Great sound, comfort, portablity, price, lifetime warranty

Fold well but don't always stay folded; would better if they folded flat.

These are the best lightweight, comfortable headphones with good sound quality at a reasonable price I have ever used. Most portable headphones have no bass and tinny highs. These have good bass and clear and crisp highs. They sound good with all the kinds of music I listen to (classical, jazz, rock, blues, reggae, country, Motown). With my cheap Q Power Bee MP3 player (for a combined price of under $50), they beat the cost of an IPod Shuffle with lousy ear buds and no display or FM radio. Even if you have an iPod I recommend these so you can get the most out of them.

I agree with other reviewers that the folding would be better if they folded flat but they fold better OK without breaking unlike a pair of Maxell's that I have to return to the manufacturer.

They are very comfortable because the earpieces instead of being rigid and in a fixed position float and more easily adjust to your ears. Also they don't irritate or pinch your ears like some of the clip-ons and allow you to hear what's going on around you unlike earbuds.

As to durability they have more metal and better quality plastic than most portbale headphones and don't break when you fold them unlike the Maxell mentioned above. Did I mention the lifetime warranty?

Overall they have a great sound, comfort and portablility at a great price.

Customer Service

Haven't needed it yet

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Sony ear buds and clip-ons, generic ear buds and on ear headphones, Maxell on-ear. Koss Pro 4AAA stereo headphones.

The sound, the glorious sound!

Not sure what to say, I haven't found any in three years of use.

These are magnificent headphones, I can't imagine anything even twice their price coming close. I have been listening to these headphones for almost three years now almost daily so I have listened to them. I listen to a very wide range of music, but in everything I listen to, sound quality is important and I know when I hear good sound.

I have recently purchased a Grado SR125 for my home stereo which I find to be very nice indeed. I decided to buy the Grado 1/4" adapter and try them as portables. The Grado's do not come close to the Koss Porta Pro. I would challenge anybody who could remain unbiased to find any area that the Grado's do close to as well as the Porta Pro. I love my Grado's for my home system, but as portables, forget it. On my cheap little BenQ player the Porta Pro are really very musical, detailed, engaging and very capable with a rich, full, articulate sound. The sound is accurate and very well portrayed.

There is no unpleasant edge, even at high volume the sound remains very, very good. You will hear some people say that the bass is over emphasized, and geared to people who don't know what real quality bass sounds like. Well that is just silly, it is hard to even dignify that position with an answer. The bass from the Porta Pro is very nice and in my mind very natural and properly portrayed. I have played the drums for many years and I listen with great attention to all kinds of music and instruments.

There is zero doubt in my mind that the bass you get from the Porta Pro, which is considerable, is quality, full accurate bass well balanced with the other elements in the music. I listen to very intense music such as Tool where the bass is certainly a major component of the musical sound, the Porta Pro are nothing short of stellar.

As for the high and mid range, again, very, very nice and highly detailed and musical. I really enjoy listening to music with the Porta Pro. If you have the opportunity to buy these headphones, do not hesitate. When I purchased these headphones I had gone in with no desire to purchase Koss as it was my belief that their sound quality had gone down over the years.

In truth, I had no idea as I hadn't listened to a pair of Koss headphones in years. When I told the sales staff there what I wanted he insisted I buy the Koss over anything else there. He guaranteed me I would not ever want to part with them. He was 100% right, I had them on my head a few minutes after leaving the store and man did I like what I heard. I wanted to have really nice sounding headphones, not just good or average, but really nice sounding headphones. Even though it was for a portable, I was willing to spend around $100 without blinking. At the time I think the Porta Pro was around the middle of the pack in price so I was tempted to overlook them and spend more. I now know I would have wasted my time. If my well respected $200 Grado's can't touch the Porta Pro, what else that is not stupidly expensive could?

I don't just listen to hard rock so I value real musicality in my equipment and I need it to reproduce different musical styles accurately. The Porta Pro is the headphone you want, Apple should add these as an upgrade item to bundle with their high end models. As an earlier reviewer mentioned, why would anybody use the cheap ear bud ear punisher's that come with an iPod? Just doesn't make sense. Buy these headphones.

Customer Service

Haven't needed it yet. My brother who bought these after I did also thinks they are the best, he has had to get a new pair once and he found the service to be A++. Wen he needed the service, it was his fault that the Porta Pros were damaged, it had nothing to do with the quality and he still paid only shipping!

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Over the years many different pairs of headphones on home systems. For portable before I had a nice pair of JVC Bandits which I also liked a great deal. I would love to have them now to compare to the Porta Pro.

Like I said before, these headphones work very well across the whole spectrum I can hear. The sound has a slightly acoustic feel to it. Even some remastered CDs that frequently take some bashing for the sound quality (think Tangerine Dream Definitive Edition from Virgin) sound great on the PortaPro.

