Impressions: KOSS Spark Plug

As someone who slacks off at work, I can’t function without music. I used to listen to tunes on my JVC SR500 headphones, but unfortunately my desk is right by the door, and the boss is always walking past, criticizing me for wearing headphones at work and saying it looks bad. Fine, I figured I’d switch to something low-key—an earbud. Considering I’ve been listening to a ton of fripside lately and really love that thumping bass, I went looking for a tiny thing with strong low end. I skipped the Beats that would’ve boosted my clout and ended up buying the KOSS Spark Plug—the legendary “spark plug.”

Of course, all that above is bullshit—I just wanted to buy something. Life itself is meaningless; only buying things lets you understand the true meaning of life.

I bought the Spark Plug on JD, genuine retail with a warranty, because after searching I found Taobao prices were the same as JD’s, so I might as well go somewhere with guarantees. The packaging is simple—it’s a cheap product, after all—but the shape is distinctive, kind of like an actual spark plug.

As an earphone built around heavy bass, I couldn’t wait to listen to fripside after it arrived. Oh man—I’d been listening to too many clean female vocals, and suddenly hearing such thick, rhythmic thumping bass caught me off guard. Wave after wave of low end crashed into my ear canals, and the repeated sonic thrusts reached deep inside every time, making me feel like I was climaxing over and over. And unlike the Beats a coworker bought, the Spark Plug’s bass has more quality to it, while the Beats’ low end sounds a bit muddy—basically, you hear an obvious buzzing.

Of course, since it’s built around heavy bass, the Spark Plug’s high frequencies aren’t great, and its resolution isn’t as good as balanced armatures. Vocals getting drowned out by the bass is unavoidable—that’s where Nanjō Yoshino’s thin voice really saves everything, making her not quite so buried in the low end. Beyond that, for MC Hotdog and Eminem rap and hip-hop tracks, the Spark Plug handles them with ease and sounds really fun.

The Spark Plug was discontinued at one point; this is the reissued new version. Compared to the old model, the internal tube has been softened so it won’t snap easily. The Spark Plug uses big memory foam tips, and the box includes a spare; you can get replacements on Taobao for 8 yuan. Wearing them isn’t exactly comfortable but is acceptable—the main thing is to be careful when rolling the foam thin and inserting it into your ear canal. At first I pushed too deep, thinking it was like the ER4P, and the outer contour clamped painfully against my ear canal; later I found inserting just halfway works fine. Worth noting: the Spark Plug’s cable is very thin and has no obvious microphonics—I tried running with them and had no problems. There’s also a small volume control on the cable, presumably handy for turning down the sound to hear people around you—pretty practical.

As a bass-focused earphone under 200 yuan, the Spark Plug takes the low end to the extreme. So sometimes when buying earphones you shouldn’t stress some bullshit about being an all-rounder or having balanced three frequencies—buying something with character and using a specialist tool for a specialist job is better.

Honestly, my favorite sound so far is still Audio-Technica’s CKM55—it preserves the bass while bringing out female vocals, basically the ACG standard. Sadly my CKM55 died. That thing should have an upgraded version by now, the CKM500—I’ll consider picking one up to relive it if I get the chance.

Finally, a sigh: buying things really does solve a bad mood, and buying this was honestly a bit of an impulse purchase. Last week I got dragged into a blind date—I had no interest—and during the chat, just after I said I don’t like going out much, that idiot woman across from me looked down on me, which still felt lousy. Damn it, I should participate in fewer of these stupid things from now on.