[dinosauract]

Got my KSC-35's in the mail yesterday, and so far I'm pretty disapponted. It didn't help that one of the (very flimsy) pads was partially off of one of the drivers, apparently a pretty common problem with the ebay units. Putting them on, I don't find them very comfortable at all, although they are much lighter than the 50's. But I have to say my biggest disappointment is the sound. While I found the 50's a bit light in the bass, I find the 35's WAY too bass-heavy, almost like having the bass boost engaged on a PDCP. Treble detail and air seem lacking.

Not that these are bad phones for the price, but I don't find them any better, very similar actually, to the KTX Pro, which is available at a cheaper price and is at least as comfortable for me. And I really am concerned about how those pads are gonna hold up, I think they'll need replaced pretty quickly, and there's a few more bucks.

I was planning to return my KSC-50's to Circuit City and go with the 35's. Now I'm not so sure. I'm hoping the 35's improve with break-in, but right now I have a pretty strong preference for the sound of the 50's.

Don't mean to knock anyone's favorable opinions of the 35's. Maybe my expectations were too high.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

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[dinosauract]

After manipulating my 50's to get them to fit well, I think I'm going to stay with them. I got a tighter fit which improves the bass and keeps the phones steady and comfortable. My plan was to try the 35's against the 50's and keep only the pair I preferred. I thought that would be the 35's and I would return the 50's to Circuit City. But I'm gonna keep the 50's, they are comfortable now that I've adjusted them and they seem much more durable. Anybody wanna buy a VERY slightly used set of 35's? I have them posted in the for sale category. I haven't bent them or anything to try to improve fit, they're just as they came out of the box.

 

[Steve999]

dinosauract:
Just took a look at your profile. You have the Sennhesiser HD 497s? for me, these blow away the KSC 35s. Maybe that's why you're disappointed. I've tried the cheap headphones thing and the KSC 35s were pretty much the pinnacle until 60 dollars and above. I never ever use my KSC 35s anymore! The $60 to $80 headphones are just too sweet.

 

[dinosauract]

steve999:

I didn't really expect the cheap Koss to be as good as my Senn 497 and 580's, but neither of those is really suitable for use when working out at the gym. The 497's are OK for some portable uses but I can't see working out on an elliptical or stairmaster with them. There are a couple of people around here who do prefer the 35's to the 497's outright. Many people consider them a kind of giant-killer. I wasn't really expecting that, just a pretty decent phone that's comfortable and very portable. And to be fair, they do sort of fit that description. But they have a bloated bass to my ears and that's probably the one sonic trait that I dislike the most. Plus, they just feel "cheap" to me, which they are, but the 50's feel much more solid and sound better to me anyway.

But I think the $35 I spent for the 497's is a much bigger bargain than the $15 I spent for the 50's, and much much bigger than the $25 I spent for the 35's.

 

[taoster]

Quote:

Originally posted by dinosauract But I have to say my biggest disappointment is the sound. While I found the 50's a bit light in the bass, I find the 35's WAY too bass-heavy, almost like having the bass boost engaged on a PDCP. Treble detail and air seem lacking. Don't mean to knock anyone's favorable opinions of the 35's. Maybe my expectations were too high.

i quite agree with you. I was very happy with the comfort factor of the ksc35 compared to the ksc50 but I too found the BASS too heavy and too loose on the ksc35. The ksc50 on the other hand has a much better controlled, tight bass. I was quite surprised no one else mentioned this too.

 

[dinosauract]

taoster-

The Koss driver seems to offer a broad boost in response in the mid to upper bass (as per Headroom's measurements). This character seems to be more apparent with the close placement to the ears of the 35's. At first I really didn't like how the 50's attach to the ears, but once you get the hang of it, it is possible to position the phones closer or further from the ear to tailor the bass response to suit. From the several Koss phones I've tried (all seeming to share the same driver) I think the driver sounds better a little away from the ear.

 

[pedxing]

I have to agree that the KSC-50's sound better away from the ear, otherwise the bass and lower-midrange is overly emphasized (at least to me).

The KSC-50 fit is kinda strange. The bendable rubber-like ear part can make it fit tighter and better, but its a pain to place them on my ear because I have to insert them at an awkard angle. Usually I have the rubber parts loose and I just stick them on. I don't get seal when I do that.

The KSC-35 fits strange. I only tried them once and they hurt my ears. Someone told me that you the KSC-35 takes some time to figure out how to put them on comfortably.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

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[Magicthyse]

Dunno. I use both with only laptops these days at home. The 35's and the 50's are the best long-term comfort headphones I have to listen to those interminable webcasts.

I prefer the 50's for stationary use. Excellent balance of sound, and much easier to rip off / slap on, feels much airier than anything else I have due to the loose fit.

Incidentally bending the 50 clips in an S shape (seen from the back, so that the top part of the S curl contacts the ear and the bottom part contacts the head) improves fit quite a lot.

Over here in Europe, we pay quite a lot for the phones. (in a shop, if you can find them, the 35's cost about the same as the Beyerdynamic DT231 or the Sennheiser HD212 Pro) I'd say here, they're absolutely not worth it. But you guys in the US I know pay ridiculously little for them.

Still, the the 35's now on the rare list and trading for more than the 50's, I'd say the 50's are a superior buy if you have to have phones like these.

 

[dinosauract]

Quote:

Originally posted by LTUCCI1924 HI all; I just had to chime in with these post. The koss-35 and koss portapro are the best value for the money and there is also a new koss pro 1. There is a mode to do to these cans. If you cut a round hole in the pads about the size of a quarter or a little smaller it will tame the bass and let the mids and the highs out. I have not found better cans for the money than these cans. In my opinion there is no other koss can to buy better than the 35 or portapro and may-by the pro 1.

I dunno, it seems like cutting a quarter sized hole in the pads wouldn't leave much pad left. Particularly on the 35's, it would seem that the pad wouldn't even stay on then. I'm going to be using the 50's for working out at the gym and I sweat a lot, I think I would be better off leaving the pad on for some protection for the driver.

 

[jpelg]

Yeah, don't cut out the pads. My experience with this caused the Koss' to sound tinney, with an appreciable loss of spaciousness & air, not to mention bass. The pads, IMHO, are crucial to their sound. Luckily replacements are easy to find either from RS or directly from Koss.

I'm surprised to hear that you didn't like the KSC35's so much, dinosauract. I have always been skeptical that they are sooo much better than the KSC50's, but I am also equally skeptical that they could be that much worse! But hey....they're your ears.

I just ordered a little device that I will use to experiment with the Koss'. Will know more in a few weeks and may share then. In the meantime, I will enjoy the stock cans.

Cheers!

 

[dinosauract]

jpelg-

I don't think the inherent sound of the two phones is much, if any, different. I think the vast majority of the difference between the phones depends on the fit on each individual's ears.

I found that if I adjusted the 50's to fit very snugly on my ears (which I was able to do, apparently many people aren't able to achieve that fit) I found they sounded exactly like the 35's. That seems to be the sound most people prefer. Fortunately, I was also able to adjust the 50's to fit a bit more loosely, which relieved the over-ripe bass.

I really like the adjustability of the 50's. I do wonder how well the clips will hold up with repeated bendings. Of course, you've got the lifetime warranty from Koss. Its not really free though, you gotta pay $5 each time you send them in, plus postage and maybe insurance. By that time you're probably looking at half the cost of new phones, plus the inconveniece of the wait.