Koss Porta Pro

I was looking for a sonic step up from my JBL wireless on-ear phones. The JBL’s aren’t bad, I’m just looking for better. I don’t need noise cancellation, or even isolation. I thought I’d have to spend a lot to get any kind of noticeable improvement, and I wasn’t even considering this price range until a few folks recommended giving them a look. And so I did, taking in every review and comparison I could find. The only constant criticism I saw was that they’re very light and feel cheap, though despite that, they still hold up well through all kinds of abuse. Not a concern here, because they won’t be leaving my house - probably not even my couch. It’s the sound I’m looking for, and everything indicated that these would indeed be a step up from what I had. And they definitely live up to the hype. They get plenty loud just plugged into a USB C adapter into my iPhone, and have a much fuller sound than anything you’d expect after just looking at them. The sound is on the warm side without being muddy. There’s enough bass to keep me happy (gotta have enough bass!), while not losing any detail in the mids and highs. I’d have to call it just a very pleasant listening experience from phones that are so light, you might forget they’re on your head. Some reviews warned that noise leaks in and out because they’re open back, but I could not hear my tv playing over them, and nobody has complained yet about hearing what I’m listening to. That may be a concern if you’re in a noisy area or play them very loud around other people, which is something to be aware of before buying. The only criticism I have is the adjustable headband - it does not hold its position when you take them off. It’s easy enough to adjust, but I’d prefer to be able to set it and forget it. But that’s a very minor inconvenience that I can easily overlook at this price point; and once they’re on, they’re very comfortable. Bottom line, I got what I was looking for at a lot less than I expected to have to spend. I’m very happy with this purchase and would definitely recommend these Porta Pros for anyone looking for good sound for not a lot of money.

After discovering my sister and her family were totally without tunes recently, I couldn't stand it, so my wife and I gifted her a small stereo system and a fair number of CD's for her birthday, as well a set of these Koss headphones to replace the cheap earbuds she'd been using for ages. She loved the stereo, but incredibly, it's been the headphones over which she totally lost it! ;-) Absolutely loves them! Turns out she wasn't buying the cheap earbuds because she preferred the type or style, but because that's what she could afford. She had only her iPhone and Samsung tablet, but while they weren't too bad in a pinch for videos or movies, their on board 'speaker' systems just weren't capable of reproducing the sort of clean, clear, accurate, full-range and high fidelity stereo sound necessary for music! For that, external speakers or headphones are necessary, and the better the headphones or speakers, the better the music sounds! While nowhere near ideal, the dirt cheap earplugs were better than nothing, not to mention the best she could afford and still pay the bills and feed the family! Now though, not only can she once again enjoy clean, clear, high fidelity music on demand and rock the house with other music lovers, she can instead plug in her new Koss headphones and enjoy music sounding every bit as good or better when all alone or if she just doesn't want to disturb anyone else. The headphones also turned her phone and tablet into the wonderfully portable, full range, high-fi music devices they were designed to be -- great sounding music anywhere! Obviously, my sister is enjoying having great tunes again, but the thing she raves about the most is how much better the new headphones sound than the cheap earbuds to which she'd grown accustomed! She goes on about it so much and so often that eventually, I decided to try a set myself. Why not? The headphones I have honestly sound pretty mediocre, my sister is crazy about 'em, they're ssuper affordable, they sell very well online, they have an overwhelmingly positive history of 4 star and higher reviews and Amazon customer service has my back if I don't like them. I can't lose. ;-) I'm very glad I bought a set for myself. The sound quality is great: clean, clear and uncolored, with accurate, tight bass and a high end that won't grate on your last nerve. If it was recorded, that's what you'll hear. They easily ⁷knock the socks off the more than twice as expensive headset I was using, and the light weight makes them much more comfortable as well. You can just about forget you have them on when you're communing with your muse. ;-) At this price, you can't go wrong! Based on other headsets I've tried over the years, I seriously doubt you could find anything as good for less than a hundred bucks, and that probably is pushing it. Buying them was a no-brainer! ;-) I've never been a huge fan of headphones, but it's a piece of kit that is needed occasionally. So while these Koss headphones accurately and adequately reproduce the music I enjoy, I'm sure they're not perfect. Certainly they are going to come nowhere near the performance level of the best and most expensive headphones out there, whatever those might be, but they're nowhere near the cost either. I happen to be very picky about what the music I love sounds like when it reaches my ears. It took more than five decades of progressively better and yes, more expensive, equipment to finally make my stereo sound "right," but I am completely happy with my fifty dollar Koss Porta vPro headphones. If you have any complaints at all about the headset you're now using, but don't have three hundred plus dollars handy to replace them, this might just be the best fifty bucks you'll ever spend. Great uncolored sound, comfort and affordability makes recommending these easy. Excellent product!

