Koss Utility Cord Lightning Cable, Works Utility Series System, in-Line Microphone and Remote, Mfi Certified, Black

I liked the ability to switch between audio sources. Cables offer various options.

It costs more than the Utility Headphones. An accessory that you have to buy, in order for the Utility Headphones to work with your iPhone. From the beginning, the cord has not worked consistently. When it does work, sound often only comes out of one ear. A collar near the jack, is starting to come off. This cord appears to be very poorly made. The build quality is lower quality than what you might receive with a new phone or other electronic device. It's too bad, it's such a weak link.

Despite the new design and replaceable cables, Koss's new Utility line suffers from the same issue that plagues their other wired headphones: the fraying of the cable near the phone jack. I've been a faithful Koss headphone owner for decades, and I've gotten used to the rhythm of having to replace them with a new pair every 3-6 mos (thankfully, Koss has a lifetime warranty on its headphones, but you do have to pay $9 shipping each time).The only real improvement with the Utility line is that now I only have to ship the cable instead of the entire headphone. And I dig that I don't have to use a separate DAC for my iPhone. But, man, when will Koss finally improve their cable-to-jack connection?

Nothing is perfect, but this combination is very satisfying. Apple Lossless music paired with KPH40 and this Koss-branded Apple Mfi Certified cable is close to lightweight portable perfection. The KPH40 is a miraculously confident and detailed headphone a la Sony Walkman Prop era .circa 1979. You get open back, spatial, detailed, fun and comfortable in one portable solution that is well suited with current DAPs of today. I pair mine using the Mfi cord with Apple Lossless music via my iPhone 12 Pro Max’s, and to my HiBy R6 2020 using the 3.5 connector. Both are extremely satisfying experiences. If compact and light is your thing, and you want to be able to hear around you on public transportation commutes and still take calls, you really cannot go wrong with this.

First off... $45? The microphone is awful. Sounds like there is no frequency information above 1 kHz. This cable feels like it should cost $20 tops. I could get around the quality if it wasn't $45. I can't keep it because the mic is unusable, you'll frustrate anyone you talk to on the phone.

3 months later - the part that connects to the iPhone gets weak. And you have to wiggle it around to hear sound in both ears. You know like the old days. I also take great care of my cables. I don’t tug it or pull it. So it’s sad that it’s like this.

WHY IS KOSS STILL SELLING THIS FOR $45?!?! When I first tried plugging it in, I thought I broke the headphones because the sound was only coming out of the left driver. However, once I changed the wires back to the stock wiring, I realized it wasn't the cans that were broken. Instead, it was this broken, overpriced cable. I hope that koss addresses this problem with the cable because I LOVE everything about THE KPH40, but this cable problem just kind of sours it a bit for me.

Cord feels nice! Mic and buttons work well. Problem is build quality. 4 months into the life span of the cord, the internal components started to fail. Randomly skipping songs or activating Siri while I'm just walking.