Porta Pro Limited Edition Retro Style On-Ear Headphones, Rhythm Beige | In-Line Microphone, Volume Control and Touch Remote, Includes Hard Carry Case, Wired 3.5mm Plug

Firstly, these are not headphones for every situation. Being open backs, they have poor noise isolation, so using them in a bus or other such scenario is not that great. The fit can take some getting used to, but with the Koss oversized earpads or Yaxi earpads, the comfort is great. They’re very adjustable and I’ve had no issues with comfort. The sound is clear and precise, with the signature “wide” feeling that open backs are known for, though keep in mind this is essentially a $30 set of headphones, it’s not going to beat any industry titans soon. The headphones are a little heavy in the midbass region, but this can be resolved with EQ. If you don’t want to rely on EQ, Koss’s KSC75 headphones are tuned better, but they’re earclips instead of traditional headphones. Lastly, these look great, especially with orange earpads - definitely something that fits into modern retro revival fashion. Overall, these are great and enjoyable headphones, even if they aren’t perfect.

I had a pair of Porta Pros all the way back in the mid 80's that I bought mostly because of their unusual design, but I soon came to love them for their amazing sound quality, especially considering the ridiculously low price. I enjoyed those little suckers for many years, maybe 15, until they finally decided to get up from my office desk and go home with someone else. Fickle bastards. So it's been at least 15 years since we parted ways and I'd all but forgotten about my old pair of Porta Pros, but while I was recently hunting around for a new pair of headphones to replace the latest set to also elect to be adopted by a stranger I stumbled upon this Amazon page, and I was reminded of the great times I'd shared with that long-ago-runaway pair. A true Hollywood romance in the making, aye? The Koss Porta Pros I just received have better sound quality than I remembered of my long gone originals, even before being properly broken in. The critical mid range where vocals and guitar and piano are most present is truly wonderful; rich, full, crisp & detailed. Sibilance and other anomalies are nearly nonexistent, while ambiance, atmosphere & sound stage are impressive. The upper frequencies are likewise well fashioned, supplying ample shimmer & sparkle, but not brittle. As pleasant as the upper range is, it should only improve after 50 or 100 hours of break in. Now the bass is a mixed bag. It definitely pumps out a full heavy thump if that's what you demand of your skull speakers. I prefer less bass than is the current fashion, although a pair of cans that can deliver brain rattling sub sonics is not contrary to my ethos. I just don't need it as desperately as younger ears do. That said, I could hope for better low end definition in these Porta Pros. Bass drums and low end cello's sound a bit muffled and soft, lacking natural acoustics. This, too, may change as they break in, I'm hoping. The bass isn't BAD or even disappointing, it's just not quite as competently executed as the rest of the sonic spectrum. I only make this point to assist those of you who are in the market for bass monsters, which these are not. Fit is also a mixed bag. They're so light that weight isn't a consideration even after a few hours of constant use. However, the thin foam ear pads provide the absolute minimum of cushioning, and within 30 minutes of use I became aware of a very dull ache on various points on my ears. The headset's pressure can be adjusted, and set on "Light" they are slightly less tight on the head and ears, but I may have to try releasing some of the pressure by carefully bending the metal headband by opening them up wide, repeatedly. I'm going to wait to attempt that delicate operation in case they ease up on their own from use. If I do have to adjust them I'll be careful not to over-bend them; the thin metal bands might lose their elasticity if I overdo it. The cable is very thin, but it seems durable enough, not chintzy, and it transmits zero noise to the ear pieces. The plug end is reinforced nicely with the cable extending at a 45 degree angle which I feel is the best formation to reduce wear & tear on that critical point. The in-line volume slider works very well and does not change adjustment on its own as I first feared it might. The microphone is, um, adequate. Not great. It's actually pretty bad if you're speaking with any wind or background noises. If you hold the mic right up to your mouth and speak more quietly it's intelligible and passable. I left a few messages on my home answering service testing different conditions, and holding the mic almost to my lips produces the least annoying, most clear sound. Their appearance is just as distinctive & unusual as they ever were, which I like, especially now with the classy Shiny Gold & Matte Black styling. The included semi-hard zip-up case is a very welcome & useful addition, and the soft leatherette pouch is a pleasant bonus. So far, I'm more than pleased with this latest iteration of that trusted long lost friend, and I'm guessing they're just as happy to be reunited with the older, better version of me. Sure they are...