Consider this my first impression review of these headphones, as I have only had them for about 10 minutes. I'll come back to this review later as I get more use out of them. Packaging: Excellent, yet minimalist. My set came in a black box bearing photos of the headphones from different perspectives on 3 of the four sides. Inside, the headphones rest in a black plastic shelf, with a clear plastic cover. The cord is hidden behind a cardboard piece sitting just below the headphones. Aside from the headphones, the only other thing in the box is warranty and safety information, and a black drawstring carry pouch that looks and feels like denim. All in all, perhaps not up to Apple's packaging standards, but very nice for $25 headphones (probably even for $50 ones). Design and materials: it's a good thing Koss thought to put an "L" and "R" on each respective side, because the first thing I thought was "man, I have no clue which was is the right way to wear these". As an all plastic and metal affair, everything seems well designed and assembled. The band is obviously nothing special, but it is functional and I suspect that it will resist damage fairly well, provided you aren't grossly negligent. Similarly, the plastic over the drivers is minimalist and certainly on the lighter/cheaper side, but it does not make me think "cheap". The wiring, similarly, is thin and the plastic encasing it is not as satisfyingly rubbery as, say, on my Apple EarPods, but again, I don't feel concerned by the cabling, as I suspect it will hold up reasonably well. Why am I so optimistic about materials I'm describing as "cheap" and "thin"? Because this honestly feels like a product where the designers said "what is the simplest, cheapest set of headphones we can make that will have awesome sound and awesome comfort?" These don't strike me as hastily or sloppily designed; rather, there is a purposeful frugality going on here. It really does strike me that this product is the "people's headphone", meant to combine rather uncompromising sound quality with reasonable durability. In other words, these strike me as value-oriented headphones designed by someone who wanted to do right by their customers while still being profitable. That's pretty cool! By the way, the fact that these collapse and can be rolled/clipped into a ball is really cool. They fit snugly into the supplied bag, though the draw strings can't completely close up the bag with them in there. My only question: what am I supposed to do with the cable? Wrapping them around the headband seems obvious but also slightly risky, as I'm worried about snagging on the clasp that holds the headphones in a ball. Maybe I'm just paranoid, though. Comfort: much has been made of the fact that your hair can get caught in the band. I get it, and I don't doubt it. On the other hand, I think the band is designed brilliantly, with two sliders that make it pretty simple to adjust size quickly. I'll let you know if they pull out my hair, but so far so good in that respect. As for the "ComfortZone" pads that rest on your temple, I can totally see what they are for, and the three settings do affect how the phones sit on your head somewhat, but at least for me, it seems a bit gimmicky because I feel you can accomplish much the same thing by adjusting the headband. The foam pads over the drivers are reasonably soft, though I do question their durability because they are simply cheap porous foam. I remember the 80s well enough to know that these will disintegrate at some point, so I ordered 3 extra sets from Koss for $4. Assuming the pads last at least 6-9 months, I'll be satisfied. If they longer, I'll be ecstatic. The sound: I'm not an audiophile or audio engineer, my main set has been the EarPods for the last couple of years, and my eats are probably damaged from years of operating a table saw in high school stage crew. Nonetheless, the sound from these headphones is really great! I plugged them into my iPad Air, and even at ⅔ to ¾ volume, these things were really loud. I ever so briefly put the volume near the upper limit, and they seemed uncomfortably loud. I can only imagine what you could achieve with an amp. I listened briefly to some Willie Nelson, Norah Jones, Skrillex, Linkin Park, and a song from the musical "Wicked". I'm pretty sure everything I listened to was encoded at 256kbps as AAC or MP3. All in all, the sound was terrific. Vocals were clear. Hell, everything was clear. I heard details such as snares that I don't remember being there before. And the bass! Holy moly! I'm not sure what really constitutes "good" or "deep" bass, but boy did these things wimp me when I listened to Skrillex. I'm sure there are better headphones for dubstep, but frankly I don't care. For $25 open headphones, I was thoroughly impressed. Some folks say these get better after some amount of use/burn in. I have no idea yet, but I'll try to provide an update if and when I notice any difference from prolonged use. Value: at $25, they're less than a third of the price of a pair of Grado SR80s, and they're even cheaper than my EarPods. I did not buy these on a whim, and nearly bought about half a dozen other, more expensive pairs before I settled on the PortaPros. I have no idea what more money would have bought me, and for now, I don't really care. In 10 minutes, I've experienced better sound compared to what I was using before, and for $25 with a lifetime warranty, that sounds pretty good to me!

