Product Description

Portable headphone the on-the-go user

Product Details

• Color: White/Gray
• Brand: Koss
• Model: 155540
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 6.50" h x 2.50" w x 6.50" l, .44 pounds

Features

• Pair of compact headphones for use with portable audio devices
• Sport clip design fits neatly around each ear (eliminates the headband!)
• Titanium-coated high-polymer drivers deliver accurate sound reproduction
• Neodymium iron boron magnets offer deep bass performance
• Cord measures 4 feet long; 3.5 mm plug; limited lifetime warranty

Amazon.com Product Description
Enjoy rich, accurate sound through your portable CD or MP3 player using the Koss KSC75 on-the-go headphones. Designed for people who want a lightweight listening solution without sacrificing audio quality, the phones employ a pair of sport clips to fit neatly around each ear, thus eliminating the constraints of conventional headbands. As a result, listeners can wear the phones--which weigh a mere 1.5 ounces--without disturbing their carefully coifed hairdos. When not in use, the headphones store compactly in a backpack or purse without taking up unnecessary space. Meanwhile, the phones produce terrific sound through their titanium-coated high-polymer drivers, which are built for maximum precision, as are the bass-boosting neodymium iron boron magnets. Their combined efforts generate a noteworthy 15 Hz to 25 kHz frequency response. Additional features include oxygen-free copper voice coils within the cord that protect the signal clarity; a straight, dual-entry 4-foot cable; and a 3.5 mm plug.

What's in the Box
KSC75 headphones, 4-foot cable, user's manual.

Customer Reviews

another solid Koss phone
The KSC-75 is the latest edition of the popular and good-performing Koss KSC series. All of these models, the 35, 50, 55 and now 75 are based on the same 60-ohm drivers (also used in the Porta-Pro and KTX-Pro phones). The original model, the 35, is regarded as the standard by which all cheap, portable headphones are compared. The original 35 was a black, clip-on model, built to be very shallow and to fit closely on the ears. It was a fairly nasty-looking, uncomfortable piece, and frequently had problems with its thin foam padding tearing. It was updated to the 50 and 55 models, more "modern" looking silver clip-ons and behind-the-head models. The problem with these was they were significantly heavier, and didn't fit so snugly to the ears. Thus, even though the drivers were the same, the sound suffered a bit because of the loose fit.

The 75 moves a bit closer to the original 35. It is a shallower phone, although still not quite as much so as the 35. It does tend to fit snugly to the ear, which helps make the sound a bit fuller. They are nice and light and are very comfortable. The clip is a different design, it doesn't snap into place like the orignal 35 or hinge like the 50. It simply bends around the ear, leading to two problems with this design. The durability of the thin guage wire could be a problem. Secondly, the headphone cup tends to snap off of the clip when fitting the headphone to the ear. It simply snaps back into place again, but its a nuisance. Once properly placed, which takes a little practice, the sound is typical Koss KSC. The sound is pleasant and full, reasonably detailed and transparent. There is roll-off at both frequency extremes, although this can easily be corrected if your player has an equalizer. Even without equalization, though, the sound is quite good. Despite the 60-ohm rating, the 75's are reasonably easy for low power portables to drive. On an absolute scale or compared to the better $50 phones, such as the Sennheiser HD-497, the Koss KSC-75's don't stand out, but for a price of less than $15, these are outstanding. They easily trump any of the included phones or buds with portable players and are easy to transport, due to their light weight and small size. Another excellent, cheap Koss phone.

Update: With more use, I've become more favorably impressed with this phone. Its sound seems to have opened up with more break in. It now is very transparent with a rich, deailed sound - unbelievable for this price range. After a few uses, one gets the earclips adjusted properly to where they go on almost instantly and stay put and are very comforatble. This should minimize the amount of adjustment needed and prolong the life of the clip. Still, the headphone cups occasionally snap off of the clips even during normal handling. But in all, these are an incredible bargain. I would now rate these a five star phone.

Legendary headphone value doesn't disappoint
Others have hailed these headphones' "bang for buck" value, and they are not wrong. Inexplicably, 90% of the headphones on amazon.com seem to have 4-star ratings (which can make it difficult to choose, and is hard to understand as the lions' share of consumer-grade headphones are *terrible*), but these are actually the real deal. These literally famous headphones are unquestionably the best sounding thing you can buy for this money. In truth, they are not *quite* as good as the KSC-35s they replaced (which had a bit more bass and were slightly more expensive), but KSC-75s really sound *incredibly* good for the money. Seriously.

You can pick the looks apart or the clip mechanism if this type of headphone isn't your cup of tea--but if you're evaluating raw sound it's *amazing* how good these sound for the price. So for what these cost, stop shopping and just buy these right now.

KSC-75 is the budget headphone king.

Great Sound for the cost but not well-designed for the long haul
The Koss KSC75 are a comfortable and versatile set of portable supra-aural (on the ear) headphones (or "cans" as audiophiles call them). They use the same transceivers, have the same Ohm impedence level and some of the other features that the Koss PortaPro offers but they are lighter weight and seem to be designed for the "on the go" lifestyle. (I have reviewed the PortaPro cans; you might want to check out my review of them as I gave them five stars. They are still going strong.) At first listen, the KSC75 sound as good as their five star cousins, the PortaPros BUT BEWARE. I have two sets now that I have to send back to Koss for replacement. Thankfully Koss does offer a lifetime warranty on these headphones but you must submit payment for shipping the replacements back to you from Koss as well as writing them a letter detailing problems, all to be included with the defective product, which you ship at your own expense.

It should be noted that I do not listen to bass heavy music but rather my primary musical choices are what I call the "three C's and one B," which is Christian, Classical, Country and audioBooks. I do not use loud volumes or sub-par products with whatever set of cans I use. But with both sets of the Koss KSC75, at least one transceiver (Left on both sets and Right on one set) began to produce distortions such as warbling, reverb and echo within a week! It would seem that using the superior quality transceivers of the PortaPro model in a set of clip-ons with a lot of plastic is not a well-thought out design.

I've noticed that these headphones have decreased in price since I purchased them. I believe people are starting to catch on to their draw backs. If you have found yourself in the sad position of getting a defective set as I did and can return it for a full refund, I encourage you strongly to do so. If you liked the sound quality (and I do), I would suggest purchasing the Koss PortaPro model. They are compact, fit in a small pouch (included) and you can literally fall asleep in them. They don't slip off during workouts either. Both sets are "Open" which simply means that if the volume is up to high, there will be sound leakage. But the PortaPro actually leaks significantly less than some other portable cans I use but are sturdy, reliable and comfortable. If you have a pair of the Koss KSC75 headphones and there hasn't been a defect, I honestly can say that you are a lucky one! I like the feel, the sound and that I can even wear these with my glasses though the ear pieces are fixed but they keep breaking down. I was lucky that they broke down while Amazon guaranteed them so I could get replacements but those have broken down as well.

In conclusion, I recommend them to you with a warning that you may find yourself having to replace them (perhaps more than once as I have done) through Amazon or wherever you purchase them during their free replacement/refund time frame or you might just have to pay more money to Koss to send you another pair that might have the same problems. The KSC75 is a "fair" buy for the cost but if you want to stick with Koss and like the sound, the PortaPro is better and you are very unlikely to have any difficulties with them. If you really need a pair of clip-on portable headphones, I highly recommend the Sony MDR-Q22LP headphones. (Please feel free to check out my review of these portable headphones as well.) Thanks and good listening!