I LOVE these headphones, they sound pretty good and are super lightweight. For context I have the Sony WH-1000XM4s that I wear pretty much every day and lately I find my self prefering the porta pros over those since these are so light weight and the sound difference isn't drastic. I'm are able to relax and lounge around with these since I don't have these big bulging headphones on my ears. I like that I can still hear around me to so they are great for grocery shopping, walking, working (there is some bleed out so I listen at a lower volume at work). They look so nice too I always get compliments on then when I wear then around. I like being able to adjust the volume easy and I can wear them a fairly long time (as long as I don't have my glasses on). They are kinda cheap feeling but they are also cheap headphones (I got them on sale for $30) so I was really just looking for somthing light weight and stylish since I don't like the way earbuds feel in my ears. As said earlier if you wear glasses these headphones can be kinda rough on your ears after only 20 minutes, but I like them so much that I'm getting contacts just so I can wear these longer without having to walk around blind. I did buy some ear pad replacements when I bought these so I never actually tried these headphones with the base pads.

I bought these with my own money and am not in any way sponsored by the company to write this review. STYLE: 4/5 I got the gold on black limited edition and they look STUNNING I must say... Not as streamlined and elegant as modern headphones, but the gold really gives these some class. BUILD QUALITY: 3/5 ~The materials other than the metal headband all feel cheap and dated. ~The most glaring issue is the cord: it's shockingly thin and has no reinforcing at the point of entering the speaker units. I'm terrified of tugging the cord or accidentally snagging it. Should these headphones break sometime in my 3 year insurance period, I'm deducting at least a whole star from this bracket. I get that they're trying to make this a very lightweight headphone but wow, the cord is just scarily cheap. ~The foam earpads are thin and feel like they'd wear out easily, if I was going to use them (more on this later!) FUNCTIONALITY and ACCESSORIES: 3/5. So these can fold up VERY compactly, and even have a nice hook to keep them tucked in tightly, but in order to fit them into the very small hard case, you need to slide the headband into the smallest position, every single time you pack them away, which is annoying. ~I got the Limited edition so they came with the aforementioned nice but small zipper hard case as well as a small leather bag which I won't be using. ~There's volume control slider which doesn't slide very well, and a pause/skip track button which works fine. The volume control can slide down to zero sound which could be useful but is mostly annoying. ~They have a system for adjusting the tension but so far I have not figured out how to make it work right as the sliders don't always click into place. There's no instructions for them either. COMFORT: 4/5 Assuming you're using Yaxi pads, the comfort is quite good. They're very lightweight and easy on the ears. I did listen to a movie using the stock pads though, and the comfort was still great. SOUND QUALITY: 4/5. ***HUGE CAVEAT!!*** When I first began listening to these, I was surprised by the soundstage, bass, and treble response, but the mids remained unbearably muddy. I assumed I just needed to break them in a little. Trying them on my Casio digital piano had the same result: the middle keys sounded really distorted. THEN, I tried on the YAXI pads that I had bought based on reviews and I was dumbfounded! The mids suddenly sounded so clear and the overall sound of the headphones was suddenly unlocked. It appears that these headphones aren't designed to sound good sitting as close to your ears as the stock foam pads cause... With the Yaxi pads on, if I press the earpieces tighter against my ears, that muffled sound comes back, proving my point. It is ABSOLUTELY reprehensible that Koss doesn't include properly thick foam pads with these because they're ruining their own sound reputation for people who don't know they need Yaxi pads. ~Now that we got that out of the way, with the thick Yaxi pads on, I find the sound to be very good for the price. They have clear, liquid-crystal highs with plenty of melodic detail, slightly warm and very present vocals and mids, and mildly thumpy bass that is tight and responsive. They certainly aren't for bass-heads, but are no slouch either in that frequency range. ~The overall sound is mature, distinctly classic, and quite balanced with a slight emphasis on bass and treble. ~The stereo effect is fantastic, and the soundstage is pleasant to listen to. They have enough detail to be almost a reference set, but dynamic enough to be exciting. VALUE: 3/5. So I paid almost 60$ for these limited edition set, then 12$ more for a set of Yaxi pads which are essential... Considering the dubious build quality and useless stock earpads, I'd say there there are surely better deals out there, but they do sound great and look retro and are very compact so I can't say I'd recommend paying as much as I did unless you need that amazing black/gold color. They make me curious about other Koss products, which is a positive I guess.

