šŸ”¶ Koss KPH30i

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).

I have the FIIO LC-BT2 neckband for my IEMs and it works great.

I have not done the mmcx mod on any of my 30i’s yet, but it is on my to do list to try them with the neckband.

YOu have to be really comfortable with soldering very tiny wires… I broke open my 75’s for an MMCX mod but noped out of it really fast bahaha

Not as cheap and less do it yourself but if you want some of, if not the best sounding Bluetooth headphones, I’m really liking the Drop Panda right now. Planar, THX amp built in, can connect up to 6 devices.

The KPH30i don’t require much to drive and the wire is thin, so while they aren’t Bluetooth they really don’t feel limiting when plugged into a phone with a dongle, or portable audio player.

need to get a kit that has the magnifying glass to let you see up close comfortably. :slight_smile:

And a better soldering iron than my $15 amazon special thag has a hotter handle than tip

Just got my beige version, so now i have my original ā€œgreyā€, the clear and the beige from drop.
Getting 3 (or rather 2 identical and the clears) sets seems a bit excessive, but one of them is going to find a new home at my mums, so i can plug them into my laptop when i am visiting and i wanted to sample the clears, so thats why i ended up with 3 pairs)

My only problem is, i only have 1 set of yaxi pads left! Esthetically i think the beige or the dark grey would suit the orange yaxi pads the best, but what will the clears sound like with yaxi pads…it will be a difficult choice! :slight_smile:

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Sounds stupendously intimate, not a lot of difference from the unmodded sound, but with +++ comfort. I could have them on all day long without any discomfort. I’ve done my version of the ultra mod before (see here: šŸ”¶ Koss KPH30i - #551 by PopinTeddy) and the sound becomes a bit farther away. I prefer the Yaxi mod over Ultra mod now :sunglasses:.

Still, all I need to do is to put the Grado pads back on and Voila! Instant Ultra over-ear mod done. Suitable for a more closed-off experience like movie watching.

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6/2/21 Drop has these for $20

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Had a $15 drop credit sitting around. In for another pair, this time in beige. Thanks for sharing.

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Got mine from drop, happy with the fast delivery even to europe! (but fuck taxes. These are a $60 pair for me)

So i went for the ā€œgreyā€ to be converted to yaxi pads, also took out the ā€œtuning padā€ to open them up as the ā€œclearā€ version while i had them open… The kph30i is a bit fiddly to convert to yaxi pads as those little clips, at least on mine, where proper hard to open. One broke, but it stays together and i don’t notice it missing at all :slight_smile:

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My headband snaped… I was a sad boy

but when I started researching for a replacement, I noticed something
opening the headphones (I personally like using the flat screwdriver in the side method, so you don’t rip the pads out)

the headband is held down by this pin, so I tried removing by pinching it with tweezers

they became this:

that little hole, is where the pin holds down the headphones with the head band toguether.
first I thought maybe I could mold some wire to hook them and use that. but then I stumble into other people using the parts express headband with other koss headphones. I thought even if the kph30i doesn’t have the thing that hooks into them, the thing it hooks into might pass thro the hole and I can glue it on the other side

it doesn’t :frowning:

But…

you can kinda use it to hold them in your ears, it sits above the hole and keeps it in place just enough, you can move around and stuff, it feels so nice, they are soooo light now, even lighter than before

if you are the type of guy that didn’t like the clap, of the original headband, I suggest you give this a try

is not grate, and kind of a pain to put in your head every time, but it works, kinda

Soooo…

thats why im posting here, im hopping we could print a new version of the little clip that goes into the hole, and could clip into the parts express headband

but I don’t have a 3d printer, nor the modeling expertise to do that, it doesent sound too complicated (pls correct me too delucional)

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side note, as you can see, im using yaxi pads. Im considering trying grado pads with this, now that the clamp is not as strong they sit just a tiny bit further away of my ears, so i had to up the volume a little bit

witch reminded me of the Z video where he found removing the pads altogether was better when they where further away of the ears.
I think im into something, and this might be the kph30i ultimate form

im ordering grado pads right now, but it’ll be cool if someone could try with me, the mod is non destructive. and you can go back if you dont like it

(maybe if someone helps with 3d printing a way to snap them into the parts express headband tho)

Where may I find the video? Thanks!