Koss PortaPro Headphones with Case
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Dynamic element design for deep bass performance; Comfort zone setting on temporal pad for comfortable, secure fit; Multi-pivoting earplates and adjustable headband for added comfort; Collapsible for maximum portability when listening on the go; Includes convenient carrying case; Includes 1/8″ and 1/4″ stereo plugs for home and portable use; Straight, dual entry 4 foot cord; Frequency response: 15-25,000 Hz.
Features
- Dynamic-element design for deep bass performance
- Comfort Zone setting on temporal pad for comfortable, secure fit
- Collapsible for maximum portability when listening on the go
- Multipivoting ear plates and adjustable headband for added comfort
- Includes convenient carrying case
- Dimensions (W x H x L): 4 x 10 x 6 inches
- Weight: 0 pounds
Finally tried Koss Portapro
I have been having Grado Labs SR60 and SR80 for a couple of years, but Koss Portapro always rings into my mind as they are much cheaper, and they are supposed to be really good with a sound signature somewhat similar to my Grados.
Okay, I finally pulled trigger two weeks ago. My initial impressions are (only burned in for about 10 hours).
- Bass is a little too much (that’s expected and is a selling point for Portapros). But with EQing, I can make it a bit better to my taste.
- Sound is not too clear overall (comparing with Grados of course), but this may improve over time with more burned in (based on my prior experiences).
My sources are very decent MP3 players and laptop with external sound card. No external amps were used in any way.
In the end, Portapro lives within my expectations. I like them for their compact shape, portability (which Grado lacks), comfort (slightly worse than Grados). I think these are not as good as Grado Labs SR60 and SR80, if a straight comparison has to be made. Value wise, I would go to SR60 if you can buy used. If you only buy new electronics, then these are really good values.
Fantastic drivers, obviously, but they don’t make them like they used to
I bought these headphones obviously because of the glowing reviews that are literally everywhere about them. When I received them I was absolutely astonished at how cheaply they are put together, and was very disappointed. The cable is so thin and flimsy it literally creases from gravity. The metal feels like strips of aluminum from a can of soda. That being said, I was FLOORED by the audio quality. Make no mistake, the two months it takes you to break these, you will be gushing over the crisp balance and the deep, rich bass. My left ear blew out, and instead of taking advantage of the warranty, I chucked this one up as a loss and found the Sennheiser HD 202’s to be exactly what I was looking for at this price. I would suggest you check those out instead if you are in the market for this caliber of sound for the sub-$30 dollar price point (and who isn’t, really).
Mine broke (twice), but they have a great warranty
These are really great. I love them. They are loud, good bass that doesn’t sound muddy. Well balanced sound, not tinny but very full sounding.
It looks like they updated the end of the cord since I bought them. Mine was a straight style cord and because of the tension caused by gravity on the end of the cord, my left channel failed after 2-3 months. I sent them back to Koss and they replaced them for ~$7 (including shipping) and they got them back to me in a week. I was really impressed until the new pair failed in the exact same way, only this time it took 2-3 WEEKS for it to happen.
BUT it looks like they switched to an L-shaped end of the cord, which is very smart. I don’t know if it matters though because I’ve had many pairs of ipod headphones and they never fail, they just sound crappy and then break after enough sweat drips in them when i go running. I dunno..
Buy these headphones
These headphones are excellent, light, comfortable, and the sound is great. I bought one pair. then I had to get a pair for my wife, then one for my brother-in-law, then another two pairs for my other brother-in-law and sister-in-law. At only $30 they make a very much appreciated gift too.
Great sound and comfort, frustrating design
These headphones sound great and are extremely comfortable. However, there is one crippling design flaw that makes these headphones a bit of a nightmare to use. The headphones feature a “comfort zone” clicker which goes from light to firm, controlling the amount of support you get from the temporal pads. The “light” setting places less pressure on your ears, more pressure on the padding, and the “firm” setting does the opposite. While the default setting is firm, the headphones are most comfortable using the light setting in my experience. Each earpad is on a swivel arm which you can click into the light setting. The problem is, it’s only designed to stay in the light setting with constant outward pressure on the earpads. The settings are NOT locked into place, so if you place so much as a single hair against the headphones they will click back to the firm setting. Constantly changing this setting (and re-clicking, and re-changing, and oops they clicked back, and re-clicking) makes for a frustrating experience and I’m absolutely stymied as to why Koss could not design these settings to stay in place.
Great Headphones.