I've been through the gamut of the mid-fi suggestions. It all started when my $20 On-Ear Sony's dropped off my desk and one side busted. So, what was the internet recommending? I've daily driven Grado sr80s, Audiotechnica m50s, V-Moda LP2s, a very misguided Marshall headphone purchase, a small assortment of 40-80 dollar in-ears that were never good, and most recently the Phillips X2HRs. All with their own shortcomings, personalties, and usual discomfort. They aren't bad. The Grado and X2HRs still see use while the others have mostly fallen into disrepair or are just gross from age. Unfortunately, I've never been completely happy with any of them. If I could go back and add a few of those sets together and rebuy something more in the 300-400 dollar range like the Sennheiser HD 600s I would, but I have this horrible addiction to buying value headphones. Overperformers for price. Well, it turns out I never did that. I was overpaying. These Koss Porta Pros are true overperformance. It doesn't make any sense. These frail little headphones can hold their own against anything else I've had in the past at half of the cost along with any of my friend's headphones and headsets I've tried. With the Porta Pros performing well past most of them and with COMFORT. No m50 headband clamp and painful hot ears. No harsh X2HR treble poking sharply at my eardrums after an hour. None of the Grado "Grattle" forcing me to constantly pull small hairs out of the drivers. Just the beautiful, warm tones of these lovelies. I've always struggled with harsh sibilance or sub-bass pressure, and it's just not here. It's just a hug of sound. You can wear these all day, every day. Your ears won't get hot and you won't have a sore spot on the top of your head after 2 hours like you would with whatever the heavy "recommendation" of the week is. It feels so good to have finally found the headphone I can grab for any occasion or genre. Honest's truth, the build quality feels cheap, but that's also what keeps it all so light. The cord is a sin against consumerism and Koss should feel bad about it. It won't matter once you have them sitting and situated on your head though. I've already picked up a pair of Yaxi pads to go on them and they've become even more comfortable. They may sound even better. To anyone who has been stuck in value hell, these are them. Get these. You'll forget you even have them on and you'll just be left enjoying music. The sound could be too warm if you really like that crispy, crispy treble, but personally, I can't take more than 2-3 hours of that before I need a good long silent break. With this sound, you can plow through some podcasts and a few albums while working on a large project and never feel fatigued. If this pair breaks, I'll either fix it or quickly replace them. I've never been happier with a set of headphones. I don't even care that I overpaid for some beige coloring. They look GREAT with some bright orange Yaxi pads by the way... Just get 'em. You'll find yourself using your other sets less and less. Maybe not because they sound better, surely there's better, but because they are that dependable cozy audio blanket that you can depend on for anything. Save your money now with these, and then buy something that's a true step-up later if you still need to chase that audio dragon. I most likely won't be.

Fantastic. These have thinner cable than the stock so be careful. I prematurely super glued the mic/volume controller end to help with durability. These are still the most comfortable headphones I’ve ever worn and the frequency response beats Bose. Great for call center work, casual listening and walking around. The mic is nice and I like the L shaped plug. The volume control is not a button it’s an analog controlled slider that you preset the volume with device and then you can use the headphone slider to control the volume. Since it’s analogue it will not last. They should have omitted the volume control. The button is for pause and play and Siri/Google assistant. I think the went this route with the volume slider to increase compatibility with Android and iPhone. So that they work universally. It comes with two cases a cloth case and the hard shell circular case. Just use the circular hard shell case it’s better. That alone is 15 dollar value so this set comes with nice extras for the 60 dollar price. I got mine on sale for 50 so I got a real steal of a deal. Cord is longer than stock portapro cable. I’d recommend the utility edition if you’re concerned about the cable lasting long. Just get the utility if your need durable cable with a trrs 2.5mm male to 3.5mm female headed cable and you can do whatever you want. It will cost you more but then when the cable breaks you don’t have to soilder it or buy whole new setup. Overall I love it because I’m gentle with my gear. If you want to make them Bluetooth go buy a fiio Bluetooth adapter lol 🤣

