Koss PortaPro Headphones with Case
by Koss
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List Price: Our Price: Calculated in a shopping cart Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours Category: Speakers See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Koss PortaPro Headphones with Case
Customer Review: TOP QUALITY SOUND AT A LOW PRICE
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been an audiophile since the late 50s, I own three HOME THEATER systems, one built using a pair of 168 pound Klipschorns, arguably one of the best speakers ever built (currently $8000 per pair). I don't know how I missed these headphones from Koss one of the early developers (over 50 years ago) of headphones with the Portapro design over 25 years old. Paul Klipsch and John Koss were from the golden age of audio. I've owned a number of headphones from Koss, from Bose (the leader in noise canceling designs) and have listened to many different headphones in all price ranges and owned headphones costing over $300. These are the best I've ever heard! And they only cost about $30 bucks1
How is this possible?
Well I think I know. In speaker design, accurate bass reproduction is the most challenging. Accurate is the key word; loud booming bass isn't all that hard. It used to be called "juke box boom". It's now a fad in "boom boxes" and butt kicking car boxes. Some people think it's the end all and be all. Actually it's loud distortion that muddies and distorts other frequencies. Accurate music sounds real not hyped (although some rock concerts are super=hyped and that's what's real to some; and that's OK if that's what you like). True high definition sound reproduction, however is crisp clean and well defined. You can hear the sound of the sticks hitting the skin of the drums, the bass fiddle strings being plucked and you can distinguish and locate one instrument from others in the band or orchestra.
Bass frequencies are big powerful wave forms that can obscure other frequencies and can cancel and distort themselves. There are three basic speaker designs that try to prevent this. The waves from the back of bass speakers can easily cancel the waves from the front of bass speakers because they are out of phase with each other and are extremely hard to dampen because of their powerful and long wavelengths. Bass reflex speaker enclosures attempt to turn the waves produced by the back of speakers around to be in phase and augment rather than cancel the waves emanating from the front of the speaker. However, to do this with great clarity at very low frequencies in a bass reflex design requires a very long folded horn design (think bass tuba). Klipshorns use the walls of a room and must be placed in corners. They also require very substantial and heavy enclosures that won't vibrate! Higher frequencies need much smaller horns and are far easier to design without canceling frequencies and to prevent vibrations. Thus "tweeters" are very small next to "woofers". Bass relex and folded horn enclosures are efficiency champs and can produce high sound levels at very low power. They are the speakers used in big old movie theaters. Another design is the "acoustic suspension" speaker that attempt to absorb and eliminate the back waves by stuffing a smaller but very sturdy enclosure with a lot of absorbent material. This is harder to accomplish than with the bass reflex design but results in much smaller enclosures that are very inefficient and require high powered amps. But that can be placed in bookshelves rather than stand in corners and be the size of refrigerators! Both of these designs have real problems when used in headphones. The third speaker enclosure design is seldom seen anymore. It's called the "infinite baffle" - it takes the out of phase waves from the back of the speaker and vents it to the great outdoors or the inside of a big closet filled with a lot of clothes! The Portapros are basically an "infinite baffle" design - the least distorted of the 3 designs! While an infinite baffle design may cause your neighbors or whoever wants to use or lives on the other-side of your closet to purchase a shotgun, headphone speakers use very tiny speakers that are coupled directly to your eardrums (yes they can damage your eardrums or produce tinnitus at high volumes) but produce relatively low levels of sound at even short distances outside of your ears.
Noise canceling headphones use electronics to cancel outside noise by setting up an out-of-phase signal. Wear them in a buzy city and risk being run over by a honking truck! However any sealed enclosure around your ear creates distortion not found in an infinite baffle design. Its really difficult and costly to eliminate distortion with designs that are not infinite baffles. Thus, the very low distortion crystal clear high definition non-noise canceling sound "leaking" marvelous and cheap Portapros! Ecstasy, if you love quality sound reproduction.
And yes they are now available in a new design, almost completely black - blue inserts and silver headband included - and more importantly with sturdier cloth covered wires.
