Koss SP330 thread

[MDR30]

What's your opinion?

 

[Argyris]

What's your opinion?

 
Don't have an opinion (or an SP330!) yet, but I just bit the bullet and snatched up the last one they had on Amazon. Availability has been pretty thin over the past month. It looks like Koss essentially missed the holiday season, despite managing to announce and release its new range well before the season began. Not the best situation for a struggling company to be in, but hopefully they make the best of it somehow.
 
Anyway, I've been curious about the SP330 ever since Tyll included its measurements in one of the IF monthly roundups.
 
A while later he posted this review:
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/sonic-stunner-koss-sp330-ear-headphone
 
I've also got an HP50 coming (it arrives the same day). Ideally, one of the two will be moving on, since I anticipate a lot of overlap in usage cases between these two. I plan to do some extensive comparison, and if the SP330 impresses me enough, I'm going to give it a full-scale write up on Head-Fi.

 

[MDR30]

Don't have an opinion (or an SP330!) yet, but I just bit the bullet and snatched up the last one they had on Amazon. Availability has been pretty thin over the past month. It looks like Koss essentially missed the holiday season, despite managing to announce and release its new range well before the season began. Not the best situation for a struggling company to be in, but hopefully they make the best of it somehow.

Anyway, I've been curious about the SP330 ever since Tyll included its measurements in one of the IF monthly roundups.

A while later he posted this review:

http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/sonic-stunner-koss-sp330-ear-headphone

I've also got an HP50 coming (it arrives the same day). Ideally, one of the two will be moving on, since I anticipate a lot of overlap in usage cases between these two. I plan to do some extensive comparison, and if the SP330 impresses me enough, I'm going to give it a full-scale write up on Head-Fi.

Fine, give us some initial impressions when the SP330 arrives.

Thought you were talkin' ortho Yammies there for a while, but realized it's the Nad HP 50.

 

[Argyris]

Initial impressions (a sort of running commentary):
 
-VERY fiddly to get a proper seal. I'm still not quite sure I've done it right, though at least I'm getting some bass now, which is more than I can say for the first 15 minutes or so. The proper fit seems to be somewhat further back on my ears than my initial inclination A quick consultation with the mirror confirms that this is probably the correct way to wear the SP330.
 
-A bit more clampy than I was expecting. I don't think they're uncomfortable, but they definitely have a secure fit. Jury's still out on long term wearing comfort.
 
-Build quality is unexpectedly good. Everything feels solid and tight. Nothing creaks or gives under the application of mild pressure. Fit and finish are quite impressive, I must say. Also, the rather sober styling does look a little better in person than it does in pictures.
 
SOUND:
 
-Bass seems to be appearing as I'm listening. I suspect the pads are conforming to my ears and improving the seal.
 
-The overall balance seems a bit midrange-focused, surprisingly. Everything sounds quite smooth. Perhaps too smooth. I feel like there's a slight lack of resolution throughout the range, particularly in the bass, which seems a bit lacking in texture.
 
-Not much bass punch, but it's nice and quick. No bloat or bleed into the midrange whatsoever. No mid bass hump. If anything, there might even be a slight dip in the upper bass/lower midrange area. I'm catching glimpses of very good bass extension, but it's hard to say. Mostly the bass seems to keep out of the way.
 
-Mids are somewhat forward and are biased toward the upper end. Maybe I'm just used to headphones with more laid back mids, but the sound is definitely more present and upfront than I'm used to.
 
-The lower treble seems just a bit hyped up. Not enough to make things harsh, but there's a persistent edge to the sound that's at odds with the overall smoothness. Sibilance is mostly controlled (much better than the NAD HP50 in this regard, I have to say), but the occasional "s" or "ch" sticks out in my more problematic recordings.
 
-There doesn't seem to be much upper treble extension, meaning the sound is a bit low on sparkle. On the plus side, none of the tizziness and unevenness I've heard on some closed headphones (e.g. my Shure SRH440 is particularly bad in this regard).
 
PRESENTATION & TECHNICALITY:
 
-Soundstage is that typical "tubular" arrangement that so many closed headphones have and which I don't particularly care for. In other words, pronounced width, shallow depth. Unlike the ATH-M50 I tried ages ago that had this same problem, I'm having no trouble forming a center image. In fact, it seems unusually vivid (possibly because of the forward overall signature).
 
-The whole sonic image seems a bit further back in my head than usual. I feel like I'm looking past the sound, if that description makes any sense. It's a little like trying to focus on your own nose. I imagine I'll get used to it, since I've experienced similar with IEMs.
 
