differenceclouds
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- May 4, 2020
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I have a pair of the Koss KPH40 Utility headphones. The utility series comes with a detachable cable that is essentially a long dongle (...) that ends in either a normal 1/8th inch jack or a digital connection. It's kind of an odd system, and ultimately I wish they sold a non-Utility version of the KPH40.
I was curious how these digital connections compare to, say, a standard apple lightning dongle. I did the comparison myself, and the Koss lightning cable does sound a bit "smoother" to my ear, but the difference is pretty subtle / nearly negligible. I listened at 4 clicks below max volume, and the output level sounded the same. Setting the volume the same for each dongle is a requirement as iPhones save each "device" with the last volume level it was set at.
So that's my subjective review. If you're used to the Apple lightning dongle, the Koss Utility lightning cable seems basically equivalent. I always end up using the Apple dongle anyway because it is just easier to remove when needed. I still wish the iphone just had a headphone jack but that battle has been lost.
I'm still curious how the Koss cable performs objectively. I have a MOTU interface, so maybe I'll give an actual measurment a shot at least just to compare output levels, but I would need to get some sort of adapter for the tiny TRRS jacks on the end of the Koss cables that connects to the headphones.
I was curious how these digital connections compare to, say, a standard apple lightning dongle. I did the comparison myself, and the Koss lightning cable does sound a bit "smoother" to my ear, but the difference is pretty subtle / nearly negligible. I listened at 4 clicks below max volume, and the output level sounded the same. Setting the volume the same for each dongle is a requirement as iPhones save each "device" with the last volume level it was set at.
So that's my subjective review. If you're used to the Apple lightning dongle, the Koss Utility lightning cable seems basically equivalent. I always end up using the Apple dongle anyway because it is just easier to remove when needed. I still wish the iphone just had a headphone jack but that battle has been lost.
I'm still curious how the Koss cable performs objectively. I have a MOTU interface, so maybe I'll give an actual measurment a shot at least just to compare output levels, but I would need to get some sort of adapter for the tiny TRRS jacks on the end of the Koss cables that connects to the headphones.
