Koss KSC75 Clip-On Stereo Headphones for iPod, iPhone, MP3 and Smartphone - Black / Silver

These are perfect for running, gym and general iPod usage. Summary- Very Confortable, excellent sound quality, they stay on, well made - quality item (total usage >100 hours). I've tried multiple headsets over the years and if these broke today I would buy another set without hesitation. After owning my first set for a month I got a second set for my wife and she also agrees that they are better than anything else that she has used. I have put off putting a review until we had given them a good workout- I hate people giving fantastic reviews for something that they've only just bought. I got these three months ago and I jog every morning for 40 minutes (on the streets) and I use them in the gym 3 days a week on the weights, treadmill and rower. My wife uses hers constantly as well with no complaints. Not used them in summer as I have only had them during the winter months, but have no problems in the gym (warmish) due to sweat. I think that replacement foam covers are available. Sound is excellent - nice deep bass. I'm not an audiophile, so don't sue me if there not of an audiophile quality headphones. For the money (£13)they are EXCELLENT value for money. The sound is so far superior to the Ipod head sets. They are light and fit both myself and my wife's ears well. They have never fallen off. Headset previously owned: 1. Sennheiser PMX 80 Sport II - Uncomfortable - hurt my ears. Poor quality - no sound from the right ear - broke after only a few uses. Sound quality before it failed was good, but I think the Koss are better (check my review for the PMX80). My recollection of the sound may be tainted by how uncomfortable they were. My wife used them once, and would not use them again due to the discomfort level. 2. Philips Nike SH-J 045 NIKE Airpad - Comfort - far better than iPod, but nowhere as good as the Koss. Problem with them is that they are a little flimsy and I broke them (sat on them). When you ran into a strong wind, you would hear the wind thru them (turbulence across head band and in the headphones) 3. iPod Headsets - Tinny sound that never stay in your ears. I would have to constantly push the old iPod headsets into my ears as the sound would get weaker and weaker until they would fall out. Also I found them not very comfortable after 30 minutes use.

The KSC75 "clip on" `phones represent a very good option for folk who actually listen(!) to their music (rather than simply require a generally pleasant musical background whilst performing day-to-day tasks) and who find variations of "earbuds" irritating or ineffective... The physical aspect that makes these (pleasantly light) `phones unusual is that these `phones "clip" on to the ears, and are effectively worn like a pair of spectacles... Although initially awkward to put on comfortably, once the (rather straightforward!) knack has been established from practical experimentation no such problems remain, and they can then be comfortably worn for several hours... These `phones do not(!) notably isolate sound, either from outside or prevent folk in your immediate vicinity being potentially aware that you are listening to music, when music is played at fairly loud volume... Though some may regard this as a disadvantage, I regard the ability to still be aware of sounds in my environment (traffic, etc.) as a definite positive factor that has welcome safety considerations when out and about (cycling, walking the dog, etc)... For those who are focused on obtaining the highest practicable quality of sound from their portable `phones and player, this is where the KSC75 `phones excel... Traditionally, the models most recommended for such use are the Sennheiser PX100 and the KSC75's cousin, The Koss Portapro (both of which I also own)... Whilst both of those `phones do indeed produce good quality of sound, the PX100 sounds a touch "pleasant, but a tad opaque", and the Koss Portapro's ease at producing accurate low frequency sounds delivers sounds of an engaging, if a tad "dark", character... With a competence that is remarkable bearing in mind the very modest cost of these `phones, the KSC75s deliver music in a surprisingly detailed but balanced manner, making choices as varied as the "live" concert version of "Hotel California" and the Janssons performance of the Tchaikovsky 4th Symphony engaging and involving musical "events"... With the above in mind I have no hesitation in recommending these `phones... The only provisos I would add is that the KSC75 `phones are certainly good enough to indicate limitations of source material, either from music transferred at low MP3 bit-rates or the rather modest quality delivered at the headphone jack from some digital players, and that these `phones require a lot(!) of playing at sensible volumes to fully "flesh out" and deliver their ultimate smoothness... 1) Having effectively "run in" a pair of these KSC75 `phones, I was sufficiently impressed to purchase another pair, "just in case"... :o) 2) The two "dog walking" acquaintances who had the opportunity to listen to music from these `phones made immediate arrangements to purchase their own... :o) At such modest cost there is surely not much of a gamble involved in the purchase of these KSC75 `phones, so just go ahead and do it!... :o)

