Koss KPH40 Utility On-Ear Headphones

These won my budget headphone shoot-out! I highly recommend you buy them. A very detailed review is below. I recommend yaxi pads for these, but its not really necessary. They are quite comfy on their own. I also modded it with a silicone comfort band from my KPH30i's. These are now my favorite sounding and feeling headphones. Good job Koss! --- MY HUNT FOR THE BEST BUDGET HEAPHONES: (I use my headphones for 80's Rock, 90's Alternative, Oldies, Classical, and plenty of TV and Movies) - SHORT VERSION...BUY THE KOSS KPH40'S AND SOME YAXI PADS! LONG VERSION... FIRST I HAD THE PX-100-i's for like 10 years. Loved them, but the connector broke a few years back. THEN I got the PX-100-ii's. I didn't like it as much as the first iteration. Way too much Bass! And the bass bled like crazy. They sounded super muddy. But everything else sounded like my old px-100's. Then a few months ago, THOSE broke at the connector (I'm nice to my headphones, they get plugged into my computer and stay there, there's really no reason for those connectors to go faulty, just bad manufacturing). Then I found out that Sennheiser was no longer making ANY PX-100's anymore, so I had some research to do... NEXT WERE THE KOSS PORTAPROS https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00001P4ZH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 - The sound is 'soft' for the mids and uppers, and a slightly boomy bass. Very easy-listening. The bass was a little too boomy for my taste, but it wasn't bad. The high's weren't sibilant, which I loved. I missed some clarity from my px-100's, but it was worth it. What I didn't like about it was that the bass bled into the mids, which made some things sound weird. Still, I liked them better than my original sennheiser PX-100-i's which is saying something. The PX-100-i's have highs that are harsh on my ears, too much sibilance. The Bass on the PX-100-i's can be a little to boomy also, but no bleeding. It had an accurate, clear sound I loved. But overall I considered the Portapro's a nice upgrade. For those of you who have trouble with it pulling your hair, my remedy was to wrap painters tape (blue to match the highlights on the headphones) around the middle section of the headband. It also keeps the headband the perfect length so I didn't have to constantly adjust it every time I took it off. This DOES make it less portable for pocket carry, but I never used that anyway. The temple pads were giving me migraines so I ripped them off. Then I replaced the foam earpads with the YAXI ones. Now they feel great! KOSS KPH30i https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075FBRYM1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 - I didn't like the bleeding bass of the Portapro's, so I kept hunting. I tried the Koss KPH30i's next. VERY nice. I consider them better than the Portapro's. Slightly more clarity in the highs and the bass didn't bleed. The high's were only a little more powerful than the Portapro's, pretty much had the same 'soft' sound quality I liked in the Portapro's. The bass was a little underwhelming. I could tell where the bass was meant to be, which was nice, but it wasn't boomy at all. Like HEARING the bass, but not FEELING it. At first I really appreciated that, especially for classical, but after a few days I kind of missed the bass punch of the Portapro's. The biggest problem with the KPH30i's were they were uncomfortable! The earpads are huge and they press on my ears hard. Its not just the compression strength causing it, its the flat earcups that press against the entire ear. I could only wear it for 10 min before taking them off. So I tried the Grado Ear Pad mod, put it around the earcups and it was MUCH better. Warning, do NOT remove the original foam of the headphones. They tear and you cant get them back on. I made that mistake and now my KPH30i's high's hurt my ears because there is nothing between my ear and the driver. I wished I would have kept the original foam on, and THEN put the Grado pads over them. Instead I had to use the paper towel mod and now the high's don't hurt my ears. The hole in the pad still make a tunnel effect and I feel like that creates a pressure chamber that hurts my ears over time. I DO love the silicone resting band on this set. With that and the Grado pads, these became a lot more comfy, but I still would have to take them off after a couple hours, from my ears over-heating and the firm pressure on the ears. That combined with the lack of bass punch, I decided to keep looking. KOSS KPH40 