[ProleArtThreat]

Last week my brand new ER-4P's started displaying a problem with the right phone. So off to Etymotic they went. After a couple of torturous days trying to go back to my old EX-70's, I decided to get a pair of cheap, but decent cans for casual use. As I started going through many of the recent threads, the Koss KSC 35/50/75 kept coming up.

Took a stroll down to the J&R in downtown Manhattan and picked up a pair of KSC-75's for $20. Wow! I was expecting to them to be decent, especially after I had just permanently severed my relationship with the EX-70's. But I was never expecting them to sound this good. Bass response is perfect for my tastes and the highs are clear without being overly bright. The mids seem slightly recessed, but aren't detrimental to the overall presentation, which for slightly more than the price of a CD, is phenomenal.

So the lesson is that Head-Fi can actually be good for your wallet. I needed something that sounded good and was affordable since these are to become my casual "beater" phones. I'm now no longer waiting in agony for my ER-4P's to get back from Etymotic -- not that I won't be happy to get them back. But I'm really enjoying the KSC-75's.

Flavor of the month? Definitely justified.

 

[Jmmmmm]

i heard that the ksc75s benefit from an amp

 

[psyco1]

Yes.
Very much so. Why, it's almost manditory.

 

[YamiTenshi]

What do you mean almost?

Quick go pick up a sr-71!!!

 

[Jahn]

and don't forget the ety P-to-S 75 ohm adapter! the Koss clips sing with those! but only with an amp!

 

[bracket_cable]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmmmmm i heard that the ksc75s benefit from an amp

Curse you, you vixen.

 

[recstar24]

Ok guys, before we starting trying to make this guy spend more money, i agree with the statement that head-fi isn't necessarily bad for your money. If you do enough research, there is plenty of collective experience and wisdom within this community that it can save you a lot of money in bad products. My 1st source was and still is a jolida 100a tubed cd player, and i love it. My first cans were sr-60, ive upgraded, but i loved it and i love my 225's. My 1st amp was an sr-71, and i love it. I could have spent much more money trying to buy products i thought were good, only to find out they sucked, but instead, i asked around and did my research, and made my first purchases count, thereby eliminating the spending of money to compensate for bad products, which could have been a lot if it wasn't for head-fi. I just started this hobby/fascination/sickness whatever you call it, but so far, all of my 1st shots into it have hit the bullseye.

Actually, i think i owe head-fi by becoming a contributing member! I bet the moderators would agree!

 

[ProleArtThreat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by recstar24 I could have spent much more money trying to buy products i thought were good, only to find out they sucked, but instead, i asked around and did my research, and made my first purchases count, thereby eliminating the spending of money to compensate for bad products, which could have been a lot if it wasn't for head-fi. I just started this hobby/fascination/sickness whatever you call it, but so far, all of my 1st shots into it have hit the bullseye.

Yeah, I think this exactly what I was trying to get at. It's not simply that I was able to find a great sounding pair of cans for $20, it's also that thanks to the people on Head-Fi, I was able to make a purchase that had a pretty good chance of satisfying my tastes.

But let's be honest, no one who spends any significant time on here is close to being done spending money on gear and music. I already have an SR-71 and a P-->S adapter on the upcoming purchase list, especially now that I know it will come in handy to to make not just my Ety's, but my KSC-75's as well, sound even better.

 

[GoRedwings19]

Personally headfi saved my wallet. And I get a lot of musical enjoyment from this passion.

 

[EdipisReks]

i think Head-fi helps a lot. taking some of the trial and error out of high end audio saves time and money. well, saves time in the auditioning stage, the fact that i spend about 5 hours a day on this forum probably more than makes up for the savings

 

[kramer5150]

Enjoy the 75's. They dont need a very expensive amp to sound good too. A simple Cmoy will do wonders. They outperform my DT770 and e2c in many ways.

They are very fun to listen to, and in many ways I do not miss my DT770 while traveling with my KSC75.

**edit**

You know... I kind of wish everyone on the forum had a KSC75 or porta. Its a great bargain and sounds good on the go. That way we could all use that as a kind of benchmark for other comparisons. Example: the e2c has less treble than the KSC.... e2c Bass doesnt extend as low... not as much midrange recession as the KSC...

We're always searching for a way to communicate & quantify what we hear... but we dont have a universal relative datum or reference standard to draw comparisons to.

Enjoy the KSC!!
Garrett

 

[ilovesocks]

how do the 75's and portapro's line up? i have a pair of portapros - which one's better?

 

[Jmmmmm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProleArtThreat Yeah, I think this exactly what I was trying to get at. It's not simply that I was able to find a great sounding pair of cans for $20, it's also that thanks to the people on Head-Fi, I was able to make a purchase that had a pretty good chance of satisfying my tastes. But let's be honest, no one who spends any significant time on here is close to being done spending money on gear and music. I already have an SR-71 and a P-->S adapter on the upcoming purchase list, especially now that I know it will come in handy to to make not just my Ety's, but my KSC-75's as well, sound even better.

I was just messing around with the amp comment (obviously), but I completely agree with you. While this site is the worst thing ever for upgrade-itis, it has actually saved me money too.
1) the ksc75s. While I might not have bought them When I did, I would have eventually gotten some clip-on headphones for the gym. And I probably would have bought more expensive ones that sounded worse.
2) My karma. I was going to buy a hd player for around $250. Because of this site, I got the karma for $180. I would never had considered the karma before, and even if I had, I probably wouldn't have seen them selling for $180 now.

I'm not worried though, I'm sure I'll make up the difference...