Headphones Reviews

The A250 phones provide pleasant sound quality, but I regret to report that their construction can be flimsy and Koss customer service seems to be nonexistent. I had gotten 15 and 20 years of flawless service from my previous two sets of earphones before I purchased the A250 phones. Within two months of gentle usage listening to chamber music at modest levels, an intermittent contact developed in the stereo jack. After two email inquiries to Koss did not elicit a response, I installed a new connector myself. A spring clip mount for one earphone self-destructed two months later, and a small metal part within the clip disappeared into my carpeting. I had to remount the earphone to the headband using a nut and bolt. Caveat emptor!

I purchased one pair and within two days they fell apart. They were replaced by the company where puchased (amazon) and the same exact thing happened again.

I highly recommend these headphones. I guess some people get the lemons, but that hasn't been my experience with these. I've recommended them to students for years and have never heard a complaint. Musicians love them. The sound is really excellent! You'll hear your favorite music like you've never heard it before.

Like most reviewers, I found the Plantronics HS-1 a bit uncomfortable so when it came time for another headset I purchased the Koss R65B ... bad mistake. The Koss squeezes your head like a vise. My wife (whose head is considerably smaller than mind) finds the Plantronics very comfortable, but complains the Koss is much too tight. For me, the Koss is pure torture.

The Koss has cords hanging down from both earpieces whereas the Plantronics has a single cord from the left earpiece. A small matter, but if you need to take your headset on and off frequently, you'll appreciate the single cord. The Plantronics has both volume and mute controls on the cord; the Koss has neither.

The Koss requires a battery pack (the Plantronics does not). Their web site says it is required with "some" computers, but I found it necessary on all three computers I tried. It's large (3" x 1" x 3/4") and not the sort of thing you want hanging from your computer, especially if you'll be using it on a laptop.

Finally, the boom microphone on the Koss is a spindly arrangement that refuses to stay in position. The Plantronics boom is solidly built, stays where you put it, and rotates out up out of the way when not needed. Since the Koss R65B and Plantronics HS-1 are virtually the same price, go with the Plantronics; you'll get a much better headset.

I like the headset. It has good sound quality and has held up really well to a year of heavy use. However, having the mic is permanently connected and can be a little irritating when you don't need it.

A great headphone for this value. The headband is a bit tight at the beginning but will becomes comfortable a few weeks after you start using it. My only complain is the included microphone is a bit too noisy. Please note that they are no longer include the bias supply so for those people that need it, you will have to get it from Koss directly.

If you have any other sound card than an extremely basic one, this is not for you. As stated in another review you lose stereo sound when this device is hooked up. I have a high quality sound card with 5.1 and when this device is set to speakers, it only comes out of the left channel speakers. When it is set to headset, it comes out of the headset and the right channel speakers. There was not enough info on the product to find this out before you hooked it up and tried it. Mine is going back.

I purchased the said item and it was a gift from above. I could play games with the headset, then listen to music through the speakers.
Then I realised that it eliminates Stereo sound.
This means that I don't know if that bad guy is coming from the left or the right of me.
Not very useful at all.
It is now unplugged, and i'm back with headset only.

Other reviews claiming mono are wrong - when I first plugged it in I too noticed all the sound coming out of only 1 channel. However I then pushed the plug fully and firmly in and it works fully in stereo confirmed by several tests and hasn't reverted back.

Sound quality?

I bought 2 of these, since I have surround sound headphones (Zalman 5.1s) and good speakers (Klipsch Promedia 4.1s) to switch between. This is combined with an Audigy 2 ZS sound card so I was very concerned about losing any quality. After comparing several sources (mp3's, speaker tests, games) with and without the switch, I'm personally not able to discern any difference in sound quality so far in the hours I've used it.

In short works in stereo and can save a lot of hassle constantly changing plugs in the back of your PC. Definitely recommended.

AVOID AT ALL COST. Don't trust the opinion of the other reviewers. I did and boy did i regret it. I'm glad Amazon let me return these headphones for a refund. These headphones look nice but sound [bad]. BTW, i used them with both a iRiver SlimX iMP-350 CD/MP3 Player & Sony DF411 Discman Portable CD Player with AM/FM Tuner.

played good, comfortable, and cheap price. But the wire casing frayed and came off exposing the wires whcih were ruined and the heaphones were junk.