- Complete lack of any kind of user manual. There is no guidance on how to optimally use the headband adjuster or the ComfortZone mechanism. No matter the product, the user should be given a manual. - If you have a buzz cut or shorter hair, the headband might snag your hair if you adjust the headphones or when you go to take them off. God forbid you try to put the headphones on your head without adjusting the band first. - I don't know what all this hype about "comfort" is. Sure, they are lightweight, but the ear pads are so thin and small that they place uneven pressure on your cartilage. This is probably worse if you have larger ears like I do, which leads me to another complaint - the little hook that is meant to keep the headphones closed when you fold them up is located directly between the temple pad and the ear cushion, and this hook likes to rub against the helix of my ear. When looking to resolve this issue, it seems many people purchase the Yaxi pads upgrade. If the headphones are not as comfortable as the claims by default, they should not be 5 stars. - The cable feels like it will break more easily than a dry piece of spaghetti. I get they are supposed to be lightweight and portable, but this has got to be one of the cheapest and most flimsy feeling cables I have ever had on a set of cans. 20$ Apple Airpods have a thicker cable than these do. - The sound quality is fine for the price. If you have any experience with high quality headphones then these might sound a little dim. Some might characterize this as a "warm" sound, but to me they just seem to lose clarity in the high mids and highs. For example, in the track "BIRDS" by Turnstile, the high hat starts playing around the 8 second mark, and it is incredibly difficult to hear this in these cans. Another example, in the song "Of Matter - Proxy" by Tesseract, the guitars and bass muddy the mix so much that it is very difficult to hear the arpeggiated synth part. Last example, in the track "Mr. Clean" by Roy Hargrove, the snare does not have as clean of a pop and the horns are not as crisp as they are in some of my other headphones. Overall, they sound ok - I just want to lay down what you should expect if you have experience with other headphones.

I just really don't like earbuds, but I needed something more portable than my Sennheiser or Grados. I didn't even consider that these might give those cans a run for their money in terms of sound quality. But, the Porta Pros absolutely blew me away. First off: the soundstage on these is amazing. I listened to some Oscar Peterson trio and I swear I could pin-point where Ray Brown on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums were playing in relation to Peterson's piano (at least in my head), it was like they were all there in the room with me, the sound was so clear, vibrant, and nuanced. My Sennheiser and Grados have been collecting a lot of dust lately, cause I just love the way these sound so much. I was a bit concerned about comfort and build quality, but my fears were allayed. Despite being on-ear, I can wear them for hours without any discomfort, and the pressure is adjustable. I wear glasses, and the gap between the pads allows my glasses to sit without having to adjust them (which I can't say for any of my other on-ear or over-ear headphones). Build quality-wise, these feel incredibly solid for a combo of plastic and metal. I fold them up and take them on the road with me. While not as compact as a set of earbuds, they are still incredibly small for headphones. I also needed something that would double as a headset since I do a lot of Zoom for work. While not perfect, these work in a pinch. Folks can hear me fine on the other end. The biggest issue being that moving around the mic can knock against my shirt and cause noise, so I have to be conscious of that to avoid annoying my listeners. I added some orange Yaxi pads to these and the comfort did go up a notch or two. I loved them so much, I got the version they have on Drop.com as well (those have stock pads still, which work fine). You can't go wrong with either, but I like that these came with a hardshell case and in-line volume, so in that regard they may be slightly better value. PS I don't know why they want me to rate noise cancellation on here, these do not seem to be noise cancelling at all. Which is what I want since I use them portably and want to be able to hear what's going on around me. It is easy to hear with these on. There is a bit of sound leakage, but they aren't as bad as my Grados, so as long as you aren't blasting them, you shouldn't disturb people around you too much.

me gustaron mucho, pero los cables sí son muy delicados, recomiendo usarlos en actividades que no requieran mucho movimiento y evitar acciones bruscas el diseño está precioso!

I have been using the Porta Pro before. The finish is as good as before. The gold finish is visually and feels even better than I expected. Bought this limited edition one from reviews I read on the improved sound. On this count, detected more hiss on my Mac Book Pro than the normal Pro Porta. Still recommend it for its overall price and quality feel.

The problem has already been resolved. Sorry for the inconvenience. Thank you; the product is great.

Extremamente caro, mas sou assim: já sei que vou gostar e que é devido. De fato, o melhor fone que já usei. Não isola o som externo, apenas o cobre bem se o volume estiver alto, o que para mim é ótimo, já que ao andar na rua ou pedalar quero ter atenção auditiva por segurança. Som atmosférico, grave muuito satisfatório (de qualidade e encorpado). Deixa os sons agudos mais apagados, pois tem uma proposta sonora oitentista. Isso me causou receio inicialmente, porém como disse, eu sabia misticamente que iria gostar. Como no Brasil coisas básicas são exageradamente caras, especialmente tecnologias, não tenho costume de ter acesso e usar coisas de tão alta qualidade. Portanto, minha satisfação é 95%. Meu fone favorito

My third pair of Koss headphones over 30years. The quality seems to just get better and better.