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We compare products from their published specs and features; the verdicts below are our independent editorial opinions.
If you want featherweight, open-back wired headphones for critical listening at a desk, choose Koss KPH40; if you need wireless TV headphones with a charging dock and a 40-hour battery for couch and late-night viewing, choose Earbay Headphones. These two barely compete for the same buyer — the real question is whether your listening happens at a desk or in front of a TV.
• Koss KPH40 biggest strength: an ultra-lightweight stainless steel chassis at roughly 0.11 kg with an open-back, on-ear design and a detachable Utility Cord system. That is a genuinely unusual combination at any level of the market.
• Koss KPH40 biggest trade-off: no noise control at all, foam cushions that sit on the ear rather than around it, and a wired-only signal path unless you add the USB-C Utility cord for its built-in DAC.
• Earbay Headphones biggest strength: a complete TV-audio kit — Bluetooth 5.4 with under-40ms latency, optical/RCA/AUX connectivity, a 3-in-1 charging base, and up to 40 hours of battery life.
• Earbay Headphones biggest trade-off: it is built for a screen, not for music. Over-ear, sound-isolating, button-controlled, and tethered to a transmitter dock or a Bluetooth source.
• Who Koss KPH40 is for: listeners who want minimal weight and an airy, open presentation for long desk sessions.
• Who Earbay Headphones is for: anyone who wants private TV audio — especially seniors, late-night viewers, or anyone who wants to walk around the house without pausing the show.
The KPH40 is a study in subtraction. Koss took an on-ear, open-back design, wrapped it in a stainless steel headband, and kept the whole thing down to about 0.11 kg. That number matters more than it sounds. On-ear headphones apply pressure directly to the outer ear, and the lighter the frame, the longer you can wear them before that pressure becomes the thing you notice. The foam cushions are soft rather than plush, and the adjustable steel band is meant to be bent and shaped to your head instead of clamped onto it.
The audio side is where the KPH40 earns its keep. Dynamic drivers, 60 ohm impedance, 101 dB sensitivity, and a frequency response Koss rates at 15–25,000 Hz — wider than the 20 Hz–20 kHz figure listed in the driver specs, so treat the 15–25,000 Hz number as the marketing headline and the 20 Hz–20 kHz as the driver figure. Either way, this is an open-back tuning: you get an airy midrange and a sense of space that closed headphones struggle to match, and you give up bass isolation in exchange. Because it is open-back, it leaks sound outward and lets room noise in. That is a feature, not a defect, if you are working alone and want to stay aware of your surroundings.
The detachable cord system is the sleeper feature. The included 3.5mm Utility Cord handles standard wired listening, and the USB-C Utility Cord option adds a built-in DAC that supports 24-bit/96kHz high-resolution audio. So the same pair of headphones can plug into a phone, a laptop, or a DAC-equipped source without a dongle chain. There is also a Bluetooth mention in the connectivity specs, which tells you the KPH40 Utility ecosystem is designed to travel across wired and wireless setups depending on which cord you attach. Colored cushions in orange, red, blue, purple and yellow are available separately if you want to change the look.
Buy the KPH40 if you listen at a desk, you hate weight on your head, and you value an open, detailed sound over isolation. Skip it if you need noise blocking, a long wireless battery, or a headphone for TV watching across the room — the KPH40 is the wrong tool for all three. It ships with a limited lifetime warranty, which says something about how Koss views the steel frame.
The Earbay set is a different species entirely. This is a TV audio system disguised as a pair of headphones: over-ear, oval-shaped earcups in black and gold, built from ABS, plastic, faux leather and stainless steel, with 40mm dynamic drivers and 32 ohm impedance. The sensitivity is listed at 112 dB, which is high — that is the kind of figure that makes quiet dialogue intelligible without cranking the volume, and it is exactly why this product is pitched at seniors and people with mild hearing loss.