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09KZC94X1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 - I had heard that the KPH40 was the sound 'sweet spot' between Portapro's and KPH30i's, and they were right! These are currently my favorite headphones, even more than my less-than-budget-friendly Sennheiser HD599's (see below). The KPH40's are my Goldilocks Headphones. The KPH40's sound profile are a LITTLE more V-shape than the Portapro's and the KPH30i's. A little more bass than the KPH30i's and a little more high's than the Portapro's. Perfect. The bass is just right, and very accurate. The mids are there, but not overpowering. The high's are clear but still have that 'soft', 'easy-listening' sound I enjoy from the Koss drivers. Honestly I don't think a lot of people will hear a difference between the 3 Koss headphones I tried, its very subtle. They all have the same basic sound. But the differences were enough for me to recommend the KPH40's over the others. The koss headphones I tried aren't as clear and accurate as my HD599's but I enjoy listening to music on them more. It's just more laid back while still being clear and accurate enough. It has a pleasant 'cloudiness' to the whole sound image. I think some people call this 'veiled'. That's a good description. It's just not as harsh on the ears, I could listen to them all day without pain or fatigue. I put the YAXI pads I bought for my Portapro's on them and they fit fine. Super comfy. It didn't really need it because Koss learned from the KPH30i's mistake and made these earcups small. They sit right on the ear where it needs to and it doesnt hurt. The headband is also metal instead of plastic, so you can adjust it to exactly the clamping force and shape that you want. At first, I found the metal headband too skinny, it felt like it was cutting into my scalp. It wasn't, It just felt that way. So I actually took the silicone band I loved from the KPH30i's and taped it to the inside of the metal head band. LOL, I'm not fancy. I bet you could tape some rolled up paper towel to the inside and get a similarly comfy effect. This mimics the all day comfort I always got from my PX-100's. I think any future iteration's should still keep the metal band, but maybe include the silicone comfort band from the KPH30i's, don't touch the drivers or earcups, they are great. I LOVE the ribbon style cable that doesn't tangle. I don't really need the "utility series" connector, especially when the utlity cables cost $45, so if removing that makes these headphones $30 instead of $40, please do so and make these headphones an even more ridiculous bargain! SENNHEISER HD599 https://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-599-Open-Headphone/dp/B01L1IICR2?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1 - At $150, I almost didn't want to mention these as budget headphones, but for those looking to become Audiophiles, I think they are the cheapest Audiophile-quality option. Some recommend the Grado SR60's or SR80's, but I don't. They have zero bass, ear canal piercing highs, and are VERY uncomfortable to wear. The earcups are flat, high compression, and unyielding. I couldn't wear them for more than 3 minutes. The sound profile of those Grado's might be good for monitoring high's and mids, but not bass, so what's the point of them? Vocals and violins only? No thanks. The HD599's, on the other hand, have a very neutral profile with a SLIGHTLY elevated bass, perfect for monitoring, IMO. The bass is present, a little punchy, but not muddy or boomy at all. While the headphones were comfy on my ears, I found that it created weird air pressure differences in my ear canal. This became very fatiguing after an hour, even at the lowest possible volume to hear the music. Probably because of the bigger, more powerful drivers. I think they started to damage my ears. After a few weeks I couldnt wear them for more than 10 minutes without my ears hurting again. The only time any budget Koss driver did that was when I had the tunnel effect going on with the Grado Cushion Mod, and even then it was at a much lesser degree. --- A NOTE ON AUDIOPHILIA... - But mostly I just recommend people don't become Audiophiles. It sucks. What a music-lover like me didn't understand was that Audiophiles don't listen to music, they monitor it. They don't absorb the entire composition, they nit-pick specific parts of it. This robs the listener of any enjoyment of the music. It kind of bother's me that they have stolen the title of "Audiophile". I think that belongs to music-lovers and music-makers. What we call "Audiophilia" should actually