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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
Updated: 2026-09-23 · 7 min read · Independent comparison
• Koss 155954 — biggest strength: It's a tiny, universal volume-control tool with a 39-inch cord, a belt/pocket clip, and a lifetime warranty, so it plugs into any 3.5 mm jack on any portable player.
• Koss 155954 — biggest trade-off: It's not a real headset. There's no microphone, no USB-C, and no sound isolation, and it needs a device with a physical 3.5 mm headphone jack to do anything.
• Hylvsoe USB C Headphones — biggest strength: Plug-and-play USB-C audio with an in-line microphone and button volume control, built for the devices that no longer have a headphone jack — iPhones 15 through 17, iPads, MacBooks, Samsung, Pixel, Lenovo and Dell.
• Hylvsoe USB C Headphones — biggest trade-off: It's USB-C only, so anything with a classic 3.5 mm jack is out of reach, and some devices need OTG or audio-switching enabled before sound comes through.
• Who each pick is for: Koss 155954 for the person who already owns wired headphones and just wants easier volume control; Hylvsoe USB C Headphones for the person whose phone or laptop dropped the headphone jack and who needs a mic for calls.
The Koss 155954 is a bit of a misunderstood product, and that's worth clearing up before you buy. It's marketed as a volume-control cord, and that's exactly what it is: a 39-inch inline volume wheel that sits between your headphones and your device. You plug it into any 0.125-inch (3.5 mm) headphone jack, plug your own headphones into it, and now you have a physical volume knob within reach. The included pocket/belt clip means you can park it on a waistband instead of letting it dangle. Koss backs it with a lifetime warranty, which tells you the company expects this little accessory to keep working.
What it does best is universality on the analog side. Any portable music device, any 3.5 mm output, any pair of wired headphones — it doesn't care about brand, operating system or generation. If you're the kind of person who still uses a dedicated music player, an older phone with a headphone jack, or a laptop with a combo audio port, this is the kind of accessory that quietly fixes an annoyance: reaching for your phone every time you want the volume two notches lower.
Hylvsoe USB C Headphones: Who It's For
The Hylvsoe USB C Headphones attack the opposite problem: the vanishing headphone jack. These are wired in-ear buds with a USB Type C plug, a 15 mm dynamic driver, 32 ohm impedance, and a 1.2 m (about 3.93 ft) cable — long enough to reach from a pocket to your ears without tugging. The housing is ABS plastic with TPE, finished in white, and the earpieces are bud-shaped for an in-ear fit that provides sound isolation. There's a button control module on the cable for volume, and a microphone built into the back of that module, so you can take calls without holding the phone.
The compatibility list is the real story here, and it's long. On the Apple side it covers iPhone 15, 16 and 17 series, iPad Pro in 11-, 12.9- and 13-inch sizes, iPad Air, the 10th-gen iPad, iPad Mini, and MacBook Air and MacBook Pro across multiple generations. On the Android and Windows side it covers Samsung Galaxy S20 through S26 and Note series, Google Pixel 2 through 8, Galaxy Tab tablets, and Lenovo and Dell USB-C laptops. That's about as broad a "one cable, many devices" pitch as you'll find in a wired USB-C earbud.
Who should buy it: anyone whose daily carry is a USB-C phone, tablet or laptop and who wants a corded headset for calls, video meetings, and listening without worrying about charging a battery. The microphone placement matters — the instructions note you should keep your mouth close to the mic on the back of the volume control during calls, which is normal for this style but worth knowing. Who should skip it: anyone with a device that only has a 3.5 mm jack, and anyone who wants wireless freedom. Also note the setup caveat: if you plug in and hear nothing, your device may need its OTG or audio-switching function turned on. That's a one-time toggle, not a defect, but it does mean "plug and play" isn't guaranteed on every single device. The warranty runs one year.
Side-by-Side: Which Should You Choose?
• Best for making phone calls → Hylvsoe USB C Headphones. It has an in-line microphone; the Koss 155954 has none.
• Best for modern phones without a headphone jack → Hylvsoe USB C Headphones. USB-C covers iPhone 15–17, Galaxy S20–S26, Pixel 2–8 and more.
• Best for keeping the headphones you already own → Koss 155954. It's an inline accessory, not a replacement headset — your existing cans stay in the equation.
• Best for passive noise reduction → Hylvsoe USB C Headphones. The in-ear bud design provides sound isolation; the Koss unit has no noise control at all.
• Best for volume control without touching your device → a tie. Both offer remote volume adjustment, Koss via a wheel on the cord and Hylvsoe via a button module.
• Best for durability confidence on paper → Koss 155954. It carries a lifetime warranty versus one year on the Hylvsoe.
• Best for tablet and laptop work calls → Hylvsoe USB C Headphones. iPad, MacBook, Galaxy Tab, Lenovo and Dell USB-C machines are all explicitly listed.
If I had to pick one for the average person reading this in 2025, I'd buy the Hylvsoe USB C Headphones. The reason is simple: most of us now carry devices that charge over USB-C and no longer have a headphone jack, and this headset meets that reality with a mic, a 15 mm driver, sound isolation, and a compatibility list that spans Apple, Samsung, Google, Lenovo and Dell. The Koss 155954 is genuinely useful — the lifetime warranty and universal 3.5 mm fit are real strengths — but it's a volume-control accessory for analog holdouts, not a headset. If you still live in a 3.5 mm world and already love your wired headphones, the Koss is the smarter buy. For everyone else, USB-C is the future you're already living in. Check the current price on Amazon before you commit, since both are inexpensive enough that the decision should come down to fit, not budget.
how to unpair headphones from all devices
The Hylvsoe USB C Headphones and the Koss 155954 are both wired, so there's no pairing to undo — you simply unplug them. If you own separate Bluetooth headphones and want them disconnected from everything, remove the device from each phone's or computer's Bluetooth settings list individually, since there's no universal "forget all" button that reaches every device at once.
how to make headphones forget all devices
On wired models like these, nothing is stored, so unplugging is enough. For Bluetooth headphones, "forgetting" happens on the source side: go into each paired device's Bluetooth menu, select the headphones, and choose to forget or delete the pairing. You'll need to repeat that on every phone, tablet and laptop you've connected to, one at a time.
how to disconnect headphones from all devices
Unplug the USB-C or 3.5 mm connector and the audio route ends immediately — that's the whole process for the Hylvsoe USB C Headphones and the Koss 155954. With wireless headphones, disconnect means turning them off and, if you want a clean slate, forgetting the pairing on each device so they don't auto-reconnect next time they power on.
how to listen to two devices at once with headphones
Neither of these is designed for simultaneous multi-device audio. They're single-connection wired products: one plug, one source at a time. To hear two devices through one pair of headphones you'd need a mixer or a splitter-style audio combiner fed by both sources, not the headphones themselves. The realistic setup is switching the plug between devices as needed.
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