Dregur
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 2, 2004
- Posts
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Well, I've been comparing the two headphones this entire weekend. I recieved the EW9's this Friday, and switching on and off with the KSC75's (unmodded). I also did a direct switch back and forth between 4 songs that I know well just about an hour ago.
My test setup:
5th Gen Ipod,
ALO Copper Dock,
LDM+
I listened to these four songs:
Dishwalla - Somewhere in the Middle
Utada - Exodus 04'
Nickel Creek - Helena
Submersed - At Peace
Each song was chosen to show off something in the musical spectrum to see how each phone handled different aspects of music. I switched between headphones after a single song was completed.
Now for the comparison:
Build:
Hands down, the build of the EW9's are better than the KSC75's. Where's there's hardly any plastic on the EW9's, the KSC75 are pretty much entirely made of plastic. Also, the EW9's are as pretty as in the pictures you can find on the internet (sorry, no pictures from me, my camera hates me right now). The Koss are...uh...well they look like 20 dollar headphones. The EW-9's use a J cord, which I don't particularly like, but it didn't bother me too much. Also, the EW9 uses an extension cord which makes the line way too long. I found the length of the KSC75's cord to be pretty much perfect with the preferred Y-Cord as well.
Edge: EW-9's
Comfort and Fit:
Both are comfortable to wear, the KSC75's being bigger on my ear than the EW-9's. I wear glasses, and both did not interfere with them, as the phones dangle more outside of my ear.
However, I found the KSC75's were both easier to put on and they felt like they were not going to falloff. The EW9's felt a bit like they were going to fall off, even though they were actually on my ears pretty well. I found myself subconsciously adjusting the EW9's for no real reason.
I do have to note that a cool thing about the EW9's are the springs on either phone that you swing out when you're putting them on, then swing back into your ears. I found that if I really wanted to hear someone talk, I ended up just swinging back the driver back out, and just leaving it on my ear. It looks sort of ridiculous, but I could still hear the music while having a conversation with someone. Granted, that's not the most polite thing to do, but I was using VOIP at the time anyway.
Note: Both of the earphones offer no isolation, and both leak plenty of sound.
Edge: KSC75's
Now to why you guys actually clicked on the thread...Sound.
Bass:
The KSC75's had a better lower end, with a footnote however. The KSC75's definitely had more bass than the EW9's, but the EW9's were much more defined, especially if the bass end had multiple notes. What I mean is that while the bass of the KSC75's were more impactful, if you were listening to a acoustic bass player, the notes would be muddled. The EW9's, on the other hand, were clear and punchy. Just not as impactful.
I guess the a good analogy is the KSC75's landed a straight punch, but the EW9's were able to land jabs accurately.
Edge: KSC75's.
Mids:
The EW9's shine here when compared to the KSC75's. The mids on the AT's were out in front, where the Koss's were in the back taking a smoke break. There were times where the KSC75's mids were almost non existent, hiding behind the highs or the lows on a song. The EW9's mids were just as clear as the high or the lows in a song. On some songs, I realized some instruments were actually prominent in the song, when I thought they were just background music.
Edge: EW9
Highs:
This one is a toughy, as both headphones had pretty good highs, each with it's strengths and weaknesses. The EW-9's were clear and bright...almost too bright when I first started to listen to them. I did get used to them, but they were fatiguing at first, but it might have been because I'm used to the sound of Shure E2C's which are considered dark IEM's. The KSC75's had good highs, but the clarity and instrument separation wasn't there on some tracks. Especially with acoustical instruments. Again, it just seem unclear at times when compared to the KSC75's.
Edge: EW9's by a small margin.
Clarity
This might be a little redundent, but I'll mention it anyway since its a rather important distinction between the two headphones. The EW9's simply have more clarity and better seperation between instruments than the KSC75's. It almost struck me how much of a difference between the two there were.
Conclusion:
Are the EW9's better headphones than KSC75's? Yes.
However, another question to be asked is, "Are the EW9's worth 100 dollars more than the KSC75's?" The answer to that is...Maybe.
As I see it, the EW9's are a definite refinement over the KSC75's. However, the fit varies on how your ears are built, and the KSC75's are a little more flexible in that regard. Also, if you like your bass, the EW-9's are not for you. I sort of compare them to the eternal debate between the Ety's and Shures/Super.Fi's. Do you go for more bass, or the clarity? Or do you just go for full on cans anyway?
Another thing to consider is that the AT's are hard to mod...and I don't think I would mod them anyway, especially with the beautiful wood enclosure.
