Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 169
 WOW!!! Amazing sound and very comfortable. June 20, 2006
KMW (England)
55 out of 55 found this review helpful
Finally, I have found headphones that sound great and feel comfortable. I've bought many different headphones over the past two years, trying to find a pair that don't feel uncomfortable after 30 minutes of continuous listening. Below are two recently purchased headphones I own:
Sennheiser PX200: They didn't give their full potential because they sit too light on my ear. They do sound great if you push them close to your ear though.
Sony MDR-V300: Sound good with lots of bass, but sometimes I feel like I'm listening to music through a wall and they feel uncomfortable after a 30 mins. For the cheap price they're good.
The Koss Porta Pro Stereophones are mind blowing. I really can't express enough in words how good these are and they sound even better now I've run them in. The sound is outstanding with superb clarity and bass. I personally don't think the bass is over done at all, it sounds well balanced. I mainly listen to Progressive, Uplifting, Melodic Trance, for example: Puma White - Copenhagen (Original mix) & Mike Foyle vs. Signalrunners - Love Theme Dusk. These headphones sound great with other genres too and really bring the music alive. The Porta Pro's sound magnificant when used with a computer installed with a decent sound card, but they also sound great with MP3 players. I use these with my Creative Zen Touch and they are far better than the supplied in-ear headphones.
These headphones look very retro cool and in my opinion they are very cool indeed. They are the most comfortable headphones I have ever worn (I've had them on for 3 hours and I'm feeling no ear discomfort at all) and I guess thats why the design has never changed since 1984. They look quite fragile at first but they are actually pretty sturdy.
The Porta Pro's fold to fit in a small pouch embossed with KOSS which looks rather nice along with a 6.3mm Gold Plated Adapter which is a handy extra.
Overall, If your looking for awesome quality and great value (£23.49 delivered!!! buy 'em quick, I've seen them for £40+ elsewhere) portable headphones that sound absolutely fantasic and feel great weather your travelling, at work or chillin' at home then look no further than the Koss Porta Pro Stereophones.
Perfect for glasses wearers. July 12, 2007
Martin Lynch (Glasgow, UK.)
24 out of 24 found this review helpful
I am very happy to have bought these headphones, for ages I have put up with varying degrees of discomfort when using headphones whilst wearing my glasses, but the Porta Pro has finally solved this problem. No more sore ears when watching movies on the laptop or listening to music on the go.
The sound quality is exceptional, they are a massive improvement on the Sony-Ericsson buds that came with my w810i mobile phone (which are, incidentally, the best of any earphones packaged with a portable music player), and I also prefer the Porta Pro to my Sennheiser HD202s; they easily handle the most bass-heavy of tunes -I listen to a lot of dubstep, and it doesn't get any bassier than that - and the sound quality remains consistently high across the frequency range.
In this price range, there are few other headphones that can compete with the Porta Pros for sound quality, but for me the main attraction of these phones is the comfort factor. The Comfort Zone pads rest above the ear and they do a great job of dissipating the pressure on the ears. I can't stress highly enough how much I appreciate being able to wear these for a few hours at a time, whilst wearing my glasses, without any of the discomfort I usually experience with other headphones.
When you throw in the lifetime guarantee from Koss, and the fact that they look nicely retro, you have a great buy. I recommend them without hesitation.
Koss Porta Pro v Sennheiser PX100 January 2, 2009
Mr Smarty Pants (Sheffield, England)
55 out of 56 found this review helpful
Since everyone else has concentrated on the virtues of these excellent headphones, I thought it might be useful for people (who have researched) to offer the following subjective insights about the Koss Porta Pro and their main rival, the Sennheiser PX100 (which is also available from amazon at a similar price point).
I own both sets, so I would like to issue the following comments about their relative sound quality.
PX100 - These offer a very beautiful, well rounded sound. Not bass heavy, but very coherent, and thoroughly enjoyable as a listening experience. They tend to improve with 'run in', and sound terrific overall.
PortaPro - These offer better bass reproduction, but also sparkling mids and highs. They seem to produce a far richer sound overall, especially when comparing the same songs encoded in the same format (WAV) on a Cowon D2 personal media player.
In short, both these sets are excellent, but if the sole criterion is sound quality, my preference is just slightly for the Koss PortaPros. I have previously owned a pair of audiophile Sennheiser HD 595 headphones, and strongly feel that the sound quality of the Koss Porta Pro, in particular, is quite comparable.
I hope this review is useful to people who are on the fence, especially as no one else seems to have covered this comparison in their reviews.
A chance to be nice....almost perfect ! February 16, 2005
the activator (sussex)
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
I have found myself recently giving bad reviews to some pretty poor products, it makes a nice change to write something nice ! I am not sure if Amazon still stock Koss Portapros...shame on them if they dont, the buyer needs to think again.
Almost perfect is how I would describe these portable foldable headphones. The most comfortable, best sounding headphones I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. Awesome bass ...how do they do it! I have Sennheiser and Shure buds...but these are the ones that get used nearly all the time with my Mp3 player and cd walkman .
A truly great product... so good that they have been unchanged for years. A true classic.
A hint of heaven. After life never sounded so good... March 23, 2010
J. Gibson (UK)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
After an unfortunate incident involving my (slightly hated) Sony headphones and a surprisingly high amount of vomit, the time came last week end to order some new headphones. I don't believe in buying anything without researching carefully, so after reading many reviews on all sorts of headphones, ranging from the good, the bad and the ugly, I concluded that my hard earned money (well I'm a student, but baby sitting is still work) should be well invested in a set of Koss PortaPros.
One week after ownership, and I can't think of a better way to spent my money.
