[binaryhermit]

I got a pair of these in the mail from Massdrop Saturday morning and I've been listening to them all weekend. I have mixed feelings.

They're great, probably 98%+ of the way to the HE400i, my favorite headphone SQwise. The HE400i's probably better, but...

Mixed feelings since it makes me wish that I'd bought a high-end-for-the-price cheap headphone and run far away from this place. My wallet would have thanked me.

 

[waynes world]

I got a pair of these in the mail from Massdrop Saturday morning and I've been listening to them all weekend. I have mixed feelings.

They're great, probably 98%+ of the way to the HE400i, my favorite headphone SQwise. The HE400i's probably better, but...

Mixed feelings since it makes me wish that I'd bought a high-end-for-the-price cheap headphone and run far away from this place. My wallet would have thanked me.

Lol! Perfect.

 

[lixoke]

Is there any sound profile differences between the KSC75 and 75X? I was also reading some people saying the MassDrop version has a cheaper quality cable?

Also, are there any newer alternatives to the parts express headband?

 

[Zerousen]

Is there any sound profile differences between the KSC75 and 75X? I was also reading some people saying the MassDrop version has a cheaper quality cable?

Also, are there any newer alternatives to the parts express headband?

There are not any decent alternatives to the headband other than the portapro headband, as far as I know. There is no difference in sound between the normal and the massdrop version as far as I can tell, I've even mixed and matched and it's been more or less the same. As for the cable, it is definitely thinner, but also more lightweight with a more case friendly connector.

 

[thamasha69]

I ordered a pair of Yaxi Ear Pads for Porta Pro from Japan and they just arrived in the mail. Very impressed with the package. The quality and fit is very good on my beloved KSC35 Parts Express headband. Only tested a few songs but already these are a subtle comfort upgrade to already what is one of the most comfortable headphones. I can't comment on exact sonic differences as I can't really test back to back, but these are staying on for good. A great upgrade to one of my favorite headphones.

 

[MisterMudd]

I ordered a pair of Yaxi Ear Pads for Porta Pro from Japan and they just arrived in the mail. Very impressed with the package. The quality and fit is very good on my beloved KSC35 Parts Express headband. Only tested a few songs but already these are a subtle comfort upgrade to already what is one of the most comfortable headphones. I can't comment on exact sonic differences as I can't really test back to back, but these are staying on for good. A great upgrade to one of my favorite headphones.

Yes. I just received my orange pair recently and they are very comfortable. Improved the sound of my portapros but I'm going to try them on my Parts Express headband as well. Excellent customer service from the seller, and shipping was quite fast to the US.

 

[thamasha69]

Yes. I just received my orange pair recently and they are very comfortable. Improved the sound of my portapros but I'm going to try them on my Parts Express headband as well. Excellent customer service from the seller, and shipping was quite fast to the US.

Awesome man! I didn't know anyone else had these other than the one review I've seen online. I agree on the quick shipping. Interested in your impressions on both the Porta Pro and Parts Express setup - I'm loving it so far.

 

[SHAMuuu]

Once in a while when i pop back on the ksc75/sporta (ksc35... better to me) , i get a whooosh of musicality swirling in my cranium. The only thing different from top tier dynamics is lack of blackness in background and midbassy (lack of subass extension and treble rolloff). But the slight haziness is not bothersome and no sibilance on my pairs anyway. Very very musical. I think total for both i paid 30 CDN (23ish US)

 

[sjbrook]

Long time lurker, first time poster (in this thread…).

I don’t recall what led me to the KSC75 a few years ago but it was my good fortune. I have always enjoyed headphone listening but generally cannot stand headphones. I don’t like things in my ears and I don’t like things pressing on my jawbone. This eliminates IEM and Circumaural. I’m also not a fan of closed back sound. I do have a set of 1st gen on-ear Senn Momentum that I use in the office at times when I really need isolation from ambient noise, but otherwise, open or semi-open is the way for me.

I Kramer modded my first set of KSC75 including a reverse quarter with foam standoffs. I ultimately found it uncomfortable and went back to the standard Koss pads. I had done the same with my Senn PX100/ii with HD414 pads (reverse quarter) and ultimately went back to stock pads.

PE headband is a must for me. I just cannot use the clips to any great comfort. Up until a few weeks ago I had one set of stock KSC75 on PE at the office and the Kramer modded set at home (at this point just the drilled plate). In the last two weeks I have received a Massdrop KSC75x and a set of Portapro Black. I had PP’s back in the 80’s and early 90’s and always hated the cheesy blue plastic.

