Cons: Thick, heavy frame, poor noise reduction, extremely uncomfortable.
The Bottom Line: These headphones provide very decent sound quality for the money, but considering their poor noise reduction and how uncomfortable they are to wear I can't recommend them at all.
pspenguin's Full Review: Koss TD-80 Consumer Headphones
I've been spending a lot of time in the computer lab at my school lately, and I usually plug into whichever headphones are lying around. Recently I came across these Koss TD80 headphones and was a little bit surprised with the poor quality of these headphones. I have used Koss headphones in the past and have had some good experiences with the brand, but this model was quite a disappointment. I've been using the TD80s over the past week to try to work up enough experience to write a review on them and frankly I am very excited to get this review written and not have to wear these clunkers any more.
Comfort
One thing that is especially noticeable about the TD80 is how heavy and strong they feel. With a thick metal frame that grasps the head quite securely, these headphones almost feel like something out of a WWII military arsenal. From the moment I put these headphones on I was struggling with arranging them on my ears in an attempt to get them settled in a somewhat comfortable fashion. Rather than cup the ears and rest on the skull around the ear lobes, the pads on these headphones sit right on top of your ears, and with the strength of the heavy metal frame pushing against your skull it isn't exactly a pleasant experience.
Now I have a small head compared to most people, so I can't imagine that the pressure of the headphones against the ears will be much better for the average listener. The padding on the cups isn't very soft and doesn't help to alleviate the pressure at all. Needless to say the comfort doesn't improve over time, and while these headphones can be bearable for short periods of time, my ears usually start to smart enough after 15-20 minutes that I have to take them off.
The TD80 does have a decent swivel mechanism on each phone that allows you to get the phones at just the right angle against your ear, but that becomes irrelevent when the pressure of the cups against your ears is ruining the experience anyway.
Sound Quality
I have to admit I was quite pleasantly surprised by the sound quality of these Koss headphones. They provide a very clear atmosphere and well defined hits. The bass is quite decent although not extremely impressive, but still better than I expected from these phones. The atmosphere isn't closed off enough to really resonate the bass though, and that holds it back a bit in terms of richness of tone. For a pair of closed-ear phones the TD80 do a very poor job of isolating the space and dampening the sounds of the outer environment. In fact I would often notice that it seemed as if the phones were amplifying the certain sounds making it sound as if they were coming out of the speakers. This is definitely a weird experience, because they muffle the sound in just the right way to make you think that your headphones are picking up some distance radio broadcast. I found myself stopping several times before I got used to it to try to figure out what the noises were only to realize that was someone talking nearby.
Aside from the headphones poor ability to create an isolated listening environment, the sound quality is well worth the $40 dollars that you can get these phones for these days. If you only plan on using these headphones in a quiet environment you may actually be quite please with the listening experience, at least as far as the sound quality goes.
Durability
Everything about these phones screams durability. I can't speak for the quality of the speakers inside the phones, but everything from the thick, metal frame to the tough padding on the cups and the thick, coiled rubber cord feels about as tough as I could imagine in a pair of headphones. These are definitely the toughest feeling headphones I have ever come across, so I imagine if you are looking for an especially durable set of phones you might want to give these a try.
The Cord
The TD80 comes with an approximately 10" coiled cord (when extended) which is a nice amenity in a pair of headphones. The coil protects the phones from sudden jerks of the cord, and also gives you a bit of room to try to squeeze in some extra distance if you really need to. Of course you shouldn't put pressure on the cord, especially for extended periods of time so the cord is best served being allowed to remain slack.
The cord is quite thick and feels almost as durable as the rest of the unit, and definitely contributes to the overall durability of these headphones.
Style
These headphones aren't exactly a trendsetter, and in fact they do a decent job of blending in, at least as well as any closed-ear headphones can. The metal frame doesn't really stand out at first glance, and on closer inspection it just gives you a tough-looking impression. From a style standpoint the TD80's ability to look fairly normal may be it's biggest asset as you are not going to impress anyone with these heavy frames. At least you won't stand out in the room like a complete bass-head.
Special Features
These headphones are pretty standard and don't really have any fancy bells and whistles except for one little thing. Each phone has a separate volume adjuster that allows you to have each ear tuned differently if you so desire. I still haven't quite figured out what that might be useful for, but I am going to assume that there is a reason the feature is there. From a practical standpoint it is more annoying than anything else because you have to put a little bit of effort into getting both phones tuned evenly whenever you pick them up (especially if someone else has been playing around with them) and that is not something that I really want to have to deal with with a pair of headphones.
Price
You can get these headphones for about $40 these days, and for that price they are actually almost a bargain. If you can get them to fit to your head nicely and only plan to use them in a quiet environment they may one of the better options for decent sound quality in this price range.
Bottom Line
While these headphones provide very decent sound quality for the money, but considering their poor noise reduction and how uncomfortable they are to wear I can't recommend them at all. You can get much more comfortable and better isolating headphones for not much more money, and so unless you really need an especially tough pair of headphones. I'd recommend you spend a good amount of time looking around before really considering these TD80s.
Dynamic element for accurate sound reproduction Closed ear cushion design for maximum isolation and deep bass. Volume control on each earcup for easy ...More at Compuplus.com
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