The price is right and decent sound quality. Especially for those who break headphones on a regular basis. Kids like them!

Good clean loud if necessary sound but the headband is somewhat difficult to adjust plus the major flaw is the microphone. The mic doesn't seem to be amplified at all, low quality, whatever I had to adjust the Mic input to the max in XP to get it to pickup anything. Also I took apart the mic as well, the design is somewhat off, foam covering glued on one side, the other side had a removable foam filter covering the mic. The problem I notice was the foam was compressing the mic preventing it from picking up sound very well. I left the foam piece out. & after putting it back together the mic performance was fine. But be aware the mic signal seems to be pretty low. I tried running the mic through a Belkin KVM with nothing but static being picked up. With the mic hooked directly to the sound card along with the modifications it worked ok.

Uncomfortable, below average microphone, decent sound...
Bass and treble is decent, but nothing extraordinary.
These headphones are BIG and the headband can be a bit uncomfortable -- especially after long use.
The microphone [is bad]. I played a few PC games using these headphones and almost no one could hear what I said (yes, all my PC settings were correct).

I wouldn't recommend these headphones. Look elsewhere.

these are pretty normal. The mic works great. By looking at the headphones you'd think that they'd be killer for multimedia and have a lot of bass and stuff. They don't. Even though they're huge, their pretty comfortable and they've got decent volume. The cord is long which is important when they have to reach behind your computer so you don't have your forhead pressed to the monitor.

Great idea, but poor design. The way that these headphones are designed do not allow you to bend over to pick anything up. I've tried using these while working around the house or in the yard and every time I bend over, they fall off my head. There is really no solution around it because the on/off device is kind of like a second strap or band - this turns the headphones on or off (nice idea), but then don't allow them to stay on securely (bad idea). Also, the advertized range on these headphones is exagerated at best. I live in a very small home and just going to one side of the house will cause the signal to drop out. Don't waste your money on these...

These headphones have been a mixed bag. I have used them (almost every night) attached to a TV for over two years, but the plastic headband finally broke to where I can't wear them.

Advantages:
- Reasonable price;
- Got over two years of solid use;
- Infrared transmission-- no interference from phones or other household 900MHz sources (yes, this limits you to a room, but I never wore them outside the bedroom);
- Uses AA batteries, not a proprietary size-- no need to place the headphones on a charging station;
- Got 40-50 hours of use on a single charge;
- Automatically turns on when placed on your head (no On/Off switch); and
- Able to get the signal from any angle.

Disadvantages:
- The flat, thinly padded foam ear pieces get uncomfortable after 30 minutes;
- The foam ear pads ripped after a year;
- Overall, the sound clarity was good, but on loud volumes there was noticeable background hiss;
- The dynamic range is mediocre. High treble and low bass are effectively clipped. This is OK for TV, but I can't imagine using these for music; and
- The plastic headband broke.

I would buy these again if they had a sturdier headband and a more comfortable earpiece.

Good and reliable headphones. Use them always in my office connected to different equipment (TV, DVD, HIFI). No problems so far (one year). But I strongly recommend the usage of an AA battery instead of the rechargeble that comes with the headphones.

The ear cushions didn't bother me, I actually found these headphones relatively comfortable. However, after daily use for only 8 months, the adjustable plastic portion of the headphones snapped off when removing them from my head. That's just poor material choice. I'm glad I didn't spend much on these.

Before purchasing these I had read other reviews with a similar message, and figured my ears could surely sacrifice a bit of comfort for some economically priced accoustics. I was wrong. I can't explain exactly why, but these things are QUITE uncomfortable. Perhaps more padding on the ears would help, or less pressure applied by the adjoining headband. Who knows... Seriously consider another set... Currently I can only wear these for about 10-20 minutes at a time before it becomes so uncomfortable that I have to take a break. I have a nagging suspicion that they're actually cutting off some circulation to my upper neck. Definitely considering returning them for this reason alone.

The sound is really good but after listening for like half hour, my ear will begin to feel uncomfortable.