The PP headband is torture. I had forgotten how much clamp such a simple design had. Like a lite version of the old PRO4/AA (how I could have handled those as a teenager back in the 70’s…ah for the cervical strength of a 17 year old skeletal structure…), just unusable. I popped them onto KSC clips and that also greatly alleviated the slightly bloated bass. I have a bunch of PE headbands inbound and there will be mods in the future.

I did not find the tonal balance on the Massdrop KSC75 to be significantly different from the regular retail. The cable is lighter weight and thus to my mind a little more tangle prone. The inline control is useless to me as I only use headphones with audio sources, not phones or tablets. I think experimentation with MMCX cable conversion is also in the future.

I drilled the plates on the KSC75x, just the basic 4-hole as shown in the Trindy’s Mom video. That alone had a significant impact on bass response. Increased LF response (output?) but also better controlled. Tried a quarter mod but it did not make any positive improvement in sound. Went back to stock pads (had a 4 pack of Koss pads onhand) and added a set of Sennheiser pads from my SC60 pc headset. Wow. Improvement in comfort (on my head anyway) and size of headspace. It moves the drivers out just a little but with headphones small increments are all you need. The best deal on them is from Sennheiser direct. Local sales tax but free shipping. I have several sets on order. https://en-us.sennheiser.com/accessories-hzp-32

While as ever YMMV I highly recommend trying a set of these pads. By themselves they don’t stay put (too large) but applied over the stock Koss pads they are perfect.

 

[thamasha69]

Long time lurker, first time poster (in this thread…).

I don’t recall what led me to the KSC75 a few years ago but it was my good fortune. I have always enjoyed headphone listening but generally cannot stand headphones. I don’t like things in my ears and I don’t like things pressing on my jawbone. This eliminates IEM and Circumaural. I’m also not a fan of closed back sound. I do have a set of 1st gen on-ear Senn Momentum that I use in the office at times when I really need isolation from ambient noise, but otherwise, open or semi-open is the way for me.

I Kramer modded my first set of KSC75 including a reverse quarter with foam standoffs. I ultimately found it uncomfortable and went back to the standard Koss pads. I had done the same with my Senn PX100/ii with HD414 pads (reverse quarter) and ultimately went back to stock pads.

PE headband is a must for me. I just cannot use the clips to any great comfort. Up until a few weeks ago I had one set of stock KSC75 on PE at the office and the Kramer modded set at home (at this point just the drilled plate). In the last two weeks I have received a Massdrop KSC75x and a set of Portapro Black. I had PP’s back in the 80’s and early 90’s and always hated the cheesy blue plastic.

The PP headband is torture. I had forgotten how much clamp such a simple design had. Like a lite version of the old PRO4/AA (how I could have handled those as a teenager back in the 70’s…ah for the cervical strength of a 17 year old skeletal structure…), just unusable. I popped them onto KSC clips and that also greatly alleviated the slightly bloated bass. I have a bunch of PE headbands inbound and there will be mods in the future.

I did not find the tonal balance on the Massdrop KSC75 to be significantly different from the regular retail. The cable is lighter weight and thus to my mind a little more tangle prone. The inline control is useless to me as I only use headphones with audio sources, not phones or tablets. I think experimentation with MMCX cable conversion is also in the future.

I drilled the plates on the KSC75x, just the basic 4-hole as shown in the Trindy’s Mom video. That alone had a significant impact on bass response. Increased LF response (output?) but also better controlled. Tried a quarter mod but it did not make any positive improvement in sound. Went back to stock pads (had a 4 pack of Koss pads onhand) and added a set of Sennheiser pads from my SC60 pc headset. Wow. Improvement in comfort (on my head anyway) and size of headspace. It moves the drivers out just a little but with headphones small increments are all you need. The best deal on them is from Sennheiser direct. Local sales tax but free shipping. I have several sets on order. https://en-us.sennheiser.com/accessories-hzp-32

While as ever YMMV I highly recommend trying a set of these pads. By themselves they don’t stay put (too large) but applied over the stock Koss pads they are perfect.

Great post. I love seeing tweaks/mods to these 40mm Koss drivers. I used KSC75 on a PE headband for a while. I received a Porta Pro as a gift but couldn't jive with the headband- not very comfortable, though I started wanting that extra warmth/bass that the Porta Pros provide without the bloat. KSC35s on a PE headband were the perfect match for me. The lesser pressure of the PE headband helps with both comfort and bloated bass. And the new Yaxi ear pads make it feel like there's a couple marshmallow puffs on my ears.