Build and appearance: 7.5/10
In terms of build and design, I found the headphones much more impressive in the metal (and plastic) than I had been expecting. Quality is something I am pretty anal about, but these are pretty bang on the money. The finish is not luxurious, but feels like it will last if treated nicely. The metal is nice, and again aids the feel of durability. I had better explain - these are not by any means going to rival a JCB in terms of ruggedness. The phones are slim in design, and extremely light. However, they feel as though they will happily last a lifetime of normal, relatively careful use, while in the event of trouble you have the included Lifetime Warranty to fall onto.
The design, which I was not keen on in the pictures on the internet, looks much better on person. The headphones remain on the 'ugly' end of the scale, but in an almost endearing way. They are very unique, much due to their 80's heritage. The metal is tastefully applied, and allows for an attractive contrast against the black plastic while installing a quality look, meanwhile the blue accents (which I hated on photos) add a little uniqueness to the design, and helps make them stand out. I prefer them to black, although I think red might have looked better. Anyhow, the overall look is uniquely retro, fairly subtle, and not really any less stylish than any other set of headphones. Just more stand-out.
Comfort: 10/10
I hate giving perfect ratings. In my book, there is no such thing as perfection; the best can always be better. The PortaPros, however, seem to be an exception. While the much discussed "Comfort Zone" seems to be a little bit of a gimmick in my opinion, it shows the attention to detail taken in terms of comfort. The "Comfort Zone" system is designed so that the user can select the amount of pressure on the ears - firm, medium, or soft. Any is extremely comfortable, putting little pressure on the ears themselves thanks to extra pads which share pressure with the temples, while providing enough grip to hold the phones securely even during mountain biking. I personally prefer the firm setting, although the reason for this is not known. It just feels right for me.
The headphones are easily adjustable, thanks to two small plastic tabs on the head band which move back and forth to change the size of the headphones. Although other users have reported pain caused by their hair getting trapped in the mechanism, neither me, my Sister, my Mum, or my Dad have experienced this. Instead, we have all found the headband comfortable, easy to adjust and devoid of unwanted side effects (such as trapped hair). One little note - the headband does not lock, so after removing the headphones you will need to readjust the band. Once on though, the size will not change.
To conclude, I have worn the headphones for over four hours straight, and had no problems with my ears afterwards. Same with biking - I have worn the headphones over rough terrain for a couple of hours, and they did not move or cause pain. In fact, they seem therapeutic - like an ear massage :)
Sound - 9/10
This is why I bought these headphones. Firstly, I will say that I listen to a wide variety of music. This is inclusive of rock, country, R&B, pop, electronic and whatever comes in between. I have also used the headphones to watch films. A few examples of the songs I have tested these headphones with:
- Johnny Cash: Country Boy, Ring of Fire, I Walk the Line, and more.
- Blondie: Call me, Atomic, and more.
- The Mavericks: Dance the night away (very challenging)
- The Killers: When you were young
- Shakira: I'll stand by you, Whenever, Wherever, She Wolf
- Lady Gaga: Bad Romance
- Lee Ann Womack: I hope you dance
- Journey: Don't stop believing
- Cascada: Evacuate the dance floor, Every time we touch
- Many more, inclusive of Beyonce, Bullet for my Valentine, Michael Jackson, Guns 'n Roses, Gianna Naninni, Dolly Parton, Rihanna and more. If you need more information, just ask.
To summarise briefly, I have never heard any other headphones in this price range perform this well on any of these songs. I have used Samsung PX100s, PX200s, various Sonys, several Grados (including the iGrados at a not too dissimilar price and numerous other phones. At this price, these are the best.
Bar none.
Bass is strong, but detailed. Johnny Cash, The Killers, Guns 'n Roses are just some of my artists which use significant bass, and this is utilised very nicely by these headphones. The bass is strong and detailed enough to please those who thrive off it, but eases off to allow sufficient detail throughout the mids and highs. Despite other reviews, it was not the bass that caused these headphones to win me over. It's how brilliantly they combine the bass with the competent, strong, and detailed mids and highs to deliver a sound that captures the mood and detail of the song as it was intended. I haven't yet tried any other headphones in this price bracket that achieved this. They sound brilliant, like headphones that cost at least £75. The highs sing sonorously - beautifully, with powerful emotive mids surrounding them and the vast throb of bass always laying in wait beneath the other sounds. Each song has its own unique feeling, and each instrument in each song makes its own unique sound heard. I don't what else to say, except that this remains true for all genres of music. If you wan't sound and cash in your pocket, buy these. Now.
Practicality: 7/10
The headphones are tiny, particularly for the excellent sound they deliver. Even better, they fold up - in a simple, self explanatory way - so that they are tiny enough to fit into the included leather bag. As said, they feel durable enough for everyday use, while their high comfort and strong grip means they can be used in almost any situation for many hours on end.
This sounds like it should be a perfect score yet again so far, right? Wrong. I knew this prior to purchasing, but these headphones leak sound like OK! leaks gossip. It's that bad. Honestly. One of the reasons I bought these headphones was for flights, however I would probably be so conscious of the sound that I would be forced to turn them down. In which case, I would suffer from the poor isolation and quickly turn them back up. To hell with society. I want my music.
Despite this, I think that their small size and ease of use makes them practical for everyday use. Just be prepared for stares.
Extras: 9/10
These headphones come with everything you could expect for the price.A leatherette case, a headphone adaptor for planes, a headphone adaptor for your guitar amplifier, and an all important lifetime warranty put these headphones at the front of their rivals.
Verdict: 9/10
Buy these headphones, and you will not be disappointed. The sound is excellent for the price (at the top of their class), the design and build is as you'd expect, they're as comfortable as a hot bath, and they're small enough to be practical. Top the icing with a lifetime guarantee and good accessories bundled, and Koss have a product that I think could be celebrating its 50th birthday and still be heading the pack.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 169
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