Customer Review: You won't believe your ears
Summary: 5 Stars
Take what other reviewers have said about these headphones, believe them, and then multiply it by 100. I received a pair of Koss UR-20s as a gift years ago and loved them so naturally I looked to Koss again when replacing my portable/on-the-go headphones. After buying a pair of KSC-55s, which sounded great but were uncomfortable for me personally, I hopped on Amazon and found everyone raving about the PortaPros. I figured they were good, especially considering that the design seems unchanged since the 1980s (which has to mean something), but I also figured that this was one of those things that was just too good to be true. However, these are bar-none the most amazing headphones I have ever put on my head. Listening to some of my favorite songs for the first time was one of those 'wow' moments where you realize you have found something that changes your expectations completely. The bar will be raised the instant you hear the bass response and incredible acoustic qualities of these light, comfortable headphones.I don't know what I'm impressed with the most: the amazing bass, the excellent stereo division, or how loud they can get! These things are just as amazing as most of the reviews show them to be and then a lot more... I was worried about the eighties styling, but in person they don't look bad at all. I hate headphones that scream for attention, but these don't look like that when you have them on and I have already been wearing them in public (something I didn't think I would do after only seeing the picture of them online). And even if they're a bit outdated in appearance, the design is so functional you won't even give looks a second thought after you put them on.
One thing is for sure: these things have plenty of bass! Not too much (not "boomy"), but they seem properly tuned for listening to things without "bass booster" turned on, which I like. Even with the bass settings adjusted high, the bass remains clear and crisp. I'm not sure how much power these can handle without damaging them, but I listen to them very loud and they do not sound distorted or stressed at all. After a few days my left speaker began making some weird noises and it ended up being a hair stuck inside the headphones that I cleared out with canned air. Something important to consider is that these are very open and airy headphones and the treble carries very well outside the headphones (so someone nearby could definitely hear what you're listening to if you have the volume up loud).
Others have mentioned that they felt the headphones were too tight feeling, but I have a very large head and they fit me without a problem. However, if I will be wearing them for an extended period of time I always set them to the "Light" setting on the comfortZone control (which divides the side pressure of the headphones with your temples rather than just on your ears).
I already had headphones I was pleased with (Sony MDR-G52s and Koss UR-20s) but I wanted a set of small, portable headphones for use with my laptop and these are perfect. The folding design isn't something I necessarily wanted, but it is nice. The carrying case they come with (a leatherette bag) is a slightly tight fit and I probably won't end up using it much since it is not a hard case that would protect them from shock or crushing. Some others have mentioned that they feel delicate or are easily broken, but compared to other small headphones I have had they seem very well built and equally strong considering their light weight.
While I wouldn't say these are bad things about the PortaPros, it is worth mentioning that the headband is metal and will occasionally snag a hair as you adjust it on your head, and that they don't fold down as small as you might think they would so don't expect to put them in your pants pocket or something. Considering these are the worst things I can come up with to say about the PortaPros, they are nearly perfect in my book.
I can't say enough good things about these PortaPros! They're simply amazing. These are the first headphones (or speakers) I've had that sound absolutely awesome without adjusting the equalizer or pumping up the bass. They sound good on everything from R&B to Country and everything in-between. I've been especially impressed that they pull the bass and highs out of a song without getting that shrill, tinny treble that plagues so many headphones. If there ever was a question about the quality of Koss stereophones in my mind, these PortaPros have put it to rest and made me into a lifetime customer! If you're like me you'll wish you had discovered these legendary headphones (haha! how often is that said?) years ago...
Customer Review: Formerly great headphones go south.
Summary: 1 Stars
I first received Portapros as a gift in 2001, and used them for the next six years with no problems whatsoever. They sounded spectacular, and I sang their praises to everyone I knew, as well as everyone who approached me on the street wanting to know what the deal was with those crazy headphones around my neck. I walked with them everywhere, and even took them on jogs. They were the most comfortable portable headphones I'd ever used, and for $50 the sound was simply stunning.
Then after six years of hard use, one of the drivers finally gave out. Fortunately, Koss offers one of the best warranties around, a no-questions-asked lifetime warranty. Simply mail the headphones along with a $6 check for shipping and they will send you a replacement pair. I did this, and got my replacements within a couple weeks. Unfortunately, this is where the gradual decline began.
I could never quite put a finger on it, but I always felt like that replacement pair was a little bit inferior to my original Portapros. Something about the sound wasn't quite as dynamic, and somehow, they felt cheaper. But it could have just been my imagination. Either way, after a year or so with that pair an incident in Virginia involving some rowdy pit bulls and a poorly placed messenger bag left me with broken phones. After a miserable, music-less flight back to California I packed up the sad remains of my Portapros and shipped them back to Koss. The decline continued...
