On the Koss KPH40 "Utility" headphones
Jul 24, 2024 10:20:06 GMT -5
MusicHead and tropicallutefisk like this
Post by Boomzilla on Jul 24, 2024 10:20:06 GMT -5
I bought this pair on Amazon Prime Day for 25% off the normal price of about $40. So, for $29 and change, I got this ultra-light pair of on-ear headphones from Koss. I've previously owned two pairs of Koss headphones:
The venerable Koss Pro 4AA - (mine actually might have been the original 4A model) were heavy ear cookers that just didn't sound that good. I had to wear a pair for an hour on Saturday mornings while I hosted a radio show, and I grew to hate them.
and the Koss Porta-Pro - This model was lighter and sounded much better, but my pair got crushed by airport personnel.
My new KPH40 phones seem more fragile than even the Porta-Pro ones. They're literally nothing but a slim headband and a pair of drivers. Koss phones (and the KPH40s in particular) are famous for failing where the wires enter the driver assembly. Even the slightest tension on the wires coming from the drivers is enough to ruin the phones for good. So if you are one who is careless with headphone wires, these aren't the model for you. Koss REALLY should have put headphone jacks on the drivers themselves for greater durability, but I guess for this price, you're getting what you paid for.
Now some of us have neck issues that make heavy headphones uncomfortable for us. Others of us are sensitive to having over-ear headphones heat up our ears to the "sweat like a pig" point. The KPH40 phones do away with both those issues. They're light enough and cool enough that you can wear them just about forever without an issues.
The KPH40 phones are sensitive enough to drive with anything (including phones & tablets) with ease. This doesn't mean that you can just hear the music, but that you can drive the phones to sufficient volume to drown out the crying baby across the aisle in the plane if you want to. Now you'll be subjecting your seat mates to your music too, but they might prefer that to the crying baby... After all, the KPH40s ARE open-back phones.
The drivers snap off of the headphone band if you want to use ear clips instead of the headband, but doing so greatly increases the chances of pulling a wire and destroying the headphones. The plastic back-caps on the headphone drivers also have a tendency to pop off of the driver assembly if handled roughly, so be gentle with the drivers!
The wiring yoke from the drivers terminates in a 2.5mm, 4-conductor female jack about 14 inches or so from the drivers. Koss supplies a three-foot flat cord from that jack to a standard 3.5mm, 3-conductor male stereo plug. There seems to be lots of complaint about the cord saying that it should have been longer. Depending on what you want to do with these phones, that may be a valid complaint. But it doesn't apply for me. MY use of these phones will be listening to audio from my iPhone and watching video from my iPad.
This brings up the next complaint about the phones. They don't come with adapters for Lightning jacks (as found on iPhones and iPads). You can buy a genuine Koss Lightning (or USB-C) adapter from Amazon for $45 (yes, MORE than the cost of the phones themselves!) but never fear, "generic" Lightning (or USB-C) to 3.5mm male stereo plug cords are available on Amazon for about $6 each (and free shipping if you're an Amazon Prime member). They seem to work just fine.
Now, let's cut to the chase - how do these things sound? I think I can make this easy - the Koss KPH40s are the headphone equivalent of Klipsch speakers. If you like the sound of Klipsch, you'll probably like the sound of the KPH40s. If not... The little KPH40s have a kicking bass, a good midrange, and a (very slightly) bright treble (to my ears). The main surprise from these cans is how much bass they produce from tiny on-ear drivers. Being fully open-back, I didn't expect much bass from these phones, but not only do they have bass, but it seems tight and tuneful. You actually get pitch definition in the bass from these drivers, not the overwhelming one-note thump-thump-thump that you get from the likes of Beats phones (note - I know a lot of people like Beats headphones - I'm just not one of them).
The midrange and treble are articulate with no slur or overhang. To me, they sound a lot like my Sennheiser HD-540 headphones. In fact, the other pair of headphones I was considering instead of these Koss models was the Sennheiser HD-414 Anniversary Edition. But the price difference ($$$ for the Sennheisers vs. $29 and change for the Koss) made me decide to try the Koss KPH40 first. And I'm GLAD that I did! For the price that I paid, I think that the Koss KPH40 headphones are one of the very best values on the headphone market!
