I just ordered these but I have a couple pair of Pro-4AAs I've had since about 2005. You have to register them and use the warranty. I bought the 2nd while waiting for warranty repair of the first. Just bought my 3rd because the 1st two got tangled up in covid delays. I sleep in them, they're very good at blocking noise. I used to have a pair of Yamahas that sounded a little better maybe but these are pretty good. Those didn't block room noise.

The biggest weakness is the plastic frames, they break about once a year. So you write a note and a check for $9 return shipping and send them off. Use your spares and in a week or so you'll get back what may be a brand new pair. Maybe they salvage some parts but they completely rebuild them like new. Love the warranty.

Bought it 13 years ago, here in Hungary. My priciest, and practically only headphone so far. I was amazed when I could hear the wristwatch of the keyboard player clinking on a recording I listened to dozens of times. Comfortable. Still working after 13 years. Sound: 5 Build: 3

Within a year, the top of the hinge where the screws are driven into broke in twine so that the right earcup dangled on the cord only. I tried tape, but the tension was big enough to keep the cup away from my ear, so I stuffed it away in a drawer. I took it out after 12 years and the lining was flaking, but it still worked. I scraped off all the flaky vinyl lining. Then I cut to shape a 2mm piece of rigid plastic and superglued it to both sides of the broken parts. Now it is more stable than ever. I first tried with superglue only, but it didn't hold. The plastic part for this much stress was a poor manufacturing choice obviously.

I kid you not, the cushions just gave out - 16 year later. The vinylette tore and disintegrated almost overnight. They still sound great, and now my kids use them. The replacement pads are $5, plus shipping.

Return on investment is huge. I used them primarily for PS1 and PS2, Gran Turismo!

I treated them like gold and that's why they lasted. Can't say the same gift others.

Why a 4 for overall? They didn't last forever!

good treble, good mids, nice bass keeps music fidelity

cheap-ass plastic that breaks dont know why the taped speaker bust..

i bought these when i first started listening to music alot..this was a while back. they had awesome treble and average bass. they cup broke though, and i didnt keep the receit. i fixed it with tons of tape but after a while the speaker gave out. i bought some panasonic cans..but they sucked compared to koss. i like the cable attachment..i still have the cable from the old one. if you take out an extended warrenty and get them replaced when they snap then theyre awesome sounding phones..

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Panasonic RP-HT710..average Panasonic Theatre cans..average Panasonic brain shaker buds..good cheap sony, koss, and other earbuds sony nude ex 51 earbuds..freaking awesome

THE SOUND!! Isn't that why one buys nice headphones in the first place. Cannot beat them for the price... better than others costing 3-4 times as much.

None so far, but I admit I have not had these long.. so I will have to see how durable they are... but I am positive that if you treat them well they will last years. The crackle some hear when they turn their heads is probably their stubble rubbing on the padding. hehe, if I am not clean shaven I hear the crackling when I turn my head.

This is a very underrated pair of headphones. The sound is REALLY good, as good as phones in the 200 dollar range, in my opinion. The bass is deep, and tight, with presence. And the highs are really clear with no tinny sound. Everyone that hears them comments on how clear they sound. They go plenty loud as well...louder than one can stand. Some people have had problems with the headband breaking, but I personally cannot see how one could break these unless they were abused. Treat them properly and they should last years. I have long used the Koss Porta Pro headphones because of their portability and supurb sound. (Look them up on here and you will see it is one of the top rated pairs of headphones PERIOD). I have also searched for a long time for a pair of sealed headphones that had a similar sound to the Porta Pros. I searched a long time, and sampled some very expensive cans. But when I heard these R-80s I knew the search was over. They sound very much like the Porta Pros! So if you like the sound of the Porta Pros... and I have never met anyone that has not been blown away from the sound of the Porta Pros... then you will love the R-80s. Just treat them with care, okay?! Too many people on here breaking these supurb headphones and thus the score is way lower than it should be! At least there is Koss's lifetime warranty. I have used it in the past on other headphones, and they replace with no questions asked.

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Beyerdynamic, Sennheiser

I would only like to further emphasize what has already been said about these headphones. i have to be the one that's gone through the most pairs of these, just due to them breaking just at the top of the cup, the bend in the plastic at this joint is very cheap and cracks very easy when you stretch them to put them on your head. i am on my fourth pair of these headphones. no, i'm not nuts, i had an extended warranty with radioshack that was replacement coverage, thus every time they broke, i was given a replacement pair, free of charge. ways i have messed up these headphones: 1. wore them in the cold once, went to put them on my head, instantly cracked at the side. 2. a friend sat on my schoolbag when they were in it... not good. 3. i blew a pair of them when using them with my guitar amp one time.. cranked it up too much, didn't notice that the distortion wasn't rooted from the overdrive of the amp... and what can i say, i didnt ask them to replace them with a different model, i am completely satisfied with these headphones for only one reason... sound quality. for the money, they are an extremely excellent set of cans to please the ears with. bass is deep and punchy, great low-bass response, they're not like my sony mdr-500's where the bass is so quick to distort at higher volumes, these babies take it in stride. the midrange and treb's are extremely well defined and crisp, much better than anything else i've listened from before. although i haven't had the chance to try out many high-end pairs of headphones. so, in short... crappy construction, awesome sound. if i could find a good way to take the cans off of these things and make a stronger frame for them, i definately would. they can also be a bit uncomfortable to use for long periods of time, with the reported *creak* sound happening sometimes when you move your head slightly... i'm glad i own them, but now don't think that i'd like to be seen in public wearing them, they're just too big. nice cooshy cups, but tooooo big. anyway, that was my 2 cents and 99 pastoozas.

