[mclaren20]

I was in a goodwill store and I saw them being sold 'as is' for $3. So being one hell of an impulse buyer, I decided to blow the $3 and pick them up. I get home to find out that the left cup doesnt work, unless the wire is manually held in place, so right now im heating up my iron and im going to resolder the wire back on right.


So in the mean time, any impressions on these?


[edit] Its these bad boys, except in perfect condition, except for that one wire.

 

[mclaren20]

well i got them soldered, but now i need to find my 1/4 to 1/8 adapter.

 

[jaskin]

Cool, let us know of the outcome.

 

[Gluegun]

Ahh, my dad has a set of those...

I would rather've spent the $3 on some candy...

 

[mclaren20]

well i dont like candy, and they looked pretty cool(for being so old).

 

[Gene]

Sounds like you did okay mclaren20! I used to work at a landfill, (the dump!), and I found a brand new pair of Koss' HV XLC with box and papers. They were one of the phones that put Koss on the map in the early '80's. Like I said, they are brand new but the earpads were disintegrating. I called Koss and they still stocked the earpads for it! It's hard to believe these things were state of the art then but they sound fine and I like the old stuff.

 

[Frank_L]

Hi,
my father has one pair of these and they don't sound to good. They were made in 1972 as shown on Koss' website.

http://www.koss.com/koss/kossweb.nsf...he_Products^05

Even my mx-400 sound a LOT better than these. Everything sound distant with these and they lack of treble and bass. Comparing to my Porta Pro's which date from 1984 is like comparing cheap $2 earbuds to $200 headphones, but I guess it was good for the time... They also hurt to wear.

 

[mclaren20]

yeah, one thing they are good at is handling out pain. my ears hurt after only 30 min of listening. The best way to describe the sound, i think, is....


Hold a pair of headphones away from your ear, then you have the sound.

 

[MOSFET]

I live many of you, found a pair of these at the Goodwill and bought them for $2.00. I HAD a set of $39.00 over the ear headphones bought at Best Buy (can't recall the name brand off hand, but their symbol was a skull). Before this I bought and used a pair of Grado SR 225's ($199 I believe). Talk about the VERY CHEAPEST MADE set of rediculusly expensive phones!!! Although they did sound quite good, they ultimately broke after 7 years and you can only superglue them back together so many times. So like I said I then bought the Skull-Candy (I just remembered the brand name). They were the most expensive pair of non-wireless phones Best Buy carries. They too broke after only 6 months and I was able to tape them back together and they do seem to work fine, they, like the Grado's, sound very good.

So I see these Koss speakers and what appeals to me most is that they are built like a tank!!! I guess I am hard on headphones so I was immdeiately drawn to these obviously well made phones.

They have volume level controls on each cup and sound TERRIFIC!!!!! Best $2 investment I ever made. These are now my primary headphones and have served me VERY well for the last 5 months. Like I said, they are built like tanks and I expect them to last for many years. So, like what others have said, I am very, very happy with these and they seem to be equal in every way sound quality wise to my old $199 Grado 225's. And they are built MUCH better.

Nick

 

[obobskivich]

mosfet, have fun with the flames

@ mclaren/gene/etc:

Koss is great on its warranty on products dating back to something around '83 or '84, anything earlier and they've got nothing for you (but anything from those years on (roughly around the first year of the PortaPro), you get a lifetime repair/replace warranty)

I have an ancient pair of ESP/10's that need re-wiring (something thats developed in the last week, just yet another on a long list at this point), sound is great though (well, ignoring the issues the current wiring is causing them....)

one thing I will tell you: Koss' earpads bite, they got into the whole "vinyl is so hip" in the 1970's, and 30 something years later, you've got rocks for your ears (

), I found earpads from Denon or AT's to fit mine decently well, and a much cheaper alternative: earpads from hearing protectors

one note on the pads, you can probably order new pads from Koss (call 'em up, itsl ike $5/pair) as long as your 'phones will roughly match the Pro4 or ESP/9 series shape (roughly Senn HD 580/600/650 shaped, and HD 580/600/650 pads would fit if their mounting mechanism were different (its a "slip on" like Denon's, not a "clip in", like AKG/Sennheiser))

cheers on your find

 

[buddhashenglong]

From Grado to Skullcandy?!?!? Ouch, that is like trading a BMW for a golfcart.

 

[cyberidd]

I just found a pair of these (K-6 lc) in my basement, they must have been my dad's. Anyways, I plugged them into my Compass and played a few songs on them and found that listening to music through them is like listening in a large cavern. There seems to be an echo added to any vocalist and it is noticeably weak in the treble range. That said, it does seem to do strings reasonable well (and without echoes), and the discomfort others are experiencing doesn't bother me.
I'll be listening to these more in the next couple days, but don't expect they'll break into my lineup any time soon!

 

[fretless666]

I have had an original pair of K-6 in working order since around 1975! They were intended as hi-fi listening phones but are as good as any, including the standard studio Beyers, for live and studio monitors. The only modification has been a modern Neutrik jack. The oil-filled ear-pads give excellent isolation. They are heavier than most and not very stylish but are comfortable and do not colour the sound. There's not much to go wrong except broken connections in the cable and the ear-pads falling off. The ear-pads are a shrink-fit and can be made to go back on by heating with a hair-dryer.    

 

[EYEdROP]

I bought a minty Realistic Custom Pro from a thrift store for $2. They are based off the K/6 and have the koss logo on the side, sorta hidden. They seem like the same headphone, but the realistic custom pro is ported with a silver vent. Is the K/6 ported too?
 
They put out a good quantity of bass for their age, not very good quality though. The mids are recessed and echoey as mentioned earlier. The detail is adequate for general use but not critical listening. The highs dont really exist above 10,000 hz. They actually sound decent for their age and original msrp. Overall they are not audiophile quality or anything special, but they are not offensive sounding. They are good throw around headphones for $2-$5. They are built very sturdy. I wouldent pay more than $10 for them though. At that point just buy a ksc75.

 

[palealien]

I was just given the opportunity to review a pair of Sennheiser HD 598's. In a word, amazing. But mainly, after 30 years of earbuds and cheap Sony cans, my first pair of real phones came to mind immediately- the Koss K6-LC. I don't even know why I remember the number, except they were probably bought with a lot of paper route money. Not much to compare to in 1972 or so, but I used them to death. The foam on the headband began to decay, the coiled cord showed signs of too much abuse, but worst of all, the by-then hardened vinyl that made up the earpads began to dry out and crack and basically disintegrate; it was time to move on. I think the volume control failed too, and I am sure I replaced the plug a few times. They may have been an early pair, the photo at the Koss museum page  showed a slider, mine had a mini-pot. I never throw anything away, they may still be tucked away in a box somewhere.