This time I noticed something right away about the replacements. The cord was different. The formerly L-shaped input jack was now a straight one, very similar to that on Apple earbuds. And it wasn't just its shape that was different; its size and thickness had decreased significantly, making it seem much cheaper. Again, a lot like the dreaded earbuds. Quickly my attention turned elsewhere, as I soon discovered that my replacement pair was completely defective. One channel was completely dead. Back in the box they went, and back to Koss.
Yesterday my final replacement pair of Portapros arrived in the mail. I was excited. I'd been without portable music for nearly two months. I was eager to shut out the sounds of the world with sweet, sweet music. Well, the good news is, both channels work. Sadly, that good news is vastly outweighed by the bad. Once again I took notice of the physical attributes of these PortaPros, and again everything seemed inferior to the ones I received eight years ago.
More about the cord: Not only is the input small and dinky, but the entire cord is thinner and lighter. One of the things that impressed me so much about my first pair of PortaPros was how heavy and durable the cord felt. The cord on the new ones feels no less cheap than that of $2 airline headphones. I wish I could say this was only an aesthetic complaint, but as one might expect, cheap cabling equals inferior sound.
I say this with a heavy heart-- it really feels like the end of an era for me-- the PortaPros sound like crap now. It's come to that. As a previous reviewer stated, they distort easily; especially, it seems, from high frequencies. Overall the sound is much less full than what I'm used to. Say what you will about the social implications, but I used to be able drown out a bus full of San Franciscans with Boards of Canada or something like that, but now I find annoying cell phone conversations are making their way through much more easily. I'm not a huge basshead, so I actually loved the smooth, well-rounded, not-overpowering lows of the PortaPros; but now the bass has diminished significantly, and there just isn't the same oomph there used to be.
I'm not sure if Koss actually changed the drivers on the PortaPros, but it's obvious that many of the parts, most notably the audio cable, are being made with cheaper materials, and this has resulted in vastly inferior sound.
Oh, one last thing: they're not as comfortable as they used to be. It's hard to pin down exactly why, but somehow, again, they feel kinda like cheapo airline headphones.
I'm very sad about this. Tell me people...should I get the Sennheisers????
- Dan
Customer Review: If you don't need noise-cancelling, get them NOW.
Summary: 5 Stars
Toss those white-plastic Apple earbuds. Do it now. Yes, really. I mean it. Make no mistake, behind the PortaPro's 80's styling and intended use with Sony Walkman CASSETTE(!) players, these headphones have just about the best sound you can hope for for the money. These are NOT noise-canceling and will allow a decent amount of environmental noise through, but I like this because it lets me stay aware of what's going on around me. Little to no distortion at higher volumes than I would normally listen to. Sound is crystal clear; non-audiophiles with a good ear will be able to tell a dramatic improvement over almost anything else they've used in the same price-range, especially over Apple earbuds (which aren't at all bad for included earbuds IMHO). Bass is powerful-almost overwhelmingly so, but there is so much dimension in the low range that some songs sound different. Highs were a little shrill at first, but calmed down with use. Mid-range was a bit stiff out of the box but has since opened right up. I'm hearing lyrics I've never heard before, and background instruments I've never been able to distinguish before, as well as background vocals and other interesting elements like you hear in Beatles songs that I had never really been able to make out before. They are all-around comfortable (I usually have the ComfortZone sliders set to Light) and very light-weight. They may look and feel a bit cheap and flimsy, but they are in fact pretty durable. Hair getting caught in the adjustable metal band has never been a problem like it is with other cheap metal-band headphones. Included "case" is useless, don't bother with it. They fit around my neck fairly comfortably with the headband fully extended. Cord is a good length to reach your pocket with slack to spare. Open-can design allows for clearer highs and mids than closed-can designs like Skull Candies. No expensive, electronic noise-cancelling like steeply overpriced Bose headphones to muddy up the audio signal. Just simple, clean, honest sound.
Word of advice to iPod users especially: I found the best balanced sound by setting the auto-equalizer to "bass reducer". I'm usually one to leave the equalizer completely neutral, and for iPod earbuds this provides the best balance; but the PortaPros have a lot of low-end kick.
