It is a bit bright, but not super piercing. Personally, I like some more 1kHz-2kHz energy than what the KSC75 offers for a little more vocal presence.
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What’s your current DAC? I have no direct experience with your components, but from what I’ve gathered here and elsewhere from those I trust, the Ares II will help liven the sound up, and the 789 then becomes the ‘liveliness’ bottleneck, as I’ve heard it has a somewhat flat presentation.
That said, something that might be of interest to try would be something like a Beyer DT880 600ohm or T1.2, I just don’t know if I can recommend those (or Grados) with THX.
I’m just thinking with your budget, you might consider an alternate amp to pull different strengths out of existing headphones while also opening up other options.
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Oh, that’s a good point. I find the strength of the 789 is planars. I’m not sure dynamics pair that well with them. I’ve never tried a serious tube amp before.
Grados but which?
I would try Alessandro MS-1 for not too expensive. These are less peaky Grados — depending who you talk to, Sr-125 ish, +/- a level. Or for $420 (get it?) the Grado Hemps.
Moving closer to your $1000 limit, there are LOTS more options but I don’t know how to think of the KSC-75 -related starting point any more.
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Yeah, maybe something like a Bottlehead Crack, Tuba, or ZDT Jr and DT880 600. Would still be well within budget.
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I haven’t heard the DT 880 600 ohm. Any point on grabbing one if I have an Elex?
Really tempted to blind buy the MS-1. The Hemp I’d really need to audition first. What do you gain moving up the line? Detail/Resolution/Refinement?
I really appreciate you trying to scale the ksc75 to a $1K budget. It does seem absurd lol.
I had my 880 after Elex…it’s not going for the same sound, and it scales really well, similar to KSC75.
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Came to vote DT880 and cheap Grado
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Can the 880 keep up in detail?
IMO, yes…not hyper detailed, but really solid, and the signature doesn’t hide it.
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I’m not sure what you get, moving up the Grado SR line. That is, I know the SR-60 and SR-80, but nothing beyond in that line. I also have not heard the Alessandro MS-2 (which I am very curious about). It it is said that the Alessandros are equivalent to the “next-up” Grado SR at their respective price. And I do like the somewhat less peaky treble for sure, vs the lower-level SR. Which is why I recommended the Alessandro MS-1.
Wish I could be of more help on that.
The Hemps and the “wooden cup” Grados in general are a clear step up in Refinement and resolution. I think the Hemps have some more bass (possibly entirely due to the flat pads, possibly not entirely) than most, so a bit more balance. All of these I have heard, at least, are suggestive of the liveliness of the KSC-75 to my ear.
I also know the more expensive RS-1 (though an older edition) and some special releases … those are moving away from that KSC-75 thing you’re after, IMO (though again maybe closer than any non-Grados suggested!)
I don’t like to recommend in general, since the degree of subjectivity is something g I want to steer clear of; and I don’t like to recommend especially where things get super polarizing, a la Grados. But I do it here, because they came up in relationship to the super cheap Koss (which I also like a lot).
Alessandros are made by Grado and retain some of that divisiveness; but they tend to be less argued about maybe only because less knowN and less owned; but I think also because the treble Peakiness really is tamed a bit.
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Thanks a lot!
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@wagstaff My local shop let me try out some lower end Grados, the 80, 125 and 225, also tried the 325 in the store. Definite jump up in quality and clarity going up from the 80. I really liked the 225 the best…loved it in fact, but never could wear them for more than 20 minutes, even trying the 80 pads. The Geekria pads were not available or I would have tried them as well.
Note: I do have some high freq. hearing loss so welcomed the emphasis that Grado has (and some hate.) This was over a year ago so I haven’t heard the Hemps.
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Nice. A lot of people have said the SR-225 is the sweet spot in the Prestige Line. And/or that the Alessandro MS-2 is. I haven’t heard either… so I just believe you guys! I bought some RS-1 almost 20 years ago now, still love them, but they have a lushness to them that’s a somewhat different thing. I have some Head-Fi editions (2 and 3) and the Hemps. I still think the SR-60, SR-80, and MS-1 all hold up in bang-for-buck terms. Still, would love to hear those SR-225 still.
Comfort is another divisive aspect. I am tolerant for long periods of all of these.
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Lucky guy! Guess I have tender pinnae, lol. If Koss built an over ear open back with the sound/presence of the ksc 75 with a bit more bass and the detail of the Sundaras for about $300 I would buy 2! 
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Well I think I auditioned sr60 and the 325 off a chi-fi $50 tube amp and a dragonfly red respectively. 2 years ago I wasn’t impressed. To be fair I probably wasn’t picking the right songs to feed them as I wasn’t aware how much genre effected the headphone choice then.
The ksc75 sounds so natural for piano and guitar. Watching those YouTube piano players with them is a double guilty pleasure.
Ditto. I’d buy one in a heartbeat.
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Here’s to hoping the A/550 comes to be.
From all the Koss I heard, they tend to either be pretty balanced and inoffensive or be mid-centric with some upper-mids emphasis.
Also, add “does not have a major design flaw” to the wishlist. 
I hesitate to buy an SP330. It’s everything I want from an on-ear closed back except the detaching earcups lol.
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There’s a 9 year old thread on head-fi where someone took their ksc75 and made them closed back. Apparently it makes them sound even better. If I find the time. I’ll give it a shot. It might be my best shot at a super ksc75.
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