[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brauhaus1 Hello, I have the KSC75's as well and have tried the SR80's, SR60's, SR125's, Sony V6's, various sub $100 Sennheisers, etc. If you really like the KSC75's, I'd venture to say that you in all likelihood will NOT like the sub $100 Grado line or the Sony V6's. I'm not going to say I'm an audiophile, especially when you see the term bandied about on various review sites by people who use the term liberally to describe themselves, but I have auditioned MANY headphones. While the Grados are more musical compared to the V6's which are for critical listening, the grados are not nearly as "musical" or dynamic sounding to the average listener as the KSC75's. The Grados definitely have better definition than the Koss, however, my guess is what you like about your KSC75's is probably the mid-bass (a term I find rarely mentioned on these forums, strangely) and very good low bass extension that gives your music an overall rich and thick sound. I personally find the KSC75's bass a little much at times, boomy and breaks up the clarity of the midrange, but with the Grados I've tried, they sounded like the bottom end fell out. So if you do not want to lose any of the bass you're getting out of the KSC75's, I'd look past Grados. Sennheisers have better bass than the Grados but lack the extension you'll get on certain tracks with the KSC75's that make it seem like you can almost feel the air around your ears moving. Furthermore, none of the cans mentioned here are driven as effortlessly as the KSC75's. If you must upgrade, I recommend you NOT bite the bullet, instead audition whatever headphones you are interested in before you buy. I've spent way too much money myself taking others' words for it and buying headphones I ended not liking. Finally, I may get lynched for this on this forum, especially as a first time poster, but if you can experiment with about $35, buy Panasonic ht-355's or ht-357-S somewhere online for about $20-$25 and replace the wimpy cord with a thicker one and one not so insanely long, and I'd put 5 on you being very pleasantly surprised with what you'll end up with. Disassembly very easy but basic soldering skills required.

WOW!! Quite a bold statement for a first time post!!!

Panasonic HT-355 over an SR60.. as an upgrade from a Koss KSC... WOW panasonic???

Now this I GOTTA hear. I'm all for cheap, and Im always on the look out for soething budget that will keep up with a Koss KSC. To date... none I have found are up to the $25 snuff.

IMHO your sub-bass description describes a pre-burn-in and underpowered Grado. IMHO the sub-bass becomes more effortless on all grados with burn-in. MS2 sub-bass while not overwhelming in amplitude, is stellar in quality.

IMHO whatever Grados lack in sub-bass they MORE than make up for across the remainder of the spectrum.

 

[Jmmmmm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by killer_deep As well, can anyone give me some adjectives that describe the sound of the KSC75s? Bright, forward, treble/midrange-emphasized, balanced, etc? Its hard to read some of the expert posts without having experienced the described types of sound.

Grados/Alessandro's without a doubt. I call my ksc35/75's baby grados. Since you said less fatiguing, I'd go with the MS1, since the highs are supposed to be a little tamer on the Aless's. Unfortunately grados aren't the most comfortable, but they get more comfy when the pads soften, and I find a 10 minute break every hour or two (which you should take anyway, for the safety of your hearing) is enough to allow longer listening.

There may be other headphones that sound similar, but I haven't heard them, and everyone that I've seen does agree that the koss series is similar to grados. I think Lisa has some good advice, though. I'd listen to the ksc75's for a little while and enjoy them before upgrading.

 

[brauhaus1]

Bowls on 80 and 125, flats on 60...

 

[Kirosia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brauhaus1 Bowls on 80 and 125, flats on 60...

You sure you don't mean comfies on the 60?

My 2 cents: I think the kosses and a grado with flats sound similar, forward and musical. The grado obviously has better fidelity. I'm just avg. joe headphone user though, so I tend to say things that make no sense. This may be no exception.

 

[brauhaus1]

Kramer, the modded Panasonics I've made for myself sound very different from the Grados. Which is better I couldn't say definitively because that's purely subjective. I suggested doing the mod because I guessed he enjoyed the bass of the KSC75's.

Kirosia, I personally never felt as if either was more comfortable than the other. They felt different against my ears, but neither was particularly uncomfortable, but that's just me.

 

[Kirosia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brauhaus1 Kirosia, I personally never felt as if either was more comfortable than the other. They felt different against my ears, but neither was particularly uncomfortable, but that's just me.

I think you misunderstood me (I wasn't very clear). The "comfies" aka "comfy" pads are what come stock on the sr-60, but not any of the other upper grados. Flats have a hole and (sometimes) slits in the center, straight from the factory. They were originally on both the joe and john (IIRC) grado lines, until they were replaced with bowls, much to the dismay of numerous customers. The flats can now be found from todd the vinyl junkie, a head-fi sponsor. (quite costly though, but worth it for many)

 

[killer_deep]

Wow, this is great... I thought this would be another one of those newbie threads that gets one or two replies and then ignored. Controversy is good!

Something to add:

Part of the reason I'm considering Grado SR-60s and the Alessandro MS-1s is because there are very very few people that have had either can and said they didn't like the sound. More so with the MS-1s than the SR-60s, because it seems that everyone's tried the latter, including some Senn fans

Also, purchasing the Alessandro MS-1s seems like a risk-free investment because its $99 including shipping, and if I happen to not like them, it looks like I can sell them on here taking only a $10 hit or so. I'm thhhiisss close to buying my first (in my view) exorbitantly expensive set of cans, so is there anyone out there that can give me reason not to nab a pair of the MS1s?

