Koss Porta Pro Limited Edition On-Ear Headphones, in-Line Microphone, Volume Control and Touch Remote Control, Retro Style, Includes Hard Carry Case, Wired with 3.5mm Plug, Rhythm Beige

So I’m a professional audio engineer. And one day a co worker was telling me about these headphones. How great they were and that they were far better than the price tag. I looked them up and was like… ehh I have a half dozen pairs of pro studio style headphones, AirPods, monitors…. and I’m not really looking to pay $60 for what look like old school Walkman headphones.Literally the next day I got an alert that an item on my wishlist (these headphones) were on sale for $30. So I thought it kismet and ordered a pair. And I have to say they’re fantastic. They punch way way above their weight. They’re super light weight. They’re very comfy but stable on your head. I have a big head and they fit me still, although at max extension. And they have an awesome retro look, especially the beige/gray ones I went with.Now for the sound. These things sound fantastic. Are they flat studio accurate? Absolutely not. But they sound great for enjoyment listening. They have a boosted low end, not to an extreme sense, but a nice bump in the 60hz-200hz range. Makes the music feel more energized and pumping. The lows were the biggest surprise for me with these. I didn’t expect headphones of this size and price point to handle low end as well as they do. The low mid range seems pretty flat. The high mids and the highs are a little relaxed. Not that they’re dull, I felt all the music I was listening to was nicely articulated. But it also feels like I could listen to these for hours at a good volume and not have ear fatigue.All in all I’m very impressed. Way better than I expected for $30… And honestly better than I’d expect for $60. My coworker said he uses them in the studio as a mix reference when mastering as a “what the average person will be hearing” when listening to music, instead of $500 studio headphones or high end studio monitors. These are closer EQ’d to what most consumer headphones shoot for. Which is enjoyable listening. I see that use scenario and will definitely be trying it out. I however think I just found a new pair of thoroughly enjoyable listening headphones. Great job Koss.

I’ve been through the gamut of the mid-fi suggestions. It all started when my $20 On-Ear Sony’s dropped off my desk and one side busted. So, what was the internet recommending?I’ve daily driven Grado sr80s, Audiotechnica m50s, V-Moda LP2s, a very misguided Marshall headphone purchase, a small assortment of 40-80 dollar in-ears that were never good, and most recently the Phillips X2HRs. All with their own shortcomings, personalties, and usual discomfort. They aren’t bad. The Grado and X2HRs still see use while the others have mostly fallen into disrepair or are just gross from age. Unfortunately, I’ve never been completely happy with any of them. If I could go back and add a few of those sets together and rebuy something more in the 300-400 dollar range like the Sennheiser HD 600s I would, but I have this horrible addiction to buying value headphones. Overperformers for price.Well, it turns out I never did that. I was overpaying. These Koss Porta Pros are true overperformance. It doesn’t make any sense. These frail little headphones can hold their own against anything else I’ve had in the past at half of the cost along with any of my friend’s headphones and headsets I’ve tried. With the Porta Pros performing well past most of them and with COMFORT. No m50 headband clamp and painful hot ears. No harsh X2HR treble poking sharply at my eardrums after an hour. None of the Grado “Grattle” forcing me to constantly pull small hairs out of the drivers. Just the beautiful, warm tones of these lovelies. I’ve always struggled with harsh sibilance or sub-bass pressure, and it’s just not here. It’s just a hug of sound.You can wear these all day, every day. Your ears won’t get hot and you won’t have a sore spot on the top of your head after 2 hours like you would with whatever the heavy “recommendation” of the week is. It feels so good to have finally found the headphone I can grab for any occasion or genre.Honest’s truth, the build quality feels cheap, but that’s also what keeps it all so light. The cord is a sin against consumerism and Koss should feel bad about it. It won’t matter once you have them sitting and situated on your head though. I’ve already picked up a pair of Yaxi pads to go on them and they’ve become even more comfortable. They may sound even better.To anyone who has been stuck in value hell, these are them. Get these. You’ll forget you even have them on and you’ll just be left enjoying music. The sound could be too warm if you really like that crispy, crispy treble, but personally, I can’t take more than 2-3 hours of that before I need a good long silent break. With this sound, you can plow through some podcasts and a few albums while working on a large project and never feel fatigued.If this pair breaks, I’ll either fix it or quickly replace them. I’ve never been happier with a set of headphones. I don’t even care that I overpaid for some beige coloring. They look GREAT with some bright orange Yaxi pads by the way…Just get ’em. You’ll find yourself using your other sets less and less. Maybe not because they sound better, surely there’s better, but because they are that dependable cozy audio blanket that you can depend on for anything. Save your money now with these, and then buy something that’s a true step-up later if you still need to chase that audio dragon. I most likely won’t be.

