[juni0r]

After reading a few threads, I noticed that neckband headphones don't seem to be preferred here. Regardless, they are the style I prefer. I'm looking for a set that can replace my Sony Street Style which are pretty bad...my main uses are competitive computer gaming and rock/rap (bass heavy)-type music. Any suggestions? I'm looking for overall sound quality...price shouldn't be a factor because most neckband headphones are around the same price.

Thanks.

 

[Daroid]

For what you want, the Koss KSC-55 is pretty much unchalenged. Not completely as comfortable as the Sony Streetstyles as they haven't got the same rubber that goes begund the upper part of the ear.

 

[SptsNaz]

I would recommend the Koss KCS-50 or 55. Although I do not own them, headphone.com praises them as very good sound for the money

 

[juni0r]

i took the rubber out, for me they were actually more uncomfortable

are those sennheiser pmx's good

 

[terrymx]

maybe, you can be the first try them and then give us a review

 

[MacDEF]

KSC-55, although they fit pretty tight, IMO.

 

[Rizumu]

You aren't looking for overall sound quality otherwise you wouldn't care about neckbands. And they're all the same price because they all suck. End of story.

 

[MacDEF]

Quote:

Originally posted by Rizumu You aren't looking for overall sound quality otherwise you wouldn't care about neckbands. And they're all the same price because they all suck. End of story.

Rizumu, overall I agree, but the KSC-55 are actually pretty good; don't lump them in with the Sony StreetStyle junk

 

[Rizumu]

Quote:

Originally posted by MacDEF Rizumu, overall I agree, but the KSC-55 are actually pretty good; don't lump them in with the Sony StreetStyle junk

It felt so goooood to post though

KSC-55 are probably the only exception if they're comparable to the rest of the Koss lineup. (Portapro/sportapro/ksc-35/etc.) Still, I like neither the style nor the sound of streetstyles. Very uncomfortable, IMO.

 

[MagusG]

Aren't the Sporta/Portapro's convertible to neckband? If so, my vote for those.

-Mag

 

[hero zero]

Sennheiser's just released the PMX 60....seems to be Senn's first try at nechband phones....

anyway, the PMX 60 seems to be readily available...you can even find it in Vancouver. It's a little pricier than its counterparts, though....

details are here:
http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser...ortables_04917

that being said, does anyone know how they sound?

 

[dragonlong]

The KSC-55 do fit tight and irritated the top of my ears a bit, and even more while I'm wearing glasses. I've had the opportunity to test these out when I saw them for $35 CAD at the nearest Wal-Mart. I had a feeling that they were overpriced but bought them anyway to test and I could just return them later anyway. So I took about a week's time listening to them via my MPIO FL100 MP3 player. They didn't sound too bad and it's definitely the Koss sound that I'm familiar with from the KSC-35. However, its major difference is the bass. It seemed there was somewhat more bass, and perhaps even looser bass. For some songs, it seemed like my ears were resonating with the drivers of the KSC-55. This was the first time that I experienced this feeling, so whether or not this is a good or a bad thing, I couldn't tell you, although logically speaking, I don't think headphones are supposed to resonate with your ears.

Anyway, I did return these phones. It was definitely fun, but the price was definitely overpriced, especially since many online retailers are selling it for $14 US, which would be about $20 CAD, so the extra $15 CAD I paid was not worth it.

Although I didn't do any direct A/B'ing with my other portable headphones, I had a feeling that the KSC-55 was missing something that perhaps the KSC-35 had, although I couldn't quite put my finger on it. Maybe someone who had the KSC-55 longer than me could tell what it was missing.

 

[dragonlong]

Anyone know how the ATH-R5 sound? I'm looking for a pair of good neckband headphones but something that sounds different than the Koss KSC-35/55, but hopefully the same level of quality or better. The R5 is interesting because of its locking mechanism when folded too. I wasn't able to find much mention of the R5 here, and the only person who got this pair said that his/her head was too big for it.

If anyone has tried the R5, please briefly compare it to well known portables such as the KSC-35 and E888. I'm big on clarity and detail, so a comparison with the E888 would be even more appreciated.

TIA

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by MacDEF ...overall I agree, but the KSC-55 are actually pretty good; don't lump them in with the Sony StreetStyle junk

I agree with this, as well. Today I saw a pair of the Koss KSC-55 at a CompUSA that's close to where I used to work at. The price was (and still is) $19.99 - which was an impulse buy, because I also picked up a new 550-watt Antec power-supply unit for my computer.

All I can say about the KSC-55 is this: Don't EVER lump it in with the similarly priced Street Style neckband crap from Panasonic, Philips, Sony et. al.! None of that competition delivers any low-end extension whatsoever from their ********* neckband-based piles of (hammered) crap. Worse, their upper bass is peaky and of the 'one-note' variety, their lower mids are recessed, their upper mids are honky, and their treble is peaky/sibilant/screechy/harsh without any top-end extension or detail at all whatsoever. (In fact, all of that Panasonic/Philips/Sony neckband competition sounds very much similar to one another - and barely any better than the stock headphones that come bundled with their portable players, IMHO.) The Koss KSC-55 - not to be confused with the other neckband-style headphones that Koss also distributes (note that the Sporta Pro is NOT a true neckband-style headphone, but more of a conventional headphone with an over-the-head band that can be converted to behind-the-neck use) - is a bit too dark in its presentation, to be sure (though it will open up after some break-in), but nowhere near as craptacular as the other so-called "Street Style" headphones overall.

As for the comfort, I've found both the Philips and the Sonys to be terribly uncomfortable! The headband of the Philips squeezed my temporal bones with a death vise grip, while the clips on the Sonys (which, regretfully, on one of the pairs in my 'CRAP' bin, I ended up breaking in two in an attempt to remove them) digged very painfully into my upper ears. (I've never tried out the Panasonics personally, but I wouldn't expect much, based on my findings on the sound quality of previous low-end Panasonic headphones.) The Koss KSC-55 so far seemed more comfortable to me than most previous neckband headphones that I had used, but I haven't worn the KSC-55 long enough to really judge the long-term comfort of that headphone.

Happy (portable) listening,

Eagle_Driver

 

[Guyferd]

Koss ksc-55 , nuff said.
But I think the fit might be a little tight. To me ksc-55 has slightly less bass than my modifies ksc-35(the 50 c pantyhose hole). The koss ksc-55 has abit more airy sound , if I can remember correctly.