Koss SPARKPLUG - Stereo In Ear Ear Plugs
by Koss
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Koss SPARKPLUG - Stereo In Ear Ear Plugs
Customer Review: Very happy with these in-ear phones
Summary: 5 Stars
The ear buds that come with the iPod won't stay in my ears and those little foam slip covers always come off and they just generally drive me crazy. So I normally use good over-the-ear headphones. But I needed some in-ear phones to wear at certain times. These Koss ear phones have been great, and you could buy 10 pairs or more for the price of some others!
I'm not an extreme audiophile, but I do demand good clean sound. I like medium-strong bass (but not as much as many people), but it has to be clean and not muddy and not overpower the rest of the frequencies. The bass in these Koss plugs might be just a bit too much, but certainly not enough that I'm going to bother trying to modify them with straws, duct tape, WD-40, and whatever. You can adjust the position of the phones in your ear to reduce the bass, too. Overall, the sound is quite good, but not as clear and bright as I would expect from very expensive phones.
Someone said they look funny in your ears - I don't think so. Besides, who cares?
In summary, they sound very good (but not excellent), they are comfortable and stay in my ears, and they are incredibly cheap! Highly recommended. (P.S. please be careful with volume levels to avoid long-term ear damage. Really. Can you imagine not being able to enjoy music when you're 40 years old? How horrible! Turn down the volume and your ears will adjust to the lower level.)
Customer Review: Excessive Bass, Doesn't Fit in Ear, Bad Wire
Summary: 2 Stars
When the wire of my iPod earbuds broke, I naturally began searching for a similar earbud. I found this one and figured I would try it out (good reviews, decent price... why not right?).
It was seriously disappointed by the earbuds performance for the following reasons:
1. The Bass is Excessive - I listen to rock and hate how much bass these things pump out. It ruins the songs and is not adjustable.
2. It is Very Difficult to Fit the Buds into your Ear - It takes me on average half a minute just to get these things in. That may not seem like a lot but when you're on the go or want to listen to music right away it is extremely annoying. Expect to constantly have to adjust them to keep them from falling out.
3. Poorly Designed - My iPod earbuds were very flexible. I took them everywhere and could always depend on them. I would run with them, hang out with them, do work with them, etc. I can't do all that with these. The wire on this is made of a cheap, sticky rubbery material which produces significant friction every time I bump up against something or hit these things with my arm/hand. As a result the buds usually come flying out of my ears or need to be readjusted at least once or twice every time i use them.
Yes they are cheap. Yes they look cool online. But beware of a terrible user experience.
Customer Review: Worst headphones ever
Summary: 1 Stars
I rarely write product reviews but I felt compelled to write one about the Koss Sparkplug XT Earbud headphones that I bought recently at Borders. First of all, Koss is nice enough to supply two spare foam buds to replace the ones attached to the headphones -- however, one of the buds in the package I bought was smashed like a stepped-on Gummi Drop -- for my money, I expect everything in the package to be in top condition, and it wasn't. Second, the sound quality on these things is AWFUL. It's like listening to music underwater. It sounded to me like 90% bass, 3% midrange, 7% treble. I listened to a jazz piano track, and the piano sounded like it was coming from another room three doors down the hall. Finally, the earbuds were uncomfortable. They fill your entire ear and after a while, it almost hurt to leave them in my ears. Earbuds should be comfortable, even after a couple hours of listening. These weren't.
Normally, I would've just returned the item, except that Borders doesn't accept returns on the headphones they sell -- maybe because they know they're selling lousy product. So now I have to go through the process of returning this junk to the manufacturer and hoping they'll give me a refund. The next day, I bought a pair of Sony earbuds for considerably more money at Circuit City, and they're perfect -- great fit, great sound.
Customer Review: Muddy sound and painful to wear
Summary: 1 Stars
These are probably the worst earbuds I've ever used. Picked them up after finally getting sick of my ipod buds. I had lost my wonderful JVC Marshmallow buds (great sound, perfect secure fit even when bicycling hard) and yet to found a store that sold them. Wish I had searched harder cause wow I was not prepared for how horrible these Koss were.
Sure the Koss have some bass but it's fuzzy and the rest of the sound is pure mud making lyrics almost unintelligible. I noticed that if you cover the air holes the bass drops down enough so the mid-tones are back, but it still sounds terrible. Worse is the fact that the overly long ear cushions are more like spears jamming into the back of my ear canal. Either they falling out or they are snug and painful. Oh and the mute button is huge gaudy and useless (couldn't they use a small volume slider like everyone else?)
I couldn't take the Koss anymore, so I just broke down and grabbed a pair of Skullcandy Smokin Buds. I like them enough so far. The bass is a bit too heavy but at least it's clear and crisp, as are the mids and highs. We'll see how well they stay in during my bike ride home.
Customer Review: Audiophile then spend more than $15
Summary: 5 Stars
Ok here is the deal with these earphones. I use to have the Sony Fontopia EX71LP and thought the sound from those was very good. The problem is the sound isolation is very poor. Since I ride a motorcycle I needed something that has great sound isolation. These earphones are awesome! I know people complain about heavy bass, and this is true. However if you have a decent MP3 player just adjust your EQ and things will sound just as good as the Fontopia's. I think Koss made these bass heavy because all the other passive noise isolation earphones (that cost $80+) have complaints about crappy bass. If you are going to work in a quiet environment then why bother getting earphones that double as earplugs? If you are like me and and multitask (work, motorcycle, jog, etc.) how much more are you going to hear between $15 and $300? Well I have tried the $300 Bose active cancellation, and these Koss earphones, guess what the koss had better bass, better noise cancellation, but worse highs. So if you need to hear every single note to perfection then by all means spend $100+. But if you are looking for great noise isolation and decent music then BUY these.
I made them even better by using those little yellow ear plugs instead of the standard Koss ones and improved the comfort (Heck for someone else the standard ones might be great)