Koss KSC-35 vs. KSC-75
Sep 28, 2004 at 12:50 AM Post #19 of 56
Oh, btw, for 4g ipod users with the static/audio defect issue, the ksc 75's have a VERY small metal base on the plug, and therefore you probably won't experience the hard drive whirring noise ( I don't anymore) because the base of the plug does not touch the chrome casing of the pod'.
 
Sep 29, 2004 at 11:00 PM Post #20 of 56
Quote:

Originally Posted by Wodgy
Can you point to a source for this information? It's not consistent with past posts about this subject on Head-Fi. Also, if you go to Headroom's website and look at the frequency response measurements for the PortaPro versus the KSC 50/55, you'll see that there is a rather significant difference in the upper midrange (also in the bass, but that's more likely caused by different ear coupling), providing support to the theory that the PortaPro/KSC-35 drivers are different than the KSC 50/55/SportaPro drivers.

People have done this test before and have reported sonic differences. (Search the archives.) Moreover, even the skeptics (e.g. MacDEF) acknowledge that the drivers have a different coloration. If they look different, it makes more sense to me to believe that they are different.

That's news to me, but interesting if true. In the past this was not the case. MacDEF did a dissection and posted pictures a long time ago. While the drivers looked very similar, they did have the color difference and one was shinier.

Don't forget the cable. I'm personally a cable skeptic but there was one Head-Fier who swapped PortaPro drivers into the KSC-35 housings and reported still having some of the bassier PortaPro sound.

My feelings are, until more reviews are in about the KSC-75, people who want the KSC-35 sound should just get the KSC-35.



i emailed koss asking them if the magnets and drivers are the same as well as if there is a difference in the coating and the following is the reply i got:

Quote:

Thank you for contacting Koss Stereophones. The Ksc35' and the Ksc75's
have the same sound performance but the look is different. If you have any
other questions, feel free to contact Koss.

Valerie
Koss Consumer Sales
4129 N. Port Washington Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53212
Fax:414-332-5491
800-872-5677 or 414-964-5000


i bought the ksc-35 anyway because, as somebody else put it, if you want ksc-35 sound buy the ksc-35 b/c it's still a little early to tell. i also don't want the thickness nor the extra weight even if it doesn't feel different on the ears. i like the slim profile of the old ones.
 
Oct 1, 2004 at 4:57 AM Post #21 of 56
I received the two pairs of KSC-75s plus the free Y-cord today! Got a good deal for them! Using the coupon I got free shipping even to Canada and Koss sent it using USPS. Got charged $52 CDN on my credit card and I didn't have to pay taxes and handling fee at the post office - looking at the invoice it says "Contents: Stereophones. No commercial value. For customs only" which might explain why I didn't have to pay taxes. In comparison I paid $41 in total for my KSC-50 from Best Buy.

Comfort wise, they are quite a bit better then the KSC-50. They feel more snug and secure and move around a lot less. Can't feel the extra weight on my ears, i've been wearing them for several hours now and usually by now my ears would be hurting a bit with the KSC-50s.

Not gonna comment much on sound quality since I don't feel I'm qualified! Definitely sure they don't sound worse then the KSC-50s!
 
Oct 11, 2004 at 7:48 AM Post #22 of 56
Quote:

Originally Posted by Wodgy
Can you point to a source for this information? It's not consistent with past posts about this subject on Head-Fi. Also, if you go to Headroom's website and look at the frequency response measurements for the PortaPro versus the KSC 50/55, you'll see that there is a rather significant difference in the upper midrange (also in the bass, but that's more likely caused by different ear coupling), providing support to the theory that the PortaPro/KSC-35 drivers are different than the KSC 50/55/SportaPro drivers.


They're the same. Not much more to say. Buy a pair of Sporta Pros and a pair of KSC-35. Unclip the driver housing from the headband/earclips. Try to figure out which is which
wink.gif
You won't be able to because they're identical.


As for the KSC-35 vs. the KSC-75, the 75 are a bit more comfortable and, thanks to the rubber on the clips, stay on a bit better; however, their sound is a bit inferior to the 35, mainly because the latter have better bass.
 