**************************************************************************************** SUMMARY **************************************************************************************** These suckers provide great sound, but they're a bit fragile so don't expect one pair to last you forever. Fortunately, they're cheap! **************************************************************************************** THE GOOD **************************************************************************************** * The audio quality is superb. Really. The bass they provide is great for the size. The best sound you can get for under 150 bucks. * Light, highly adjustable and decently portable. I've kept them on for 8+ hours at a time on several occasions and they've never once made my ears or head sore. * Very inexpensive for what they offer. I'd be willing to pay a lot more for them. **************************************************************************************** THE BAD **************************************************************************************** * They're not very durable. I've bought 3 pairs, as the first two stopped producing audio out of one earphone after 2-3 years of fairly heavy use (typically 2-6 hours per day). If you were really careful with them and didn't get the cords snagged on anything you might be able to keep them functioning longer. * The headphones are adjustable because there are two metal bands which can slide to expand. The problem with this design is that it's easy to get your hair caught. I thought it might not be an issue for me because my hair is only about an inch long, but it was an issue even for me. This happens maybe once every few days, although I'm more careful about it now. * The firmness with which the earphones hug your head is also adjustable thanks to a little mechanism where the earphone connects to the metal bands. Unfortunately, nearly every time you take off the headphones both the length and firmness will "reset" to the smallest and firmest settings, and you'll probably need to adjust them whenever you put them on. * They leak quite a bit of sound, so if you don't want people around you to know what you're listening to then you probably want to go elsewhere. * Folding them up into their portable form (which I do often) often causes the cords to become pretty tangled. I don't use the case though, as it's quite bulky compared to the headphones by themselves. **************************************************************************************** QUESTIONS? **************************************************************************************** Q: How comfortable are they? A: It's no fun when the metal bands snag your hair. Even so, most of the time they're quite comfortable, as the earphones really just "rest" on your ears, with the "firmness pads" above them actually holding the headphones on. I've used them for very lengthy periods of time (10+ hours) and they've never started hurting my head or ears. I really can't say the same for ANY other pair of headphones I've ever used. Q: How well do they stay on? A: Very well. I've had no problem while working out, doing yard work, etc., and I keep them on the least firm setting. Q: How bad is the sound leakage? A: I usually keep the volume pretty high. People in the same room get a gist for what I'm listening to, but they can't make out lyrics or what people are actually saying from podcasts. Q: How long is the cord? A: I'm about 5'8" and when the tip is touching the ground the headphones come up to my collar. Q: Can you sleep with them on? A: Only if you never turn your head to the side. They're fairly uncomfortable if you try it. Q: Are they REALLY as unstylish as everyone claims? A: Yes. Yes they are. Although... over the past couple years I've had not just one but TWO random people on the street tell me they were cool. Alas, they were both men. The sportscar of headphones these are not. **************************************************************************************** FINAL VERDICT **************************************************************************************** Don't let the lengthy "Bad" section fool you - sure, these headphones