October 8, 2026
#553
Gentle reader,
I have been in the best-sounding-enjoyment-of-recorded-music-I-can-afford, hobby for fifty years. I do not recall how many headphones I have owned in all those years, but it was not a lot. I prefer listening to speakers.
However, today, I DO have two pairs of very nice, but not very expensive ones. The ones below are neither of them. Although, I admit, when I saw SENNHEISER headphones on a thrift store shelf, I was excited! I will quickly show you a few of the more desirable ones I have found in the past.
I was hoping to find a generic non-AI photo of headphones and in-ear headphones together. But, every one I found was from a major website. I did not want to be accused of stealing an image. 
Since I did not have a real (real, to me, meant a 35mm SLR) camera until 1995, (believe it or not, cell phones, especially "smart" ones did not always exist!) it was one of these.
And, since it never occurred to me to take photos of everything I own (film, developing and printing were expensive) I did not keep records of things I used to own. Plus, I had NO idea that someday (in 2008) I would decide to write a blog.
KOSS was always a good American brand of headphones. These were their HV1A models I found these (and almost everyone which I am showing you here and below) in a thrift store, much to my delight. I found replacement foam pads for them. As you can see, I had to replace the 1/4" plug. This was before I knew about things like heat-shrink tubing, to make it look neat.
I had quite forgotten about most of the ones I am showing you. I sold them all to others via eBay, years ago. I just looked these (AKG K 66) up:
"Experience the fusion of comfort and sound quality with the AKG K 66 Stereo Headphones, a staple in the world of music gear for those who appreciate high-fidelity audio without breaking the bank. Crafted with a semi-open, circumaural design, these headphones deliver a beautifully natural and uncolored sound, making them perfect for both casual listening and detailed mixing sessions. The self-adjusting headband and plush leatherette ear pads ensure you enjoy a snug fit, while the lightweight build means you can wear them for hours without discomfort.
Whether you're in the studio or simply unwinding with your favorite tracks, the K 66 headphones promise an immersive audio experience with their powerful 40-mm speakers. These headphones boast a frequency range from 18Hz to 22kHz, covering the full spectrum of sound with clarity and precision. With an efficiency of 112dB SPL/V and a rated impedance of 32 ohms, they deliver sound that’s both powerful and nuanced, suitable for a variety of devices and audio interfaces."
The text is from an ad for these headphone. Incredible specifications! Of, course sound at 112 decibels would be fatal!
"AUVIO" is Best Buy's in-house electronics accessories brand. I did buy these new. They fold to make them more compact. I don't recall whether they sounded good or not.
Another wonderful KOSS find! Their PRO 4A models. Their rubber cushions had collapsed. I was able to find new pads, but they were smaller since KOSS shrunk the PRO 4A's size! I managed to stuff the new pads inside the old ones.
Now these, were bought new and at a bargain price, some years ago!
I saw them advertised in a magazine at a store some distance from where I lived. Not a store one would associate with audio equipment either. I don't remember the name. They advertised them as "JDM Audio Technica AIR ATH700 headphones!" ATH-AD700 | Audio-Technica
"JDM" stands for Japanese Domestic Market. Which means they were not meant to be sold outside of Japan. How those people got ahold of a number of them, I have no idea. The store wanted just $57 a pair, for them. They rested on your head rather than clamped onto your ears. 53mm or two inch diameter drivers are quite large for headphones. I enjoyed them for YEARS until one day, the left channel just stopped working. I then looked for replacements for them. Now sold outside of Japan, they had changed their design somewhat and are now called: AIR ATH AD700X. You will see more of them later on.
I have another pair of KOSS now, which I am listening to right now. You will see them as well, in a little bit.
The idea for this article started when I went to eject a CD from the optional in-the-glove-box CD player in my 2013 Cadillac ATS Performance 2.0T.
That is the car's official name. It simply would not eject the CD! "Oh, well," I thought, "the car is thirteen years old with 165,000 miles on it..." As a retired automotive and electro-mechanic, I figured, "How hard can it be to replace it?" Actually not hard at all. Above the photo of my car, is a General Motors official drawing of all the parts associated with the Cadillac ATS' glove box. The CD player bolts inside of part number 10, above.
This is the official GM photograph of the factory replacement CD player.
Installing the new CD player, which I bought from GM Parts Giant was a breeze. However when I started the engine up, instead of the CUE screen image below...
The screen was black with Theft Locked displayed on the screen front and center. "What the fudge?!?" said I. Well, not that exact word.
I contacted my wonderful Service Writer/Friend Patrick, at the local GM dealership's service department and told him the problem. "Oh, no! We may or may not be able to fix that!" NOT what I wanted to hear. The part was guaranteed to fit my vehicle. Fit it does, work, it does not!
I realized that I could use my ancient, bus still working SONY Car Discman similar to the one above, with some compact headphones until I can get the car to the shop. Nothing associated with the CUE system would display. Kind of like the cars or yore I used to drive.
A close-up of the things inside each of them.
Very impressive specifications, too!
If you type "Quality in-ear headphones" into eBay's SEARCH line, you will see many variations of this type of headphones with many different brands and components within their bodies and a wide variety of prices for essentially the same products.
To make them easily visible as to which ear is which, I used a red marker on the right one.
"Surely," I thought. "There must be a USB-C to 3.5mm plug adapter out there somewhere. And, I found one, seen below.