These Koss KSC75s are promoted for use with mp3 players and similar. They have a much better sound than almost any ear bud or Walkman style headphone but they similarly offer zero isolation so the same drawbacks apply. If you use them anywhere noisy you will inevitably keep raising the volume to the point that your hearing can be damaged. If you use them even at moderate levels on public transport you will really annoy people. It's hard to think of a worse type of headphone for travel. Expect to generate ill feeling. Another drawback is that to perform at their best these Koss need more power than is output by your phone or a typical mp3 player. Used with a domestic portable like a good Radio/CD combo they sound like a real headphone, and not a bad one either. Used with a small, modern personal device they do not sound as good. I've been using them with SanDisk Sansa Clip+ 8GB MP3 Player with Radio and Expandable MicroSD/SDHC Slot - Black , an iRiver H340, my Asus EeePC notebook, my PC with External Sound Card USB 6 Channel 5.1 Audio , my Sony CD/MD/Radio and also with a Yamaha Home Theatre receiver. Only the Sony and Yamaha have the power to make them sound their best. Comfort and appearance: I find these perfectly comfortable. I wear glasses with very thin frames and both can sit on my ears easily. The clips on the Koss KSC75 are wire enclosed in plastic. There is just enough flexibility that you can carefully bend them to a good fit and they stay in shape. They weigh next to nothing, there is no pressure or abrasion and you can forget they are there even if worn for several hours. They will fit nicely under a hood, scarf or beanie hat. The appearance is quite odd. The prominent exposed part of the wire clips and the cheap silver plastic don't make for a good look. Sound Quality: The sound is very well balanced; nothing is exaggerated and nothing annoys. There is very good midrange and higher notes and great clarity without being harsh at all. There isn't that dull booming sound masquerading as bass that you get with many modern headphones. When used with a low power device there is good bass response but it lacks the very deep bass so doesn't quite sound weighty and natural. If you try to add some bass with an equalizer this can lead to distortion. Plugged into relatively powerful stuff like domestic Hi-Fi, mini system or portable there is now real bass (without distortion) and voices and instruments sound wonderfully natural and vivid. This is a truly attractive sound. These Koss earphones benefit enormously from good quality source and amplification. They are much better with domestic hi-fi or portables than with personal players and I would recommend them very strongly for this. These are genuinely good headphones. For a tenner! I couldn't recommend these for typical portable (urban/work) use, or for travel, as you risk irritating anyone nearby. They might be useful for joggers or skateboarders or anyone needing to remain very aware of their environment. For domestic use these are a very good fit, especially if you need to be aware of others in the house, the phone, the doorbell and so on. If so then they are a huge bargain. Some people love these Koss earphones but prefer to use them like normal headphones i.e. attached to a headband instead of earclips. This is really easy to do: get a pair of Altai WA 87060 Headphones (they only cost pennies) and unclip the earphones. The Koss 'phones clip right out of the clip-ons and straight into this headband so now you have the same excellent sound but with conventional form and appearance.

I wanted headphones that did not go around the top of my head because they would make my hair fold down. I wear headphones for multiple hours per day therefore my hair always looks very silly from the side. I looked for overear earbuds for a while and Amazon only offered me poor quality sets. Then I remembered DarkViperAU wore these and really liked them. And I have to say, for 25 pounds they are definitely worth the money. They sit very well on my ears and I can barely feel them; there is no discomfort. The sound quality is really good and not a downgrade from the very good Sony headphones I wore before. They are also very light, and I actually like that they have a wire instead of being bluetooth because it means I don't have to charge them. I would very happily recommend these to anyone looking to get rid of folded down hair from wearing headphones too much. Could not be happier.

Awesome sound, I use them for gaming, listening to music, anything at the computer, they excel in all areas even competitive Counter Strike. I use them with a USB Sabrent Headphone/ mic DAC amp combination and EQ them with Equalizer APO, they can handle a lot of added decibels in the lower frequency range where they are particularly bare on meat, whilst retaining their great balanced high's and crisp sound. Although it states 15hz as the frequency lower range, these struggle to reproduce 35hz and below likely due to the open design, but an EQ with added oomph down on the lows will not hinder performance as long as you use a headphone amp with them, standard connections will distort the entire sound. With the same profile as seen in my images with the EQ, the Linsoul 7Hz x Crinacle Zero:2 in Ear Monitor's are FAR stronger in the lower range but they lose balance and sound harsh. If you want great sound across the majority of the range, these are exceptional for the price. I am very happy.