are flawed, but the sound quality and price make up for that. I expect to keep buying 'em as long as they keep making 'em. 4/5 - Jon

These PortaPro headphones sound incredible. Very satisfying in the lower midrange and upper bass. No piercing upper mids or highs or listening fatigue. The bass could be described as loose, but at least it is there, and does not leave you with the feeling of lacking like so many other on-ear headphones. The highs are plenty there, not muffled, however they are somewhat subdued. The PortaPro's are very comfortable to wear. The design does make them a bit finicky to put on because you have to adjust the headband open to your head size each time, but you soon learn the trick of quickly siding the headband open. But still this is an mildly annoying extra step that needs to be done compared with most other headphones. When not in use, I like to simply coil the cord around the tops of the ear-pieces. They stay put well this way, however can tend to get caught on the protruding metal part of the headband, which is a bit sharp and could eventually tear into the cord. For these reasons I considered getting the Koss KPH30i headphones, which have identical drivers but in a more modern design, however several reviews revealed the KPH30i to be uncomfortable, digging into the ears after a half-hour, I figure due to excessive clamping force. So although the PortaPro's are a bit weird by today's standards and have some potentially problematic sharp edges, they are very comfortable to wear. (Certainly nothing sharp contacting you head or ears.) The angle of the earpads can even be adjusted outward to 3 slightly different angles in order to lessen the clamping force. Yet they always snap back to the inward setting as soon as you remove them from your head. Fortunately I am usually perfectly fine with this default firmest setting, although sometimes I back it off by one click. The reason I purchased these headphones was to replace my beat up Audio-Technica ATH-P5 that are physically wearing out. Those also have a very pleasant lower midrange and upper bass. So if you like the Audio-Technical ATH-P5, you will probably like the PortaPro's as well. Previous to purchasing PortaPro's, I tried three other headphones, returning two. These included the Kensington Hi-Fi On-Ear Headphones with 9-Foot Cord (K33137), which was extremely lacking in the lower midrange and bass; and the Panasonic XBS RP-HT21, which was also quite lacking in the lower midrange and bass and was super hyped in the upper midrange leading to listening fatigue. The other pair of headphones I ordered (and kept) are the Yamaha RH1C. The Yamaha RH1C are by far the most neutral sounding of all headphones I have mentioned, with a nice flat and even frequency response. However, the bass and lower midrange, are still not as present as I prefer. Now don't get me wrong. I am not a bass-head. Yet the lower midrange is where a lot of the magic happens. Now that I have the Koss PortaPro's, I am not finding myself using the Yamaha RH1C. That said, the Koss PortaPro's cannot be described as neutral or flat. The lower frequencies of the PortaPro's can be a bit too much on some sources. The Koss PortaPro's are incredibly satisfying for monitoring my electric guitar sound through my Amp Modeler. They sound absolutely amazing on clean sounds with single-coil guitar pickups. And high distortion models with humbuckers sound very satisfying as well. That said, I suppose some people might prefer a bit less lower-mids and a bit more upper-mids for distorted amp sounds. But the PortaPro's do not cause listening fatigue, and my ears are not ringing afterward from any excessive upper midrange frequencies, which was quite a problem with the Panasonic XBS RP-HT21. The Koss PortaPro's just keep sounding good and make me happy playing for hours. I have also been using these plugged into my laptop to listen to YouTube videos, podcasts, and the like. For spoken word, I had been expecting to like the Yamaha RH1C. However I much prefer the Koss PortaPro's for that as well. They are just plain more pleasant to listen to due to the full lower-mids and relaxed upper-mids and somewhat subdued highs.