Also, if you want the best sound quality as soon as possible, plug 'em in to your computer at a slightly-higher-than-normal-listening volume and set iTunes (or whatever you use) to shuffle through your entire library continuously for two or three days whenever you're not using them (it's perfectly OK to use them at any point during that time if you want). Break-in is real, people, and just like a brand-new baseball glove, the diaphragm of the speakers needs to loosen up a bit before reaching it's best sound response. Or, if you really want to put them through their paces to whip them into shape in just two days or so and be sure they've opened up almost as much as they're going to, Google "burn-in waves." The first site has a bunch of sound files meant to exercise headphones and break them in. Just be warned that they may start to sound a little worse before they start to sound better. But when they open up, these babies sing. (If you want to give yourself chills, the beginning of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue is a good place to start)
EDIT (Feb. 17, 2010):
True audiophiles need not necessarily apply; a well-trained ear will be able to tell where the PortaPro's weaknesses lie, but you'd have to be used to sets costing $$$-$$$$ to even know what to listen for. My brother's a musician, though, and was using relatively cheap Sony studio headphones when he wasn't listening to the speakers in his "bedroom-and-a-closet studio" for recording/production. I gave him these for Christmas and he prefers these to his old set when not in his studio.
Final note: I wish I could have large versions of the sound drivers in these to use as the speakers for my car stereo. I didn't realize how lacking the stock speakers were until I got these. Oh well, I don't listen to music much when driving anyway, save for the tune of a turbocharged engine.
Customer Review: Defently one of the best headphones for under $50
Summary: 3 Stars
The Koss PortaPro head phones came recommended by cnet ([...]) the the best budget friendly headphones. Having been a media technician for various churches for over eleven years, but having a limited budget. I wanted to upgrade my head phones from ones that I bought at Wal-Mart (They were Sony so they were ok, but I wanted something with better sound), so this review will compare them to all headphones no matter the cost. These head phones lived up to the reputation that cnet had given them. Their sound quality surpasses the price you pay for them. However, they are not perfect; their design was made in the 80s. So, the metal band will get stuck in your hair, they look goofy, and someone next to you can hear what you hear.
Treble rating 7/10
Many manufacts have over look treble in headphones for the bass. This does not seem as noticeable in this set of headphones for the Treble was fairly crisp and clear, and didn't sound twangy or like it was coming out of a tin can. However, there did seem to be something lacking in the treble department on certain songs that I would listen to.
Mid rating 9/10
As with most speakers the mids are good, and voices come in loud and clear. Still, they are not as crisp as some of the higher end head phones (but they will cost you up to $200+).
Bass rating 8/10
The bass was good, and what I expected and more from a economical set of head phones. However, it could have used a stronger sub woofer or the equivalent on a head phones if they have to use something else.
Comfort 6/10
The adjustable metal band will adjust to your head as you wear them, which cause it to get stuck in your hair. This is really the only complaint I have about this set of head phones. The ear pieces feel great though, so once you figure out a way to deal with the band they are conformable. And, a nice up grade to the ear buds that I was wearing, which I started to feel in my ear even when I wasn't wearing them.
Sound amplification 7/10
The box said they could only get to 96dbs, which may make parents feel good as 100dbs or more for prolong periods of time will cause ear damage. But for most of us it is not a good thing. The Sony's I had were able to go up to 106dbs, and there was a noticeable sound amplification difference. I would only have to turn my computer up a quarter of the way on the Sony's, but on the Koss I have to turn it up half way.
Noise cancellation/sound concealment 1/5
I added this category because I figure if you are buying a these types of head phones (big and some what bulky, and no were near as sleek and non conspicuous as ear buds) you might expect there to be some noise cancellation or sound concealment technology in them. However, the only noise cancellation one receives from these headphones is their own music they run through them, and there is no sound concealment so the people next to you can clearly hear what you are listening to. So you can't blare your music in a public setting.
Style 3/5
They are were designed in the 80s and haven't changed anything. I never wore them in public, they were only for when I wanted to watch movies on my computer 'cause it's wide screen and HD, but the speakers suck. They do get kudos for making a durable headphones that comes with a lifetime warranty to be free from defects, even normal wear and tear.
Portability 3/5
I would guess in the 80s they were extremely portable, but in the days of ear buds the Koss PortaPro are not relatively portable. However, they flexible and could stand being packed and thrown around in a suitcase.
Total score 44/65 = 68/100
There are better headphones out there that won't pinch your hair, have noise cancellation, and sound concealment, but you'll have to pay $200+ just to get into the market, and then the sound quality won't much better. It's just really hard to beat the sound quality you get from these headphones for the price you pay for them.