Koss UR29 Collapsible Portable Headphones

kobusestas

New Head-Fier
Pros: Decent Highs, lows and bass
Cons: Hard to differentiate between some tones
I bought theses as some cheap headphones to use when I played my guitar when connected to my amp.
They ended up not working out so well for this as it is hard to differentiate between certain notes causing some sounds to seem off or out of tune.
With that said they do work great for listening to things like TV and generic iPod use.
The highs, lows and mids are about what you would expect for the price, nothing fancy they won't make you into a budget audiophile or anything, but if you're looking for some cheap comfortable headphones that are durable and portable I would recommend checking these out.

DaBork

New Head-Fier
Pros: comfortable, cheap, they collaps, closed, inline volume control, sturdy cable, nice sound range, bass does not overpower, more
Cons: Short bass range, fake leather makes ears hot, somewhat muddy sound
Today I received the Koss UR29's as a gift from my girlfriend.
I have been needing a pair of nicer headphones to replace the broken ATH-AD700's that lie in pieces in headphone heaven right now.
Now, I know what you're thinking, I went from a very nice set of cans on the higher end of the scale down to a pair of budget cans? I must be nuts.
Well, the simple answer is this, I'm broke.
I wouldn't even have these budget headphones if I had not received them as a gift, I'd still be listening to the horrid iFrogz Ear Pollution Plugz I've been stuck using for over a month now. It makes me want to gag just thinking about them, ear pollution is the best way to describe them alright.
But anyway, past the backstory and on to the review.
This is just a first impression of these cans and may not speak for the complete experience they are going to offer, and I will be sure to update this after a month or so when they are burned in and I have had more time to put them through their paces.
 
Initial Thoughts; As soon as I got them out of the package (which was no easy task, whoever designs those dumb plastic packages should be sealed inside of one) I put them on. Because the most factor in headphone choice is comfort for me. I am willing to accept a slight hit to sound quality if it means they won't make my ears hurt for hours just by wearing them for more than 20 minutes.
As I unfolded the headphones and pulled them open to slide them over my ears, I noticed a good deal of resistance from the headband. This alarmed me because I figured that this meant they were going to be tight on my head and uncomfortable. Turns out I was wrong. Though the headband is quite resistant (this may just be because they are new) the headphones do not feel tight on my head at all. They fit perfectly over my ears, which is something I am new to. as I have never owned circumaural headphones, and it was a pleasant feeling. The pads formed a nice seal against my head and did not put any pressure on my ears. Now that I was satisfied with the comfort of the headphones, it was time to give them a listen.
 
First listen: I plugged the headphones into my computer and opened Windows Media Player. It was time to choose the first song I would ever hear from these cans. It had to be something good. Quality-wise, sound range-wise, everything. It just had to be a good song.
I decided the only fair test would be to pick a song from multiple genres. And so I did.
Before I give my thoughts, let it be known that I am NOT an audiophile of any sort, and nor do I intend to present myself as one. I understand the mechanics and fundamentals of music, I appreciate good sound quality, I listen to high bit rate music, and I am very critical of music, but more of artist quality than sound quality. I am just a man who enjoys good music and prefers it to not sound like total crap.
On with the songs.
 
Classical :
Song chosen - Piano Concerto No 21 in C Major
Artist - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Bit Rate - 320kbps
Format - MP3
 
Like the Audio Technicas I used to own, this was the shining genre of these headphones.
Now I won't sit here and tell you that it was a mindblowing experience and that I heard things I had never even heard in the songs, or go on and on about how and perfect the instruments sounded, but I will say I was rightly impressed. Everything was clear and sounded as it was intended.
The piano came through clear, the strings were warm, and the wind sounded flawless, without the harshness present on lower quality headphones and speakers, and it all blended together wonderfully. It certainly put my Budz to shame. I do not listen to classical on a daily basis, but these headphones will probably push me to give it a shot more.
 
Metal:
Song - Master Passion greed
Artist - Nightwish
Bit Rate - 304kbps
Format - MP3
 
First let me say my expectations were relatively low for this genre. As most headphones I have listened to tend to come up short with heavier music (except very cheap ones, go figure). Let me say< i was pleasantly surprised. The guitars seemed much cleaner and less grainy than they usual are, drums blended seamlessly with the rest of the music without the overwhelming boomy sound many headphones produce any time the bass drum kicks, though this is also a result of my over-anal equalizer tweaking. Nightwish is a symphonic metal band, so there are strings, which , just like in the classical selection, did not disappoint in clarity or warmth.
Overall, I was shocked, and will not think twice about listening to metal with these.
 
 
Rap:
Song - Cadillacs on 22's
Artist - David Banner
Bit Rate - 192kbps
Format  - MP3
 
I selected a lower bit rate song for the rap genre. Because I figured, good quality music was probably all going to sound pretty good, but could these headphones deliver with less-than-amazing quality sound? Yes, it turns out they can. WIth a few minor EQ adjustments to bring the high mids down a bit (4 and 8 KHz bands) to compensate for the slight harshness present in lower quality music, the music came through quite nice. The bass in this song is very heavy and boomy, and while you can clearly feel the power of the bass, it is not overpowering. You can actually HEAR the bass instead of just feeling a big thump every time it hits, which is quite nice, even with the 31 and 62Hz bands nearly maxxed out, the lows remained clear and powerful without being too boomy or swallowing the rest of the sound.
The rest of the sound did not disappoint either, vocals came through just fine, and I was able to hear the different tracks in the song quite well. Overall, I am pleased.
 
Electronic:
Song - Triple Drop
Artist - Bar 9
Bit Rate - 320Kbps
Format - MP3
 
This was one of the most crucial tests for me. I listen to a lot of electronic music, from dubstep, to trance, to trip-hop, I love it all. So these headphones had to really bring it to the table for this genre, and that they did. The bass tones sounded wonderful, filling the background and complimenting the rest of the tracks instead of covering them up. Every sound was perceptible. I actually did hear a few things I never noticed before. I was very pleased with the performance these cans put forward in this selection and look forward to putting them through the paces quite regularly with my vast collection.
 
 
Overall I am highly impressed with these headphones, especially considering their modest price and somewhat lacking aesthetics (the plain silver cups and fake leather aren't my favorite). I did not have high espectations for them but they still managed to bring much more than I could have imagined. Do they outdo my old AT's? Not by a long shot. Will they blow you away and force you to listen to nothing but FLAC and make you think any other headphones are garbage? Highly unlikely.
Are they a wonderful pair of starter headphones for someone looking to get into higher quality sound without breaking their bank? Very much so, thought I would recommend going for the UR40's instead. They are only 10 dollars more and feature a much better design and reportedly better build quality. I would have gotten those but they were sold out and the man in best buy told my girlfriend that "it was just a model number and there was no difference between them", apparently you really DONT have to know what you're talking about to work there. However, I am far from disappointed. So far my only complaints are this:
The fake leather earcups do make my ears hot. Not uncomfortably so, and they cool off quickly once I take the headphones off for a minute, but they certainly do get a bit warm.
The bass is a bit lacking. It sounds great, but if you listen to a lot of bass-heavy music and enjoy a nice thump in your head instead of just smooth and mild lows, you may want to look into something a bit different.
They feel a bit cheap. This is not a big deal, because, well, they ARE cheap. But they look very plastic (they are very plastic) and may be plain ugly to many people. I for one don't really care since I won't be wearing them in public.
 
 
Well I hope this was a thorough review, and like I said, I will try to update it as I spend more time with these headphones.
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