[Stevehamny]

Quadrangulator, I can't believe I didn't think of this last night: If you want a quick fix to this problem, simply detach that left headphone from the band (it snaps on and off easily, I've done it many times), untwist the cable to straighten it out, and reattach!

This is assuming you're okay with the stock cable, of course. I find the linguine cable on the KPH40 to be perfectly adequate and much better than the cheap memory-prone cable of the KSC75, but that's your call. I wouldn't blame anyone for doing the MMCX mod because it's easy and why not?

 

[Quadrangulator]

Quadrangulator, I can't believe I didn't think of this last night: If you want a quick fix to this problem, simply detach that left headphone from the band (it snaps on and off easily, I've done it many times), untwist the cable to straighten it out, and reattach!

This is assuming you're okay with the stock cable, of course. I find the linguine cable on the KPH40 to be perfectly adequate and much better than the cheap memory-prone cable of the KSC75, but that's your call. I wouldn't blame anyone for doing the MMCX mod because it's easy and why not?

That worked. Thanks! I can't believe I didn't think of that either. The cable is much better now.

I did, however, order a second pair because this cable is still super crimped and looks like the left and right insert on opposite sides of the connecter, which causes it to twist at the bottom. Left/right is correct out of the drivers, so it's just a feel and aesthetic thing. Hopefully the second unit is better.

Either way, I've got Yaxi pads on them and love the sound through the Schiit Vali 2++. Nice retro, mellow, easy sound. Good stuff!

 

[Stevehamny]

That worked. Thanks! I can't believe I didn't think of that either. The cable is much better now.

I did, however, order a second pair because this cable is still super crimped and looks like the left and right insert on opposite sides of the connecter, which causes it to twist at the bottom. Left/right is correct out of the drivers, so it's just a feel and aesthetic thing. Hopefully the second unit is better.

Either way, I've got Yaxi pads on them and love the sound through the Schiit Vali 2++. Nice retro, mellow, easy sound. Good stuff!

That's some cable weirdness going on right there, hope your next one is perfect!

But yeah, I've been so impressed by the sound on this thing. Although I actually tried the Yaxi pads and then took them off. I'm timbre first (particularly acoustic string timbre) and the stock pads just do it a little better for me.

The Peace app does have a "Koss KPH40" auto-eq setting, by the way. if you have that app and you're interested in trying it. I usually have it on.

 

[parawizard]

I just took delivery of a new set of KPH40's, love their sound (as I suspected I would since I've enjoyed KSC75's for years), but have a question about the cable.

Is anyone else's twisted from the earcup to the 2.5mm connector? My left cable twists ~3 times while the right cable does not, which forces both cables to twist and the 2.5mm connector to sit higher up. Yeah, I know, this thing is 40 bucks. But still. Is this par for the course?

Either way, does anyone do MMCX mods for pay?

Pop off the driver and untwist it and pop it back on. It's a ball socket.

 

[DivineCurrent]

There's a notion that because a pair of headphones is cheap, it can't be end game. But the KPH40s are my end game, at least for my home listening setup. I wasn't a huge fan of the KPH40 stock tuning, but it EQ's very nicely. You can take things to a whole new level if you delve into the dark arts of DSP. The KPH40s have displaced my HD650 and Verum One headphones. The sound with DSP bests them, and they are super comfortable because of their lightweight and upgraded Yaxi pads.

I used Impulcifer and HeSuVi to make them sound like a 2.1 speaker setup. You can read about Impulcifer and HeSuVi in other threads I'm sure, but basically, you get some binaural microphones, put them in your ears, and record some frequency sweeps from a speaker system in the room of your choice. Impulcifer generates a Head-Related Transfer Function with those recordings along with a recording of your headphones, and you feed it into HeSuVi to do the DSP magic to make it sound like speakers.

It's really changed my perspective on headphones. With DSP, the KPH40 can trounce any other headphone I have with subwoofer like bass and a nearly perfect speaker like presentation. So much so that I had to take my headphones off the first time I enabled it to make sure I didn't accidentally turn on my speakers. Other headphones can certainly beat my setup for things like detail retrieval or neutrality, but they just don't match the musicality or immersion, and certainly not the comfort.

TL;DR: Comfort is king, EQ/DSP can render most weaknesses a moot point. You can find happiness in budget headphones.

I am very interested in trying out Impulcifer and HeSuVi with my KPH40. I have binaural mics and I've been using REW for a while to do my own measurements. Have you tried emulating other headphones using this method? I love the sound of my Sennheiser HD660S2 and would love to have my KPH40 sound as close as possible to that, but do you know if Impulcifer and HeSuVi can work ok with headphones too and not just speakers? Because I currently don't have a pair of high quality speakers to use (although I could try my TV soundbar+subwoofer first)