Info/specs/experience with Koss K/6X Plus? Recommended replacement?

I just ordered a pair off eBay, liking the look of them, they look to me like a vintage "beefed up" version of the PortaPro with better materials. After reading this thread, I hope I enjoy them as much as you folks do.
 

I have a pair of these myself, probably have had them since this thread was created. I found them at a local garage sale when I was younger and conned my grandma into buying them for me.

For a while I didn't/couldn't use them because nothing I had used a 1/4" jack. They got set aside and lost. Eventually I found them again, and I just so happened to have a 1/4" converter. At this time, I wasn't an audiophile so headphones were headphones to me. Listened to them exclusively for a while. Then I got my M50s and stopped using them.

Now, coming back to them, I'm seeing that they're actually quite a good set.

They are mostly neutral. They tilt slightly towards bright and are slightly sibilant, but the bass extends quite low. They have great treble extension and good resolution.The soundstage is small and there isn't much imaging.

They're very easy to drive and are light; they just sit right on my head with no clamping at all. They don't isolate well and they leak due to the vented/semi-open-backed design. Because of this, they're not very well suited for portable use unless you will be in a quiet environment, because with outside noise the bass just vanishes and all you hear is treble. It's quite unpleasant. However, in a quiet environment they sound great.

I would definitely reccomend them. They're a great headphone that really stands out among other headphones from the '70s.

I was surfin' the web to get a little info on these phones. I got these with a pile of gear at an auction. After reading your reviews, I decided to give them a listen. I was a little surprised, but a little disappointed as well. Your reviews all had me expecting more. My initial impression was that they were some cheapo's, not worth my time. That opinion has changed some, but they are still not worth my time either. I own 2 pairs of Sennheiser's. The HD250 Linear II (MSRP $249) , and a cheap pair of HD202's. Both of the Sennheiser's put the little Koss's to shame. To be fair to the Koss, sound was better than expected, but hardly anything to write home about either. Sound was full, with decent enough high's. Bass was good, and the mid's pretty solid, but forward. However, they had that "Sound coming out of a tin can"  veiling that SO MANY cheap headphones have. Detail was minimal, not very clean, with the overall sound somewhat flat and one dimensional. This makes it very hard to agree with the statement that better headphones under $100 are hard to find, because they are not. The HD202's can be had on Ebay, New, for $29.95 shipping included (I got mine off of a NEWEGG special for $15 shipped). Not only are they a lot less than $100. they are much more comfortable also. I suppose if I had not read any reviews, my reaction may have been a little less harsh, but not by too much. While the Koss have decent enough bass, and are fairly easy to drive, they aren't any easier to drive than the HD202's, and they better the Koss in every measurable way, and not by a little either. On the plus side, the Koss's are better than their looks suggest, but if I lost these, I wouldn't bother retracing my steps to try and find them.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by toobz 

I was surfin' the web to get a little info on these phones. I got these with a pile of gear at an auction. After reading your reviews, I decided to give them a listen. I was a little surprised, but a little disappointed as well. Your reviews all had me expecting more. My initial impression was that they were some cheapo's, not worth my time. That opinion has changed some, but they are still not worth my time either. I own 2 pairs of Sennheiser's. The HD250 Linear II (MSRP $249) , and a cheap pair of HD202's. Both of the Sennheiser's put the little Koss's to shame. To be fair to the Koss, sound was better than expected, but hardly anything to write home about either. Sound was full, with decent enough high's. Bass was good, and the mid's pretty solid, but forward. However, they had that "Sound coming out of a tin can"  veiling that SO MANY cheap headphones have. Detail was minimal, not very clean, with the overall sound somewhat flat and one dimensional. This makes it very hard to agree with the statement that better headphones under $100 are hard to find, because they are not. The HD202's can be had on Ebay, New, for $29.95 shipping included (I got mine off of a NEWEGG special for $15 shipped). Not only are they a lot less than $100. they are much more comfortable also. I suppose if I had not read any reviews, my reaction may have been a little less harsh, but not by too much. While the Koss have decent enough bass, and are fairly easy to drive, they aren't any easier to drive than the HD202's, and they better the Koss in every measurable way, and not by a little either. On the plus side, the Koss's are better than their looks suggest, but if I lost these, I wouldn't bother retracing my steps to try and find them.  