Anyway, I know some people were interested in the comparison, and I hope I helped someone with this thread.
-The Grinman
My test setup:
5th Gen Ipod,
ALO Copper Dock,
LDM+
I listened to these four songs:
Dishwalla - Somewhere in the Middle
Utada - Exodus 04'
Nickel Creek - Helena
Submersed - At Peace
Each song was chosen to show off something in the musical spectrum to see how each phone handled different aspects of music. I switched between headphones after a single song was completed.
Now for the comparison:
Build:
Hands down, the build of the EW9's are better than the KSC75's. Where's there's hardly any plastic on the EW9's, the KSC75 are pretty much entirely made of plastic. Also, the EW9's are as pretty as in the pictures you can find on the internet (sorry, no pictures from me, my camera hates me right now). The Koss are...uh...well they look like 20 dollar headphones. The EW-9's use a J cord, which I don't particularly like, but it didn't bother me too much. Also, the EW9 uses an extension cord which makes the line way too long. I found the length of the KSC75's cord to be pretty much perfect with the preferred Y-Cord as well.
Edge: EW-9's
Comfort and Fit:
Both are comfortable to wear, the KSC75's being bigger on my ear than the EW-9's. I wear glasses, and both did not interfere with them, as the phones dangle more outside of my ear.
However, I found the KSC75's were both easier to put on and they felt like they were not going to falloff. The EW9's felt a bit like they were going to fall off, even though they were actually on my ears pretty well. I found myself subconsciously adjusting the EW9's for no real reason.
I do have to note that a cool thing about the EW9's are the springs on either phone that you swing out when you're putting them on, then swing back into your ears. I found that if I really wanted to hear someone talk, I ended up just swinging back the driver back out, and just leaving it on my ear. It looks sort of ridiculous, but I could still hear the music while having a conversation with someone. Granted, that's not the most polite thing to do, but I was using VOIP at the time anyway.
Note: Both of the earphones offer no isolation, and both leak plenty of sound.
Edge: KSC75's
Now to why you guys actually clicked on the thread...Sound.
Bass:
The KSC75's had a better lower end, with a footnote however. The KSC75's definitely had more bass than the EW9's, but the EW9's were much more defined, especially if the bass end had multiple notes. What I mean is that while the bass of the KSC75's were more impactful, if you were listening to a acoustic bass player, the notes would be muddled. The EW9's, on the other hand, were clear and punchy. Just not as impactful.
I guess the a good analogy is the KSC75's landed a straight punch, but the EW9's were able to land jabs accurately.
Edge: KSC75's.
Mids:
The EW9's shine here when compared to the KSC75's. The mids on the AT's were out in front, where the Koss's were in the back taking a smoke break. There were times where the KSC75's mids were almost non existent, hiding behind the highs or the lows on a song. The EW9's mids were just as clear as the high or the lows in a song. On some songs, I realized some instruments were actually prominent in the song, when I thought they were just background music.
Edge: EW9
Highs:
This one is a toughy, as both headphones had pretty good highs, each with it's strengths and weaknesses. The EW-9's were clear and bright...almost too bright when I first started to listen to them. I did get used to them, but they were fatiguing at first, but it might have been because I'm used to the sound of Shure E2C's which are considered dark IEM's. The KSC75's had good highs, but the clarity and instrument separation wasn't there on some tracks. Especially with acoustical instruments. Again, it just seem unclear at times when compared to the KSC75's.
Edge: EW9's by a small margin.
Clarity
This might be a little redundent, but I'll mention it anyway since its a rather important distinction between the two headphones. The EW9's simply have more clarity and better seperation between instruments than the KSC75's. It almost struck me how much of a difference between the two there were.
Conclusion:
Are the EW9's better headphones than KSC75's? Yes.
However, another question to be asked is, "Are the EW9's worth 100 dollars more than the KSC75's?" The answer to that is...Maybe.
As I see it, the EW9's are a definite refinement over the KSC75's. However, the fit varies on how your ears are built, and the KSC75's are a little more flexible in that regard. Also, if you like your bass, the EW-9's are not for you. I sort of compare them to the eternal debate between the Ety's and Shures/Super.Fi's. Do you go for more bass, or the clarity? Or do you just go for full on cans anyway?
Another thing to consider is that the AT's are hard to mod...and I don't think I would mod them anyway, especially with the beautiful wood enclosure.
Anyway, I know some people were interested in the comparison, and I hope I helped someone with this thread.
-The Grinman
