Pros: Excellent response, strong bass, very clear highs w/o being painful
Cons: Unbelievably uncomfortable for even short periods of time
The Bottom Line: I could only recommend these if the person understood that these are high quality truly at the cost of long term comfort. Overall, they are quite capable headphones.
AVaddict's Full Review: Koss TD-80 Consumer Headphones
Preface
High fidelity should never have to come at the cost of ultra high prices. One can often be surprised by the quality found in some less expensive products. This is especially true with Koss. For years they have been making some of the best (for the price) headphones available to the public. They have also been making studio grade headphones for decades. Though these higher models are a little harder to find, it can be done. Look on any given album insert and you very well may see their name.
The products that Koss has marketed have, pretty much across the board, been cheaper than the offerings from say, Sony, for example, for a roughly similar product. Don't get me wrong, many of Sony's headphones are quite good, but at a premium. The same can be said of AKG, Sennheiser (not a fan), Grado, or even B&O, but at (often) an even greater premium. This is really where Koss has always shined, they offer surprisingly good quality at a fully reasonable cost.
I have owned these headphones for several years (possibly four years even?) and they aren't my first set. I have also owned PortaPros (see my upcoming review for more) and several of the "bud" style phones. I have been very happy with all their products since day one. All were worth the cost, and all lasted acceptably long, obviously, I am still in possession of my TD-80s.
Performance
They are fantastic headphones as far as sound quality. Several of my closer friends have bee very surprised at the high level sound quality for such a price, and they can be found these days for about $20 less. The accuracy is astounding! The highs, mids, and lows especially are clear and easy on the ears. I do have to trim my treble adjustments somewhat to avoid fatigue, but thats due more to comfort (later). The bass I am able to achieve out of these headphones is phenomenal, but this can be attributed more to how they are designed to fit on the listeners head.
Many of the headphones we see today are "open-air" designs that reduce the dynamic pressures on the eardrum and also allow outside noises to enter, which can be good and bad. Other than bud style phones (yawn) and planars (drooool), closed phones are the other option, that's what the TD-80s are. What does this mean to you? Well, when you put on the phones they seal the small amount of airspace between the earpiece (cushion), which in this case is soft foam covered by leatherette. This concept could be compared (to some degree) to ported or sealed speakers, many say a sealed enclosure gives more accurate base, but thats a can of worms I don't want to open here.
What this sealed environment does is make the transducer work at lot less to produce the same SPLs, and allows it to seem to produce more bass. As mentioned, this can produce more dynamic force on the eardrum (vs an open cell design) which may fatigue the user more quickly, but with these phones thats not really the problem. The sound is outstanding, the comfort (or lack thereof) on my ears is what makes me take them off.
OUCH!
After a few hours with these on your noggen you will say the same thing. It is an improvement on the airbag design, which is still used in some models, but is still very uncomfortable. What I mean by airbag is that the earpiece that Koss used to use more commonly, say, ten years ago, was not a leather covered foam cushion, it was a little inner tube filled with air. Not bad in theory, but your ears would gets sweaty and the comfort level was not what you'd imagine.
My ears tend to get a little sweaty with these earpieces to, but only after a few hours and its not too bad. This may sound a little weird, even gross, but these are big headphones and they do get warm. At first it isn't so bad. I put them on and I am fine for a little while. I then find myself moving them around. They usually end up clinging to my forehead, but it always gets to the point where they are just too uncomfortable to use and I have to take them off. Two or three hours is usually my max.
There are definitely worse fitting headphones in the same "class" as these on the market. The real bummer here is that the sound quality is so good and yet they end up being so uncomfortable. The headband is nicely padded and each phone does swivel about 70 degrees in each direction, so finding a comfy place to have them, initially, isn't too tough. Now, the comfort thing could just be me, but I know two other people with model and neither like the long term feel either, so I am pretty sure I'm not just being picky. By comparison, some of the larger Sonys aren't much more comfy. Without a doubt, I think Grado and B&O make the comfiest phones out there.
Accessories and Features
What accessories? They're headphones...oh well. They do come with a quarter inch pulg which is what I use virtually all the time. I would have preferred they simply be fit with a 1/4" plug period, but I understand why that wouldn't be a good marketing move, you'd cut out much of the buying audience or annoy those that were expecting a mini plug. The cord is acceptably long, but I don't like the fact that its coiled, I would have (and always do) preferred a straight line. Sure this is nit-picky, but thats what I am writing this here for.
The cord is roughly 10' long when stretched to the max, but I shouldn't have to tell you that's bad, you don't want to put unnecessary stress on the internal wiring whether at the phones or at the plug, not to mention what you have it plugged into. The cord does seem to be quite durable though.
One neat little feature which isn't really all that common is the fact that each headphones has an individual volume control. It may seem like a bell-and-whistle type feature, but it is actually quite useful. And adds a little bit of individuality to these headphones. Also, you can use them as an attennuator (like on automotive head units) since they do, when rolled all the way one direction, cut out all sound, cool!
Summary
These headphones, for the price, are a good buy if you are looking for great sound quality in a set of headphones. The volume control is nice, the cord is sturdy, the construction of these headphones is deceptively durable, but boy, they do get painful after a few hours! It is a tradeoff I spose. If you get them to watch TV in bed at night for short periods and don't want to disturb your mate it may a decent option for you. But beyond short term use, buyer beware. My suggestion is try them on first, if you can, but remember, they are comfy as all get out at first. People are all different though, so you may find these (tho I doubt it) the most comfortable headphones the market.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
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