[GUIDE] What should I buy if I have $30?
Hello /r/ headphones! This post is for people looking to buy cheap, good sounding headphones. If you’re already read some of the guides on the sidebar, you might have a few ideas for a pair you’d like to buy. I’m here to give as much information as possible on what I consider the highest value headphones in this price bracket. This is a more in-depth post than the other headphones guides and will focus solely on headphones that are under $30.
###The Headphones
###Koss KSC75
Cost: $15
Pros: Phenomenal sound quality for the price, pretty solid on the comfort scale, nice fun sound signature, very moddable, good for working out.
Cons: Low sound isolation (this also means sound leakage). Not a full sized headphone. Treble can be considered spiky for some. Sub-bass roll off. Clips fall off easily.
Voltage to 110dB SPL: 0.69V at 60 ohm impedance (calculated from provided Koss sensitivity and impedance #s)
Links of Note:
Explanation:
Are you intending to spend less than $20 and you don’t have sound isolation as one of the biggest priorities? Buy a Koss KSC75. There is nothing that comes close to competing with it in this price bracket. Furthermore, the Koss KSC75 is capable of fighting even beyond its price bracket – it’s very possible to argue that it is better than all of the other headphones in this post in terms of sound quality.
They have a kind of Alessandro-line tuning to them that is a lot like Grado, but more subdued in the treble. You still have the treble peaks, the emphasis at 2khz, the shouty vocals, but you don’t have the treble set nearly as piercingly high. Even if you don’t like the overall tonality, just equalize the darn thing – you’re not going to get better sound for $15.
Measurements
Here are the measurements done by purrin, one of the best headphone measuring guys around today.
Here is the frequency response of the headphones.
Here is the waterfall CSD of the headphones.
One thing to note is that the waterfall CSD of these headphones is exceedingly clean for the price. Do you want a fun comparison? Here is the waterfall CSD for a pair of Grado RS1s. The Grado RS1s cost $695 new. Look at the axes and compare the sound decay rates. Believe it or not, the Koss KSC75, on the whole, has measurements that imply that in many ways the driver is quicker and more accurate than the Grado RS1s. Just think about that – these are $15 headphones that are coming close to arguably beating $695 headphones by these numbers. Even if you don’t believe that the KSC75s belong with the better Grados (and most people don't), everyone certainly finds them to be one of the absolute best in their price bracket.
Sonic Reviews That said, typically speaking, people don’t consider the Koss KSC75 to be a headphone that is competing against the high end Grados. There are certainly people that prefer the KSC75 to them, but you’ll find few real comparisons between the two. One example of someone that prefers them to the lower end Grados, at least, is the link in the Best Headphones Guide review.
Other Things of Note
The Koss KSC75 is considered a headphone that is very moddable. These mods will influence the overall sound of the headphone. I’ve decided to run down a few of the basic mods that you see done to KSC75s.
Common mods include the quarter mod, where you take a quarter and place it on the headphone pads, then exacto-knife around it. This brings out the highs and mids more. The Kramer mod involves drilling holes in the housing to increase the treble. There also is the resistor mod, which involves soldering in a 75 ohm resistor into the headphone to increase the amount of bass. Looking at the impedance graph for the Koss Portapro, which uses the same driver, we can calculate that we can expect a few dB increase in the mid-bass region centered at 100hz when we add this resistor. Basically, add the resistor for a bass boost.
#You can often find a cheap headband for the KSC75s by buying a cheap Parts Expression headphone. The headband fits. You can buy this for $2 + shipping.
#.
###Monoprice 8323: Cost: $21-23 + shipping
Pros: Solid mid-bass slam, removable cable, surprising build quality for the price, good sound isolation, warm headphone with a decent mid-range.
Cons: Recessed treble, narrow soundstage, pretty high clamping force.
Voltage to 110dB SPL: 0.25V at 43 ohm impedance (using the measurements from InnerFidelity)
Links of Note: Purchase Link
[InnerFidelity’s Monoprice 8323 Measurements] (http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/Monoprice8323.pdf)
Explanation In the computer world, Monoprice is known for being a champion of value cables. In the headphone world, they’re known for putting out two of the best low cost headphones that are out today. For IEMs, they have the Monoprice 8320s. For headphones, they have our Monoprice 8323 (MHP-839). It’s a rebrand of the Kicker HP-541 headphones, which typically sold for $50. Back several years ago, they were considered pretty darn good headphones for $50. Imagine the community’s surprise when they surfaced selling for only $21.
These do many things which other headphones in this price bracket DON’T do. For example, they have a removable cable while also being light-weight enough to use on the go. If you want to use them in the home, swap in the 3m cable. If you want to use them on the run, use the 1m cable. Furthermore, if one channel starts dying because of a small break in the cable, you can just buy a new one for a dollar or two, rather than replacing the entire headphone. For this reason, the Monoprice 8323 has been my standby recommendation for students looking for a beater headphone to toss into their backpack and take back and forth from classes.
Measurements
The only published measurements for the Monoprice 8323 is the InnerFidelity graphs.
You can see a roll-off into the sub-bass frequencies and a hump in the mid-bass. The %THD+noise implies that the headphones, for the most part, have good power handling. Furthermore, the distortion is quite low for a headphone of this price bracket. The low distortion numbers combined with the relatively square looking 300 Hz square wave back up impressions that these have a pretty tight bass response.
The treble looks pretty receded, though. You can see the huge chunk that is taken out in the frequency response. This is why the headphones don’t seem to have that kind of sparkle that people like in audiophile headphones. At the same time, the peak at 10khz is bigger than you would normally expect from most headphones. This probably lends itself to the sibilance that people sometimes complain about with the 8323.
Sonic Reviews
Starting with the highs and moving down, I described the sound of the treble in the Monoprice 8323 before as “grainy, but smooth.” I think what I always found weird about their treble is that it is simultaneously receded and sibilant – that’s a combination you don’t see too often in headphones. It’s like bringing the worst of both worlds together. Their highs weren’t necessarily bad, and I’m certain that you could tame the sibilance and bring out the lower treble with equalization, but their stock treble is definitely the weak point of the 8323.
The mids were not bad. They have forward sounding mids, which is a trait that I like in headphones, but I do know that some people do not like it. For the most part, though, there isn’t anything truly exceptional in the mids, but they do a good job presenting them. I agree more with MudPie’s review, rather than MalVeauX’s review, on Head-Fi because I found the mids pleasant, but I disagree that the MHP-839 is a “mids-monster” in their price bracket.
The lows are where the Monoprices have a strong point in their price bracket. They’re bass heavy headphones that roll off the upper mids and treble for a very warm sound. The bass is tight and punchy with solid extension for a budget headphone. It’s certainly north of neutral in terms of overall tonality, but it is a great bass presentation from a budget headphone.
Other Notes
Yes, the Monoprice 8323s are moddable. Here’s a great guide from Armaegis. You could probably get away with just doing some simple damping mods with some felt that you find around the house and not going the whole 10 yards or spend much money at all. Furthermore, people like to put DT250 or Pearstone velour pads on the 8323s. Velour pads, which will set you back around $20, typically reduce the bass response on the headphones and are significantly more comfortable and less sweaty than the 8323s. If you really like your 8323s, these are a perfect upgrade for long-time listening.
Continued in the comments below.
Posted Jun 13, 2012, 12:27 AM UTC · edited