be called "Audiomonitoring". Calling it Audiophilia compels music-lovers like me to spend massive amounts of money on "better" headphones and audio setups to rob of us of any listening enjoyment we previously had with our $40 budget headphones, and rob our wallet while they are at it. I don't mean to insult or begrudge Audiophiles for a hobby they enjoy, I just don't like it when they are propped up as experts of the best sounding equipment. They aren't. They are experts for the best MONITORING equipment for sound engineers. If you enjoy music, I recommend you get a "consumer" headphone. I recommend you get the Koss KPH40. I like my KPH40's the best for listening to Music, TV, and Movies. Even over my Sennheiser HD599's. Its true that the HD599's have better clarity, but I enjoy music more with my KPH40's because I'm not hearing harshness or noises that the sound engineers never meant people to hear. Sometimes I felt like I was hearing TOO MUCH accuracy on the HD599's, like things the orchestra didn't want us to hear. I couldn't ENJOY my music because I was MONITORING it too much. I heard too much noise, not enough music. And I didn't have a CHOICE to enjoy the music, I HAD to monitor it. Audiophiles are nit-picky sound analysts, so take their hard-earned advice with that in mind. OK, A short message on Amp/DAC's. Don't bother. I have a Dragonfly Cobalt Amp/DAC. It costs $330. While it DOES make all my headphones sound better, it's practically negligable. MAYBE a 3-5% improvement in sound. Not really worth spending any kind of money on. The DAC on my computer is fine, same with my iphone. Especially with the Koss budget headphones. It's recommended that you have an amp for heaphones that have an impedance of 50 ohms or higher. If its higher than 50 ohms you might want an amp just so the drivers are poperly driven, or it will sound real quiet. But test it first at full volume, you might not need it. If you do, there are Amp/DAC's in the $60 range that should do just fine. You definately don't need it with the KPH40's. So unless you can get it for free like I did (VERY nice friend), then I wouldn't bother with it. What about special cables? Not needed with the KPH40's alone. I had trouble with distortion running headphones from my amp using a cheap amazon 3.5mm extension cable, so I just got a USB extension cable instead and ran the headphones driectly from the amp. Problem solved. If your still having problems with distortion, there's guides online on how to make quality cables on the cheap. But you shouldn't need them. Please don't spend more than $20, the cost-to-sound improvement ratio is the worst here. OK, rant against the heaphone consumer industry over...and thank heaven for Koss! --- THE BOTTOM LINE - So for normal people (99.9% of the population), I recommend you forget the expensive monitor stuff and get the KPH-40's for the $40. :D Other than the modifications I mentioned, you can also use the Kramer Mod to further fine tune the sound profile, but I don't think it's necessary with the KPH40's. Guides for the Kramer Mod can be found online. LINKS TO STUFF I MENTIONED - Here's the YAXI pads I used on the Portapro's and the KPH40's https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MQVHX84/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1 Here's the Grado Pads I used on the KPH30i's https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TGCDHL2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Here's some painters tape for the Portapro's. It doesn't leave residue if you change your mind later, and it matches the blue in the headphones nicely! :D https://www.amazon.com/Duck-Painters-1-5-Inch-1-41-Inch-240194/dp/B0025KUSW8?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1 A cheaper $7 3.5mm-to-lightning adapter so you don't have to buy the $45 one from Koss, (COUGH!) https://www.amazon.com/Apple-Lightning-Headphone-Jack-Adapter/dp/B01LXJFMGF?ref_=ast_sto_dp A popular budget Amp/DAC you don't need. https://www.amazon.com/Fosi-Audio-Headphone-Digital-Analog/dp/B07VDQQY95?ref_=ast_sto_dp If you made it to the end, thanks for listening, and enjoy those heaphones! **UPDATE 8/9/2023 I have to add a note here. Since this review I have noticed that the Koss KPH40 headphones do tend to "bloom" in the upper-mid Bass range. What does that mean? There is a mildly loud reverberation when the Bass hits a certain frequency, and ONLY that frequency. As the sound gets lower the bloom goes away. For this reason I have gone back to my repaired Sennheiser PX-100 (originals) as my main headphone. But I still love these headphones!