The headline spec is latency. Earbay rates it at 49 milliseconds in the audio specs while the feature copy promises under 40ms via Bluetooth 5.4. Either way, that is low enough that lip-sync stays convincing, which is the single biggest complaint people have about cheap TV headphones. Range is listed at 15 meters in the Bluetooth specs, with the marketing copy claiming up to 30m/100ft — the conservative number is the one I would plan around, and 15 meters is still enough to cross a living room, step into a kitchen, and keep listening.
Battery life is the other anchor: up to 40 hours. That is roughly a week of normal evening viewing on a single charge, and the transmitter doubles as a charging dock, so the headphones recharge simply by being set back on the base. The 3-in-1 base transmits audio, charges, and stores the headphones in one object, which is a real quality-of-life detail for anyone who has ever hunted for a misplaced headset.
Connection is genuinely flexible: optical, RCA, or 3.5mm AUX cables are included, so it works with TVs that have any of those outputs, and Bluetooth pairing covers TVs that have none. Controls are physical push buttons rather than touch, which is the right call for this audience — buttons give you feedback you can feel in the dark. The earcups use memory foam wrapped in protein leather with sound isolation, so the audio stays yours and the room stays quiet. Warranty is one year.
Buy the Earbay if you want private TV sound, easy setup, long battery, and a dock that keeps everything organized. Skip it if you are shopping for music headphones — the over-ear, isolating, button-driven design is optimized for speech and screen audio, not for critical listening.
• Best for weight and long-wear comfort → Koss KPH40. About 0.11 kg on a stainless steel frame is about as light as on-ear headphones get.
• Best for battery life → Earbay Headphones. Up to 40 hours, with a dock that recharges automatically.
• Best for TV and dialogue clarity → Earbay Headphones. 112 dB sensitivity, low latency, optical/RCA/AUX inputs.
• Best for music and open, airy sound → Koss KPH40. Open-back dynamic drivers with a 15–25,000 Hz rated response.
• Best for noise isolation → Earbay Headphones. Sound isolation with memory foam and protein leather cushions; the KPH40 has none.
• Best for high-resolution wired audio → Koss KPH40. The USB-C Utility Cord adds 24-bit/96kHz DAC support.
• Best for seniors or mild hearing loss → Earbay Headphones. High sensitivity, simple buttons, and a base that makes charging obvious.
• Best for a shared living room → Earbay Headphones. Wireless range lets you move around without disturbing anyone.
• Best for tinkering and cord swaps → Koss KPH40. Detachable Utility Cord system plus optional colored cushions.
In my opinion, these are not substitutes — they are two answers to two different questions. If I had to pick one for the way most people actually listen, I would take the Earbay Headphones, because it solves a complete problem: private TV audio, a dock, a long battery, and simple controls in one box, and it works with almost any TV output. But if your listening is music at a desk and you want the lightest possible thing on your head with a real high-resolution wired path, the Koss KPH40 is the one I would reach for. Buy the Koss for your ears; buy the Earbay for your living room. Before either, check the current price on Amazon — the button on this page will show you where things stand today.
FAQ
how to wear on ear headphones
how to make on ear headphones more comfortable
Start by adjusting the headband so the pressure is spread evenly rather than concentrated above one ear. The KPH40's steel band can be gently shaped, and Koss offers oversized cushions in several colors as an alternative to the standard foam. If your ears still ache after long sessions, an over-ear design like the Earbay Headphones, with memory foam and protein leather cushions, spreads pressure around the ear instead of on it.
how to wear on ear headphones comfortably
Keep listening sessions reasonable at first and let your ears adapt, and take the headphones off periodically if you feel pressure building. On the KPH40, the goal is a light seal against the ear, not a clamp — the headband is adjustable, so use that range. If you wear glasses, slide the arms under the cushions rather than letting them push the pads outward.
how to clean on ear headphones
Wipe the foam cushions and the stainless steel headband with a soft, slightly damp cloth, and avoid soaking the foam. On the Earbay Headphones, the protein leather ear cushions and ABS housing can be wiped the same way, and the charging base should be cleaned dry with the power disconnected. Never submerge either pair in water.
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