Best Headphones I’ve ever owned. Sound quality is tops, and comfort is good enough to wear for extended periods of time. Design is good looking and draws attention. Folding mechanism can get entangled in hair of any length, but can be avoided once you’re aware of this fact.
The cord started to fray after about 7 months of heavy use. I kept my MP3 player in my pocket and was never very gentle with it, nor the headphones. Audio worked despite the fraying, but planned on trying out lifetime warranty service (I believe it costs $6 and price of shipping to Koss). Didn’t get to personally check out the lifetime warranty claim since my headphones were stolen.
Assuming that Koss makes good on their lifetime warranty. Very decent purchase.
best headphone
i am not a professional. but i love to listen music a lot.i am using koss headphones since last 4 yrs. recently i bought koss porta pro.sound quality is best as compared to other headphones like boss, Philips,etc. this product has advantages and disadvantages
advantages are
bass :9.9/10
treble:9.8/10
true surround:10/10
weight:very light
economic:cheaper to buy from amazon
portable
disadvantages
company made this product to delicate..sometimes to 2 sides of headphone become a part .. but it very easy to re fix.. even with in a sec. i feel everyproduct has some advantages and disadvantages if anybody to use headphones for better quality buy this product.
Great phones for the price.
I agonized over buying new headphones, comparing endlessly. I finally decided on these based on reviews and the price, and Koss’ reputation. I am very pleased. Sound is excellent with good separation and clarity at all ranges. I find them very comfortable and I have a big head – the extra pads above the earphones are very useful in keeping them snug and in place without shifting. I have used for four months now with no issues. Highly recommended.
The sound is simply the best
Why does a cheap set of headphones with weird plastic ear-cups and a metal band that catches in your hair get so many five star reviews? Because they sound amazing. Nothing in this price range even comes close. Most people compare these with the Sennheiser PX100 II. Well, I have both and they are both excellent headphones, and the sennheisers are much better quality, but the sound of the Portapros is much better. I am on my second pair, and will buy another when this set breaks.
The Last Headphones you will ever buy!!!
I was due for a new set of headphones, and as I despise earbuds, I searched carefully, and found these superb phones from Koss. They are not expensive, yet if you are particular about your music, your ears will hear sounds other headphones could not reproduce. I can wear these all day and they are not so large you look like a relic from the 70’s. They fold closed and come with a leather-like bag. The bass is clear and not muddy, the highs are clean and not painful to the ear.
This model has been in production continiously since 1984 without change! Koss hit it right with these!
Very comfortable, good sound
I use the headphones to listen to TV and PC. They are lighter and smaller than the picture led me to believe, which is a good thing. The side foam pads, for your temples really help keep the pressure off your ear. But this pressure is also adjustable by sliding tabs on the tops of the headphone part. So you can get just the right amount of pressure. The sliding metal bands allow for a large range of size. With the sliding metal bands and a hinged earpieces the unit folds up to a compact size. I really like these but I never give five stars.
Good product, but beware long term durability
YES, I know they have a lifetime warranty. But, I have to pay shipping there, and shipping $6 back. So for a $30 set of headphones I have to pay a third of the cost to get a replacement.
That said, great bang for the buck with audio quality. Good bass, but clear, not boomy like cheapos. However, the cord frayed within 2 months, and I’m hearing occasional audio go out. I think the quality of the build is a 2 out of 5, but the audio is 5 out of 5. Be aware you are getting a cheaply made product that outperforms the price. I’m personally going to look to switch over to grado’s or something that seems more durable.
Nice cans
These headphones produce a very nice sound and are lighter than what one might imagine from just viewing the image. A little more manageable for long periods of music enjoyment, since they set lightly on the ear (there are three pressure positions) instead of sticking directly into the canal.
Not as good as other reviewers say
These headphones are ok, but they look cheap, since they are, and I didn’t notice much difference in the sound quality from my sparkplug’s to these. I couldnt wear these for more than an hour without them hurting my ears, but for the price you could certainly do worse. Honestly though, if your willing to go to in ear headphones, go with the spark plugs, the are better at noise isolating, fit better in your ears, and I really cant notice a diffrence in sound quality + they’re like half the price.
Pretty good.
These headphones are ugly but sound great, they are also very comfortable. Perfect for home, I wouldn’t wear these out as they are goofy looking and are not noise-cancelling.
PROS
- Sound is great, bass and all.
- iPod/iPhone friendly plug.
- Lightweight and comfortable.
- The price is right.
