Koss A250 Headphones

tdockweiler

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: absolute detail MONSTER, good mids, extremely clear, very good vocals.
Cons: very aggresive treble, close to being bass light. Fairly poor construction, Not very balanced sounding, Discontinued.
Another Head-Fier here helped me get a pair of these from the Koss outlet store recently. On day one I didn't like them at all. Had this very weird and unbalanced sound signature. When using them with games it's very noticeable where it's focus is. After day one I found they just had too little bass and way too much treble for me. Tried them later and had the same impression.
 
I have to say, these are growing on me fast. I connected them up to an E9 (!) with an HRT Music Streamer II and they sound much better.
 
It's close to being bass light and some sub-bass is just not there and seems to go missing. Not a big deal for me. Just not as present as on my DJ100. The mids are kind of thin sounding, but a little more forward than that of the DT-880. These sure are aggressive in the treble! More so than any other headphone I've heard. Just don't turn them up too loud and it's not so bad.
 
The sound from these is crystal clear. They're perhaps one of the most detailed headphones i've ever heard. If you want to be impressed, try these with classical music. For being closed, the soundstage is quite huge! Probably even larger than the K550 depending on the track.
 
I can see how many people would either love this headphone or hate it. With some music it's very impressive and on others, not so much. Despite it's good sound, I wouldn't call it balanced. I think it's sound clarity is up there with the SR-325is. No joke.
 
Comfort isn't bad and the pads are massive! The build quality is pretty poor for something that once cost $250. I imagine most of that went into the sound, but it did have a lifetime warranty. I bet if this died, they'd still honor the warranty and give me something else!
 
I bet these would sound best with a warm amp/dac. I'm using a Canare interconnect cable and that seems to help to tame the treble a tad and improve the mids a little.
 
I only have maybe 10 hours on these so far, so I'll edit this review if anything changes.
 
Closest match to this signature i've heard is maybe the DT-880 or maybe the Grado R-325is, but with less mid-bass.
 
 
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JK1
JK1
If the Koss A250 is anything like the A200, it would need an amp to bring out the bass. Hooked up directly to a Sandisk Clip+ or Fuze, the A200 has very little bass. When I connected it through the Fiio E6 with the E6 set on neutral, the A200 produced very strong and tight bass.
I'm surprised Koss is still selling the A250. When I bought my A200 over 10 years ago, it was considered old.
tdockweiler
tdockweiler
Yeah, the bass isn't bad, but there is definitely a lack of sub-bass. Not a big deal for me. There is most definitely some decent mid-bass. I'm using these with an E9 with HRT DAC. Sounds similar on any other amp such as my Airhead.
They're actually much worse straight out of a Sansa Clip+.
Koss hasn't sold the A/250 since 2002 I think, but Koss somehow had 2 in their outlet store recently. This one rattles slightly during sections with lots of low bass, so maybe that's the problem. Only occurs about 5% of the time.
What's weird is that this headphone looks open, but I guess it's closed. Sure doesn't sound like it! Must be those massive pads.
Smugsie
Smugsie
Based off memory, how do these compare to the AKG K/Q7xx series?

Tardisk

New Head-Fier
Pros: Very nice soundstage, extremely confortable
Cons: Recessed Bass/sometimes overbearing treble
The thing I like most about these is how comfortable they are. They have a slight tendency to slide forward off your face, but you just have to get used to wearing them a little bit further back than usual.
 
These are the first pair that I have owned with a soundstage. I kept reading people talking about how good headphones would place instruments for you. Because my main pair right now is a pair of ATH-M30s, I never got to hear such a thing. What a difference!
 
My one complaint is the bright sound. They have less bass than my M30s, but a very pronounced treble, so much so that I would be scared to listen to them at full volume (Powered by my iPod) Unlike my M30s. Once my M50s arrive, I'll be able to write a better review.

redrich2000

Headphoneus Supremus
Pros: Awsome sound, great looks
Cons: Poor build quality
A gem from the past: fast, transparent, detailed and up-front.
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