SecondZephyr
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2012
- Posts
- 16
- Likes
- 0
Okay, so this is a long story, but I really need some help on not only what I should do with these headphones, but if/when I buy a different set, what I should end up getting. So here goes…
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So this is my first post here, but I’ve been looking around Head-Fi for a few weeks now as I’ve tried to solve my portable headphone replacement problem: I need something to replace my old Sony MDR-Q23LPs, as they broke due to their asinine, sticky, spaghetti-like, over 6-foot long cord getting stuck in a car-door closing mechanism as I got in… *facepalm*. With some bass reduction, they sounded great (note: I’m about the complete opposite of a basshead, and I always reduce the bass), but due to both the connecting and the behind-the-neck cord being far too long (and the long behind-the-neck cord being easily the dorkiest-looking thing I’d ever seen when worn), I was adamant on not buying another pair.
Well, first, I ended up discovering the SoundMagic PL30s. Long story short: the SQ was awesome (particularly with a bit of bass and center-mid reduction), but I found out that I have absolutely minuscule ear canals, and that they weren’t going to work for me. The smallest tips stayed in, but gave me major headaches really fast (both the silicon and foam ones), and the larger tips never sealed right at all. The largest ones literally removed themselves from my ear within ten seconds of me placing them in. Yeah. (No wonder ear plugs hurt my ears as a kid… lol). That, and the isolation actually bothered me – turns out I actually prefer being able to hear my surroundings with headphones in.
I ended up selling them to a friend of mine who fell in love with them pretty much the minute he put them in his ears (made his day, at least!), and decided that I should try to go back to clip-ons. But I did NOT want to deal with the Sonys again… which basically left the Koss KSC75s as my only option.
The first thing that I noticed putting these on is that they fit my ears almost PERFECTLY. Quite possibly THE most comfortable headphones I’ve ever owned!
However, the first things I noticed when actually listening to them were a bit different:
First, (lol, you guessed it!) they had WAAAAAY too much bass for my taste. I promptly made a gradual 5db cut from 32hz-300hz for them using the lifesaving iPod Touch app EQu, and that solved the issue quite nicely.
Second (and more importantly), the high treble was easily the most shrill, piercing, and painful that I’d ever heard, sans stock earbuds.
I instantly tried EQing it out, but unlike other headphones where I’ve EQ’d out excess, painful treble like this, the 75s ended up having a really muffled sound to them, and it was obvious that tracks did NOT sound right. No matter what cuts I make around 9k and up, it always comes out muffled, and I could tell that I was missing something. Bring it up to reduce the muffled sound, and of course, you get harsh, piercing treble again. Ugh…
I’ve decided it’s not really the quantity of treble, it’s the quality of the treble on the KSC75s that bothers me.
So now, the big questions:
ljokerl’s side-by-side comparisons for IEMs and portable headphones have been a great help toward understanding the qualities of what I might want to buy (and what I can find in my small, college student budget! lol), but I think actually discussing it with some people will help.
*whew* Sorry for the long read! Thanks in advance!
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EDIT: I'm also starting to think that drums and other transients hit too hard on the them for my taste, too - almost as though they're too "fast"...
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So this is my first post here, but I’ve been looking around Head-Fi for a few weeks now as I’ve tried to solve my portable headphone replacement problem: I need something to replace my old Sony MDR-Q23LPs, as they broke due to their asinine, sticky, spaghetti-like, over 6-foot long cord getting stuck in a car-door closing mechanism as I got in… *facepalm*. With some bass reduction, they sounded great (note: I’m about the complete opposite of a basshead, and I always reduce the bass), but due to both the connecting and the behind-the-neck cord being far too long (and the long behind-the-neck cord being easily the dorkiest-looking thing I’d ever seen when worn), I was adamant on not buying another pair.
Well, first, I ended up discovering the SoundMagic PL30s. Long story short: the SQ was awesome (particularly with a bit of bass and center-mid reduction), but I found out that I have absolutely minuscule ear canals, and that they weren’t going to work for me. The smallest tips stayed in, but gave me major headaches really fast (both the silicon and foam ones), and the larger tips never sealed right at all. The largest ones literally removed themselves from my ear within ten seconds of me placing them in. Yeah. (No wonder ear plugs hurt my ears as a kid… lol). That, and the isolation actually bothered me – turns out I actually prefer being able to hear my surroundings with headphones in.
I ended up selling them to a friend of mine who fell in love with them pretty much the minute he put them in his ears (made his day, at least!), and decided that I should try to go back to clip-ons. But I did NOT want to deal with the Sonys again… which basically left the Koss KSC75s as my only option.
The first thing that I noticed putting these on is that they fit my ears almost PERFECTLY. Quite possibly THE most comfortable headphones I’ve ever owned!
However, the first things I noticed when actually listening to them were a bit different:
First, (lol, you guessed it!) they had WAAAAAY too much bass for my taste. I promptly made a gradual 5db cut from 32hz-300hz for them using the lifesaving iPod Touch app EQu, and that solved the issue quite nicely.
Second (and more importantly), the high treble was easily the most shrill, piercing, and painful that I’d ever heard, sans stock earbuds.
I instantly tried EQing it out, but unlike other headphones where I’ve EQ’d out excess, painful treble like this, the 75s ended up having a really muffled sound to them, and it was obvious that tracks did NOT sound right. No matter what cuts I make around 9k and up, it always comes out muffled, and I could tell that I was missing something. Bring it up to reduce the muffled sound, and of course, you get harsh, piercing treble again. Ugh…
I’ve decided it’s not really the quantity of treble, it’s the quality of the treble on the KSC75s that bothers me.
So now, the big questions:
- I’ve never specifically “burned-in” headphones besides just through normal use, but would it help at all with those piercing highs? And how would I go about doing this? (I’ve heard of running it through a wide range of music over several days, white noise, pink noise, etc.)
- Finally if and when I decide to buy different headphones, are there any recommendations you guys can give me? Considering that I’m…
- About the complete opposite of a basshead
- Someone who likes very smooth, soft, and sweet highs
- Someone who doesn’t like much isolation
- And someone who can’t comfortably wear IEMs
ljokerl’s side-by-side comparisons for IEMs and portable headphones have been a great help toward understanding the qualities of what I might want to buy (and what I can find in my small, college student budget! lol), but I think actually discussing it with some people will help.
*whew* Sorry for the long read! Thanks in advance!
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EDIT: I'm also starting to think that drums and other transients hit too hard on the them for my taste, too - almost as though they're too "fast"...
