Hey, welcome to HiFi Guides!
Which amps are you getting particularly good synergy with? I fully agree that these take on the flavor of their signal chain, maybe more so than previous koss drivers.
That has been my experience as well.
I’d like to know too! I really want to love the KPH40 more than the KPH30i and the KSC75, but for me the KPH40 sounded worse on my setup than the other Koss offerings.
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Has anybody for a recommendation for pads that accomplish the same comfort effect of the Grados on the KPH30i?
I avoided this thread for a bit as to not taint my opinion when I saw new koss hype It was instant buy for me. looked like a 30i and I broke my 30i so I needed a replacement
Here is my quick review of the kph 40 utility. Been listening to these for a few days. My main test tracks. Cover my favorite genres which tend to be hip hop, indie rock, alternative rock, hip hop, and R and B with a splash of indie J rock. I am also a owner of the kph 30i, KSC 75, and porta pro ksc 75 being my favorite of the classic 3 koss headphones.
Test Rig: PC (Musicbeee) Schiit Bifrost 2 Schiit asgard 3
To: start with are my initial first impressions.
Overall smooth sound signature. Pretty forgiving,. Definitely not the same as any of the other 3 sound signature wise. I really want to see someone measure this as I cant seem to nail down the sound signature quite yet and I think measurements might help me out decode what Im hearing.
Build quality: solid, light , much more durable than the 30i for sure, looks like it can handle a bit of abuse. I hate flat cables but still the best koss cable,
Bass: Bass so far is the most disappointing, I was kind of hoping for a kph 30i replacement as I hate the build of the 3oi being so fragile. The 3oi to me has the best bass response of the 3 tight and pronounced with authority. The kph 40 I am finding it to be tight fairly neutral present with some detail buut lack impact and any authority. Drums tend to sound pretty average and probably has the most middling performance bass wise compared to the other koss headphones
Mids: one of the strong points of this headphone. Male vocals have some nice detail and presence. Guitars sound great, female vocals are good but a bit meh for the most part, trumpets sound great and most brass sound very good. Pianos sound pretty great.
Treble: this is the hardest part for me to pin point. It’s smooth but I can detect a few peaks not enough to bother me but I detect a slight bit of sibilance and a bit of shout at certain spots. Overall treble resolution is decent cymbals sound great. Not a lot to really complain about here. Treble I find is comparable to the ksc 75 but I prefer how the KSC 75 dopes treble over this.
Technicalities: this has by far the weakest soundstage of all the big ones , much more narrow nearing on earbud staging which to me is a bit disappointing, imaging is just ok. Separation at times is actually bad though. Especially with with busy or badly produced music. You may argue it’s the music’s fault but these are track the ksc 75 , and 30i don’t have much trouble with the porta pro has issues with busier tracks though. I’m going to try and find some pads and attempt to fix the soundstage on this thing and maybe that will improve the separation issues.
Conclusion: All in all not a bad headphone Its just not for me. Who I think would really appreciate this is for people who listen to soft rock, Country music , American style folk music, and older indie rock form the 90’s to early 2000’s as I really enjoyed my favorite album, In An Aeroplane over the sea, by neutral milk hotel on this headphone. If you are into more modern Genres stick with the KPH 30i, and porta pro, if you like your neutrality and are into a slightly warm slightly bright. and like your soundstage while saving money stick to the ksc 75. Is it worth the Hype? IMO not really, the build is nice but Im probably gonna pop the headphones on and stick some ksc 75’s on the headband and call it a day.
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I think by now we can all agree the only hot thing about the Utility line is that sexy KPH40 headband which desperately screams for a pair of mmcx KSC75 drivers on it. 
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No… the cable system is pretty sweet as well. To bad it doesn’t work on the KSC75.
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the new porta pro version looks hot though.
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Yeap, I stand corrected, cable is sweet too and Koss sucks for not upgrading the KSC75 as well (for now)!
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the new proto pro U also has the new housing and a slightly different pad i believe by the way.
I received my KPH40 with lightning cable DAC as a Christmas gift and have been using it non-stop both mobile and at my desk. The DAC is outstanding quality and has plenty of headroom for the KPH40. And these cans scale just as previous generations did - pair it with a nicer amp, get a better experience.