CONS
- Need to re-adjust the head band occasionally when you put them back on as it will slide when you take them off.
- Not very cool looking, I would probably buy these in black if I was ordering again.
koss PortaPro headphones
Bought these at Amazon based on reviews from several audio sites. The sound is good comfort is good. The adjustable pressure settings will not stay on light setting. Every time I use the headphones I have to slide the setting to light. With in minutes they move back firm.
The need to make the wires stronger
ihave bought these headphones twice in less than an year and i had all two of the right ears stop working for both. the sound quality is amazing. best headphones i would say. when it comes to lasting long and to be satisfied this is far from good. i am disappointed because i love the headphones so much .MAKE THE WIRES STRONGER.
Impedance too high for portable use!!
What drove me to buy these headphones is their comfort level and sound quality. And that they were compatible with portable devices.
I hooked them up to my Cowon S9, considered an “audiophile quality” device. I had high expectations given all the glowing reviews. Some even compared these to $500 “studio” headphones. When I listened to them for the first time, I was thoroughly disappointed. My old Ultimate Ears (Ultimate Ears SuperFi 3 Studio) were superior in sound quality, namely they faithfully reproduced transients in music. This makes music engrossing and exciting to listen to.
The probblem I suspect is the impedance. These are too high for portable devices. They’re rated 60 ohms, 101 dB sensitivity, compared to my Ultimate Ears which are 13 ohms, 115 dB sensitivity. Even at max volume (40/40) the Portapro’s are not as loud as my Ultimate Ears at 30/40! And this is disregarding the effect of noise isolation. In fact without noise isolation, the Koss Portapro lose (“leak”) even more volume. The Koss Portapro just sounded very flat with little dynamic range and no “punch” to transients, for example bass sounded loose and mushy. Like you would expect from a subwoofer in a high order enclosure with large ports, compared to a small closed enclosure.
Typically high impedance speakers combined with rigid driver construction, will have low dB sensitivity and require a lot more than they typical power required for a speaker of that size. That’s exactly the case here.
Hooking the Koss Portapro up to my Onkyo receiver, they suddenly got VERY loud and had plenty of dynamic range. (Still, nowhere near the sound experience I get from my very cheap home stereo. Clearly headphone technology doesn’t come close to even an average home stereo…) By comparison, the Ultimate Ears plugged into my Onkyo receiver began to clip when I tried to reach the same high SPL (Sound Pressure Level). Clearly the Koss Portapro is far better suited for home stereo listening (except for the short 4 ft. cable length), NOT for portable use!
It looks like I’ll be investing in some kind of amp, and I suspect the cost of the amp plus these headphones would be nearly the same as the cost of my Ultimate Ears (or comparable noise isolating earphones). You get what you pay for…
First step into Audiophile-land.
Simply put, these headphones are very good. The price makes them even better. I find that the bass, while nice and full, is a bit bloated and distorted. I would rather less bass if it meant clearer sound (i.e. less distortion on the low-end,) but to be honest, these headphones are $30, you really can’t ask for better sound. Keeping price in consideration, these headphones sound very warm and are very “fun” to listen to. They make you want to listen to your music for hours upon hours. They’re comfortable and not very fatiguing with their highs, so that just makes you want to listen even more — that is never a bad thing!
A lot of people are addicted to bass but have a hard time telling the difference between bass and distortion. It is my opinion that these headphones rely a bit on passing distortion off as “bass.” This is something that a lot of headphone manufacturers do with their lower lines. For many buyers, this will not matter simply because they can’t tell the difference with MP3s, but if you listen to a high-end stereo it’s almost unbearable. However, again these cost $30. So, if you have a high-end stereo, you’ll likely have high-end headphones. I can’t fault the Portapro for its shortcomings, but the fact that these headphones sound so good makes me want to compare them to more expensive headphones. Nonetheless, these kept me happy for years before I moved on to a $300 pair of Grado sr325is. If you listen to an iPod or other portable MP3 player, you’d be hard pressed to find a better pair of headphones under $100. At that price range I’d recommend the ATH-M50 headphones (but, I think that those are a lot less “fun” and “involving” than these Koss Portapros,) or Grado sr80is (pretty much a draw with the Koss, but more than twice as expensive.)
Delivers as advertised – no more, no less.
There’s little capital tied up in these plain vanilla headphones; decent sound quality & no surprises. Ambient sounds not excluded. Good for listening to an iPod/MP3 player, etc. in relatively quiet spaces.