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Koss "The Plug" Portable Stereophones

Koss "The Plug" Portable Stereophones

List Price: $19.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Horrendously uncomfortable
Review: I've had many different kinds of earbuds, and I've never experienced any that were as uncomfortable as these. These were too difficult to use and once in my ear, extremely uncomfortable. Putting on headphones should not be an intellectual exercise. I know where the foam is supposed to go -- it just doesn't get there (in my ears, anyway) without exposing the hard plastic tube. I would not recommend these to anyone.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: not that great
Review: I bought these to get earbud-quality sound and discretion (low leakage) without the discomfort and difficulty of keeping traditional earbuds in place. I think it's a great idea, but the execution leaves something to be desired. There's something along the same lines by Sony but costing more than twice as much; I haven't tried it.
First, the sound seems pretty distorted to me. Very bassy, but kind of a fuzzy bass. I've tried it with a few different types of music, and it doesn't sound great with any of them; I can't conceive what they were thinking of.
Second, as other reviews mention, the plugs are hard to insert.
I use earplugs pretty regularly, so I thought it'd be a cinch, but this foam is not all that compressible, and very springy, so
it doesn't stay compressed long enough to get in your ear. I think I have better luck actually sticking them partway in and
poking at them in situ to get them farther in. Maybe they're just not supposed to go in as far as regular earplugs. Anyway, sometimes it works, sometimes it's very fiddly. I plan to try making replacements of regular earplugs, as suggested by another reviewer.
Finally, when they are in and the sound is equalized a bit, they're okay - more comfy and more apt to stay in than regular earbuds, less interfering or fiddly than clip-on or band 'phones,
decent sound.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Muddy bass
Review: Positive aspects: Does stay in your ears, affordable
Negative aspects: *MUDDY* bass, unbalanced sound
OVERALL: Not recommended.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Good sound, low durability
Review: I like the sound and form, but have gone through three of these by now, each lasted only a few months before it stopped working (wire or connection degraded, I assume). I will now look for something else...

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A bass player's dream.
Review: In the business I am in I get to try out many different brands of earphones. For the amount of money these cost they provide excellent sound. Right now, my bass players are comparing these economical ear phones with top of the line (thus quite a bit more expensive) earphones designed for In Ear Monitors. The quality of sound is good. Bass response is excellent and they can handle a large sound load. The high end is a little lacking in crystal clear clarity but overall these are awesome little earphones.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Read this review
Review: Koss makes excellent headphones for a decent price (eg, Portapro, Sportapro line, etc.). I found these not only a terribly uncomfortable fit in my ear (when they stayed in), but to have the worst sound I have ever experienced in earphones of any brand. My wife thought the sound was great and the fit perfect. That should be enough to make you wary: there is something about these headphones that evokes raves from some, earaches from others. Dicey at best.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Yes, it's all that but the sound is *awful*
Review: Here's the good stuff: great isolation from outside noise, comfortable, damned near excellent bass, and very power efficient. But I'm returning my pair to Tower Records where I just bought them for $15. Why? Because the sound itself is truly awful: compressed, dead, flat, hazy, and tinny (the great bass notwithstanding). These 'phones literally suck the life out of my music, by destroying its dynamics, detail, rhythm, tonal accuracy, and high frequencies, and then layering a harsh fuzziness on top of that. I can't say enough bad things about the actual sound. I suspect you can have a more rewarding musical experience at your dentist's office. I know I did.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: tiny phones with BIG SOUND!
Review: These are e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-t!!!
The sound reproduction is remarkable. You hear all of the music from the lows to the highs in crystal clarity.
I've had these for over a year now and love them. I can't say enough about how great they sound! There are some pros and cons with these phones, but the pros outweigh the cons for me.

Cons: ...Not very rugged. They are a delicate piece of equipment & must be respected as such.
.............I don't care much for the "jell type" ear pieces (I replaced mine with something else. I'll tell you "what and how" in the latter part of this review)
.............If not properly inserted in the ears, the sound quality suffers greatly. (THIS IS A KEY FACTOR)

Pros: ...Tiny phones which will out perform most other phones (small or large) in the much higher price range. (I'm not kidding)
............Very power efficient (small input = BIG OUTPUT)
............Batteries on portables last longer because you don't have to pump-up the volume. But you can pump it up till your ears bleed if you'd like. They sound great either way.

About the ear pieces...
The unit comes with several sizes and shapes of ear pieces and the key to these phones is proper fit and comfort. I replaced the originals with "soft foam ear plugs", which were purchased at a local pharmacy. These are the type that you compress, stick'em in your ears and they expand to fit perfectly. They don't cost much and are very easy to modify for use with "The Plug". All you need to do is to cut the foam ear plugs down in length to fit over the tube on the ear pieces. Then heat up a straight pin on the stove and use it to pierce a hole through the center of the foam ear plugs. Bingo! You've got new ear pieces which work better than the originals.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: best phones for portable use EVER
Review: Wait a minute...is that bass..and decent volume..from a set of walkman 'phones?
I've been using walkmans for about 20 years now. I've owned every type of headphones produced and been let down by allmost all of them,'till now.
Most of the portables made over the past few years have a pathetic lack of volume output. The "plug" makes up for this...they are LOUD with very little power needed. Even the high $ 'phones ,dont even come close to the bass responce.
These are the best phones ever for portable use.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great while they lasted
Review: I loved these things, the sound was great, and once you get the hang of it they go in easily and stay put. The one problem I had was I would often lose the squishy ear cushions or they would wear out from use. I ended up having to use shapes that didn't fit as well. Now I'm on my last two mismatched cushions, after having them for six months. You can buy replacements from Koss. Also one earbuds wire is coming loose so the sound cuts out ocasionally, but thy have a lifetime warrenty that will fix them for any reason, though they do charge you for s/h.


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