[hungry ghost]

This is really a review to say a big thanks for all the advice I received in this forum when choosing a suitable portable phone to meet my specific requirements. After many hours research, much dithering, several unexpected changes of heart and a few sandwiches later, I plumped for the Koss KSC55's over the Sennheiser PX200's or 100's (having been unable to audition these two models, and the Koss KSC35’s appear to be discontinued). Interestingly, these phones seem to be unavailable in the UK. An email to Koss Europe’s HQ to find out why went unanswered, so I’m guessing that they are not exactly itching to break the European market. I eventually made the purchase through Headroom.com – great service, very helpful and the only firm I could find who would mail outside the US.

I've been using these for a month now and am pretty impressed, given the price. The soundstage and spaciousness is truly exceptional for such a budget product, and the bass is weighty and full. Perhaps a little too weighty, depending on your tastes. I have noticed that - possibly due to a deliberate choice on the part of the engineers - the lower frequencies do swamp some of the midrange, which can sound a little unbalanced at times. I have found myself listening to familiar tracks and occasionally wondered "what happened to that guitar riff?". I suspect that the path was taken to boost the low frequencies in order to lift it above the usual dross that passes for cheap personal phones these days. That said, on bass-heavy music it doesn't annoy too much (I listen to a lot of funk and soul so can happily put up with this shortcoming!). But it really is in a different league to any portable phones I’ve heard over the years. Clarity and precision is excellent, inevitably revealing the limitations of the digital source. When I connect up to my trusty Sony DD33 Walkman though and put in a decent metal tape (remember those, kids?), they really shine.

Minor niggles include the fact that the cable will not allow for anything other than personal use - it's not long enough to stretch to a PC while working for example, unless you wear your PC around your neck. Also, the 'street style' headband may not be to everyone's tastes. While leaving your immaculately coiffured hairdo intact, it can occasionally snag the top of your collar, especially when moving the neck. I can imagine it’s a real problem if you’re into cycling or snowboarding. Not that it’s a good idea to participate in such sports under the intoxicating influence of loud music, but the pictures on the box suggest that it might be a cool thing to do, and who am I to argue?

In conclusion, I can highly recommend these budget phones. Best $20.00 I’ve spent. Just make sure you listen exclusively to funk music and don’t look up. Ever.

 

[dmt1]

I own the KSC 55's too, and your impressions are identical to mine. Great for the price--a little bass heavy, but otherwise a good earphone, especially for the price.

The KSC 35's are still available from the Koss website. Personally I can't tell the difference between the 35's and 55's, but others have noticed a big difference between the 35's and 50's (I don't like clip ons; I haven't tried the 50's); my theory is that the 55's keep the drivers on tighter and closer to the ear than the 50's--the 50's are significantly bigger than the 35's, some people have commented that it's difficult to keep the 50's on because of the size.

I made the mistake of buying Sony streetstyle mdr-g52's--what a waste of money; it's like listening to music underwater. The Koss's are cheaper and sound much better

 

[CheewyMuffin]

i Had some sonys a while back. The koss's sound much better.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

The Koss KSC-55 is just about the only behind-the-head "backphone" that's even worth considering. What more could I say?

 

[zamax]

I completely agree with the previous reviewers about Koss KSC55. I experienced very nice sound for the reasonable price. The model is not very comfortable to wear (neck band provides too much pressure behind the ear and listening of music more than 20 mins leads to headache). Some reviewers at the other sites pointed out that drivers (one or both) start to produce some extra sound like a buzz. I recognized that source of it is a hair penetrated through the foam driver cover and touched the driver. Cleaning removes that effect. The wire was not so tough especially in cold weather conditions. Finally after 7 years of repairs and experiments I took the drivers and put them into some compatible Chinese headphones (replaced the original rubbish). The sound is very nice, the new headphones are comfortable and portable (foldable).