They had to remove the foam from behind the driver to show the color of the driver housing. So yes it is different.
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Oh man, interesting. The KPH30i are my all time GOAT budget headphone, so I may have to get a clear pair with the matching blue/red Yaxi pads lol
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Well shit, for $30 bucks might as well get another pairā¦ but clear
Clear Yaxis are my goal.
My impressions of the KPH30i Clear.
I talked myself out of the hype because I already have the Porta Pro and I didnāt want another similar pair of headphones. But the Clear is simply too hard to resist, so here I am.
Stock
First impressions, I was disappointed. I expected it to be ābetterā or a bigger difference to my Porta Pro (with Yaxi pads). They sounded very similar on the first day. But after using them for 2 weeks, I now much prefer the KPH30i, they sound more open and airy, wider, and above all, the generic headphone design just makes it much easier to pick up and go.
āUltraā mod (with stock pads)
Again, disappointed. Furthermore, I hated this mod. The Geekria pads that I got feels cheap, scratchy, like stiff packing foam. They went from easy-to-pickup-budget-on-ear-headphones to cheap-over-ear-headphones. They sound muddy, loses the airiness, just lacking in something.
I refused to take the risk and remove the stock pads because at this point I was happier with the stock version. Until I saw Zeosā latest KPH30i Clear videoā¦
āUltraā mod (without stock pads)
ā¦I now give in to the hype. This is the best version.
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Does anyone else find the headband to be useless after a while? The silicone band is so loose now. Im tempted to get some Dekoni Nuggets and just use those instead. However the nugs cost more than the headset itself.
Hi, I heavily suggest you to look at the Koss GMR-545-air
ā¦its an open gaming headset with kph30i driver
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That story had so many ups and downs. I was on edge till the end.
I will see if Koss will send me a set. They donāt look bad.
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I ve seen some reviews talking about the easy-to-break headband, but this guy liked themā¦
And it looks like a solid recommendation for budget gamers.
If you can get them to send you the 540-ISO as well it would be interesting to find out how different the open and closed backs are, especially with their big impedance differences.
I just bought the Drop 54x but they have not arrived yet.
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I had some time with theeeeeeze and I still like them. That 60 ohm driver is great. I think itās more forward than the KPH30i Grado G cush mod, more balanced, fuller, more dynamic sounding than the stock version. The soundstage is medium sized, more closed in than the Grado mod, but wider then the stock. It feels like itās a more mature version of it, but not a whole lot more, but enough to be noticed. The pads are OK, comfortable, but nothing to write home about. Fortunately / unfortunately they are D shaped which helps the comfort but makes hard to change them. Itās like when you try to compare the KSC75 with the UR40. The UR40 has more body to the sound and is a āheadphoneā vs the KSC75 is āsomethingā hanging on your ears. The AIR is like a headphone version of the KPH30i. The headband is strange, because it has no weight, but the suspension strap pulls the cups upwards, even if it shouldnāt. The cable is not attached so you can change it if needed. Not terrible by any means. Thereās a decent mic on it as well. The second cable is a USB one with a boom mic and it has a decent DAC in i (that drives my X2HR fine as well). Itās like with any Koss headphones, that you forgive all design flaws, cheap materials for their weird retro look and great sound.
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Iām just blown away by Zās enthusiasm for the Koss KPH30i Clear, but it seems at the moment only the US folks can get themā¦ Sad day for Intāl people.
Anyone know if there are plans that the Clears will be available in UK/EU?
Has anyone tried removing the foam pads inside of their standard KPH30is? If so, to the ones who both owned the Clears and the Standards, do they sound similar now? or any improvement at all to the sounds when you removed the foam pads inside of it? Just curious thatās all, since I have thoughts of myself removing the foam pads from my KPH30is, but I am afraid because I might break it.
they have a direct store as well but iām not sure thats among what you are already referering too
Wait, you only have ONE KPH30i???
Whatās wrong with you??? 
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Technically 2, but the first KPH30i I got, got broken back then due my dumbass accidentally sitting on them. Also, stock of the Clears here in my country are not available yet, so excuuuuse ME if I donāt own an another pair of KPH30is which I otherwise WOULD if they have stock here.
Give me a break.
Sorry man, I guess the sarcasm didnāt come through properly. I was totally joking.
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I havenāt gone back the whole thread to check if anyone has done this mod before, but I basically followed what Z recommended with the Grado pads, but I kept the original foam pads on. But as Z said in his Ultra video, the sound signature became muffled in general albeit the comfort being improved.
The original sound signature for me was exceptional with a bit of piercing in the highs; turns out Iām not much of a treble person (KZ ZS10 Pros murdered my ears). I canāt fathom how it would kill me if I torn off the original pads, yet adding the Grado pads were too muffled. Suspecting that the inner opening of the Grado pads were too small and covered a portion of the KPH30i drivers, I managed to solve the problem by cutting out a larger circumference of the inner side of the Grado pads and the clarity came back with boosted width and bass. Another reason I donāt want to peel off my original pads is because Koss isnāt that available and more expensive in the UK. Blue-White is the only color scheme we have, and the Clears are not available. I got mine from Drop and Iām not gonna risk wrecking this powerhouse.
Now the sound signature of my KPH30i mod sounds like a flat plane containing all frequencies placed around 1.5-2 inches away from my ears with clear separation. Although sound stage isnāt particularly wide, imaging is decent. The good separation of frequencies made them very analytical so to speak. I always use these for Zās sound demos. I wouldnāt use these for background music though; theyāre too analytical and clear they constantly distract me from work.
I own:
(1) Yamaha MT5 (for bassy EDM party music, hip hop, and movies for the imaging and sound stage)
(2) Koss KPH30i (for analytical listening sessions)
(3) Tin T2 (BGM for work)
(4) Enacfire Future Plus Bluetooth IEM (bassy and light for outdoor activities)
(5) Sennheiser HD58x (Just received but not in my possession yet)
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