They may not be durable; they may not sound like $2K headphone models; they may not be as light as ear-buds, but for their price (even if you have to pay list at $40 a pair), these are one of the best values EVER on the headphone market! Highly recommended.
Boomzilla
The venerable Koss Pro 4AA - (mine actually might have been the original 4A model) were heavy ear cookers that just didn't sound that good. I had to wear a pair for an hour on Saturday mornings while I hosted a radio show, and I grew to hate them.
and the Koss Porta-Pro - This model was lighter and sounded much better, but my pair got crushed by airport personnel.
My new KPH40 phones seem more fragile than even the Porta-Pro ones. They're literally nothing but a slim headband and a pair of drivers. Koss phones (and the KPH40s in particular) are famous for failing where the wires enter the driver assembly. Even the slightest tension on the wires coming from the drivers is enough to ruin the phones for good. So if you are one who is careless with headphone wires, these aren't the model for you. Koss REALLY should have put headphone jacks on the drivers themselves for greater durability, but I guess for this price, you're getting what you paid for.
Now some of us have neck issues that make heavy headphones uncomfortable for us. Others of us are sensitive to having over-ear headphones heat up our ears to the "sweat like a pig" point. The KPH40 phones do away with both those issues. They're light enough and cool enough that you can wear them just about forever without an issues.
The KPH40 phones are sensitive enough to drive with anything (including phones & tablets) with ease. This doesn't mean that you can just hear the music, but that you can drive the phones to sufficient volume to drown out the crying baby across the aisle in the plane if you want to. Now you'll be subjecting your seat mates to your music too, but they might prefer that to the crying baby... After all, the KPH40s ARE open-back phones.
The drivers snap off of the headphone band if you want to use ear clips instead of the headband, but doing so greatly increases the chances of pulling a wire and destroying the headphones. The plastic back-caps on the headphone drivers also have a tendency to pop off of the driver assembly if handled roughly, so be gentle with the drivers!
The wiring yoke from the drivers terminates in a 2.5mm, 4-conductor female jack about 14 inches or so from the drivers. Koss supplies a three-foot flat cord from that jack to a standard 3.5mm, 3-conductor male stereo plug. There seems to be lots of complaint about the cord saying that it should have been longer. Depending on what you want to do with these phones, that may be a valid complaint. But it doesn't apply for me. MY use of these phones will be listening to audio from my iPhone and watching video from my iPad.
This brings up the next complaint about the phones. They don't come with adapters for Lightning jacks (as found on iPhones and iPads). You can buy a genuine Koss Lightning (or USB-C) adapter from Amazon for $45 (yes, MORE than the cost of the phones themselves!) but never fear, "generic" Lightning (or USB-C) to 3.5mm male stereo plug cords are available on Amazon for about $6 each (and free shipping if you're an Amazon Prime member). They seem to work just fine.
Now, let's cut to the chase - how do these things sound? I think I can make this easy - the Koss KPH40s are the headphone equivalent of Klipsch speakers. If you like the sound of Klipsch, you'll probably like the sound of the KPH40s. If not... The little KPH40s have a kicking bass, a good midrange, and a (very slightly) bright treble (to my ears). The main surprise from these cans is how much bass they produce from tiny on-ear drivers. Being fully open-back, I didn't expect much bass from these phones, but not only do they have bass, but it seems tight and tuneful. You actually get pitch definition in the bass from these drivers, not the overwhelming one-note thump-thump-thump that you get from the likes of Beats phones (note - I know a lot of people like Beats headphones - I'm just not one of them).
The midrange and treble are articulate with no slur or overhang. To me, they sound a lot like my Sennheiser HD-540 headphones. In fact, the other pair of headphones I was considering instead of these Koss models was the Sennheiser HD-414 Anniversary Edition. But the price difference ($$$ for the Sennheisers vs. $29 and change for the Koss) made me decide to try the Koss KPH40 first. And I'm GLAD that I did! For the price that I paid, I think that the Koss KPH40 headphones are one of the very best values on the headphone market!
They may not be durable; they may not sound like $2K headphone models; they may not be as light as ear-buds, but for their price (even if you have to pay list at $40 a pair), these are one of the best values EVER on the headphone market! Highly recommended.
Boomzilla
