[drewski]

I bought a two pairs of Koss KSC50's last month off of Amazon (paid $26 for two pairs- delivered and no CA sales tax!). I used with my MD player and couldn't understand what all the fuss was about with these headphones- they were supposed to have good bass, decent highs, and could be driven with a portable. My experience was that they had no bass, no highs, and sounded dull and boring. I tried to mess with the fit and couldn't get the sound that others on this forum were getting. I was so disappointed with the sound that I threw them into a drawer and figured I just threw 26 bucks away.

I then purchased a supermini amp that came on Christmas Eve. I have been using the supermini switching between a pair of senn HD600 and a pair of HD497. The HD600's aren't the best for portable use (especially with all the rain we've been getting in the bay area) and could use a bigger amp, so most of the time I was using the HD497. Then the other night, my kid saw me listening to my HD600's and wanted to listen to my headphones, so I dug out the KSC50's. I had not tried these phones with my supermini, and when I listened, I was STUNNED- there was good bass, good imaging, highs were crisp and clear, vocals were alive and clear. Before, when the hammer on the piano struck the string, there was no impact- but now, the sound was tight and taught. I couldn't believe that these were the same phones!

I guess the bottom line is that the Sony Minidiscs don't have enought juice to adequately power the KSC50's- they must be driven by either an amp or a portable with sufficient power to drive them. So while I'm still going to get a pair of Ety's after paying off my Christmas bills, the KSC50's have bumped off my HD497's for portable use for now.

Happy New Year Everyone

 

[Duncan]

I never thought of doing that... even though both my DIYFSE amps are 'portable'

The results are definetly better than just using the headphone output...

But the Koss' still aren't for me... they sound horrendously shrill in normal use... its only when I hold them against my ears that they sound good... but I'd look a bit silly walking down the road holding my head

Thanks for the info though... nearly gave my Koss' a new lease of life... must be my ears

 

[john_jcb]

Duncan,

I wonder how the KSC-50's would sound if one were to wear a stocking cap that held them closer to your ears? Not bad for winter. Maybe a sweatband for Summer.

 

[Pepsione1]

Really? I had quite the opposite experience with my KSC35. I find the difference was minimal when they are amped compared to unamped.

 

[Davie]

Quote:

Originally posted by Pepsione1 Really? I had quite the opposite experience with my KSC35. I find the difference was minimal when they are amped compared to unamped.

I have both the 35's and the 50's. For some reason the 50's do require a bit more power than the 35's. They can be driven by most portables, but a really wimpy amp (like a Sony Minidisc or my first 8cm MP3 player) will struggle, leaving them sounding rather distant and lifeless. The Portapros are considerably more sensitive than either the 35's or 50's, but have worse bass bloat.

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally posted by john_jcb Duncan, I wonder how the KSC-50's would sound if one were to wear a stocking cap that held them closer to your ears? Not bad for winter. Maybe a sweatband for Summer.

John...

Would this be easy to do ~ bearing in mind that the Koss' are open backed?

(You do mean just putting the elsaticated headband OVER the Koss' don't you?)