that could beat it. Overall the tonality is good with the detail and soundstage being the major cons. For what it offers, I think 4/5 stars is a fair rating for these.

KSC75s are the second of the Koss’ most popular headphones. Well they have several and now there is Utility series, sure but KSC75s are still special. You can also read this review at our website https://www.mobileaudiophile.com/koss-ksc75-review/

Disclaimers​

Without boring you too much, I don’t necessarily have a sound preference. I tend to enjoy different sound profiles as long as they do well what they intend to do. I’m not very sensitive to treble so can enjoy most notoriously bright headphones, however I’m somewhat sensitive to upper mids area. Please keep these in mind.

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Built, Comfort, Trivia of KSC75​

KSC75s are kind of a legend in the “audiophile” community. Although they use almost the same driver with the Porta Pros, probably titanium coating on the driver changes the sound, arguably for the better. They come with ear clips instead of a headband. They are also much cheaper; while MSRP of Porta Pros is 50$, KSC75s are sold for 20$, what a bargain! However ear clips are annoying, at least they are for me. They pull down your ear, hurt after a while and seal even less than Porta Pro. Fret not though, ear clips are easily removable and interchangable with Porta Pro headband and several other 3rd party headbands. Also you can use change the ear cushions to suit your taste in color, style and tuning, just like Porta Pros.

Sound of KSC75​

If you are a FR graph guy, imagine tilting the Porta Pro’s FR graph counter clockwise and you get KSC75’s FR. But I’m here to explain what ears hear. KSC75s are as neutral as it gets.


For the bass, these don’t have much of a sub-bass extension either, maybe even less than Porta Pro. In the mid-bass there is a slight hint of a mid-bass hump which adds a little fun factor but nothing excess. It just makes the sound not very lean which is very welcome if you ask me.


Mids are quite good and neutral, not forward, not recessed either. In this sense presentation is very similar to Sennheiser HD600s. In my HD600 review I said they are epitome of neutrality, the dictionary definition of neutral for audiophiles, if you will. Anyway, KSC75s are not as intimate but they don't become shouty either. Porta Pros have more of an intimate presentation in this sense.


If you are sensitive to treble, they may come as too bright or harsh sometimes but they don’t offend me unless I turn the volume too much or the song itself is excessively harsh in that region. They are definitely brighter than HD600s here. If your treble limit is HD600s', then KSC75s might be too harsh for you. Still I enjoy the extra zing. They are pretty detailed and have wider soundstage than average. Again KSC75s are very balanced. Timbre is also very natural, doesn’t sound off in any way.

Conclusion​

KSC75s are the most "audiophile" headphones in Koss' on ear headphones line-up. They produce the most correct sound in the sense of fidelity to the original recording. However music enjoyment is not just about fidelity and if you go higher in price you will come across more technically capable headphones. But for 20$ what can go wrong? You can even play with them a little to satiate your curiosity without breaking the bank. Tonality-wise they can compete with 100$-150$ range. Just don't expect miracles and you will be fine.

Into:
The KSC75 is one of the more popular models made by Koss. They make great value-for-money products in their budget lineups. The KSC75 is no different. It is an open-back clip-on headphone with Koss's titanium coated 60-ohm driver with a neutral sound signature. After using them for more than a month on a daily basis for 7-8 hours a day, I am writing down my review.

Disclaimer: This unit is bought by me and all my opinions are completely honest and unbiased.

Packaging:

The packaging is very minimalistic with the box including the headphones and some paperwork.

Build and Comfort:


The build quality of these headphones is very bad. The wire is very thin and plasticky and it can break very easily. It holds its shape and never straightens up. The plastic used in the headphones feels very cheap. As these are open-back headphones, they let all the noise in due to lack of seal, and they bleed a lot of noise. And sometimes, the hair can get stuck on the pads and can get through the pads to the drivers and can cause buzzing, especially on low frequencies. It can be fixed after removing the pads and giving them a quick blow. Comfort-wise, they are very comfy and the pads are very soft. After a while, you even forget that they are on your ear. They are also very stable due to their clip-on design.

Sound:

This is where these headphones shine. They are very well-tuned and have a neutral sound signature with emphasis on the mids and sub-bass roll-off. They are one of the best sounding headphones at this price point and even competes with headphones way above its price bracket.


(Courtesy: Crinacle)

Bass:
They have a sub-bass roll-off so it doesn't have the rumble that other headphones have at this price range. But the bass is punchy and is enough for most people. But if you are a basshead, you should look for other options.

Mids:
The mids are a bit too forward due to which, the vocals feel a little bit shouty and can cause fatigue after a long time at high volume. Other than that, vocals and instruments sound very natural.

Treble:
Treble is very natural and very detailed without being fatiguing.

Soundstage:
The soundstage is pretty average, not very wide.

Conclusion:
The Koss KSC75 are the best headphones under $100 in terms of sound quality. They even compete with headphones way above their price bracket and even beats a lot of them in terms of sound. They have a neutral sound signature that you will rarely find at this price point. The mids are a little bit forward and shouty, but eq can easily fix them. However, in terms of build quality, they are very cheap feeling and not good and the wire is very thin. If you want a headphone for sound quality under $50-100, The Koss KSC75s are the best headphones at this price point and are the best value for the money. They would be the endgame for most of the people out there.