It feels weird to put down my DT880 600 ohm for this long, but the KPH40 have done exceptionally well paired with my vintage Kenwood KR-3010, usually reserved for my high resistance Beyers due to it’s excellent headphone output. These scale so well with this amp! And they are a very well rounded, detailed, and balanced sounding headphone. Comfortable to wear for hours on end.
Stock pads are great imo, more comfy than KPH30i and no need to swap.
I don’t understand how Koss continues to 1up perfection, but they did it again.
BTW (click me)
To those saying KSC75 are at the top of your list, how? I notice when I start getting anywhere near a comfy listening volume, there are certain tones that don’t come through too well, regardless of what is driving them. It’s almost like a distorted chirping. I notice it prominently with rock and metal, something in the guitar tones, and I completely forget about ‘going loud’ because of that. And they don’t seem that detailed to me, complex passages are completely muddled sometimes. I can’t recommend KSC75 or see how anyone else does.
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Received the KPH40 for christmas with stock cable.
Context - Coming from KPH30i with DIY replacement headband and yaxi pads as my daily driver, previously had KSC75 but was always too uncomfortable on my ears. My ears are weird and huge and I’m sensitive to on-ears as my tragus is fully perpendicular to my head. KPH30i with stock pads was personally one of the least comfortable headphones I had ever worn, and with yaxi pads I am able to wear them for a couple of hours before getting discomfort.
To me, KPH40 are an upgrade from the 30is w/ yaxis in almost every department. The pads are softer and the swivel of the cups alleviates all comfort concerns - I can really wear all day without issues. The response seems smoother than the 30is, and the bass seems better controlled. Imaging also seems to be a step up, at the slight loss of soundstage width.
The KPH40s sound great out of the USB-C/Lighting Apple dongles, Fiio BTR3k, iPod Video 5th Gen, and my Avid audio interface, but don’t have anything hi-fi enough to test scaling. For desktop use I use Auto EQ with the KPH30i preset.
The KPH40 along with Moondrop Arias and an Apple dongle are an unbeatable way to start in the hobby and cover most use cases IMO.
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Wtf? I just ordered a kph30i off of drop and only found out these are even better!
It’s a shame that they’re out of stock everywhere.
Has anyone found out if the KPH40 can be used with balanced cables?
Back in stock on Amazon.
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Got two pairs in today. These things are so tiny! Glad to have something that’s more durable than the plastic on the kph30i’s, have had two of them snap in the last year. Anyways sound is warm fun as usual, currently listening on the ultra mod and i just love these things. Have two pairs of Yaxi pads on the way as well.
Edit: ok there is some nasty harshness on vocals. I had to double check with my modded kp30i pair on Risingson By massive Attack cuz as soon as those vocals started I winced. Let’s hope break-in massages this out
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Unfortunately new pads did not fix the muddiness and shrill vocals. But they do look damn good. Bit of a mixed bag. What I really needs is kph30i earcups and drivers with this metal headband. Time to mod
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Okay, I’m getting these on my next payday.
GUYS, It took me way way too long but I think I finally found the right balanced cable. Basically the female 2.5mm TRRS is L+,R+,L-,R- instead of the more common R-,R+,L+,L- found on most DAPs.
Luckily the female 2.5mm TRRS is L+,R+,L-,R- is actually present on most of Sennheiser’s headphones (598 etc.), and cable makers make balanced cables for it terminated in 4.4mm, xlr, etc.
You can also use the NewFantasia cable that Nitsuei linked earlier that converts L+,R+,L-,R- to R-,R+,L+,L-.
Any balanced 598 etc. cable should work with the KPH40, and I will delete my post if I’m wrong.
I ordered the one below because it has fast shipping and it was the cheapest. Hopefully it works out.
link
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All,
The 2.5mm is a bugger to get seated correctly until you insert FIRMLY into the receptacle. If you’ve done it properly, the connector will not easily twist without a bit of force.
I believe this can explain some of the varying reports.
I’m loving these. Comparisons to the KPH30i with Yaxi are very favorable.