chiminou's Full Review: Koss Porta Pro Consumer Headphones
I bought those headphones 4 years ago and they changed my listening experience for life! I've never heard better sound quality. Not to mention the comfort and ease of use and portability.
I paid around 60$ at an electronics local store in Quebec, Canada back then. I know futureshop canada retails them for 79.99$ presently! It is well worth the price. It's the best electronic item I ever bought.
SOUND
I enjoy loud music and I also like to boost the bass frequencies sometimes. And to achieve loudness, you need quality, if not... the experience can be somewhat painful. The "portapro" is designed for deep bass performance. The sound remains soft and very pleasant even at high volume. You can drive them at high volume with no sound distortion, no agressive mid-frequencies either. Impressive for such a small light-weight unit.
I can't tell you enough how GREAT they sound! How can I describe it?? Let me see...it's as if you are standing right there next to the musicians, or on stage for that matter! A soft clean real-life sound...I listen to a variety of music, I can vouch that the portapros are versatile... as good for Heavy Rock (Led Zeppelin, Nickleback) as for easy listening (Enya or Sarah McLachlan). These will allow you to hear every instrument, every tiny detail you probably never perceived before with regular headsets.
I used to perform live and did some stuff in studio, I had the chance to come accross good equipement, so I think, by now, I know a bit more about this subject, enough to give portapro a 10 on 10.
Bass frequencies enhancement
It is commonly known that the portapros enhance the bass frequencies. I adore it! It may not be suitable for anyone or any type of music.
The bass freq remain tight and clear, they do not overcome the mids (middle range) or the highs. As for the mids, they sound real, soft, lipid. Those freq are very important since most of the instruments and vocals are ranged in that area.
The highs freq are clear and crisp, not overbearing at high volume. The combination of all this give the portapro a soft warm confortable sound at any volume level. That is one terrific aspect of those headphones, they sound as good at very low volume or at painfully high volume!
It is definitely not a flat sound. Though it is colored, it still sounds natural and very realistic. They are worth much more than 20$ (u.s.). I would easily pay up to 120$ for those. It is good for life anyways..
COMPARISON
On my recent quest for the perfect MP3/CD player, I've had the occasion to try out many other headphones (apart from those sold with the players).
I've tried Sony's and Sennheiser's. From cheap headphones to very pricey ones. Those unknowing salesmen all thought my portapro were cheap and not good. I have to say, just by the looks of them, they appear to be quite ordinary. Still, none of those new headphones measured up! Oh, they all looked fancy, high-tech and were very confortable, but, none sounded as great, even the best Sennheisers.
I compared them to the beloved sennheiser PX100 .. the portapro won the challenge! The px100 are fine, but they sound a bit metallic and cold, plus they FIT poorly on anyone's head! I tried other sennheisers, even the pricey ones .. conclusion: I'm not the sennheiser-type!
ONe flaw is that there is some sound leakage even when used at a reasonable volume due to their "open air" feature. At the volume I use them, the sound leaks a lot.. it can be embarrassing in public. I know they can hear the song I am listening to. I often notice heads turning when i'm waiting for my bus.. They can hear the high freq.. Outside noise is not blocked either... It is not a flaw per say, cause, they are built in that way, to let outside noise in. But the leakage is an unwanted side effect.
Those earphones can be used with portable players as well as at home.
comfort
These "over the head" headphones are so comfy, you forget you are wearing them.
They have two adjustable temporal-comfort zone pads to shift the pressure and perfectly balance the ear plates on your ear. I usually use the "firm" setting, it places the headphones closer to the head for a snuggly fit. The open-earphone ear plates are multipivoting and the headband is adjustable. They collapse easily, down to a size of about 3 inches around,for storage or to carry around and are surprisingly durable.
Features
Frequency response: 15-25,000 Hz
Dynamic element design for deep bass performance
Comfort Zone setting on temporal pad for comfortable, secure fit
Multi-pivoting earplates and adjustable headband for added comfort
Collapsible
Includes carrying case
Includes 1/8" and 1/4" stereo plugs
Straight (dual-entry) 4-foot cord
What else would you ask for ... limitless warranty.. there you go; Koss offers a lifetime warranty on its PortaPro stereo-phones.
Apart from the "dorky" look, they are amazing. But who cares about looks when the sound is so satisfying?
Whenever I see some other "portapro-owner", on my commute, I think to myself : "Here's another cool guy/gal that knows about great sound performance " .
---------UPDATE-------- nov 25 2004
The earcushions had to be replaced, they were so used out that they kept on falling off. Radioshack sells some generic cushions for about 5$, I bought the bigger ones, they did not fit well, they fell all the time, I returned them and bought the small ones. They look cheap are very tight, kinda hard to fit in and they make the whole thing too bulky.
I decided to check out www.Koss.com to see if they sell any replacements. They do. They offer replacement cushions for each model of their headphones, cost 5$ to order and 72 hours for delivery..
I received the earcushions today, 7 days later from departure time. Small package, it fit in my tiny mail box, that'S cool, I didn't have to go get them at the postoffice. I paid no extra charge (customs nor duties). COst me 6$(can) and I got two pairs even if i'd ordered just one pair. They also provide the small rectangle foam pads that fit over the ears. Kinda long to remove the old ones, but once all cleaned out.. the new pads fit just great, they have one glue-side which sticks to the plastic and remains in place.
---------UPDATE (december 4th 2004)------------
Problem with signal loss in the right earphone. The cord was probably bent too much resulting in a broken wire... I was careful as usual with the headphones, the only difference is the new player I just got, (iRiver SlimX iMP-550).. its remote is special so that the 90 degree jack of the portapro fits only in a certain position.. SO, when the remote is clipped to my coat or pants.. the 90 degree JACK stands upright but the cord IS bent downward.. putting lots of weight and stress on the bent part.. more than a regular jack would DO...
I called KOSS on their toll free number (in USA). There is an ontario address for repairs, but I learned that they do not repair, they just transfer the package to the US, then koss-usa sends the repaired unit back! They told me it can take up to 4 weeks since it's in Canada!
The person I've spoken to at KOSS-USA was very polite, nice and reassuring as well.
I ordered the Sportapro from the koss.com website, received them 3 weeks later. All I had to pay was canadian duty (11$). They work great (scroll down for complete review).
I sent my PORTApros for repairs. I included a 6$ check for shipping/handling, and paid 8$ for express delivery (one day parcel insurance for a value of 100$).
------- UPDATE (19 feb 2005) ----------
Received my new portapro set today. It took 50 days... They replaced them for brand new ones, no charge.
They work Great! Right out of the box, I can distinguish a better sound image than the Sportapros. The highs and mid are better, there's less boomy-bass, the vocals and high pitched sounds are very well balanced, and sound reproduction is amazing.
.....Koss Forever!
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