swaffleman
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2008
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A review of mine! I know these have been posted about, but I wanted to give my review just for fun and to kill time!
I have discovered yet another low priced headphone that really delivers. The koss UR 40. They are open back full size headphones. I got them at for $30 at Target.
http://www.koss.com/koss/kossweb.nsf/p?openform&pc^fs^UR40^Y
I kid you not, these things are a steal.
The initial impression, when I first got them, was that they had a very boomy sound. In fact, after I decided not to listen to them, I harvested them for their ear pads to put on my MDR V600s. However, the sony's have stopped working, so I put these pads back on the Koss to give them another chance.
They were still boomy, but I began to realize that they had a very detailed sound, and actually, after extended listening, I don't notice the "boominess" nearly as much. In fact they have about the same boom factor as the porta pros, so it isn't bad.
Second, I noticed they had a somewhat hollow sound, which I fixed by putting clear packaging tape over the opened back (it's like a mesh cage sort of back). I know this sounds nuts, but closing the headphones made them have a better and more focused sound, as though they were "losing" sound through the opened up back. I think I'm just not used to open headphones. I was worried this would increase the boomy sound, but it didn't.
I began to put on different types of music- I put on Metallica (their self titled), and they had a large, bassy sound but still clear. I could hear the mids, including the layered guitars, even though their sound was ever so slightly less defined than on my Sony V6's. The drums were very powerful and I could hear the reverberations and the bass drums through my entire head...
I also put on some classical, including Mozart sym. 36. They had a very analytical and opened up sound on the mozart. It seemed like it was completely uncolored. I could hear the timbres of the individual strings (I myself play violin at UofL).
I put on some old jazz recordings I have, and the first thing I noticed is that they had a rather impressive sound stage. The music actually sounded like it was all around me instead of just inside the headphones themselves.
Overall, I'd say that they have a clear, although somewhat smoothed over, warm and somewhat bass heavy sound. I do think the bass is pretty balanced, but it's definitely quite present. The mids are easy to hear. The highs seem a little recessed, but still very present and easy to hear the attack of notes. Muddy is not the word I'd use.
Comfort wise, they are really nice. They have a mesh thing that goes over the head, makes them seem like they aren't even there. The ear pads are nice, and they get a decent seal around the ear. My head gets pretty warm using these though. Add to this that they are INCREDIBLY light, and the comfort factor is quite high.
Cons- I think that they have a rather flimsy and cheap feel to the build quality, and while I love the sound, I think it's a little on the hollow side, even after some noticeable improvements from extended listening and modding. They are also still somewhat boomy, but they have cleared tremendously since I first got them.
Koss is a good company for sure. I can't believe how good these things are for their price.
I have discovered yet another low priced headphone that really delivers. The koss UR 40. They are open back full size headphones. I got them at for $30 at Target.
http://www.koss.com/koss/kossweb.nsf/p?openform&pc^fs^UR40^Y
I kid you not, these things are a steal.
The initial impression, when I first got them, was that they had a very boomy sound. In fact, after I decided not to listen to them, I harvested them for their ear pads to put on my MDR V600s. However, the sony's have stopped working, so I put these pads back on the Koss to give them another chance.
They were still boomy, but I began to realize that they had a very detailed sound, and actually, after extended listening, I don't notice the "boominess" nearly as much. In fact they have about the same boom factor as the porta pros, so it isn't bad.
Second, I noticed they had a somewhat hollow sound, which I fixed by putting clear packaging tape over the opened back (it's like a mesh cage sort of back). I know this sounds nuts, but closing the headphones made them have a better and more focused sound, as though they were "losing" sound through the opened up back. I think I'm just not used to open headphones. I was worried this would increase the boomy sound, but it didn't.
I began to put on different types of music- I put on Metallica (their self titled), and they had a large, bassy sound but still clear. I could hear the mids, including the layered guitars, even though their sound was ever so slightly less defined than on my Sony V6's. The drums were very powerful and I could hear the reverberations and the bass drums through my entire head...
I also put on some classical, including Mozart sym. 36. They had a very analytical and opened up sound on the mozart. It seemed like it was completely uncolored. I could hear the timbres of the individual strings (I myself play violin at UofL).
I put on some old jazz recordings I have, and the first thing I noticed is that they had a rather impressive sound stage. The music actually sounded like it was all around me instead of just inside the headphones themselves.
Overall, I'd say that they have a clear, although somewhat smoothed over, warm and somewhat bass heavy sound. I do think the bass is pretty balanced, but it's definitely quite present. The mids are easy to hear. The highs seem a little recessed, but still very present and easy to hear the attack of notes. Muddy is not the word I'd use.
Comfort wise, they are really nice. They have a mesh thing that goes over the head, makes them seem like they aren't even there. The ear pads are nice, and they get a decent seal around the ear. My head gets pretty warm using these though. Add to this that they are INCREDIBLY light, and the comfort factor is quite high.
Cons- I think that they have a rather flimsy and cheap feel to the build quality, and while I love the sound, I think it's a little on the hollow side, even after some noticeable improvements from extended listening and modding. They are also still somewhat boomy, but they have cleared tremendously since I first got them.
Koss is a good company for sure. I can't believe how good these things are for their price.