Headpone build quality feels cheap, they feel like they're going to fall off, they do not block out sound, they actually bleed sound and they have no bass. Now with the negatives out the way, these are open back, lightweight, don't actually fall off (just feel like it), and if they do just bend the clips to fit better, have GREAT soundstage, great audio quality, despite the lacking bass, the bass there feels detailed, and the fact that they dont block out sound means you are aware of your surroundings, most of all its cheap. Theese headphones are so good I hate them. I bought a pair one - two years ago, used them EVERYWHERE. I snagged em so many times on things, wore them in the rain, dropped them cycling in the rain. And then the wire broke. I fixed it twice but then tried to mod a connector onto them and burnt out the voice coil. NOTHING, NOTHING CAN REPLACE THESE. These headphones, in this form factor, with this sound profiles are the only ones in existance. Even if you go up in the price bracket, open back clip on headphones frankly don't exist except these. Every time these break, I will either attempt a repair/buy another, because there's nothing like this. NOTHING. Also to add insult to injury, amazon is inconsistant selling these, one momment its 26 with 7 pounds shiping, some other days its 24 including shipping? kill me.

This budget purchase turned out to be a killer decision. Bought the KSC75 a year ago without giving much thought or having high hopes about them. I was in uni accommodation w/o any source of music apart from a notebook, a phone and HTC ear buds(good for calls but not much else) and having 32k+ songs collection with a limited income, KSC75 popped in my head. Having read numerous glowing reviews of them on head-fi (if you want a thorough sound review of these headphones go there) and no money to spare I said "why not". Now, using them for a whole year I can't be happier so I must say a few things: - the sound is superb, can't find higher quality for the money, they can handle high volume well and there's a good amount of bass and clarity(that's what most non-audiophiles look in headphones); - they are open - not for the library, quiet workplace or airplane BUT perfect for when you want to hear the world around you - training outside, in a cafe, you can even talk with someone and have music playing at the same time; - they ARE durable - kind of delicate looking at first, but I abuse them a lot and I've slept with them for a year and they are as new. About a month ago I thought I had finally broken them daisy-chaining a few amps( ^^ ) but it turned out to be a hair stuck in the driver; - they ARE extremely comfortable - again first impression was totally opposite but you gotta remember you can and should play around with the ear clips, of course applying common sense - everything can break. I have smallish ears, long hair (waist long) and I can sleep with them and forget I wear them when doing sprint. Now that I've got several headphones costing several times more I still use these and I tend to forget they are on so all in all you can't go wrong with these as long as you remember what they are - extremely budget friendly, open and clip-on.

Having read many reviews of these headphones I thought I'd try them out as they could easily be returned if they proved poor and if they failed later it wouldn't be the end of the world at this price. No hype, sound reproduction surprisingly satisfactory, in fact pretty good at all volumes without distortion and very even reproduction through all frequencies. Used with multiple sources from phones, tablets, DAPs and DAC amps. It's no surprise that they have been in production since the 1980's, the drivers are excellently optimised. The ear clips, rather than the more usual headband are OK if you are happy/able to use them. They are flexible enough to be formed to your needs to establish satisfactory ear positioning and silicon rubber sleeved for comfort. These earphones weigh virtually nothing and are comfortable enough to wear for extended periods if you have the earclips adjusted appropriately. The drivers are open backed so there is virtually no sound isolation, easy to hear external sounds, conversations etc even at moderately loud volumes, sound bleed is quite evident at moderate volume levels and very obvious at higher volume levels. So these are not the best for crowded offic, social settings or group travel unless, used at moderately low volumes (they're fine for me at "moderate" volumes). I've compared them with various full size headphones and many items (from Sennheiser, Sony to KZs) and found them not to be wanting in volume or sound quality. They are not what you could call highly "robust" with very light gauge fixed leads, so if you're clumsy, heavy handed or careless with them they'll not last long, as usual YMMV but at this price tier not a disaster. Carried out usual mods, added cheap adjustable headband and alternate foam ear pads, there are more radical mods, but I'm happy as they are. In conclusion if you want cheap and cheerful, simple design, lightweight with very good sound reproduction these are a no brainer.