I bought these headphones a few years ago, after reading all the glowing reviews on Amazon, and I'm so glad I did. I'm pretty rough with my headphones, and these things can take a beating. I ended up replacing a pair after 2 years, which is unbelievable in itself, because I usually go through a pair of headphones every six months. And it wasn't because they didn't work, it's just because the wire near the jack was exposed and getting frayed. Here are all the pros: Value: They are a great value for the money. I've had more expensive headphones that didn't sound as good. Even if you don't want to spend thirty-something dollars for headphones and don't care what they sound like, I still think it would be worth it, because you won't have to replace them every six months when something breaks on them. These headphones are very durable and aren't made of flimsy plastic like less expensive ones are, so in the long run, they would be worth it. Comfort: These are very comfortable. There are 2 settings, tight and loose, to adjust for different head sizes. I've never had a problem with the ear pads wearing out or anything digging into my ears, or whatnot. These fit very comfortably on my head (I have a big head btw) and I've never had a problem with them sliding off. Portability: These aren't the smallest earphones in the world, but certainly not the biggest. They do fold up if you need to pack them and they come with a little pouch to put them in. I bring them along on trips on all the time and I've never had a problem with them. Sound Quality: They sound fantastic! Better than a lot of more expensive headphones. Though any headphone with the Koss name sounds great, I think these are the best. Just the right amount of bass and treble. Doesn't sound tinny, or like you're playing music in a tunnel. If you're used to less expensive headphones, you're going to hear stuff in your music you never heard before. Ease of Use: Well, most headphones aren't hard to use, and these are the same. The only drawbacks to these is I found it hard to adjust to loose/tight setting on the sides and they are sort of of a pain to fold up (which is why I never fold them up). I've owned foldable headphones that were much worse though. Build: Awesome! The headband is metal and the casing for the earphones are hard plastic and very durable. Not long ago, I accidently broke off one of the earpieces. Guess what, it pops right back in! Five stars for build! I've never buy another pair of headphones, ever. I bought 3 pairs of these, (One for home, one for the gym, and one to replace the ones from home) and I plan to buy more in the future, if need be. I love love love these headphones. The only slight con I can think of is they aren't 'sleek' looking like other headphones, in fact they look like they came straight out of 1982. I don't really care what they look like though, and quality of these headphones more than make up for the ugliness.

I have owned a lot of low to mid range headphones in my lifetime. Currently, I have a pair of skullcandy earbuds, a pair of the stock iPod earbuds and a pair of $35 Sony Studio headphones (the big over-the-ear ones). They were not working for me. The sound on the Sony ones were pretty decent, but prolonged use made my ears ache and could get very warm in the wrong climate (like...summer). They were also very heavy, so reading text books or just reading my Kindle, these things would not cut it as it would also put strain on my neck. My ears were just not made for earbuds, as I had various problems with those. The iPod earbuds failed miserably, as the sound was always too shallow for me and they kept falling out of my ears. So, I looked for the most rated headphones (not earbuds) with over a 4 star rating on Amazon and stumbled across these. Over a 1000 reviews and it still had 4 1/2 stars? Yeah, I'll take some time to check these out lol. So I got them a week ago. To avoid any "premature" reviewing, I let them sit the first three days with music on constantly, racking up about 36-40 hours of "break in" time before I tried them out objectively. First the headphones themselves. They are very, very light. The head band are a couple of thin metal bands with plastic pieces that adjust size. I like this because metal is durable but it's also light and airy and doesn't make me feel like I'm wearing a music factory on my head. The ear pads are more comfortable than I imagined. They are not dollar store ear pads (although they look that way) and are comfortable on the ears. A wildly awesome thing about these phones that people often overlook are all the parts that make them comfortable. The ear pieces themselves are hinged, so they bend depending on the shape of your ear. The metal bands are firm but flexible so it doesn't press too hard on the head or ears. Then there's comfortzone settings. It took a minute to figure out how the settings work, but once I did I was treated to a unique comfort experience. Comfortzone consists of two pads on either side that rest on the temples. The firmer the settings, the more pressure on your temples and less on your ears. I found this awesome as I could sit with these headphones on my head for 8 straight hours and feel no ear fatigue at all. Now for the part everyone wants to read: the sound. I am NOT an audiophile and I won't use any technical terms. The music sounded just plain great. I can hear bass lines in rock songs, hip-hop and rap songs thump (but not uncomfortably so). The music sounds whole and complete and not shallow and airy like iPod headphones do. The high notes sound good and even at high volumes don't cackle or distort and in no song that I listened to did anything sound muddy or wrong. The volume is well balanced. Maxed out is too loud and that's something my other pairs of headphones can't say. I've often had to max out settings just to get a decent volume on my Sony headphones. These I can keep in the middle volume range and it still sounds good. They're not noise cancelling and they leak sound. I'm okay with this because when I jog, I'd like to hear the cars coming before they hit me ;) so if you're looking for noise cancelling and quiet for others, then you should probably keep searching. All in all, for the price, I can't imagine having gotten a better pair of headphones. Personally, I love the retro style of the headphones. Keep in mind that Chucks have fallen in and out of style for 90 years and they're top sellers. This has been in and out of style for nearly 30 years and it's a top seller. I put them in the same category (and, as it happens, own both now) which is "totally awesome". If you're looking for some lightweight phones that sound great and have a unique look, then your search is over. I wish I'd found these 15 years ago when I started using headphones for the first time.

