Koss Compatible Headband for KSC75 and other Koss and Yuin Drivers Manufactured by M-Speaker for GPN Media

Koss KSC75 compatible headband by M-Speaker specifically designed for Koss and Yuin clip-on headphones. Improves bass response, overall sound and comfort. A more secure fit, less waste (better for the environment), all at a lower price.

---

 

Datasheet

Available on SYSTEM

---

Description

No one bought the "Parts Express Mini Stereo Lightweight Headphones" because they sounded good (they're terrible); they bought them for the headband. It was super-light, comfortable, surprisingly robust and most importantly it was compatible with a number of very good clip-on headphones:

• Koss KSC75
• Koss KSC35
• Koss Porta Pro
• Koss Sporta Pro
• Yuin G1A
• Yuin G2A

We partnered with a small hi-fi company in China to make our own version of the headband. The result is a product that performs just like the Parts Express headband, but is tailor-made to fit the Koss (KSC75 et al) drivers. So we get the same improved bass response and overall sound due to the added clamping pressure, we eliminate the fuss of fitting the clips on to the ear and we now get a more secure fit.

So, why did we decide to go to all the trouble (and it was a surprisingly large amount of effort), to create our own version? Here's why ...
 

Logistics and Cost

It never really made a great deal of logistical sense shipping items made in China to Ohio in the US, then shipping them to London in the UK so we could disassemble most of the junk elements leaving only the headband, which we would then, quite often, ship back to customers in the US. It certainly wasn't a get-rich-quick scheme and the razor thin margins could only be justified from an enthusiast's rather than a business perspective.

Between the rising cost of courier shipments from the US to the UK, incremental product price rises, tariffs on Chinese imports and re-stocking issues, it became harder and harder to keep what should be a low cost item inexpensive.
 

Waste & The Questionable Efficacy of Electronics Recycling

In addition, even though we recycled all the disposable elements of the Parts Express product, it's far more environmentally sound to make a product that requires no recycling. By making just the headband we can keep costs down and prevent unnecessary waste.
 

Specification & Differences from the Parts Express model

Attachment Points

We've made a number of changes, most of them superficial, however one of them is significant. M-Speaker went to a lot of effort to get the fit of the attachment point just right. We sent them a KSC75 clip on so they could study how that attaches and they sized the attachment (which mirrors the Parts Express headband's socket fixture) slightly tighter. As a consequence is requires a little more force to initially attach the drivers, but once attached they are far more securely held in place. The result, when connected, is something that feels and acts more like a purpose-built headphone than a serendipitous mod.

Obviously it's far easier to remove than add; as such it would be quite trivial, if someone wanted a loose / wobbly fitting to get a file or Dremel and file away some of the plastic. However, we've had two months with these headbands now and have had no issues and the drivers haven't once come loose. The drivers still conform to the shape of your head and ears when you place and adjust the headphones, but they act more like traditional headphones with a very slight resistance as you move the drivers around the socket.
 

Other Changes

• The weight has gone up by 2g from 9 to 11g.  This is mainly due to the better quality steel band and ABS plastic used.
• The ABS plastic colour is now a very dark (near black) matt grey (as opposed to gloss black).
• The attachment points L and R font is different and the L and R now sit inside a raised rounded square instead of a raised circle.
• The attachment socket sits inside a housing that is about 2 millimetres shorter. They didn't need to protrude as much as they did and that has no effect on the attachment itself or the performance of the headband. However it does make them a little lower profile which is useful when we ship them from the UK as a "large letter" package.

That's pretty much it in terms of design changes and alterations. It's likely that had we not mentioned anything and sold these as the PE headband, most people wouldn't have noticed. But it's important to note the changes. The amount of back and forth with M-Speaker to get this absolutely right was insane really (but we think it's been worth the trouble and M-Speaker were a delight to work with).  Now we're much closer to the production, re-stocking shouldn't be a problem.
 

Product Images

[ click to enlarge the image, then click left of centre (for previous) or right of centre (for next) to cycle through all images at full size ]

---