Koss GMR 540-ISO & 545-AIR Gaming Headsets: Open Backs You Need to Own

Check out my review of the Koss GMR-540-ISO and 545-AIR. At $60-$75 these are definitely worth a look - particularly if you've been looking for an entry-level open back gaming headset.
Affiliate Links:
Koss GMR-540-ISO:
Amazon US - amzn.to/2s5gnQD
Koss GMR-545-AIR:
Amazon US - amzn.to/2KOuT6n
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[@potatosmasher1072]

I really appreciate you smacking through your points about the headphones. So many reviewers drag shit out but you aren’t. Nice 👍

[@badseedtech]

Missed it in the video but Koss has a LIFETIME warranty!! That's practically unheard of these days so no fear at all about build quality. 👍

[@BobKarnowski]

Lifetime Warranty and really no questions asked/no registration/receipt required.

[@sighisoaraa]

Isn't that for US only though?

[@gentlerain3245]

the Lifetime warranty is a GOTCHA scam. You see, YOU can send a defective unit to KOSS and you pick whatever carrier you want, now KOSS picks UPS Next Day Air. I wanted to get my $10 Koss KSC75 replaced but KOSS once they have your headphone there its held hostage, you either get scammed $40+ in shipping from KOSS to you OR you get scammed and authorize them to discard your headphone which then they will gladly refurbish it and resell as "new". They will NOT under any circumstance be empathetic and use some USPS flatrate box, they will put you in that spot ON PURPOSE.

[@MadAzn53]

Another solid review. Thanks for a great vid.

[@badseedtech]

Thank you man! Absolutely happy to be making them.

[@joshgarcia4859]

Dude, field stripping your headset? You're a madman! Looks like these would be too small for my melon, but I will be pointing my younger brother at these for a less expensive option for our Xbox sessions. Great review as always, brother!

[@profosist]

That was front Martin over at Koss credited below the photo/video.

[@badseedtech]

Yeah man, definitely can't take credit for that one. That's a killer shot from Martin Moore kzbin.info/door/N7qcKubT7kSLlcrYlJAqtA

[@SuperMassiveGrayCat]

Bought openbacks, they are great, thx for the advice!

[@OzzyBoganTech]

So much info very good review.

[@profosist]

Just thought I'd say thanks for the shoutout and great video as always!

[@johnb8757]

With budget open backs you should compare these to the philips shp9500s they are also a popular open backed headphone, they are not really designed for gaming though, so I don't know how they would compare.

[@Celesian]

Long time sub looking for a headset didn't know you had a review for this lol. Anyway love the videos 👑

[@satyakatta714]

HOLY HELL I WATCHED THIS AFTER WATCHING HIS LATEST VID. THE BEARD

[@bppdc]

Microphone test at 5:22

[@AD-sw8ku]

I was suprise to not see the beard lol didn't even realize this was 2 years ago

[@mr.yonosenada]

I have been using the Porta Pross since like, forever. I will certainly give these a go. By the way, consider me subbed Bryan!

[@davidyurko4889]

For the same cash...would you buy the open back Koss or the ASTRO A10? Thanks for the review!

[@gilbee14]

Ive heard of koss, I’m curious how these would do with the gsx1000

[@badseedtech]

They go pretty decent. You start to get some bass rumble in the driver itself at about 75-80% volume...mids start to deteriorate at about 5-10% below that.

[@immortallix]

Got the open air usb ones. Above like 30% volume on the switch and Ps4 these get *very* distorted. Didn't get any distortion on a regular aux cable, so I thought I got a bad usb dac. Got a replacement and exactly the same problem. Experienced this at all on any console?

[@LEGENDGAMES-SD]

It's 19$ on Drop right now

[@Zermelo]

You going to do a review on that NZXT RGB hardware in your rig? I know they been around for a while, but it would be good to see a review.

[@badseedtech]

I actually will be taking it head-to-head against the new Dark Rock Pro 4 cooler. 👍

[@HiCZoK]

Kph30i makes for great headset

[@Dizzyfatpigeon]

OK, so the best comparison to these in terms of sound quality are the tried and tested budget quality headphone king the Superlux HD668b Despite the price increase, do you think these honestly get the seal of approval from going from the H668b to these? Is there much going up from there?