Thanks,
Sandeep

 

[Kirosia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by killer_deep Also, purchasing the Alessandro MS-1s seems like a risk-free investment because its $99 including shipping, and if I happen to not like them, it looks like I can sell them on here taking only a $10 hit or so. I'm thhhiisss close to buying my first (in my view) exorbitantly expensive set of cans, so is there anyone out there that can give me reason not to nab a pair of the MS1s?

One warning: if you order from allesandro, you may have deal with a long shipping time and/or have to wait awhile to reach them/receive conformation. People have had varying results with them (there are a few longs thread on the subject). I bought the ms1 along time ago and had no problems, but that was then. (before the ms series got "big")

Also, I think people have said you have better chances if you call them and place the order instead of using the online shopping cart.

 

[killer_deep]

Alot of people have mentioned differences between earpads on the MS1, as well as a Sennheiser pad mod... can anyone point me to where I can find the Senn 414 pads?

 

[infinitefurby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by killer_deep Alot of people have mentioned differences between earpads on the MS1, as well as a Sennheiser pad mod... can anyone point me to where I can find the Senn 414 pads?

http://shop.sennheiserusa.com/retail...ct_prod=019545

$3.82 a pair, I think the general way to mod them is to cut a quarter-sized hole in the middle of the pad to make them more like a pair of grado bowl pads. You can also dye them black, but be careful because I've heard a lot of horror stories of black dye rubbing off all over the place. Definitely research dyeing more if you're interested.

And yes, you really should get some Grados/Alessandros. I used to have some Senn HD555s, which are nice cans and all, but completely lacking in fun factor. I'm guessing you like the KSC75s cause they're fun, and you'll just get more concentrated fun in some Grados!

 

[Ebonyks]

I'll stand by the same opinion i've had for years on this subject, even when the KSC-35 was the headphone of choice.

Stop. Unless you're willing to put out quite a bit of money, there's really no point in upgrading these headphones. Cans like the SR-60's and MS-1's offer marginal improvements in overall refinement, and the bass is more in control, but you're not going to experience the same lifting of veils that you did when you first got your KSC-75's. There are other headphones in that range worth hearing, some seem to be especially fond of the v6 signature sound, but until you're willing to put out serious cash, i wouldn't even bother.

If you want a price range, i'm talking atleast 300-500 dollars to build a system properly.

 

[Kirosia]

Considering how cheap the senn pads are, I'd get at least 2 pairs. One for modding, another left stock. Or maybe a third if you think you'll screw up on the mod. (which you probably won't)

 

[Lisa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ebonyks I'll stand by the same opinion i've had for years on this subject, even when the KSC-35 was the headphone of choice. Stop. Unless you're willing to put out quite a bit of money, there's really no point in upgrading these headphones. Cans like the SR-60's and MS-1's offer marginal improvements in overall refinement, and the bass is more in control, but you're not going to experience the same lifting of veils that you did when you first got your KSC-75's. There are other headphones in that range worth hearing, some seem to be especially fond of the v6 signature sound, but until you're willing to put out serious cash, i wouldn't even bother. If you want a price range, i'm talking atleast 300-500 dollars to build a system properly.

Yep.

The ms-1s are less fun and only give you a small improvement. You'll like them but you'll wonder if this is really worth 5x what you paid for the ksc75s. The KSCs sound VERY good for what you pay. [size=small]VERY[/size] good!

 

[myc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kirosia I think you misunderstood me (I wasn't very clear). The "comfies" aka "comfy" pads are what come stock on the sr-60, but not any of the other upper grados. Flats have a hole and (sometimes) slits in the center, straight from the factory. They were originally on both the joe and john (IIRC) grado lines, until they were replaced with bowls, much to the dismay of numerous customers. The flats can now be found from todd the vinyl junkie, a head-fi sponsor. (quite costly though, but worth it for many)

How does the comparison between C-Pads (from headphile, yeah it's expensive) and flats pad for SR-60 or any Grado line headphone, concerning comfort and sound?

Btw, I have KSC-55 and it sounds great, may be KSC-75 sounds just the same but I think 55s is the best in BASS than any Koss recommended line(because it is tighter, yes it can be uncomfortable sometime).

 

[infinitefurby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ebonyks I'll stand by the same opinion i've had for years on this subject, even when the KSC-35 was the headphone of choice. Stop. Unless you're willing to put out quite a bit of money, there's really no point in upgrading these headphones. Cans like the SR-60's and MS-1's offer marginal improvements in overall refinement, and the bass is more in control, but you're not going to experience the same lifting of veils that you did when you first got your KSC-75's. There are other headphones in that range worth hearing, some seem to be especially fond of the v6 signature sound, but until you're willing to put out serious cash, i wouldn't even bother. If you want a price range, i'm talking atleast 300-500 dollars to build a system properly.

This is a very respectable opinion, but I have to disagree. I've always compared building a headphone rig to customizing a car. Sure, you could just go out and buy some crazy pre-customized car that's all ready to go, but it's a lot more fun to test different parts out and build it yourself. A lot of the fun in the headphone hobby, for me and a lot of people, is found in incremental upgrades, further refinements.

Besides, I'm doubting the OP has $500 to spend at once, given that he has a $100 limit for cans and doesn't plan on getting an amp right away. I'd say it's a more prudent idea to dip your toes in with something like an MS-1 to see if the hobby interests you, then see where it goes from there. Besides, I know I'm not the only person who finds it difficult to save up hundreds of dollars for something I'm not even sure would be worth it or interests me enough.