Wide frequency range, punchy bass, shimmering highs, full mid range, very comfortable on long trips, and extremely inexpensive for the product''''s worth.

unable to turn up loud at all in a quiet room, without disturbing others (wish they were noise cancelling). I will agree that the effort in organizing quality, on the company''''s part, is a little lacking.

Ok, let me get one thing straight. It seems to me that all these consumers complaining "Hmm, oh, my headphones broke because they are crappy." or that they are cheap, are doing a little more than just "dropping" or "stretching" them to fit one''''s head. My koss''''s just broke the other week, but this was after 3 YEARS of ROUGH USE! (electrical tape works quite well if you wrap it tightly, plus it blends in). If these imbeciles would cease smashing their poor koss''''s with a hammer, or running them over with their car, they could actually take time to enjoy the benefits of these wonderful headphones. Another issue- the "phone jack-like" cord. I have taken this cord out many times (mainly because i was bored and had nothing else to do at the time), i am fairly careful in doing this (i have even tugged on the little tab and chuckled in blind amusement). You would have to be pretty rough on this cord to break it. So, my suggestion in order to sustain headphone life, to all of these mentally handicapped individuals, is to NOT RIP OUT THE CORD, AND NOT TO SIT ON THEM! I paid $40 for my R-90''''s (exactly like the R-80''''s except cloth ear cups, and open air grilles where the large circles are on the sides), and in my opinion, are the best headphones for that amount of money. I hope to use these until the wires are frayed, my electrical tape supply is depleted, and i justify on buying some grado''''s.

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Aiwa, Sony, cheaper Koss,...you name it

Very comfortable, exceptional definition, Smooth frequency response, Detachable cord, Good sound isolation.

Headband mounting tends to "creak" in the ear cups with just a little movement.

I was looking for new headphones to replace my very old and worn-out Sterling tech 100's. I was very impressed with the Koss R-80s (also known as Optimus PRO-135 headphones). Note: It's okay to buy them at Radio Shack, just wait for them to go on sale. The R-80s are about $50 while the PRO-135s normally retail for about $70.

The R-80s are very comfortable and I have found that I can wear them for over 2 hours with experiencing fatigue. The headband and ear cushions fit securely but don't make you feel uncomfortably warm. I use them for both music and movies during the night to keep from disturbing others. The detachable cord makes solid contact at both the ear-cup and
the receiver jack. The phone plug is gold-plated. The only annoyance that I have found is a creaking sound the occurs with movment. The sound comes right-in through the ear pieces and can be distracting at times.

These $50 headphones have an impressive sound quality. They have exceptional definition which allows the listener to hear nuances in vocals and insturments. They also avoid over-emphasis in the midrange frequencies which tends to be more common in mid-priced phones. They do not have as strong a "bottom-end" as other headphones. I do not find this characteristic a flaw, but rather, simply a result of a very flat frequency response. The treble is very detailed and the bass tight along with good transient response.

I believe the Koss R-80 headphones are an excellent value for $50 and will enhance your private listening. Five stars for value, Five stars for performance minus one star for creaking.

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Mid-priced headphones from Sennheiser and Optimus (Radio Shack).

good sound

weak headband

i ordered these at provantage for $20 less than there msrp to replace my detereiorating td-65s. the sound was good however after a couple weeks i was removing them when i heard a discomforing snap. the piece of plastic that connects the headband to the earcup had broken. admittedly i have a larger-than-average head, but it is not exceedingly huge. i may have been a little rough on them, but there is nothing i did to them that should have broken them. on closer examination it seems that this piece is made of very thin and flimsy plastic. unfortunetly this is the same piece that is on many of the koss "studio" head phones: r-10, 30, 90, and 200, as well as the optimus equivalents.
they do have a lifetime warranty that i am too lazy to have done anything about yet.
so...if you have a large head then don't buy these, but otherwise go for it

Similar Products Used:

koss td-65, koss ur-30, jensen jf-30, old yamahas, technics rp-dj1200, you name it

Full soundstage and accurate reproduction for $30
Great cord positioning

Poor plastic construction

I will agree with the concensus here about poor construction. I DID have these for a year or so before they snapped in two when putting them on my head, which is after a minor breakage before to the swivel plastic holder for the earcup.

I will defend the product about it's sound quality for the money! It sounds darn good for $30, on par with $100 cans. If handled carefully, they can last a while.

If you are rough on phones or will travel, these arent for you, get a better pair of senns.

For me, I will be going for some Grado 60s, more expensive, but hopefully ill be able to make em last and the sound is FANTASTIC!

my 2 shiney coppers....

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Other Koss, Sony products