Koss Porta Pro Bluetooth model

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by Elnrik, May 19, 2018.

  1. Pilsnerpunk

    Pilsnerpunk Friend

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    The porta pros and KSC-75 definitely sound different. Same family, but different sound. Not sure if it is due to the driver coating, the enclosure, or clamp pressure, but KSC-75 have more treble sparkle and less bass than the porta pros and it's quite easy to hear the difference. The holes in the porta pro driver vs no holes in the KSC-75 always suggested to me that they were slightly different drivers.

    Back to the OPs quetion, I haven't heard the bluetooth porta pros (so take this with 6 grains of salt), but I would guess that bluetooth amp is probably underpowered for the 60 ohm drivers. I use the KSC-75 and portapros for mountain biking and skiing with a bluetooth dongle (OT Adapt or Griffin Itrip Clip) and neither adapter is powerful enough to properly push those headphones (they get more power straight out of a phone). So, I added a tiny portable amplifier, the Fiio E6. Not an elegant solution, but it adds the power these headphones need, it's fun to listen to, didn't cost that much and is fairly portable.
     
  2. julian67

    julian67 Facebook Friend

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    I like the blue ones. They are coated with the shimmer from a unicorn's horn.
    I also like the black ones. They are coated with actual darkness from outer space brought back to Earth by the Apollo missions.

    It is a fact. It's in bold, so it must be.

    Different colour = different material. Fact.

    For example, when I got my Columbus Genius bicycle frame resprayed to a titanium finish it actually became titanium all the way through. Fact. How do I know? It still had that comfortable steel ride but now with the handling that comes from the stiffer material. My mate agreed and we made some measurements that like totally proved it. Fact.

    Dear all, please don't have a cow.

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  3. spoony

    spoony Spooky

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    I invite you to calm your tits take a deep breath and re-read my post.

    Rephrasing: KSC75 diaphragms are coated while the PortaPro are not. That's not really up for discussion. Regarding sonic differences, well, you decide whether to trust people's impressions and measurements.

    I'm not home to provide pictures for you, but there are quite a bit floating the net.

    Of particular interest, here's one showcasing both:
    [​IMG]
     
  4. Biodegraded

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    Until you mentioned impedance and amplification in the same sentence, this didn't occur to me (d'oh), but the BT model might well be 'tuned differently' from the wired version depending on the output impedance of the amp in the BT unit. While the nominal impedance of the PP drivers is 60 Ohms, but they spike (I get c. 3x more) at 100 Hz:

    [​IMG]

    High output impedance amplification would therefore boost the bass response a bit - presuming, as you say, the amp was powerful enough to drive the things so you'd notice; they're indeed not the most sensitive. @Elnrik , how loud are the birds in that park of yours? ;)

    Interesting aside here - drifting back off topic and possibly back into controversy - looking at the PortaPro vs KSC-75 impedance measurements at Innerfidelity, the 100 Hz spike for the former is c. 100 Ohms whereas for the latter it's c. 140. I don't know the date of each measurement. Mine above (purple vs green), maybe both out in absolute terms but relatively identical, are from units purchased in 2017. Different generations of driver...?

    For those interested, more PP/75 comparisons, mods etc. from SBAF and Changstar in the threads below

    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.org/index.php?threads/koss-ksc-75-modifications.112/

    http://www.changstar.com/www.changstar.com/index.php/topic,231.0.html

    and in the thread the impedances above came from:

    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...rs-koss-portapro-senn-px100-ii-akg-k403.5303/
     
  5. AntennaHEAD

    AntennaHEAD New

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    Did you measure the FR of the KSC 75 above before or after swapping to band from clips? I am surprised at how close they track with the KPH30 (not in the impedance plot, the freq response in the thread). Those impedance plots look way closer than Tyl's regardless. . . You have inspired me to have another listen to compare direct :) [​IMG]

    TBH, closer than I remember them being. The biggest difference is bass (KSC35 is a touch boomier) and the 75s are less sensitive which is a bit frustrating with the direct coupler. . . It's tricky to tell the high end detail, as I lose some of it in the low end of the 35s. I did comparisons with the Porta as well and found the difference more pronounced (more bass, harder to resolve highs), but I suspect this is due to the headband (the KTX Pro, the headband Ti, is a WILD ride lol) compared to the clips.
     
  6. Biodegraded

    Biodegraded Friend

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    75 FR measurement was with headband - nothing to hold the clips on my measurement 'head'. The headband is pretty tight, so might reinforce the bass cf. the clips.
     
  7. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    When I'm at the dog park, I can't hear the birds over the sound of how awesome my dog is.
     
  8. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    Is there a book in the making?

    The Koss Letters, The Truth About Titanium.

    .
     
  9. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    Two day ban for low signal to noise ratio.
     
  10. Pilsnerpunk

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    I wouldn't spend my money on the bluetooth porta pro. Too many flaws. The cord looks annoying, there's no passive mode, unknown sound signature. If the price fluctuates like the rest of their products it might be worth picking up in the future at a ~40% discount.

    I don't want to hijack this thread, but this conversation has me wondering if anyone is making a killer bluetooth adapter/dongle. I've been watching the LDAC thread but the adapter looks annoying and LDAC isn't as universal as bluetooth. I'd be happy with something that supports aptx, has 12 hours battery life, has an amplifier that doesn't totally suck, has good ergonomics/form factor, and throw in some dsp special sauce that makes bluetooth less sucky. With headphone jacks disappearing I'm surprised these things aren't showing up all over the place.
     
  11. Jinxy245

    Jinxy245 Vegan Puss

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    I've heard very positive feedback about this item in particular from a friend with decent ears
    https://www.bluewaveaudio.ca/home-2/?currency=USD&v=7516fd43adaa

    It looks a bit bulky but not unwieldy and only 6 hours of operation in the specs though.

    I haven't had ears on it myself though I'd like to.
     
    Last edited: Jun 12, 2018
  12. Pilsnerpunk

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  13. philipmorgan

    philipmorgan Member of the month

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    It's not exactly a dongle, but does something like the Shanling M0 work? Seems like it ticks a few of the checkboxes on your list.
     
  14. Pilsnerpunk

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    The M0 has my interest, but for different uses than a bluetooth adapter. I don't like touch screens when I'm doing something active like riding a bike, or mowing the lawn because it's not that easy to change songs or hit pause.

    When I go to the gym I still use a sandisk clip because I can operate it without even looking at it (and I can leave that cheap piece of junk in my gym bag). I like bluetooth adapters with physical buttons, but haven't tried or bought one that impressed me yet and I'm kind of surprised by the lack of choices.
     
  15. Bina

    Bina MOT - Shanling

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    We tried to work around the need for touch screen. You can set up the wheel for double tap to prev/pause/next(currently you need to choose one of these), I'm quite happy with it, just in pocket and double tap wheel when I want next song.
     
  16. Jinxy245

    Jinxy245 Vegan Puss

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