Recently tried out 3 headphones: 1.) Audio-Technica ATH-MX20 ($49) 2.) Koss Porta Pro On Ear Headphones with Case ($35) and 3.) Monoprice Premium Hi-fi DJ Style Over-the-Ear Pro Headphones with Mic (also known by their product number, 8323, $29). I wanted some headphones for listening to music or movies on my computer. For "serious" headphones in a real sound system (over $200) I recommend Sennheiser, they are excellent and I love their balanced sound, but for casual listens on my desktop I wanted something cheap and comfortable. Short answer, the Audio-Technica's were the clear winner, just as you might expect from the higher price point. Read on for a more detailed review of all three. The Monoprice cans were the cheapest, but while the sound quality was inferior to the other 2, it wasn't terribly worse, just not quite as clear overall. The build quality also looked fairly durable, and they had one thing I really loved that the others did not, and that was a jack in the left headphone to plug in or unplug your cord. Since in my experience the cords in headphones are usually the first thing to wear out, this is a really nice feature, and could save you money in the end. They also came with a 3.5mm to 6.35mm (1/8" to 1/4") adapter, which was nice, and two cords, one with a built-in mic and one without. Importantly, BOTH cords were only about 4 feet long (apparently they used to include a longer cord, but no more.) I may have actually kept these but for one FATAL flaw: they were WAY too tight on my head. Now I assure you I don't have a big giant head! My hat size is an average one. I don't know who they are designing these headphones for, but if you're over 5 years old you may have problems. They could be adjusted for ear height, but this did nothing to reduce the pressure on my head. They didn't have enough swivel either. And the "holes" for the earpads were small, my ears fit in there but just barely, and I don't have extra large ears either! So unfortunately I ruled them out. The Koss headphones were better in both sound quality and comfort. Again, not amazingly better, just about the difference you'd expect between $29 and $35 headphones. The bass was a little less muffled, the mids were more easily picked out, though the highs were about the same. But it seemed like they'd sacrificed on durability. In fairness, they ARE supposed to be fold-up, "DJ style" phones, and there was even a soft carrying case (useless for my purposes) so you wouldn't expect them to be very big and bulky. However there's just a thin band of metal going across the top of the head, and they are not over the ear type so no cushion around the ear. They are "on ear", which is fine, but forget any noise cancellation. There was some sort of "comfort" adjustment on both sides from "firm" to "light" (pressure?) but no instructions, and adjusting it did almost nothing that I could tell, just seemed like a gimmick. The whole thing was very lightweight, which was nice, but also appeared sort of flimsy. Could be wrong, but I could imagine them breaking fairly easily. Also the cord was only about 4 feet long, if that matters to you (and it did to me!). Pretty good sound though, for $35! The Audio-Technica sounded better still - yep, about $14 better than the Koss, so just what you'd expect. Bass was clearer though not intrusive (a problem I have with many headphones) and there was a definite improvement in the clarity of the mids and highs over the Koss and Monoprice. Nothing spectacular, but noticeably better, and they had a well-balanced sound. The build quality looked good, the band across the head was well padded, the swivel of the cans was great (so important for comfort) and the holes for my ears were more comfortably sized as well. The cord was about 3 meters long and thicker than the others, and it also came with a 6.35mm to 3.5mm plug adapter. Overall, this seemed like the clear winner for my purposes. Are any of these going to sound near the quality of my Senn 598's? Uh, no. Were they worth their respective prices? Yes, for the most part, with the caveats that I can't speak to longevity at all, and Monoprice needs to seriously redesign their headphones with a larger head in mind...