šŸ”¶ Koss KPH30i

The Clears are finally available in UK!

Has anyone compared over this time that the Clears and the Original really sound different? And are the Clears truly an improvement?

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Yes, the bass is less bloated since the foam behind the drivers is gone.

how are these compared to the samson sr850?

Just got the Clears today, and it literally took me 3 songs with good sound stage to tell the difference from the originals. Comparisons were taken on non-modified pairs of Clears and Originals.

To explain the difference very briefly:


Notice the wing shape and the distance between the wings.

So the KPH30i Clear:

  1. Width +0.5
  2. Soundstage +1 (sphere-shaped vs the original plane-shaped)
  3. Imaging +1
  4. Treble clarity +1
  5. Mid-bass +0.25
  6. Sub-bass -0.25
  7. Frequency separation +2 (Bleeding -2)
  8. Sibilant +0.25
  9. Vocal retrieval +0.25
  10. Forwardness +0.5
  11. Crispiness +1

The listening experience feels that the sound stage had extended from your jawline outwards (lower-right and lower-left), at the same time from the tip of your ears outwards (upper-right and upper-left). Imagine listening to music on two vertical flat pieces of film placed right outside of your ears (original KPH30i) then someone concaved the center of the film outwards (KPH30i Clear). Everything sounds a bit more rounded but with additional clarity.

That’s why I used the TIE Fighter vs. TIE Interceptor allegory. :sunglasses:

Tracks used for testing:
Anton Kuertz - The Jungle Issue
Deftone - Sushi Takeout
Harvey Sutherland - New Paradise
Spazzkid - Truly (feat. Sarah Bonito)
DSF, Double Touch - FelƩa
Armando Young - Loved Ones (Saudades)
Louis Benedetti & Selan - Reflection

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Great, now I just need Koss to come out with their TIE Defender…

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This are the pads you want… oh my they are nice… Still don’t quite reach my head behind my ear but they are so soft they resolve all the clamp issues for my big old head. Amazon.com

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Well fuck, now I am more convinced to get the Clear versions even though I already have the Beige version of it. Goddammit! I blame all of you people who let me descended in this Koss rabbit hole back then! There are just days I just…not even using my other headphones anymore since the headphones that I have on my ear would be both the KPH30is or the KSC75s like almost all the time!

This is like my personal heaven-hell right now, please help.

Just take them foams out for free if you’d like.

I would but, I don’t have replacement pads for it yet and I am not sure when the stocks of Yaxi pads would be back. Though come to think of it, if I want to save up more I would do that but since the Koss KPH30i is a bit fragile in terms of build, I don’t see anything wrong owning an another pair as a backup.

I’m not sure if the driver is any different, but comparing the back of the boxes of both sets it seems that the driver chassis is assembled differently. Zeos did say it seems that Koss only took out the foam, but the chassis rearrangement might also have something to do with the signature change.

Like how both boxes states ā€œRugged cable systemā€ … although my Koss trio (porta pro, kph30i and ksc75) has not failed on me yet, but i do feel i need to take extra care due to their thin and flimsy feeling cable…

Welp that is marketing for you, for you cannot simply accept things that you see on products as absolute fact more like testimonials. But I could say the cable of mine has not been damaged yet so far, as long as you are careful with yours of course.

There will be a time that I am going to give mine the an MMCX or 2pin treatment for these.

I’m a member.

Bought one on a whim for my wife since she’s always attached to Meh ear buds. She’s fundamentally against in ears which rules out so much of the better sounding cheap stuff.

Well four times today she’s run over saying wow listen to how good this song sounds, so much better than the ear buds. I have to say, I’m shocked how good they are given the $20 dollar expectation.

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I set both my boys up with KPH30i’s for school and general ipad listening. The price is right, if they destroy them I spend $30 more dollars and get another set (they’ve lasted almost a year now, so no complaints on durability). My boys are 7 and 9, and their music listening is mostly at home on my equipment (my 9 year old taking over my listening chair: Are there any young audiophiles? - #67 by elementze). Last week my 9 year old came home complaining about how bad his friends headphones sounded in computer class, and that for his friends birthday he wants to get him a set of KPH30i’s. :rofl: Making converts one KPH30i at a time…

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As stated previously in this dicsussion I was rather dissapointed with the 30i’s and couldn’t see what you guys saw in them.

Then I got to listen to some 120$ gaming headphones… How do these sound so bad?! Then some wireless JBL crap… Again… The koss just sound better.

I’ve now been able to do the Ultra-mod (big ass grado ripoff pads of Aliexpress) and god f*cking damn does that make a difference to comfort and killing the highs! I now understand. I spend $20 on the 30i’s and 7 on the pads. They’re still not wow but beat everything I’ve heard sub 150 (IEM’s excluded)

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Yup, just put the grado style pads on mine as well. Holy bass, wider SS and fun.
Some mid/high clarity loss, but not too bad. Just fun for those times when I want
a richer sound. NOT selling my Sundaras though! :joy:

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Yeah, I did a side-by-side comparison with these modded vs my Sundara.
Although Koss is close and enjoyable for the obscenely low cost, the contrast with the Sundara was still stark. Sundara was tighter, richer, more sure of itself.
What I’m afraid of is comparing the Sundara to a great set of IEMs. I’m just starting that search now.

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Am very high-sensitive so this is a blessing for me :stuck_out_tongue:

Let’s be honest… They don’t even compare xD

First off. Another Sundara owner :smiley:
As for IEM’s… While they can beat the detail of the Sundara starting at around half the cost. But none reach that open airy feeling and only the high end really touches the thight bass

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I am looking for a decent pair of bluetooth headphones.

I saw the reviews on using KPH 30 I’s with the Grado pads and the cable mod…

My question is would it be worth it to mod them and use some kind of attachment to add bluetooth to them? Or would it be better to instead just buy like Phiaton Legacy 900

This would mainly be to listen to music/youtube/streams to, use with tablet when on the go etc.

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You can get something like the Fiio BTR5/Qudelix 5K and then use it with the KPH30i (or any other transducer you want).