With Koss headphones, all it takes is one look—and one listen—and you know exactly what you’re getting. In the case of the Drop + Koss KPH40X Utility Headphones, you’re getting exceptional audio quality, uncompromising connectivity, and surplus style Read More
We are pleased to introduce our latest collaboration with legacy brand Koss. They have been a long time favorite of the community for their many affordable yet great sounding headphones. The KPH40X collaboration was a focus on tweaking the cosmetics of the headphone. We went with an all black steel frame which highlights the sleek silhouette of the KPH40 then for fun we decided to add colored pads to make it pop. A pair of red and blue pads allow for easy mix n match customization. Our favorite combo is the red on right and blue on left. And for those that prefer the goth look we have the traditional black pads too.
$29 is a steal for these, they had no right sounding as good as they do for the $45 I paid when they came out. Seriously, these sound legendarily great, with deep, thumping midbass, real, impactful sub bass (insane for an on ear that's completely open). Textured mids that aren't too recessed or muddy with the midbass, and pretty warm, laid back treble with perfectly adequate detail for a relaxed sound that doesn't tire, offend, or bore. A very pleasantly, well rounded "do it all" sound, not as dark as the Porta pro's and a definite upgrade to the kph30's. The real party piece is how good they are even outside. They have just the right signature to sound great while walking in the city, not becoming thin and miserable like my favorite grados.
The original pads were the only true let down. I hope the drop ones are softer, because the stock pads let the whole vibe down, scratchy and unpleasant. However, yaxi pads for the Porta pro's fit perfectly, a hair larger, buttery soft, and in any colors you like - no disassembly required like thr 30's, just peel off the old ones and pull the new ones over the little prongs. I went with orange for the vintage Walkman vibe.
After a year of use, I can say that they've survived some rough handling, but I wouldn't recommend it. The cups can become dislodged from the socket and they are just plastic, and the plastic socket can become dislodged from the headband. It's happened a few times but nothing has broken, but I don't just stuff them into my backpack anymore.
Beyond that, I would only make two recommendations - a way to fold them up or make them sturdier to toss in a bag, offer them in a big variety of colors for the pads and improve the comfort of the material, and ditch the cable design and switch it to an mmcx, 2 pin, or 2.5mm at the drivers. The cable is fine, but some more options to easily customize the cable and pads for the lay person would be hugely fun. As it is, for the price, these are just wishful, and I can't say anything about them is a dealbreaker.
They sound damn near as good as my meze 99's.
these are too fragile... I bought two of these but the headband on both are broken rendering those headphones useless....there is no way to find replacement or spare parts.
MalineeThere are chinesium replacement headbands available online for <$10 shipped. Koss does have a limited lifetime warranty if you send them in too.
Why are these being offered with the standard cable and not a choice of cable or bundle offer?
Seeing as how ordering from Koss gets you the additional cables at a discount if you bundle them, and anyone ordering these most likely has a pair of yaxi's lying around... I just don't see the reason or value here.
$80us/$100cdn gets you the cans and all 3 cables. Where as here, it's $40 for the cans and then another $45us/$60cdn for just 1 additional cable....
Why didn't you guys make it so we can add the lightning or usbc cable for an extra 20? If you want to buy the cable separately it is like 40 bucks. Makes way more sense to buy the combo of headphones and usbc cable for 60 elsewhere..
best 3.5 to 2.5 mm with inline mic for these? anyone go down this road, i like to charge while i listen and possibly take calls. so dum the mic isn't above the y
cardochavthe 4 pin is setup for nonstandard balanced trrs. from the tip it goes left + → Right + → Left - → right -. the other problem is the connector is a recessed and ovalized to prevent twisting. you'll need a custom cable and and to shave the headphone jack. I wasn't able to figure out a way to test the usb cable without destroying on so I can't say if the they're balanced.
Would these be good for the gym? I like wearing bluetooth headphones, but there's so much interference from other people's when it's busy that it's not worth it. I'm looking for something lightweight that will stay on my noggin while I'm running/lifting.
DrewskRunning with em works fine for me switch between these and a Koss Pro for my running.
Does not get warm when running and stays put, during winter sounds fine trough a thin beanie to thick and you lose the bass.
DrewskStick to IEMS for the gym imo. These have zero clamp so they will fall off real easy. Really comfortable for when you are sitting or moving around slowly at home. They don't have any isolation either so the gym ambient noise is going to be terrible.
I listen to music at pretty loud volumes (i know i know), at louder volumes can people hear your music coming out from the headphones? I take public transit a lot and don't want to be that guy
I think some of us are private. I take public transit and travel a lot. It's not that I'm shy about what I'm listening to but I like the privacy. People are savy enough to know if the things are running or not. Having IEMs is a clear "can't hear you" on the subway and that has both ups and downs. You get left alone, but you're also a target. Some people also work on confidential items. I am not allowed to leak sound for meetings, I can't have alexa/smart devices connected if I'm working from home.
There's a myriad of reasons sound leakage is just bad. Just as visual leakage. Privacy screens are there for a reason.
frontsidebusI always thought I listened to music pretty loudly and when I take them off in a completely silent room, you definitely hear noise but it's not discernable at all from a few feet away.
And these are unmistakable as far as "don't bother me"