Looking at your pics- did you use electrical tape to keeping the headband from sliding and increase rigidity slightly? I did the same to mine.

 

[legion1capone]

Before I begin I am in no way attempting to stir the pot. I received my Koss KSC75 yesterday and gave them a few hours of burn in before sitting down with them. I did my listening impressions using tidal hifi/master recordings through my Geshelli Labs Enog2 pro dac and archel pro amp.

I'll start off with questions for all of you....
What genres of music do you listen to with the KSC75?
What do you consider strengths and weaknesses for the KSC75?

I don't find them uncomfortable to wear by any means. Even with my glasses on. I feel like when I press on the them and bring the driver just slightly closer to my ear that they sound much better overall though they loose just a bit of the open airy nature.
KSC75 strengths:

-soundstage

-treble detail

-open airy sound



KSC75 weaknesses:

-Bass (lacks body)

-Sub bass (completely absent)

-can sound unnatural at times

-imaging

-treble

-vocals can sound shrill and symbolent (lacks finesse)

When it comes to music they sound pretty good with violins, cellos, pianos, guitars, pretty much anything in this wheelhouse sounds damn good for the price! Orchestral and jazz sounds pretty good too. I actually liked these quite a bit with ska and punk rock. Country, metal, and 80's rock sounds ok. But is pretty hit and miss. As far as more modern music, edm, pretty much anything requiring any amount of bass is a no go. The bass overall sounds weird to me, haven't ever heard any iem or headphone produce bass notes like this. I also have on multiple different tracks experienced a very odd almost honk and congestion with vocals. It's really hard to describe. It only does this on these.

They are ok for gaming. I played a few matches of ghost recon wildlands ghost war 4v4. It didn't give me a real edge in anyway. The lack of bass didn't get in the way of anything and the soundstage is big but spot on imaging is more important, which it lacks. In game chat was clear and precise though.

Movies are so so. Again the lack of any amount of bass is a big downfall. It is punchy but unnatural and thin. The treble is a little hot so it does allow quite a bit of treble detail to come through with bullets whizzing by in game and movies.

Overall I'm not that impressed as I listen to so many genres of music I look for more all around headphones. These don't really do it for me. Is what I am describing fairly accurate? Or did I get a bad pair? I really wanted to like these more than I do. They miss out on to much of the frequency range for me.
Many compare these to much higher end headphones and I don't understand the comparisons at all. I don't find them coming close to many of the mentioned headphones people compare them to. I guess maybe if your only judging in one or two categories soundstage and open sound. I prefer every other headphone I own to these; zmf classics, he400i, ad700x, ad900x, dt990, meze 12 classics, Tecsun Caogen wood headphones.

 

[sjbrook]

Looking at your pics- did you use electrical tape to keeping the headband from sliding and increase rigidity slightly? I did the same to mine.

Yes, I did. It seemed tricky at first until I realized that the width of the tape was just the right distance for my head.

 

[sjbrook]

I'll start off with questions for all of you....
What genres of music do you listen to with the KSC75?
What do you consider strengths and weaknesses for the KSC75?

I listen mostly to jazz (predominantly small group), classical (predominantly chamber), blues, "classic" and "prog" rock, bluegrass, reggae. Larger scale jazz and classical are more a speaker thing.

I consider the strengths of the KSC75 to be inline with your observations. I would also add comfort, which is a critical issue to me. Overall I find them to have neutral presentation that is really somewhat midrange centric and that is a sonic signature I value. I've used Grado cartridges for the past 40 years so that says a lot about the sound I like.

They are not bass heavy but I find the lf presentation to be musical. I don't enjoy having my skull bashed about by point blank bass. For that type of energy I prefer the speaker/subwoofer/room interaction.

Everyone hears differently. The size/shape of your head and ears determines a lot with headphones as does your overall preferences to tonality and the volume. Some of this is also age dependent. I did very unwise things with headphones and concerts as a teenager. My psychoacoustic perception has changed over the years and I have some hf loss in my right ear.