-Imaging is enigmatic. Vocals are nicely centered, and I'm perceiving some decent layering, but the edges of other sonic elements seem a bit blurred. Seems to go along with the slight lack of texture.
 
-Not a particularly detailed listen (again, the texture thing), but I'm not sure that's really a big issue for this kind of headphone. Could be I'm still adjusting to the balance. I feel a little like I'm wearing a pair of glasses two prescriptions ago--everything's still mostly clear, but I'm having a bit of trouble focusing.
 
-Mentioned it before but it bears repeating: I'm impressed with the general smoothness of the sound. No nasty peaks or dips, no obvious and distracting coloration. Still feel like there's a bit of edge or glare, though. Could just be that forward upper midrange.
 
***
 
Overall, I think Koss should be quite proud of what they've accomplished here. This is the first headphone of this type and sound signature I've tried that I've ever felt showed promise. Wouldn't mind a bit more warmth in the lower mids, though. Maybe that will come as the pads break in.

 

[mukumi]

That Koss SP330 does not seem to get any love on head-fi.
 
I'm really curious about them but in Belgium it's hard to find a shop to test them and I don't want to bother to purchase it via Amazon and return them :/
 
Anyone else got experience with them ?

 

[Das Mookid]

Picked these up this week for $70 new, after spending a few hours with them they seem like quite a bargain at this price. Very nice detail and focus on mids, bass is textured but definitely not too heavy. As far as Koss sound, these lean more toward the detailed Titanium driver rather than the signature portapros - they remind me a lot of the very nice UR40, but with a more punchy emphasis on detail similar to their cousins the Pro 4s.
 
Given Koss' quite well deserved reputation for on ears, it's quite sad these flagship on ears haven't gotten more attention over the ears - they really are a great performer. 

 

[Argyris]

I was mostly happy with the sound, but I couldn't handle the comfort, so they had to go. I'm one of those people who evidently can't handle on ear headphones because, apart from the PortaPro, I've had a similar bad comfort experience with every one of them I've tried. Shame, really. I thought the SP330 was a tidy little package.

 

[Das Mookid]

  I was mostly happy with the sound, but I couldn't handle the comfort, so they had to go. I'm one of those people who evidently can't handle on ear headphones because, apart from the PortaPro, I've had a similar bad comfort experience with every one of them I've tried. Shame, really. I thought the SP330 was a tidy little package.

 
Sorry to hear the fit never worked in, it sounds like you enjoyed the smooth sound.
 
I have a big head and wear glasses - if I set the band so that it is almost entirely the horizontal clamp holding in place, these are super comfortable for me, even for extended listening. Then again, while I love my portapros, I definitely wouldn't put them up as the most comfortable on ears from Koss. Definitely something that varies between individuals. 
 
Sound wise, a lot of what I like about the 330 is also present in the 4S. Despite the difference in diameter and the studio vs 'personal' tuning the LX elements share a lot in common to my ear. I would think the SP540 would also share some similarities, but I have not heard a pair of them. Not sure if you struggle with over ear head phones as it sounds you might with on ear, but these might be worth a look if you find yourself wanting to revisit the sound.

 

[Pete Basel]

I bought a pair of these about a year ago and the bass extension is remarkable,
looking at the FR at the Inner Fidelity review shows that they are flat to 20 Hz.
There's a lot of hyped up in the bass source material so I'm thinking of adding
a gentle, switchable, LF rolloff filter.
I'm going to compare them a bit more to my better headphones.

 

[WaylandC]

...I'm going to compare them a bit more to my better headphones.

I have the UR-40 headphones. Are the SP330 an upgrade?

For anyone else who may be monitoring this thread, Koss's Black Friday deals have the SP330 at $49.99.

Link: https://www.koss.com/black-friday-deals

 

[Alou]

This an older thread but i found it under search. I got myself a pair for 20 euros only,looks like they are discontinued. They have a great sound and they are very similar to the lovely kph30i only closed.Thats the reason i tried to find them.I like the kph30i allot but in noisy environments or crowded places ,you hear everything and its annoying.
These were the answer and looks like they do cut some noise out ,i will try them and see.Bad part is like they said in most reviews the mechanism for rotating the cups is faulty and the ear cups will come off sooner or later if you keep twisting them.They get back in but its a pain to push all that thin cable back. So a solution was to adjust the angle you like most and the slue them with epoxy or something stronger and its fixed.I used modelers two piece epoxy putty that becomes plastic after it dries!.You want have rotation but i don't care they are small anyway to carry.Only thing is what will happen if i will need pads in the future they seem to be unique and hard to find.Anyway for the price i paid and the small effort to fix them its a nice thing! Pretty good sound and ultra portable!!If koss makes an improved revision of these these they will sell allot!