Koss SPARKPLUG Consumer Headphones - Good Alternative To Noise-Cancelling Headphones
Written: Nov 24 '06 (Updated Dec 08 '09)
Product Rating:
Pros: Cheap, light, loook stylish, good noise insulation, good sound with ports covered, efficient
Cons: Cumbersome to put on, need ports covered to sound better, my ears get tired quick
The Bottom Line: I highly recommend the Koss SparkPlug as a cost-effective alternative to noise-cancelling headphones. Make sure you are ready to do minimal DIY with clear...
dkozin's Full Review: Koss SPARKPLUG Consumer Headphones
The headphones that come with various MP3 players, generally speaking, are pretty poor. Some are very poor, some are borderline acceptable. The headphones that ship with various iPods are generally acceptable, but you can do much better with a pair of inexpensive aftermarket headphones.
I have a bunch of headphones already, including the Koss KSC75 (a larger headphone that is attached to your ear with a clip that curves around it), a large enclosed Sennheiser HD202 and the sporty Philps HS-500. Neither of these headphones costs more than $20, but all of them do improve the sound of my iPod Nano dramatically.
Although I am happy with my headphones, I wanted to try the Koss SparkPlug headphones. I got this item for less than $10 a couple of weeks ago. After proper burn-in I was ready to see how well the SparkPlug worked.
What Is Koss SparkPlug?
The Koss SparkPlug is in-ear inexpensive portable headphones with earpads that go into your ear canal and then expand to block out noise. The headphones are white in color and stylistically are a good match for an iPod and other portable gear.
They are rated 10-20,000 Hz (which I suspect it very optimistic). They terminate in an L-shaped 3.5-mm mini plug and do not come with an adaptor for home gear (most likely a non-issue since they are designed for portable gear anyway).
The cable is slightly thin/flimsy, but I have no real complaints. The headphones come with an extra set of foam earpads.
Usage
You squeeze/roll the earpads to make them smaller in diameter and then insert them in your ear canal, where they expand and effectively block the noise/sounds from outside. I found that the process is slightly cumbersome. You have to insert the headphones in your ear canal fast, before the foam expands substantially. Also, once the earpads are inserted, they may require some tinkering.
But the noise insulation works very well, much better most other compact headphones and even better than non-noise cancelling over-the-ear designs. So if you need headphones for semi-noisy environments (e.g. on the plane), there are a good inexpensive alternative for the real noise-cancelling headphones.
I would be careful on the street or at work though - sometimes you need to hear what is happening around you too.
Efficiency/Sensitivity
The headphones play loud at a given volume. I use most other of my headphones at about 50-70 percent of my iPod’s volume. These I can use at 35-45 percent. The advantage grows in noisy environments due to the SparkPlug’s ability to filter out noise.
Sound
The headphones have good bass, but the bass is muddy and the rest of the spectrum is not well-defined and the treble is thin. The headphones have holes/ports at the side facing outward and the interesting discovery is you can close them and improve the sound dramatically.
As soon as you place your fingers over the ports, you can hear the bass decrease, but become more “tight”, treble quality improve and the sound as a whole become much better defined, less hollow/muddy.
Out of the box with no modifications, the SparkPlug is good for people who like a lot of poor-defined bass. With its ports covered by clear plastic tape, the SparkPlug sounds very good for everybody else, especially if you use the equalizer to increase the bass (and maybe the treble a little).
You can achieve a combination of the above two traits by fine-tuning the sound: cover only a part of holes with the tape and you will get a sound you like.
Although the sound from the SparkPlug out of the box does not impress me, it might work well for people who love bass. Some types of music will probably be a very good match for this Koss. Once you cover the ports with tape, the SparkPlug is a very good alternative to headphones that ship with portable music players. I prefer them to stock iPod earbuds.
The tape on ports also improves its, already impressive, noise/sound insulation, which, combined with high sensitivity, will improve your gear’s battery life and will also let you use your player on the plane without having to pay an arm and a leg for noise-cancelling headphones.
I highly recommend the Koss SparkPlug as a cost-effective alternative to noise-cancelling headphones. Make sure you are ready to do minimal DIY with clear tape.
General InformationManufacturer Koss CorporationManufacturer Part Number 156423Manufacturer Website Address www.koss.comBrand Name KossProduct Model S...More at SmartSubs
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