When I plugged the adapter into an analog source, no audio! It could not possibly be as simple as that! There would have to be an Analog to Digital Converter in the "biaze". Which of course, there is not.
"Okay," I thought. "That idea failed." I started looking for Android in-ear headphones, which greatly narrowed the search, since most have USB-C plugs. I wanted metal bodied ones as well. 
These were found on "the jungle site". They are of metal construction and have a "twisted pair" cable. Obvious that the Chinese company used "Ferrari Font". That is an actual thing, see below:
See? I'm not making this up. Oh, that little black bag (above) has a spring-loaded metal inside the opening within which one can store their headphones. It's tricky to get and hold open to insert or remove the coiled 'phones.
The model number of these particular headphones is SP3060. The Union Jack (the flag of Great Britain) intimates that Sephia is a British company. It's Chinese.
Now, the name BOSE has gotten tossed around quite a bit. "No highs, no lows, must be BOSE." is a frequent chant. Years ago, my wife bought me a pair of BOSE 301 speakers (then their top-of-the-line) hoping I would use them instead of the massive speakers I had in the living room. I did not. However, eventually, I mounted them in this room and wrote about it here: The Robb Collections: A GREAT way to mount your BOSE 301 speakers for excellent sound! That was thirteen years ago. The do lack bass and highs, but don't sound that bad.
Okay, "massive" is an exaggeration. Our living room is not that large. Note how she put plants one every thing! One must meet the "Spouse-Approval Test" when putting electronics in the main room of the house. She was delighted when I moved the stereo into what we now call the Den.
Sorry for going off on a tangent. My readers are used to my doing that. What was I writing about, again? Oh, yes, listing to in-ear headphones in my car.
These are the BOSE SoundTrue in-ear headphones I purchase from him. The last pair available. Some eBay sellers have NOS* models and want almost $500 for them! The seller I bought them had these plus SoundSport models. He had hundreds of them. All were tested, thoroughly cleaned and a set of three pair different sized new silicone adapters were included. *New Old Stock.
They have a built-in volume control and a microphone. Once I tried and selected the best fitting silicon ear adapters and figured out how to orient them correctly so that they snap on the headphones, they fit very well and snugly. How is the sound? In a word: FANTASTIC! They are very detailed, with crisp clear highs, tight bass and no distortion at all. Frankly, I am thrilled with them! Will THEY deliver super deep bass. No.
I showed you the back of this box to show you how obvious it is to see someone wearing them while driving. Not that local law enforcement would notice... KOSS, brilliantly decided to start making these long-discontinued headphone models again. I love them!
Again, anyone who listens to headphones of any type at higher than 89 decibels will miss their hearing in later years. 
My replacement for the JDM Audio-Technica AIR ATH700 headphones, now called ATH700X. A size comparison, above, next to the KOSS Porta Pro models.
A direct comparison of the originals and current (all black) models. These rested on one's head. One would not even want to walk with these on! The new ones do grip the ears but only enough to keep them on.
A side view to compare the two of them. Both sound great, but for comfort and long listening sessions, the larger ones are not fatiguing in anyway.
A closer look at the construction of the Sephia SP3060 in-ear headphones.
The clear outer insulation makes it easy to see the twisted pair of wires inside.
There are also many different "brands" of almost identical headphones of this particular design on eBay, and no doubt on the jungle site too.
So, how did these nicely made in-ear headphones sound? "Bright" is a good word for them. Complete and utter lack of lower frequencies. If I pressed them into my ears, there was a semblance of bass. But the rest of the sound became muddy.
I expanded my search on eBay by adding the word: BOSE.
WAY back in the Day, being able to own a pair of BOSE 901 speakers was a lofty goal. A couple years ago, my brother-in-law had a pair, WITH the original boxes and the equalizer. He offered them to me for FREE! The caveat being all 18 drivers needed new foam. I thanked him, but declined. You see, to fully enjoy BOSE "Direct-Reflecting" speakers, they must be set up like below. The Model 301 speakers are also "Direct-Reflecting" and thus, must be set up the same way.
This is one of the eBay seller's images of one of the hundreds of used wired BOSE SoundTrue and SoundSport headphones he was selling.
Not what one expects to see on the back of a product available in the USA: Lots of Japanese characters.
And, finally, the front of the box which the large headphones made their journey from Japan to the east coast of the United States residing within.
To conclude: Do in-ear headphone sound as good as on-ear, especially larger drivers ones? Based upon my VERY limited comparison, no. TINY drivers required by "ear buds" and the all-metal models I tried, simply are physically unable to reproduce sounds from 20Hertz (DEEP bass) to 20,000Hertz (beyond what most musical instruments can produce) due to their diminutive size. The makers can put several drivers like the digital ones I bought via eBay, in them, but still they just can't move enough AIR to recreate true bass frequencies. 
This is one of the large speakers I had in the living room which prompted my wife to buy the BOSE 301 speakers. Turns out, they are pretty rare. Note the three different sized drivers. A fifteen inch woofer, for bass frequencies (they CAN move a LOT of air!) the five inch midrange speaker, for, middle frequencies and, in the case of these speakers, a horn tweeter for high frequencies. TINY in-ear "buds" or any other type simply cannot move all frequencies, no matter who makes them or how much one spends to buy them. It's physics.
Thank you for taking the time to read this rather long article. I hope that your learned some things from it. Feel free to comment below, or via Facebook.
Scott Robb
October 8, 2026
#553
