KossSportaPro On-Ear Stereo Headphones, 3.5mm Plug, Lightweight, Unique Folding Design, Black

Sound quality:I directly compared this with the Sony MDR-ZX300AP Sound Monitoring Headphones (2x the price) and pair of Panasonic light weight headphones (1/2 the price). The Sony and this Koss had fantastic sound quality. Of the two the Koss was better, first it had greater clarity of sound and spoken word was more distinct and less muddy. Additionally this one was louder at he same volume setting. All else being equal a louder headphone indicates more money was put into the magnet and sound coupling efficiency-- hinting at the good engineering. The slightly cheaper panasonics were no match in sound quality, compactness, construction quality, though they get good marks for being the lightest (and thus highly comfortable for casual listening)ergonomicsUnlike the typical modern style of headphones this one has a plain (adjustable) spring metal bar over the head. This was actually slightly more comfortable than the Sony for the simple reason it gripped my ears more firmly so the top bar did not have to sit on my head-- something I find to be very uncomfortable. Now I've have more comfortable over the ear cans with padded head bars and also even more comfortable on ear ones as well but these were quite satisfactory while being much less bulky or heavy than heavily padded cansportabilityThe spring metal is not to make it cheap but is actually an engineering innovation. First, it's adjustable and heavy duty. This is to support the feature that when you fold this thing up you can compress then head bar. it becomes a tight coiled spring and there are two little hooks on the ear peice hinges that hold it tightly coiled. The ear peices then hinge into this folded state and the whole thing fits in a the tiniest space I've ever seen for headphones with only two hinge points. (your typical folding headphones either have more fiddly hinges to break or are novelty items with fragile plastic swivel joints that won't hold up to travel abuse in your backpack. others that use the same spring metal style are more flimsy and usualy cheap all over/)The only thing on these that looks flimsy is the foam ear coverings. They are thin, feel delicate and I expect I will tear them or they will oxidize and wear out. I see they actually sell new coverings so this is probably why.StylingNow the styling of these is definitely weird and combined with the metal head peice makes them look throwback if you set then next to a beefy Beats or Bose headphone. But I'd say the engineers defintiely triumphed here. It sounds good, it is rugged, it's compact and it's reasonably comfortable. The price is remarkably low for such quality.Conclusion:They put their money in these were it counted. They stole design styles from cheaper headphones but toughened them up and paired them with quality components. I really wasn't expecting these to be better than the Sony monitors but they were.these of course can't match the audio isolation of a quality branded over-the-ear noise canceling headphone but for $20 these are as good as you can get.

I buy wired headphones because honestly earbuds never seem to fit in my ear and pop out. I also do not like the feeling of having headphones suction cupped to my ears. Top in the headphone comfort specs department though is that the top of my head does not enjoy having some kind of hard metal or plastic bar pressed onto it So. If you are similarly have a very sensitive head like I apparently do, then these are AWESOME headphones! They is no uncomfortable pressure anywhere and if they ever did press on the top of my head I can flip that bar back to lightly but securely on top of my pony tail or bun! Enough about me though. The cherry on top is the great sound, well mixed bass and treble and plenty of volume space. I have been wearing a pair of wired headphones from the drugstore that my kids used 20 years ago and, in fact, I knit covers for them when the foam earpieces fell apart. At some point one side cut out completely. Why, you might ask, well this is the kind of thing Moms do. Anyway, my kids have all graduated from college now, so I bought myself a NEW PAIR JUST FOR ME and I love them. Now I can work out (aka private house dance party!) to my own playlists ranging from the 60s to current and sing loudly off key and I have no idea! Perfect! I ordered two other Koss pair just to have some choices depending on what I am doing. Love them ALL!

Short version: sound great, design/construction is a little awkward, surprisingly durable. Great sound for the price.Long version:First off, let me say that my review is based on a pair of SportaPros that I've had for 6 years. These bad boys sound great--far better than anything else I've tried in the same price range. Most significant, in my opinion, is that they have what many headphones seriously lack: bass, and lots of it. Some reviewers say they have too much bass, and while this may be true, it's preferable having too little. It's easy to tweak EQ settings to tame heavy low frequencies, but if your headphones can't reproduce said frequencies, no amount of tweaking is going to help. Other than the bass, things generally sound really good. They don't compare to numerous $100+ studio headphones I have used for music and audio production over the years, but again, they knock everything else in the price range (that I know of) out of the park.The design is a bit odd. These headphones can be worn with the band over the head or behind the neck. You shift between the two "modes" by rotating the earphones ninety degrees relative to the band. I find behind-the-neck mode to be extremely uncomfortable and never wear them like that, but the ability to rotate the earphones helps to compact them when carrying in a bag/suitcase/etc. They are pretty comfortable when worn in the usual over-the-head position, and the small cushions on the inside of the band keep them from irritating the sides of your head. I've definitely worn more comfortable headphones, but in this mode, these ones aren't bad. The materials look and feel pretty cheap, and I'd not have been surprised if they had fallen apart after a few years of regular use. Surprisingly enough, however, I've had them for 6 years and they are still in great shape. I'm not too rough with them, but they do spend a lot of time unprotected in my backpack. The band has bent slightly, but not enough to be problematic. I've replaced the ear pads once, after the originals had worn down enough that they had become uncomfortable to wear--they never actually tore off, as is common with cheap headphones. You can buy a set of 6 replacement pads for about $4, so this isn't a big deal.All in all, this is a great product. Excellent for the price. It focuses on sound quality over build quality, but the build quality is pretty decent too. And yes, they are pretty ugly, so take a good look at the picture and make sure it that isn't going to bother you.