Generally you can expect these headphones to reproduce nuances well, and to be versatile for all kinds of music - rock, jazz, electronic, classic. Of the CDs that I listened to on PortaPro, the only that sounded less than good was the remastered "Somewhere in Time" by Iron Maiden (actually, it just plain sucked).

The earbud pressure switch is a big plus, it really makes a difference, allowing you to avoid the effect of "suffocating ears".

Sound-wise, the only problem I have with the PortaPro might well be subjective: The lowest end seems to be too pronounced, e.g. bass drum or bass guitar low E thumping in my head even at moderate volume. This doesn't go to the "annoying" range of the scale though :)

One problem I have with the construciton of the PortaPro is the sliding joint on the headband: Occasionally, when I adjust the headband size, it pulls a hair or two.

The best headphones I had in a very long time. They gave a new life to many of my CDs.

My first impression was that the PortaPro had very even frequency response, with maybe the lowest end slightly too pronounced. These were the first headphones in a very long time that actually worked well from the bottom to the top. All headphones that I had tried in the recent years, after my Sony MDR-V3 stopped working, had some serious problem; the usual picture was exaggerated bottom, muddy middles, muffled highs. While the PortaPro are not yet the Holy Grail of headphones for me, they seriously improve in most areas.

As for wearing comfort, PortaPro are OK after you take some time to position them precisely. As with most headphones with a headband, they don't work too well for listening in bed.

Customer Service

Never had to deal with them so far.

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Sony MDR-V3
Sony MDR-W08
Panasonic RP-HT60
Philips SBC-HP160
AKG K-44

Urged on by these reviews, I bought these headphones, and I've been very pleased. The sound quality is great, and theres no doubt about that. Despite what I'm gonna pick on now, I think these headphones, especially with life warranty are really worth it so consider not just the negatives. FIRSTLY: 1. The folding system is nice, but more annoying than competing systems, such as the fold flat system used by Seinheisser PX100. 2. The leather case that you put the headphones in looks amazing, but is slightly too small for its purpose, so its hard to get the headphones in there. Now these two are disadvantages, but there are heaps of advantages: 1. THE BASS is not as extreme as many other people claim, rather very punchy which is good. 2. The earphones are very comfortable to wear over long periods. 3. THe music really puts you inside, instaed of in-ear which leave you listening from the outside. Thanks for your time.

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bad in-ear

Great sound GREAT SOUND! Comfortable, light, portable, rugged

Some might say the bass could tend to be a little muddy because this kind of solid bass is so rare in portable headphones. To some they might look kind of odd, but what kind of headphones really look good on anyone? None.

The best portable headphones. I wish I could make the "period" larger. I listen to Grado SR325s at home with a Grado RA-1 amp. I had owned a pair of Shure E3c's thinking these would be great sound and also block out exterior noise. The don't come close to the sound quality of the Koss Portapros. I sold then on Ebay for 80 bucks and bought the Koss. They're rugged, comfortable, light, portable, and sound fantastic. Are they the Grado 325s. No, but they're too darned close as far as I'm concerned, for what I paid for the 325s. Run, don't walk, if you have portable audio, and get a pair of the Koss Portapro - king of the hill portable headphones. Oh, and they're very efficient so they won't drain your batteries.

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Shure E3c, Sony phontopia, sennhieser buds that came with MP3 player.

-great sound detail -awesome bass -LIFETIME WARRANTY THAT WORKS -worth hte money -look differet, look cheap, but am all about the sound not about hte look ,and keep in mind, htese are from the 80s

may be abit fragile, ut only if you throw them around, if you use them as any heapphones have to be used, they will never break

i've bought these headphones quite a while ago at the future shop and since then i am a big fan of them. these headphoes have a very good sound clarity, very good detail and nice crispy bass. i've compared these headphones to many other big and expensive headphones, and surprisingly, my portapros beat any of those htat i tried. the lifetime warranty REALLY WORKS. one night , my cat chewed up the cord, so it was completely ripped of and unfixable, the future shop didnt want to replace them sayin that it was a physical damage, and it obviously was. so with nothing to lose, i tried to fix them myself, nut ofcource nothing worked, so i sent them off to koss. and in about 6 weeks, a saw a completely new pair of portapros in my mailbox. GOD BLESS KOSS!!! The sound is awesome, easily beats any other headphones. probably the best for listening to metal, cause they have a very sharp sound, and also acoustic is very good because of the perfect sound clarity. I just dont understant these people who buy $400 Ipods and keep hte cheap @ss headphones that come for free. Cmon, if you can spend all htat money on ipod, spend 80 more and get hte perfect sound.

