Should you pay Koss to "clip" your ears?
Written: Jan 14 '04 (Updated Jan 17 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: very good sound quality - Very efficient
Cons: Hard to get a good fit - Fairly uncomfortable
The Bottom Line: These sound great for the money. However, if you're the slightest bit picky about fit and comfort, you probably won't enjoy wearing them.
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| Ahab1973's Full Review: Koss KSC-50 Consumer Headphones |
Introduction- Since my recent purchase of the Sony D-NE510 portable CD Walkman, I've been on a relentless quest for affordable headphones that deliver better sound than the ones it came with. I've become obsessed with this! Unfortunately, as I've noted in past reviews, it's nearly impossible to objectively evaluate headphones in the store before you buy them. This makes selecting decent headphones one of the hardest tasks for a consumer who wants quality, portable audio. You literally have no choice but to do your research online and go by what others recommend. You cannot rely on specifications alone, nor on the claims of manufacturers.
In this quest, I've noticed one frustrating thing about nearly all of the companies that manufacture cheap headphones - They care more about making the headphones attractive than they do about actually making them sound good. The drivers in any given headphone might very well be perfectly capable of producing high fidelity sound. However, as with regular loudspeakers designed for use on home systems, the enclosures will make or break their performance. The basic principles seem to be the same. Enclosures that resonate too much will cause distortion. The pads that rest on your ears, if they're too thick, will muffle the sound or can make it sound too bright if they're too thin.
I look at headphones nearly every time I'm in a store that sells a decent variety of them (Yes, I know that's really sad but as I said, I've become obsessed and I'm determined). It seems that headphones for portables always tend to have one thing in common - They're made to be as small as possible. While this is great for ensuring their portability, I think there's a point beyond which you trade off too much sound quality for increased convenience and portability. The earbuds that come with many MP3 players are a perfect example of this. Some folks say that earbuds can sound great. I've personally never heard a great sounding set of earbuds. I think they'd either have to be EQd or modified into sounding great or they'd cost much more than the average consumer is willing to pay for portable headphones. There doesn't seem to be an end to the methods manufacturers are willing to try in order to make their headphones better suited to folks who want maximum portability. I've seen some really strange looking designs that don't look very comfortable.
To make a long story a little shorter, I was recently doing a little research in a forum for headphone enthusiasts and in my searches for decent sounding, affordable headphones, I noticed many people recommended the Koss KSC 50, noting that they had the same drivers as the famed Koss PortaPro. Later that evening, I went out and bought a set for $14.95.
First Impressions- If you saw the Epinions picture for these headphones, that's exactly what they look like. They don't have a headband of any kind. I was initially pretty apprehensive about this and after using them for about a week, it seems this was well founded. The KSC 50s kind of "clip" onto your ears. If you've seen the clip ons from Sony, these are nearly identical. There's a band that wraps around the backs of your ears, much the way the arms of eyeglasses do. Many people supposedly find these things comfortable but personally, I'm not fond of the fit and I can't seem to get it just right. No matter what I do, they just seem to kind of hang there. I found it virtually impossible to get the foam pads to fully rest against my ears. The clips don't exactly hurt but they're also not very comfortable. They're much less comfortable, in my opinion, than headphones with a band. Obviously, if you can't get them to seat on your ears properly, you're not going to get the best sound the transducers can deliver.
The Sound- Normally (If I didn't have any issues with comfort or functionality), this would be my main criteria for evaluating a set of headphones. Honestly, within reason, I don't care what they look like as long as they sound good. The sound these 'phones produce is very good for the price - virtually unbeatable. They are very efficient and are easily driven by my Sony portable (although the bass is somewhat lacking without using the bass boost, which colors or overshadows the mids and highs as well). The bass that's there is pretty accurate. The mids are clear, detailed and accurate. The highs aren't harsh and they're also nicely detailed.
I spent many hours listening to these. I was very pleased with the audio but through it all, I was endlessly frustrated with the lack of a good fit and felt that they would sound even better if I could get them to sit right on my ears. I couldn't stop adjusting them and trying to get them to fit better long enough to enjoy the music. If you adjust the clips for the best comfort, they just kind of hang there on your ears and move around a lot when you walk or move your head in any direction. If you adjust the clips so that the fit is tighter and feels more secure, they begin to pinch your ears and become quite uncomfortable after a while. Also, I have relatively big ears so they don't compltely cover my ears (Which is something I really don't like).
Conclusion- If these things had a decent headband, they'd probably be the best headphones you could buy for under $30. It's too bad that Koss chose to go for the earclip design with the excellent transducers and enclosures. Now that I've heard the drivers, I'm very tempted to order the Porta Pros. Although these headphones sound great for the money, I can't recommend them to people who want comfort and great sound. If it's important for you (For some unearthly reason) to have a set of headphones without a headband, these just might be for you. Sony makes similar models but due to my past, very negative experience with every set of Sony headphones and earbuds I've owned, I'd personally stick with Koss.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
Ahab1973
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 - Top 500 |
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Member: Brian
Location: USA
Reviews written: 132
Trusted by: 65 members
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