Well, I totally agree with previous reviewer as far as the quality of this EarHugger. I have only one thing to say about it..BAD BUY. Especially if you wear eye glasses like myself, using EarHugger would be horribly uncomfortable for you. I didn't expect best performence when I bought it at its price, but I certainly didn't expect it would be that BAD! When a person with a pair of glasses wear the EarHugger, he or she wouldn't be able to use it without having to constantly adjust its position around the ear because it doesn't stay fixed longer than 5 minutes. Unless you really like the price, I recommend you not to buy this...EarHugger, especially if you wear glasses.

If your looking for headphones to listen to your media, without the hassle of a wraparound attachment or without gravity constantly taking charge from your auditory canal. Then this it. Sure you do not get astonishingly great bass, but you can move freely without a concern, knowing the things will stay on. Honestly you can almost completely forget your wearing'em.

Later all.......

I was hesitant to purchase the Ear Huggers after reading other buyers' reviews, but I definately have to say that I am satisfied. I wear glasses and the Ear Huggers work fine with them, and stay in place really well. The sound quality isn't excellant but is no worse than any other portable headphones. They're definately a good deal for the price.

Most of the time sounds through this cord are much quiter than they sound when I hook the headphones up directly to the source. When it isn't so quiet (this cord is temperamental) odd noises are accentuated, and speech is garbled. I could of course just have a faulty one, and most might conduct sounds perfectly. I'm giving one star to my specific cord.

I bought this extension cord solely because it claimed to be 20 feet long -- so I could listen to CDs while doing computer work.

The cord, plus the 5-foot cord on the headphones, would give me about 25 feet -- more than I needed for the distance.

However, this cord was so tightly spiraled that it stretched only about 10 feet before the plug pulled out -- useless for my purpose. I have been straightening it between the doorknobs on two doors off and on ever since I got it, but it still hasn't straightened out enough for me to use it.

The sound quality is good, but I don't need a headset when I'm in the living room with the stereo. Unless and until the doorknob caper works -- and I'm about to give up -- I wasted my money. Which means, BTW, I also wasted my money on the headset --which I bought solely because I could get a 20-ft extension cord.

I think the manufacturer should have been candid about the distance this cord actually will reach -- which is only about half the stated distance. Saying "up to 20 feet" is, IMO, an unreasonable exaggeration.

I know others have commented that the cord is rather heavy, but the connection snaps very tight between the headphones and the extender, so you don't need to worry about them separating with a sudden movement. Great alternative to wireless headphones, and useful if you alternate an your computer or stereosystem between headphones and speakers ( it comes with a y connector, allowing you to plug two devices into one output source). My only objection is the price, but it's tough to find products out there like this.

This is a neat idea, and if you've ever tried the Bose models that do the same thing, you've used something that works pretty good. The idea behind these is to take the noise from around you, invert the waveform and feed it back into your ears thus cancelling out some of the noise. They are intended for use on airplanes or in other slightly noisy environments. They are not designed to eliminate all of the noise around you, only noises at fairly low frequencies (< 1200 Hz). These are slightly larger than your average earbuds to allow for the microphones required to get an input signal to invert.

OK, so how well do they work? Well, they don't work great. With the headphones on, they cut back on some of the noise around you on an airplane. I would be surprised if they were actually cancelling 10 dB of the noise that the instructions claim. They also have a fair amount of reduction in the power output from my MP3 player, so I have to turn the volume way up to hear the music. Given the chance to do it all over again, I would probably bring my Peltor H10A hearing protectors (also available at Amazon) with a pair of cheap earbuds on the plane instead. They don't have the same gee-whiz factor, but they work better and cost about the same.

I've been looking for relatively inexpensive buds since my year-old really expensive sony NC 10 stopped working properly in just over 2 years (a year after being 'repaired' for the same poor connection problem!!). I bought these in January and have been using them every weekday on the transit bus. They have reasonably good sound and do noticeably cut down most external noise but they can be quite uncomfortable. You need to find the optimum position and then try to keep them in place!! They would be great (and got 4-5 stars rating from me) if the bud design was better(like the Sony with soft rubber inserts)so as to provide a better seal - I can't understand why they were not better designed.

I wanted something to protect my hearing while I was mowing and weed eating. The louder the noise, the better the noise cancelling. This product works very well. The mower is not quiet but it is quieted enough so that I can hear the music easily over the noise. This was absolutely not perfect. The mower is still loud but it is quieted enough to hear music easily. I'm happy.