[/QUOTE]The KSC-75 is the latest edition of the popular and good-performing Koss KSC series. All of these models, the 35, 50, 55 and now 75 are based on the same 60-ohm drivers (also used in the Porta-Pro and KTX-Pro phones). The original model, the 35, is regarded as the standard by which all cheap, portable headphones are compared. The original 35 was a black, clip-on model, built to be very shallow and to fit closely on the ears. It was a fairly nasty-looking, uncomfortable piece, and frequently had problems with its thin foam padding tearing. It was updated to the 50 and 55 models, more "modern" looking silver clip-ons and behind-the-head models. The problem with these was they were significantly heavier, and didn't fit so snugly to the ears. Thus, even though the drivers were the same, the sound suffered a bit because of the loose fit.

The 75 moves a bit closer to the original 35. It is a shallower phone, although still not quite as much so as the 35. It does tend to fit snugly to the ear, which helps make the sound a bit fuller. They are nice and light and are very comfortable. The clip is a different design, it doesn't snap into place like the orignal 35 or hinge like the 50. It simply bends around the ear, leading to two problems with this design. The durability of the thin guage wire could be a problem. Secondly, the headphone cup tends to snap off of the clip when fitting the headphone to the ear. It simply snaps back into place again, but its a nuisance. Once properly placed, which takes a little practice, the sound is typical Koss KSC. The sound is pleasant and full, reasonably detailed and transparent. There is roll-off at both frequency extremes, although this can easily be corrected if your player has an equalizer. Even without equalization, though, the sound is quite good. Despite the 60-ohm rating, the 75's are reasonably easy for low power portables to drive. On an absolute scale or compared to the better $50 phones, such as the Sennheiser HD-497, the Koss KSC-75's don't stand out, but for a price of less than $15, these are outstanding. They easily trump any of the included phones or buds with portable players and are easy to transport, due to their light weight and small size. Another excellent, cheap Koss phone.

Update: With more use, I've become more favorably impressed with this phone. Its sound seems to have opened up with more break in. It now is very transparent with a rich, deailed sound - unbelievable for this price range. After a few uses, one gets the earclips adjusted properly to where they go on almost instantly and stay put and are very comforatble. This should minimize the amount of adjustment needed and prolong the life of the clip. Still, the headphone cups occasionally snap off of the clips even during normal handling. But in all, these are an incredible bargain. I would now rate these a five star phone.