I just really don’t like earbuds, but I needed something more portable than my Sennheiser or Grados. I didn’t even consider that these might give those cans a run for their money in terms of sound quality. But, the Porta Pros absolutely blew me away. First off: the soundstage on these is amazing. I listened to some Oscar Peterson trio and I swear I could pin-point where Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums were playing in relation to Peterson’s piano (at least in my head), it was like they were all there in the room with me, the sound was so clear, vibrant, and nuanced. My Sennheiser and Grados have been collecting a lot of dust lately, cause I just love the way these sound so much.I was a bit concerned about comfort and build quality, but my fears were allayed. Despite being on-ear, I can wear them for hours without any discomfort, and the pressure is adjustable. I wear glasses, and the gap between the pads allows my glasses to sit without having to adjust them (which I can’t say for any of my other on-ear or over-ear headphones). Build quality-wise, these feel incredibly solid for a combo of plastic and metal.I fold them up and take them on the road with me. While not as compact as a set of earbuds, they are still incredibly small for headphones. I also needed something that would double as a headset since I do a lot of Zoom for work. While not perfect, these work in a pinch. Folks can hear me fine on the other end. The biggest issue being that moving around the mic can knock against my shirt and cause noise, so I have to be conscious of that to avoid annoying my listeners.I added some orange Yaxi pads to these and the comfort did go up a notch or two. I loved them so much, I got the version they have on Drop.com as well (those have stock pads still, which work fine). You can’t go wrong with either, but I like that these came with a hardshell case and in-line volume, so in that regard they may be slightly better value.PS I don’t know why they want me to rate noise cancellation on here, these do not seem to be noise cancelling at all. Which is what I want since I use them portably and want to be able to hear what’s going on around me. It is easy to hear with these on. There is a bit of sound leakage, but they aren’t as bad as my Grados, so as long as you aren’t blasting them, you shouldn’t disturb people around you too much.

The audiophile world is filled with great enjoyment of sound and empty wallets. Audiophilia is a never ending quest that is only temporarily satisfied by an expensive hobby of collecting Hi-Fidelity audio equipment. If that’s something you want don’t want, don’t buy this headphones.This is considered by most people in the audiophile community as the gateway drug into a downward spiral of getting the next best and usually more expensive pair of headphones. Once you hear audio that’s better than consumer grade, it’s hard to go back. Everything else sounds and feels like a downgrade.The Koss Porta Pro: I cannot say enough good things about this set of headphones. Sure, you won’t be doing any hyper accurate signal analysis with this set, but what you will be doing is enjoying little nuances and details of your favorite music tracks and movies.Sound: Out of the box, it’s immediately noticeable that these are better than any consumer grade headphones out there. What does that mean? For, you, the consumer, it means you can save $150 by buying these instead of any model of Beats. For you, the audiophile, it’s a fun set of headphones that’s great for a back-up if you just want to enjoy listening without being critical.The bass response out of the box is sort of loose. It definitely likes to rumble and bleed into the mids, but it does so in a way that doesn’t take any clarity out of the sound. Admittedly, it sounds a bit congested out of the box, but that resolves itself with some use. The mids are warm thanks to the interplay between the low and the mid-low frequencies. It’s a punchy mid. This set is capable of very clear highs, although due to its design, the clarity and the amount of high frequencies you hear is highly dependent on positioning the drivers properly on your ears. Fiddle with it a little bit on your head and you’ll be treated to some very nice sparkle in the high frequency range. The imaging and resolution of this headphone is amazing considering its price, its size, and its design. It’s important to note that these are an on-ear, open set of headphones. Don’t expect any isolation from the outside world and vice versa.The build is very minimal but surprisingly very durable and sturdy. Headband adjustment is intuitive and quick. Caliper pressure is adjustable. The materials used are decent. Its design may not fly with some people, but personally, I love the retro look. They have’t changed that part since the 80’s and it’s apparent. The cables are a little flimsy. Its ear pads offer enough padding for it to be comfortable – If you’re going to upgrade the ear pads, opt for an open foam replacement. Leather and velour tend to make the sound congested.It comes built with an inline microphone for gaming and phone calls. It also has inline medial controls for iOS and Android. This is one of my favourite headphones to game with on extended sessions since it’s so light and the microphone is great with clear voice pickup and noise isolation. I have quite a number of headphones in my collection and I still find myself going back to these from time to time just because they’re fun to listen to and sound great. These are the quintessential entry level audiophile headphones.

For $60 wow. The sound on these lightweight simple headphones is amazing. I honestly got them just because they looked cool, but the sound quality is so good for the price. Low end is *chefs kiss*. Perfect errand running or travel headphones.