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cheapo sonys never compare All those headphones they have at radioshack, big and expensive, will never match Senn PX100, my gf owns these, they have a very good sound, some would perefer these better, but the PX100 have a different type of sound, it is not that sharp, so if you like metal, portaprowould b better for you GRADO RS60, my friend bouhgt these. they have an amazing soung, but te bass in porta pros is a lot better. and also hte grado's sound got worse after acouple months of use, they have only a year warranty

Great design: - These can't cost Koss more than $3 to make, and yet they can sell them for $80 CAD. - Sound is above average, especially in bass. - They fold up for more robust and compact portability - Aesthetically, I think their minimal, functional design is cool. Certainly not trendy nor flashy. - Comfortable for extended use, due to lightness and ear/temple padding. They come with a lifetime guarantee. Not expensive to buy. Not so fancy you obsess about them getting stolen, unlike $800 headphones. Suitable for active use.

Flaky 1/8" male plug that doesn't make a solid stable connection, resulting in periodic static and weak audio signal while walking with a Sony discman in my pocket. I don't have this problem with my ER4P headphones, which granted cost 4x as much. Build quality is suspect, as my first pair was babied and yet exhibited failure after 1 month of use. Turn around time for getting a replacement pair from Koss was 2 months. That's ridiculous. Not the last word in value (Grado 60 or 80s), sound quality (Grado SR/RS series, Etymotic ER4x, Sennheiser 5xx/6xx), detail, durability (ER4P), or anything, for that matter. These are midrangers in all categories. I've heard much worse and much better. Not cheap to buy. I prefer 'light' setting for ear/temple pads but it keeps resetting to 'firm' grip every time I take them off.

These are not great headphones. These are, however, good headphones. As mentioned by other posters, they have exaggerated and impressive bass, solid midrange and okay highs, although the highs roll off much more abruptly than other, better headphones. As a result, these headphones are not the last word in anything: Detail, accuracy, imaging, build quality, value, etc. They are bested in all categories by other offerings. They are, however, decent all-rounders that are satisfying to listen to and don't cost an arm and a leg. My first pair lasted about a month (and I babied them by the way) before sound was cutting out in the right channel and heavy bass produced a rattle in the same channel. This was due in part to the plug-end of the frail cord fatiguing through. No problem, I thought, I'll just send them to Koss and get a replacement pair for $7 CAD shipping. So I called them up, was given an address to mail them to, got a money order from my bank, took the headphones and money order to the post office, and sent them off. About a month later, my new headphones hadn't arrived, so I fired off an email to Koss asking whether they had received my headphones and if/when a new pair would be issued to me. They replied that they hadn't received my Porta Pros, and asked for a tracking number to see whether they had even been sent. I hadn't sent the 'phones by registered mail and suddenly I had a sinking feeling. Moreover, and this didn't occur to me at the time, Koss hadn't given me an RMA number; all that mentioned that those were my headphones was a scrap of paper with a short note on it that I had stuffed in the envelope with the headphones before sending them off. That, and the return address on the envelope, were all that made it clear those were my 'phones. Anyway, I decided not to pursue the matter further. The Porta Pros were nice, but not great and obviously of sketchy build quality anyway, and I had much better headphones that were more robust, so I let it go. Fast forward another month and my new headphones arrived. They actually came on my birthday, which was serendipitous! I like the Porta Pros when I need to hear ambient sound from my surroundings that my Etymotic Research ER4P's block out; moreover, the ER4Ps have annoying microphonic wire that sends loud sound to your ears every time they brush anything, including a shirt, making them far from ideal for active use. Also, I like the feel of bass on my ears that the ER4Ps simply can't produce; bass is much more satisfying when heard from the Porta Pros. If you are coming from lower-end headphones you will no doubt be quite pleased with the Porta Pros. They are better than the freebie crap that comes with discmen and MP3 players. If, on the other hand, you come from higher end headphones, and are looking for cheaper, more 'disposable' headphones, obviously the sound will be a step down from Grados or Sennheiser 5XX/6XX headphones. No surprises there.

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Generic freebie headphones, Etymotic Research ER4P, auditioned many other high end headphones.

Sound like studio headphones but are lightweight.

Feel flimsy but I guess that's why they're light!

These are remarkable headphones for mp3 players like iPods. Full, rich sound, deep bass (for a portable, open air headphone). They're comfortable, lightweight and fairly priced at $39.

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OEM models that came with players and Apple earbuds

Everything

nothing

I adore these headphones. They are definitely the best portable/lightweight headphones I have used. Amazing frequency response across the entire range. Very comfortable, even if you're wearing glasses. The lifetime warranty is a big plus too.

cheap perfect sound great bass looks cool comfortable

may seem easy to break, but I havent broke them yet....

koss porta pro is without any doubt the best pair of headphones I`ve ever tried out, and here in norway its cool to have them on because when you go around in the city people stops you and give you a very nice compliment about them. they have great bass (which is very important when i`m a maiden fan), crystal clear sound, comfortable to have on and I got for a quite nice price (about 70$). They may been like we say in norway: feilfrie which means that they havent got any mistakes, but if I have to say anything bad about them is that they may seem easy to break.

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denon closed headphones model: AH-D300