Koss KSC75 Ear Clips

Because they're actually good!. The KSC75 are $18 open back clip on headphones, and the Quarks are $13 IEMs, and they are both shockingly good sounding for the price. Now obviously they're not amazing in technical detail. But for their price, I would take them over most headphones under $100, and that's impressive at their price point.

The Koss KSC75 are budget on-ear headphones with a stable ear-hook design. They're compact and will easily fit into your pockets. They also have an open design and a decently well-balanced sound which makes them a very affordable critical listening option but they may lack a bit of bass for more casual listeners. Unfortunately, they're not very durable and look a little cheap.

The best headphones under $20 with an on-ear design that we've tested are the Koss KSC75. They have a unique clip-on design that's very lightweight and ensures a stable, secure fit without putting any pressure across the top of your head.

I heard nothing but good things about them when I read the internet, saying things like they are the best value you can get for under 50$ (or even $100), so I bought them. The package feels premium and I like the retro aesthetics of these on-ears, but when I tried them on I was like 'WTF is this muddy mess monstrosity I'm listening to?!'. Seriously, it's like the bass just ate the mids in a swirling parade of boominess and mud, and the treble committed suicide.

You can actually hear the bass guitar pretty clearly. Bands with heavier sound like Insomnium, Slumber, Death Angel, Children of Bodom and death metal in general have a more claustrophobic sound, with less clearly defined instruments (I attribute this to the mixing and not the headphones) but the ksc75 handles them miles better than the muddy Porta Pros. I'm hearing sounds I never heard before in songs I've listened to so many times before. Honestly these headphones will surprise you.