I just wanted to post a big thank you to you all. I’ve been watching this forum for sometime now, not ever saying a word, but just listening to recommendations as I searched for a cheap pair of decent-sounding headphones. I’ve tried buds from almost every “budget” manufacturer and even some of the low end ones from well-regarded companies (shure SE110, SE210, & Klipsch Custom 1’s) and wasn’t really satisfied w/ any of them. I had about settled on the Custom 1’s, when I kept reading about how great the Koss KSC-075’s were. Now, I’ve had several cheap pair of Koss phones in the past & was never really impressed with them, so I didn’t have much hope for the 75’s, but I figured I’d give them a shot anyway. I picked up a pair from radio shack for a whopping 6 bucks, tried them on, and was IMMEDIATELY PISSED! Not angry at the fact that they sounded horrible, quite the opposite actually, these little things blew me away! I was angered at the fact that I spent hundreds of dollars on these other “quality” phones, only to find a better-sounding pair for 6 FREAKING BUCKS! Anyway, I just wanted to again say thank you to all forum members for recommending these headphones & saving me close to $100. I’m truly impressed & you guys obviously know your stuff.

Great for you!

In the same line, you could try the Koss Portapro/Sportapro and the Koss-KSC35.

Wearing the KSC75 on a headband changes the sound, IMO for the better!

regards,

Welcome to Head-Fi, and sorry for your wallet.

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I did read about the Portapro & am interested in them as a second pair, but will the sound quality be much different? I've read that the 2 pair use the same drivers, but also that the Portapro carries more bass than the 75's. I like the clarity of the 75's, so do the Portapro's sound muddy in comparison?

Thanks.

I have the 75s but after a short time they bother my ears with their hanging. If this happens to you try the portapro. The portapro have even better bass because of their small head band. In any case cut a small hole in the pads to tame the bass and let the highs out. Enjoy.

Seek out the KSC35 and be done with it - the 35's use plastic clips instead of the wire clips found on the 75s; may not seem like much, but I've tried both and it's no contest.
Plus the 35's are all black - I was fortunate enough to buy 3pairs NOS when I had the chance about 4 years ago.

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so is the general consensus that the 35's are better than the portapros & 75's?

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I don't know about consensus, but I think the 35's are the sweet spot of best comfort and sound of the three. Although, with the Kramer mod (look it up once search is back on line), the 75's are awfully darn good, I just don't like the pressure of the metal earclips.

These phones truly shine with the Kramer Mod. Recabling helps as well, especially if your headphones came with the in-line volume control. Oh, and don't forget about the 75ohm resistor mod, which definitely tightens the bass so it's not as boomy

If i had to rank them it'd be 35 > 75 > Portapro > SportaPro

SportaPro clips push the headphones too close to your ears, thus muddies the sound. The PortaPro's semi-open back design + less pressure cleans it up a little.
For fun, I've tried the SportaPro with Grado Bowl Pads, and the extra 1cm+ of distance did a lot to clear up the boominess/muddiness. People have done this mod with the PortaPros with the Sennheiser HD414 pads with much success.

In terms of KSC35 versus KSC75, it's definitely a matter of preference. KSC75's treble response is wonderful (and to some too bright), whereas the KSC35 seems to be a overall balanced phone with an emphasis on mid bass.

In terms of comfort, I'd find that the Sporta/Portapro phones to be quite comfortable and prefer them @ times to the Clip ons. However, in terms of the Sportapro, I think those drivers are better suited for Clip Ons. My current collection consist of a SportaPro clip with KSC75 drivers (which are domed, hence they have slightly more distance than the non-titanium 60 ohm driver which is flat) so the sound doesn't muddy up, and the 60 ohm non-ti driver with clips, which sounds much better.

Overall, if you're going for portable setup, as in something that you'll walk outside with, the KSC35 would be the ultimate setup, and consequently the most expensive. In this regard, I'd suggest just getting either the Sporta/Portapro, detach the drivers and place the KSC75 clips on them.

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Quite true for me as well. I own the KSC 75, 35 and PortaPro and my fav by far is the 35, with the PortaPro coming in at a very close (if practically tied) 2nd.

excellent, thanks for the recommendations. I'll definately have to try out the 35's & mod the 75's. As a side question, does anyone know if any of Koss' iem's are any good? As stated in my earlier post, I've owned quite a few Koss products, and this is the only one that's really wow'ed me.

thnx

Try the Head-Direct RE2, which has a Koss-y sound.

Do the Sportapros have the same drivers as the KSC35s? Can't remember when, but I remember reading here that the Spotapros were just KSC35s with a headband; that, and the driver casings themselves actually look quite similar. Is this true?

EDIT: Also, leonwho, the RE2s look pretty good... I've been frequently considering them in the past few weeks. They share a similar sound signature to the KSC75s?

Yea ksc-75's are good, got them for $5 at radioshack.

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Avoid the IEMs, if the ones you are looking at are the Plugs or SparkPlugs. I believe a couple of years back, Kramer and a few others were playing around with a few mods and trying to get the best possible sound out of the Koss IEMs and while a couple of modifications did help improve some of the sound signature, I believe the general consensus was that there are better ways to spend the money. I know they released a handful of newer models, but I haven't tried any of those so I can't comment on them.

just did the Kramer mod to the 75's, and the high end definately seems to have improved. Again, a big thank you for all the info... the 35's are on the way, I fear this site is going to soon put my income in the red