OWS or on-ear?

[dr0ss]

For walking while listening to music or podcasts I've been happy with my Koss Porta-Pros; they're comfortable, and while far from audiophile they have a nice full sound that works well with voices. However, they don't work well with hats, and need a cable. (I also have a KSC75, which solves the hat issue, but not the cable.) So I'm looking at alternate options.

The best solution would be an IEM, but I hate the way they feel, plus I like being able to hear my surroundings while walking. The obvious thing is a KSC35 (same as the 75, but wireless, and over twice the price). I've also been intrigued by the inexpensive OWS clip-ons (like the Moondrop Pill, or something even cheaper like the Tozo OpenEarRing or Soundpeats Pop Clip), but not if the sound is much worse than the Koss. Does anyone who has used both have an opinion on the comparison? And is there a big difference in the OWS options at the $80, $40, and $20 price points, or is it subtle (and irrelevant for my old ears listening mainly to talking)? I can't find any reviews of OWS headphones here, and can't find comparisons to the Koss anywhere.

 

[staticV3]

Here are some GRAS measurement reviews of clip-on earphones:

Spoiler: Links

I haven't tried this style myself, so cannot give any personal advice sadly.

 

[dr0ss]

Thanks, these are at least somewhat useful; most of the reviews I've found of this kind of headphone have been purely subjective. The ones I've been looking at are all in the same class as the Baseus, which he measures. Between Amir's review of the Koss and the graphs in this review, I can expect the OWS sound quality to be inferior, but maybe not so much that they aren't useful. As I don't own anything in this form factor I'll probably just buy some to see how they are, and have around.

Honestly, I wish I could tolerate IEMs; sound quality there seems to be a nearly-solved problem, at a ridiculously low price point.

 

[ZolaIII]

Well there is a design limit when it comes to on ear/earphones. They can't do bottom octave as they are open/leaking there. I still love my Creative Aurvana Air especially on hot days on the go, don't mind cable and plenty of LDAC BT's to go with, and such BT's with good DAC start at 50 $\€ (for example Hiby W3 II).
So if you like regular Porta Pro you should try with BT dongle. I don't know how much you can't stand IEM's and would memory foam typs help (usually they do at least a little). Of course there are TWS with ANC with awareness (a lot of them) but that doesn't solve either sensitivity to having something plugged in ear or heat in ear chenel on the long run. I use IEM's only when working around the hause in very noisy environment (small petrol engines) for how good they block it. In such conditions I tolerate IEM's up to cuple hours. Favorite are old Sony MH-755 for short behind the neck cable (some times with their belongings old BT dongle for AM/FM analog radio).

 

[dr0ss]

So if you like regular Porta Pro you should try with BT dongle.

Of course I've done that, also with the KSC75 (which solves the hat problem). And I like the sound, and the feel on the ear. But these OWS are more secure, and are waterproof (all the Koss on-ears have foam pads that don't like the rain), and discrete. Anyway, I've now ordered some (Soundpeats, which have the advantage of physical buttons) and look forward to trying them.

 

[dr0ss]

Followup: As I said, I bought some Soundpeats, which were not my first choice, but they have physical pushbuttons for volume and pause control, and the price was right. They are supposed to be comparable to some of the choices in the videos @staticV3 linked. After a couple of days playing with them, here's my verdict:

They are more than adequate for my main use case, listening while walking, and the sound is quite clear. But even with equalization adjustments using the app, the overall the sound quality is vastly inferior to the Koss (let alone better headphones). This is a subjective judgment, so I hesitate to describe the difference in this forum using the language that springs to mind. But the form factor is genuinely great, and I will be using them quite a bit, though not often for music.

Thanks all for the helpful posts.

 

[Keith_W]

Well, this comes a bit late for you. But sometimes what you need is better equalisation, not better headphones. Unfortunately you will have to tune your equalisation subjectively.

 

[dr0ss]

Well, this comes a bit late for you. But sometimes what you need is better equalisation, not better headphones. Unfortunately you will have to tune your equalisation subjectively.

Not too late for me, I bought these to solve a form factor problem, and they do solve that. I'll simply wear different headphones for other situations. The soundpeats do come with an eq app, and it seems to work OK, but it really can't restore everything.