šŸ”¶ Koss KPH30i

Yep. I have put a little bit of double sided tape on them since I broke the plastic hooks on the right side which holds the two bits together.

Since massdrop decided to put them for sale again in a much more interesting retro colour, I decided to just grab another pair

I bought a second set to try pad swapping with. I found that the sound changed dramatically and not for the better. I wasnā€™t using Yaxi pads, but some off brand pads that look very similar. The comfort improved but the sound was muddied to the point that I didnā€™t find it at all worth doing, guess they knew what they were doing with the stock pads, these things are picky.

Alright. Finally got around to modding the KPH30i to MMCX connectors and because there arenā€™t many instructions on how to do so compared to the PortaPros, I thought I might contribute some.

First thing first, itā€™s highly recommended that if you want to mod it to MMCX, you do so only when youā€™re changing to Yaxi pads, or just the pads in general. As everyone else mentioned here before, because of the design of the KPH30i, you risk tearing the pads.

I didnā€™t tear my stock pads however because I used forceps and a good deal of patience slowly prying the foam off the little hooks. Disassembled, it looks like this. You also have to remove the back foam to reveal the clips needed to detach the housing completely from the headband.

Now if you have a dremel and a fine sanding attachment, this part will be easy. I sanded away just enough to fit the MMCX connectors on the side where the wire hole is. On the driver side, there will be two horizontal plastic bits that need to be removed too. (sorry I forgot to take a photo of that) The MMCX connector will be epoxied down on the DRIVER side ONLY.

If youā€™re familiar with the PortaPro/KSC75 mod, soldering is basically the same. I cut the thin wires at the base of the plug, then solder MMCX connectors to it. Iā€™ve had problems trying to tin the coloured wire, which I didnā€™t have problems with previous Koss mods. Not sure whether itā€™s just me (Iā€™m inexperienced in soldering), or it really is the wire. I got it done, but I need to know if someone has the same problem.

Once thatā€™s done, just epoxy the connector to the DRIVER side. I closed the housing and held the connector in place with forceps until it set. If you Epoxy it to the wire hole side, you will have problems trying to open the headphones in the future and swap pads. Not recommended.

So thatā€™s it really. Once the epoxy is set, you can put everything back. Swap out to Yaxi pads if you like and enjoy youā€™re new freed KPH30i. Now, I contemplated on removing the back foam, but Zeos said the bass would just disappear, so I didnā€™t bother. Personally I think the KPH30i is a bit veiled, but Iā€™ve heard worse for headphones 10x the price. I just want my budget Koss to have detachable cables, and thatā€™s what I did.

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Do you think itā€™s possible to pop off the driverā€™s grills? I think Kramer modding them would do wonders.

I tried, but the way itā€™s held down, I think the entire unit is glued to that side of the housing.

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I did an mccx mod to a pair of Sony mh755 iems. I used this thin style mccx connector instead of the full high mount style.

I ran out of those connectors otherwise I would attempt to mod one of my kph30iā€™s.

But I took a picture of some side by side it might work without Dremel with the thinner mccx connector. If anyone is looking to do this mod.

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Theyā€™re back on drop for all you people modding your KPH30iā€™s. Lol

Hi, I just ordered two pairs of KPH30i (damn you zeosā€¦) I cant find those big yaxi pads on yaxis website, can someone link me to those ? thks, by the way the mmcx conector mod, look great!

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Link: https://www.yaxi.jp/onlineshop/?mobile=1

They are the same ones that are on the image of the Porta Pro. It lists that they will work with Kph30i, it just sounds like you have to be very careful because it is a fairly tight fit, and if you are going to put the pads on you should probably do the mmcx mod as well.

Thanks! I didnā€™t notice the compatiblity list before,
Well the mmcx conector mod looks and most defenitly is nice to have. But iā€™m really terrible at soldering soā€¦ I might just pass on that =)

Well, I started having a problem with my pair. The left driver started making a buzzing noise during more bassy songs, and then it started doing it higher up in frequency as well. So I am exchanging them on Amazon for a new pair. Hopefully they wonā€™t have the same problem.

Most likely a piece of hair that slipped through the foam and touching the driver. Pretty common issue with portapro drivers which you can easily just blow or pick off the piece of hair. Problem with KPH30iā€™s is that itā€™s a lot harder to take off the foam and cups.

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I tried doing that for several days, but it didnā€™t help. Maybe I pushed them too hard with low bass?
Iā€™ll just try to keep them in better shape this next one. It also doesnā€™t help that I have long hair. :stuck_out_tongue:

Itā€™s possible, but how hard and how low are you pushing them? I would expect them to distort with low subbass

It usually happens on songs like this one when I use them with my Plenue D when I have it around 70/100 volume.

On this one it happens between 2:40-2:45

Then yeah the driver is probably damaged. Porta pro drivers are very fragile since the diaphragm is just a thin film of plastic and the gentlest poke can cause a wrinkle and ruin them. Not too sure if it could be the bass since I havenā€™t experienced this problem after I accidentally pushed too much power through both my KPH30iā€™s and CL 10ā€™s to the point where they started crackling and cutout but still sound fine afterwards.

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Got my new exchange pair and they sound fine, Iā€™ll just be more careful with EQing them beyond what they can handle from now on. :wink:

Any chance that you could make a guide of how to teardown these badboys?

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I got my KPH30i Friday and have listened and gamed with them more than my expensive headphonesā€¦ lol In fact I have them on nowā€¦ smh

Iā€™m amazed with the sound quality at the price. Iā€™m thinking about doing the pad swap but it cost half the price of the headphones. Iā€™m not sure if its worth it at that price.

Yaxi pads might help for both comfort and sound if you do decide to mess around with pads

These things are pretty impressive lol, and honestly worth the purchase imo

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