[@badseedtech]

Man, I am literally going to go order a pair of SuperLuxs right now. I get asked about them all the time and I need to have that baseline knowledge. I've already got a mod mic to pair them with and it would make for a good video versus all these high-end gaming cans I've tried. Short answer is - I can't answer that right now. But I will.

[@Dizzyfatpigeon]

Wow, You haven't tried them, I'm no audiophile, but they are the best headphones I've ever used outside of top tier $150 stuff. Combined with the FiiO E10K DAC, just wow, you'll incredibly impressed.

[@badseedtech]

Haven't heard that DAC but I have a Mayflower ARC sitting here that will probably let them stretch their legs.

[@Dizzyfatpigeon]

Awesome, but again... i'm quite stunned you haven't ever tried the superluxes, I think they honestly might make this review invalid from their build quality alone (no offense to you) can't wait to hear what you think of them.

[@gorollin40]

Why wasn’t these in the best headsets under $100 ?? They seem really good

[@badseedtech]

Damn, honestly that my bad dude. I haven't used them in ages and had forgot all about them. They actually are quite good, especially for the price. Maybe I'll do a budget headset round up.

[@15Godrick]

These or cooler masters for competitive gaming/footsteps?

[@badseedtech]

Cooler Master

[@loolgam1ng229]

is it just me. or is the sound pretty bad in the video???. great review though

[@johncapone8843]

these connect via usb only? or 3.5 to connect to mayflower arc?

[@badseedtech]

There's two different versions of each style...one is us, the other is 3.5mm

[@johncapone8843]

@@badseedtech yeah I notice that, the usb version was like 20 dollars more, why the price difference for just connect type or is there other features?

[@badseedtech]

Literally just the connection. No need to pay for the USB unless you're on a laptop.

[@johncapone8843]

@@badseedtech Thank you for the reply's, I just placed my order and looking forward to trying these on the Arc and my g6 for a every day beat around headphones.

[@jeebus5063]

This is scary. no beard?

[@Michaud12]

NO BEARD!

[@purrito3892]

I've been daily driving these for about 6 months now and for your concern about the cable, its been a non-issue for me. I have my computer about a foot away so the 8ft cable does lay on the ground a lot and I've run it over multiple times with no damage. Its been yanked, rolled, chewed, a bunch of things and no issues. I love these and consider them one of my best ever investments

[@badseedtech]

Nice! Good to hear, thanks for the update.

[@vskye1]

Nice review. I haven't even thought about Koss stuff for years. Remembers installing a Alpine radio / cassette player in my old ass car thinking I was awesome. JBL speakers even. ;)

[@badseedtech]

Right?! I remember them from high school (which was AGES ago lol) I did a double take when someone mentioned them and was blown away that they specifically had a PC gaming line.

[@DarkTranqz]

Good review. I'll take your word on it and check out a pair of these lol. The last headset that I've even bought in quite a while is the new Logitech G Pro. But I've also been really curious about open-backs, just haven't cared much for the price.. At this price point, for sure, I'll check 'em out lol.

[@badseedtech]

Thanks man! I'm actually pretty curious about the G Pros but the availability has been so sporadic, I really haven't tried to nail a pair down. How are you finding them?

[@TheChill0ut]

Use these with a V-moda Boompro mic and HyperX usb amp 7.1 works great on console as on pc.

[@ngstigator]

the background music volume is at the point where i have difficulty listening to what you're saying. this is wearing the very headset you're reviewing.

[@busteraycan]

I just got this headset and the microphone is complete trash with a very high noise floor. Has anyone else experienced this? Should I send it to the warranty?

[@MinatoLord4th]

Glad to see you making vids again. Quality.

[@badseedtech]

Thanks bro!

[@DocBrewskie]

When I was a kid koss was total junk. They have really stepped it up.the KPH30s are fire!!!! 30 bucks and killer.

[@SpencerDean14]

Definitely glad to see these in the mix. Might force Sennheiser to make an open back budget option

[@S3rv3nT4p]

Hey I'm about to buy my new gaming audio stuff and just to recap you said the best audio experience for gaming is the gsp 500 and the gsx 1000?

[@badseedtech]

Yep! Still my personal favorite setup.

[@rajatbansal512]

These are amazing

[@TheJustPull5641]

Would either of these be ok for ps4 use?how bad do the open back leak sound? I share a gaming space in thr living room would they hear everything?also i have a splitter is thats needed for console use