Um... The K/6x plus annihilates the HD202s (which are ****).

Also I'm not getting the tin-can effect with these. I've heard it several times and these don't have it. You probably have a broken pair or something.

I agree, Sennheiser's HD202's are as you say mediocre, or as you put it (which are ****) . Which completely validates my point even further. Why do you think I own a pair of 202's, when I already own a pair of HD250's ? These are my test cans, and are totally expendable. I'm not risking my old 250's whenever I take in a new piece of gear to try out. I just bought one of those cheapo single tube head amps off of Feebay recently. The first listen was with the 202's. If that cheap gear threw some dc, my 202's would take the abuse, and not the 250's. As cheap as they are, at least they have some sense of balance to the sound. The Koss's are cheap BOOM HISS cans, which most Americans love. True, I once had that skewed taste as a young man, but 10 + years working in a High End store allowed me the opportunity to train my hearing beyond such a limited sense.

 And I am so tired of someone making the simplistic statement of, "You must have got a bad one ... " I have heard so many defective speakers, and cans in my years in audio. I know when a pair are deficient beyond there normal capabilities. When I made an assesment of the cans, detailing why they are inferior, it's not just a bias, but a well thought out and reasoned evaluation from someone with over a decades worth of experience. I do take into account the variance between one sample over another. When I bought my HD250's, we had 7 pair in stock, I bought the best pair. We also had HD580's, and the newly released (At that time) HD600's. Even those models had differences between one pair and another. However, none of any of those phones differed so much as if one could say that they were a bad sample. The differences were slight, and one could easily be pleased with any of them. The Koss's I mentioned, may not be the perfect version, but even if they weren't the top examples, I sincerely doubt that they are much different than any other examples. And any accounting for such variations, would still not change my evaluation one bit. The Koss's have a booming low end, with little low bass extension. The high's are bright and exaggerated. The veiling is quite obvious when A/B comparisons are done quickly, and at the same level. I use my cd players head amp, and my preamp head amp when doing the comparison. This allows me to match levels very closely, and to switch quickly. I even swap the cans into the different head amps, so both head amps are used to compare the headphones. No matter what, the Koss's sound like cheap, over biased cans, with some veiling. Like it or not, the Koss's are an old design, with serious design limitations. Not that they are the worst headphones ever, but to call them one of the best cans under a hundred dollars is silly.  I understand how people become enamored with their new possesions. After all my years in audio, and countless demo's of my own gear, my store's gear, and my customer's gear, I no longer have such sentimental attachments to my gear. I call it like I hear them, and the Koss's are not deserving of such acclaim. Other than this forum, find me another such review anywhere on the net, by someone with a decent pair of cans to compare them to. You won't find one. And that's because they aren't anything but an old,cheap pair of cans, nothing more ...

I should have known better. Considering the type of can being discussed, I should have expected such a simplistic response. Listen, if you like your cheap phones, that's just fine ! Seriously, it's what makes the world go around. But keep your perspective. How many times have you read someone's overly positive opinion on their newest purchase ? It's O.K. to be overly fond of your old dated whatever ...  But, that needs to be tempered with reality.

If you like something, don't over sell it. It makes all comments somewhat suspicious if everything you talk about is the "Best such and such ever ... " 

You can do better . 

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMWBig6 

Hehe, naw. My pair still work fine. The ear pads need to be reglued to the drivers in some places, but mine are in ok condition. Just can't wear them for too long without hurting my ears, so I learn to do without them.

I dont know why but these Koss keep working even after getting smashed. I wonder if my porta pro will last as long tho.