While they might look fragile, I don't believe they are. When folded up, they seem to resist destruction very well indeed! Mine came with some kind of carrying case but I lost this over a decade ago and the headphones are usually just chucked in my bag and away we go. Or they are lying around my room, or tossed in a drawer full of junk with no protection. I use them constantly and the only thing I've done to them is to replace the ear foam numerous times over the years with earpiece foam from Radio Shack.

I have found that if one side or another begins buzzing, the problem has always been debris between the speaker and the inside of the foam earpieces. This begins to happen when the foam deteriorates and breaks up, but all that is required to restore sound quality is to remove the foam, vacuum the debris (crumbled foam or bits of human hair (gross)) out of the earpieces and reassemble with new foam for best results.

These headphones are awesome. People are always telling me they're the best sounding headphones those people have ever encountered, and it's a fact. You will not be the least bit unhappy with these.

BTW I do not listen to music quietly, I blare it. I suppose they are not as good as some other headphones at confining the sound to just the wearer, and for this they might not be the best choice on a plane or train. But as many times as I have overloaded them in 15 years of use, they have not blown.


High Quality Portable Headphones, Perfect for iPod   November 29, 2005
 16 out of 16 found this review helpful

My Experience.
For years I had been using the cheap type of headphones that come with most music playing devices. I listen to complex music with many layers of sound, and was never satisfied with the poor sound from cheap headphones. Most headphones for <$50 sacrifice in some way, either by having a whiny high pitch sound with no bass or by artificially enhancing the bass and distorting the high frequencies. Don't be fooled by headphones claiming to boost the bass. Usually they do this by making all of your music sound sickeningly flat. You lose all the richness and breadth in your music.

The Sound
After reading many outstanding reviews for Koss's current line of headphones I decided to take a risk and spend $40 on the Koss PortaPro. These headphones are incredible! I didn't think headphones in this price range could possibly sound so good. I'm hearing layers of detail in my music that I've never heard with other headphones. These headphones provide a broad and rich sound. For anyone who knows how music is supposed to sound (this excludes those of you who abuse bass boosters and subwoofers) you'll be happy with the Koss PortaPro. If portability isn't an issue for you, you can get the same sound for less money from some of Koss's other headphones (they use the same sound drivers).

Ergonomics
One nice feature of these headphones is their flexibility and ability to be adjusted in several ways. I have a large head, so I appreciate being able to easily lengthen the flexible metal overhead strap and widen the placement of the earphones themselves. The PortaPro has a slider on each earphone allowing three different width settings for different size heads and tension preferences. Because I use these on walks, at the office, on planes etc. I appreciate the PortaPro's compact collapsible design. The headphones easily fold up into a fist-sized ball, making it easy to tuck them in a backpack or the included leather carrying bag.

Positives and Negatives
If I had to think of something negative about these headphones I'd say that when collapsed they sometimes spring open when jostled. Soundwise I have no complaints. I love Apple and their iPod, but the in-ear headphones that come with the iPod are abysmal. Sure, they're ok for free in-ear headphones. But if you spend hundreds of dollars on a music player you should get a complementary set of headphones. You probably can't get a better sounding headphone for less than $50, and their portability makes them an ideal fit for the iPod.


porta pro or px100   October 23, 2005
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

after reading most customer reviews and a few technical reviews on portable headphones the two names with the most positive comments were koss portapro and sennheiser px100 i bought both pairs to do my own comparisons after 1 week i submitted a review giving the portapros a definite edge although not a dramatic one after a full month of listening i no longer use the px100's i hear things on the portapros you don't even notice on the 100's i would like to amend my original opinion to say the portapros are significantly better and provide a lifetime warranty