dweaver
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2008
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I decided to pick up a pair of the new KOSS IL200 yesterday since the store (London Drugs in canada) I bought them at has a no hassle return in case I don't like them.
This is a brand new product from KOSS that has no reviews out as of yet. Here is a stock picture of how they interlock together for travel.
While I find the whole interlocking aspect a bit gimicky I will give KOSS credit as the design actually works pretty well.
Aside from the novelty of the design the kit these come with is very sparse in comparison to other offerings from companies. They only come with 3 sets of silicone tips and have no other accessories at all. The tips themselves are OK but thats about all they are and many may find they don't fit very well. The over all build quality of the IEM itself is EXCELLENT though as it is a combination of metal and a nice feeling rubberized compound. In my case I grabbed the KTC model which is for iDevices and have found the microphone to be pretty good and the controls while a bit to small to easily used to in regards to the volume buttons but overall this aspect is very functional.
Without a lot of further ado I will discuss their general sound:
Bass - The bass of these is slightly more than I like but certainly is one of the IEM's best qualities. It is heavy but pretty well controlled and improved over an evening of burn-in and will likely just get better over time. It has decent levels of detail and texture. Bass lovers will certainly enjoy this area of the IEM and only neutral to lite bass lovers will find it to over whelming.
Midrange - The mids of this IEM are simply excellent and obviously where the KOSS wanted the most attention. Both the lower and upper midrange are fully present and wonderful to listen to. If you have a lot of sibilance in your music it will be shown in all it's ugliness with these though as they are riding the edge in regards to this area. But for those who love singers to have alot of edge and emotion, you will love the midrange of this IEM.
Treble - This area is where I struggle the most as I find it a bit to subdued for my liiking removing to much detail from shimmery instruments and the decay from cymbals. But unlike the DUNU Hawkeye I just reviewed the treble is present enough that most people will find them to be quite nice and they never ever become sibilant.
Sound Stage and instrument placing - I really like how this IEM does the sound stage and instrument placing. You can definitely hear the instruments in dfferent locations.
Clarity and transparency - these are a very clear and transparent IEM in the mids but due to a bit over whelming bass and subdued treble those areas are not as clear or transparent.
I found these fun with Jazz and most rock and quite nice for classical as well. They are not as detailed as some of my other IEM's but sound very musical and nice despite that. I think they would be excellent for genres like dubstep but do find they are a bit to heavy and lush for rock with lots of guitars and music where the bass could bleed into the midrange.
Will I keep them? Probably not as I really have started to be more of a midrange and treble oriented guy, but I do think these are will fit a lot of peoples needs and given that they have a lifetime warranty I think they should be heard and reviewed but other members of head-fi. Don't let the name KOSS stop you from trying these out!
IL100 retails for $49 and the IL200 KTC retails for $69 in the US and currently $99 in Canada. The $99 price in Canada is right on the cusp of what i think these are worth so will hopefully drop. But at $69 the Il200 will rival many IEM's in this price range and if you don't need the iphone controls the Il100 at $49 is a good solid IEM at that price point.
One final point I should mention. These seem to require a bit louder volume to reach their best dynamic qualities and while my pair is for an iphone I find they benefit from an amp for added clarity and resolution. The IL100 in this case may be the best choice as it will not have issues being plugged into portable amps whereas as the 3 band plug of the iphone model will possibly need to be fiddled with to get the proper sound from an normal 2 band jack in an amp.
This is a brand new product from KOSS that has no reviews out as of yet. Here is a stock picture of how they interlock together for travel.
While I find the whole interlocking aspect a bit gimicky I will give KOSS credit as the design actually works pretty well.
Aside from the novelty of the design the kit these come with is very sparse in comparison to other offerings from companies. They only come with 3 sets of silicone tips and have no other accessories at all. The tips themselves are OK but thats about all they are and many may find they don't fit very well. The over all build quality of the IEM itself is EXCELLENT though as it is a combination of metal and a nice feeling rubberized compound. In my case I grabbed the KTC model which is for iDevices and have found the microphone to be pretty good and the controls while a bit to small to easily used to in regards to the volume buttons but overall this aspect is very functional.
Without a lot of further ado I will discuss their general sound:
Bass - The bass of these is slightly more than I like but certainly is one of the IEM's best qualities. It is heavy but pretty well controlled and improved over an evening of burn-in and will likely just get better over time. It has decent levels of detail and texture. Bass lovers will certainly enjoy this area of the IEM and only neutral to lite bass lovers will find it to over whelming.
Midrange - The mids of this IEM are simply excellent and obviously where the KOSS wanted the most attention. Both the lower and upper midrange are fully present and wonderful to listen to. If you have a lot of sibilance in your music it will be shown in all it's ugliness with these though as they are riding the edge in regards to this area. But for those who love singers to have alot of edge and emotion, you will love the midrange of this IEM.
Treble - This area is where I struggle the most as I find it a bit to subdued for my liiking removing to much detail from shimmery instruments and the decay from cymbals. But unlike the DUNU Hawkeye I just reviewed the treble is present enough that most people will find them to be quite nice and they never ever become sibilant.
Sound Stage and instrument placing - I really like how this IEM does the sound stage and instrument placing. You can definitely hear the instruments in dfferent locations.
Clarity and transparency - these are a very clear and transparent IEM in the mids but due to a bit over whelming bass and subdued treble those areas are not as clear or transparent.
I found these fun with Jazz and most rock and quite nice for classical as well. They are not as detailed as some of my other IEM's but sound very musical and nice despite that. I think they would be excellent for genres like dubstep but do find they are a bit to heavy and lush for rock with lots of guitars and music where the bass could bleed into the midrange.
Will I keep them? Probably not as I really have started to be more of a midrange and treble oriented guy, but I do think these are will fit a lot of peoples needs and given that they have a lifetime warranty I think they should be heard and reviewed but other members of head-fi. Don't let the name KOSS stop you from trying these out!
IL100 retails for $49 and the IL200 KTC retails for $69 in the US and currently $99 in Canada. The $99 price in Canada is right on the cusp of what i think these are worth so will hopefully drop. But at $69 the Il200 will rival many IEM's in this price range and if you don't need the iphone controls the Il100 at $49 is a good solid IEM at that price point.
One final point I should mention. These seem to require a bit louder volume to reach their best dynamic qualities and while my pair is for an iphone I find they benefit from an amp for added clarity and resolution. The IL100 in this case may be the best choice as it will not have issues being plugged into portable amps whereas as the 3 band plug of the iphone model will possibly need to be fiddled with to get the proper sound from an normal 2 band jack in an amp.