Something else to consider is the signal. At 60 Ohm and 101 dB/mW sensitivity they are relatively easy to drive but will benefit from more amplification. In escalating level of listening satisfaction (high bit rate MP3 and FLAC from portable and computers, Vinyl and tubed CD in main):

Portable: Sansa Rhapsody E280/Rockbox r21150-09053
Office: pc AudioEngine D1
Home Office: pc via optical to Yamaha RXV995
Main: Anthem Pre2L (4x6922) class A high current

For many this driver represents an ultimate answer, for some it's a shrug and a "meh". Reality is generally somewhere in between.

I highly recommend you pick up set of the PartsExpress disposable headphones and get them off the clips. It allows for a much better positioning on the head and is a fundamental improvement. Drilling and changing pads is the next step. There is a lot of performance to wrung from these drivers. Combined with the dirt cheap price and the ease of DIY they are deserved of their cultish devotions. Or not.

 

[legion1capone]

Could you post links to the parts express headband and foam pads? Is their a solid instructions video or review with pictures about how to mod the backs of the drivers? A few that I've found are quite old and the picture links are no longer active so I have no good visual reference.
I think the headband clamp force is what these are mainly missing for me because when I just put a little pressure on them and bring them ever so slightly closer they do sound a bit better.

I listen mostly to jazz (predominantly small group), classical (predominantly chamber), blues, "classic" and "prog" rock, bluegrass, reggae. Larger scale jazz and classical are more a speaker thing.

I consider the strengths of the KSC75 to be inline with your observations. I would also add comfort, which is a critical issue to me. Overall I find them to have neutral presentation that is really somewhat midrange centric and that is a sonic signature I value. I've used Grado cartridges for the past 40 years so that says a lot about the sound I like.

They are not bass heavy but I find the lf presentation to be musical. I don't enjoy having my skull bashed about by point blank bass. For that type of energy I prefer the speaker/subwoofer/room interaction.

Everyone hears differently. The size/shape of your head and ears determines a lot with headphones as does your overall preferences to tonality and the volume. Some of this is also age dependent. I did very unwise things with headphones and concerts as a teenager. My psychoacoustic perception has changed over the years and I have some hf loss in my right ear.

Something else to consider is the signal. At 60 Ohm and 101 dB/mW sensitivity they are relatively easy to drive but will benefit from more amplification. In escalating level of listening satisfaction (high bit rate MP3 and FLAC from portable and computers, Vinyl and tubed CD in main):

Portable: Sansa Rhapsody E280/Rockbox r21150-09053
Office: pc AudioEngine D1
Home Office: pc via optical to Yamaha RXV995
Main: Anthem Pre2L (4x6922) class A high current

For many this driver represents an ultimate answer, for some it's a shrug and a "meh". Reality is generally somewhere in between.

I highly recommend you pick up set of the PartsExpress disposable headphones and get them off the clips. It allows for a much better positioning on the head and is a fundamental improvement. Drilling and changing pads is the next step. There is a lot of performance to wrung from these drivers. Combined with the dirt cheap price and the ease of DIY they are deserved of their cultish devotions. Or not.

 

[sjbrook]

Could you post links to the parts express headband and foam pads? Is their a solid instructions video or review with pictures about how to mod the backs of the drivers? A few that I've found are quite old and the picture links are no longer active so I have no good visual reference.
I think the headband clamp force is what these are mainly missing for me because when I just put a little pressure on them and bring them ever so slightly closer they do sound a bit better.

The PartsExpress headband is actually a cheap set of headphones. The drivers are so awful you have to wonder why they don't just the sell the headband. Of course the problem is that the shipping kills the value ratio somewhat. I ordered 5 pairs and a headphone extension cable and with shipping and tax it still wound up at an allocated cost per unit of $4.25 each. When I originally bought a couple of pairs a few years back through Amazon they were $1.99 each but not Prime eligable so I still wound up paying $4.50 each. They now have them as Prime but at $7.98 a set!

https://www.parts-express.com/parts...ightweight-headphones-with-4-ft-cord--240-015
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002KQZJS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are a number of pad replacement/additions out there, I was just looking at my Sennheiser SC60 headset and got curious. The results were a happy surprise.

https://en-us.sennheiser.com/accessories-hzp-32

The drilling is not to the enclosure but the to plastic plate that covers the driver. This video on modding a set of SportaPros covers the basics. You will need a stepped drillbit to do it most efficiently but you could also use multiple bits of increasing size.



I will be curious to see what effect this combination of mods (drilling, headband, pads) has on my PortaPros. The driver is almost identical but I think a key difference is the driver enclosure. The KSC75 is rounded, the PortaPro is flat.