Oct 11, 2004 at 8:17 AM Post #23 of 56
MacDEF, nice to see you back, but you're incorrect. Thanks to new measurements from Headroom, there's now evidence that the KSC-55 and PortaPro/KSC-35 drivers are even electrically different:
graphCompare.php


Just looking at the curves, the PortaPro/KSC-35 drivers are clearly electrically different from the KSC-55/SportaPro drivers. This just reinforces the evidence that the PortaPro/KSC-35 drivers use neodymium magnets and the others use samarium cobalt magnets.

If that doesn't convince you, take the drivers apart. You did it yourself (go back and find your own thread) and you reported that one set of drivers was shiny, the other wasn't. You then concluded that they were the same, something that never made sense to me. The shiny drivers are made of mylar. The dull ones are made of cellulose. Yes, they're physically very similar, but they're not the same.

If that STILL doesn't convince you, look at the frequency response curves. Notice how the peaks and valleys in the midrange and beyond are basically similar for the SportaPro/KSC-55, and rather dissimilar for the PortaPro:
graphCompare.php


How much more evidence do you need that they're different?
 
Oct 11, 2004 at 10:44 PM Post #24 of 56
Quote:

Originally Posted by Wodgy
Just looking at the curves, the PortaPro/KSC-35 drivers are clearly electrically different from the KSC-55/SportaPro drivers. This just reinforces the evidence that the PortaPro/KSC-35 drivers use neodymium magnets and the others use samarium cobalt magnets.



I come away with a very different conclusion. Look at how nearly-identical those three curves are. Apart from a slight difference between 40Hz and 120Hz, they're exactly the same, and that difference is negligible -- it could easily be explained by sample differences or even differences in the cables used in the headphones. (The fact that Koss gives them all the same impedance rating supports this.)



Quote:

If that doesn't convince you, take the drivers apart. You did it yourself (go back and find your own thread) and you reported that one set of drivers was shiny, the other wasn't. You then concluded that they were the same, something that never made sense to me. The shiny drivers are made of mylar. The dull ones are made of cellulose. Yes, they're physically very similar, but they're not the same.


My conclusion -- after taking them apart, looking at them closely, feeling them in my hands, etc. -- is that they are the same material but that the newer models are "colored." When I emailed Koss about them, I was told they use the same drivers in the KSC-50 and KSC-35.



Quote:

If that STILL doesn't convince you, look at the frequency response curves. Notice how the peaks and valleys in the midrange and beyond are basically similar for the SportaPro/KSC-55, and rather dissimilar for the PortaPro



You really think the Sportas and KSC-55 are more "similar" than the PortaPro and the SportaPro? I disagree. There are several places where the Porta and Sporta are much more similar than the Sporta and KSC-55. Statistically, what you're saying is simply not true.

We'll just have to agree to disagree.
 
Oct 12, 2004 at 1:45 AM Post #25 of 56
Ide like to see a frequency chart of a can new fresh out of the box, then again after its had about 200 hours put on it with that frequency sweep CD. It would be cool to see if it changes and what changes.
 
Oct 12, 2004 at 4:34 AM Post #27 of 56
Quote:

Originally Posted by MacDEF
I come away with a very different conclusion. Look at how nearly-identical those three curves are. Apart from a slight difference between 40Hz and 120Hz, they're exactly the same, and that difference is negligible -- it could easily be explained by sample differences or even differences in the cables used in the headphones. (The fact that Koss gives them all the same impedance rating supports this.)


It's unlikely that such a difference in AC impedance is caused by just the cable. If you compare the impedance curves for all the Grado Prestige series cans, they're all more similar to each other than the impedance curves for the PortaPro and KSC55, and we know the Grados use different driver treatments and different cables. Koss gives these cans the same impedance ratings because they all have the same nominal impedance.

Face it, man, the drivers are different.
 
Oct 12, 2004 at 7:22 AM Post #28 of 56
Quote:

Originally Posted by Wodgy
Face it, man, the drivers are different.


As I mentioned before, the other thing that convinces me they're the same is that when I emailed Koss, I was told they use the same drivers in the KSC-50 and KSC-35. That statement, straight from the horse's mouth, coupled with the fact that the graphs don't indicate any differences that are clearly statistically significant, leads me to believe they're the same.

You seem determined to "prove" they aren't. As I said before, we'll just have to agree to disagree. No one's life is depending on who's "right."
 

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