[Braekfast]

Hello head-fi, I come to you for sage advice once again.

I came here years ago for advice. Back then, I got reccomended the HD555 (for home use) and the Koss Portapro (for taking with me). My HD555's must be around 8-9 years old or something at this point, and they're still going strong. You all really did me a solid with that one. The Portapro's were also a big success in another way.

I didn't end up using them all that much, hermit that I am. But my dad had a listen to them and said he quite liked the sound. So I got a pair for him as a christmas present. He uses them to watch tv late in the evening without bothering anyone. At some point one side stopped playing any sound, so I gave him my pair. Now that pair has the same problem, one side won't play any sound.

So I want to get him some new headphones as a christmas present. He says he loves the portapro for how light and comfy it is to wear and how nice the sound is. He also describes it as 'cinematic' (probably since he uses it to watch movies a lot), which I can only guess comes from the open design. Do you have any reccomendations for similar headphones, perhaps with some better contruction?

Thank you in advance, I know you won't let me down.

TL;DR: Dad loves his portapros, but they broke. Wat buy?

 

[tomb]

8-9 years for a portable headphone is an awfully good track record. If he likes them, they're cheap enough to buy another pair.

You might try sending the broken pairs to Koss, too - they may fall under their lifetime warranty.

 

[Braekfast]

Well, only the HD555's have lasted the full 8-9 years. The portapros lasted 'only' 4-ish years each. Which is still pretty dang good. Getting another pair of portapros iss my current plan B, but I wanted to look around and see if I couldn't find something that similar but perhaps more sturdy. Similar lightweight/comfy wearing with the open/'cinematic' soundstage, but maybe a bit more expensive or higher quality. I've seen the grado sr60e around, but I'm a little miffed that it costs like 80$ on US amazon, while over here I can only find them starting from 129-ish euro.

I've heard about their lifetime warranty, but does that also apply to the EU? I've only been able to find the US website.

 

[gemNeye]

I've heard about their lifetime warranty, but does that also apply to the EU? I've only been able to find the US website.

After some quick research, an EU resident via ifixit.com reported that they were successful in getting a warranty replacement by contacting their local KOSS distributor. KOSS has distributors worldwide that deal with warranty claims. You just have to contact the nearest distributor and see how to go about getting a warranty replacement.

The first link is a list of worldwide KOSS distributors. The second link is the ifixit.com message from the EU poster claiming they had success getting a replacement locally.

https://www.koss.com/support/distributors
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/How+to+Koss+Porta+Pro/8492

I live in the EU as well, but I got replacements from Koss for free and within a few days by contacting their local affiliate branch in my country.

I would expect that you could do that as well in a lot of countries outside the US.

Check here for your country:

https://www.koss.com/support/distributor...

 

[Braekfast]

-snip-

I had no idea. I only ever saw the US site and assumed it didn't count for europe. Thanks a lot for this, I'll be contacting them for the pairs I have.

I'll probably still look around if there aren't any similar headphones that are perhaps a bit higher quality around. Dad deserves something more than just a replacement of the same thing, if I can find something good.

 

[5twnr]

What is your price range? I don't think you can get much better for the PortaPro's price. I had the Grados; they aren't that great in terms of build-quality as mine lasted even shorter than my PortaPros, and the sound is more geared towards rock music.

 

[Braekfast]

What is your price range? I don't think you can get much better for the PortaPro's price. I had the Grados; they aren't that great in terms of build-quality as mine lasted even shorter than my PortaPros, and the sound is more geared towards rock music.

I'm not sure. Probably up to a 100 euro or so, though I could stretch it a bit more if there's a great option.

 

[5twnr]

I haven't heard anything that beat the soundstage of the portapros at that price range (the next up is the beyerdynamic dt770s, but that's around $180 usd), but you could try the Audio-Technica ATH-M20x

 

[audiofil]

DT770 pro is a very solid option, they sell for 117 euro at Thomann.de.
On a lower budget, you could look at Takstar Pro 80. Well received here, very good sounding for not a lot of money, solid build.

 

[Braekfast]

I haven't heard anything that beat the soundstage of the portapros at that price range (the next up is the beyerdynamic dt770s, but that's around $180 usd), but you could try the Audio-Technica ATH-M20x

DT770 pro is a very solid option, they sell for 117 euro at Thomann.de.
On a lower budget, you could look at Takstar Pro 80. Well received here, very good sounding for not a lot of money, solid build.

Thank you both for the reccomendations. Unfortunately, one of the big draws he has towards the portapro's is how light they are. He's currently my pair of shure srh440's that I had lying around, but that form factor is just a bit too bulky for him to lounge on the couch with.

On the upside, I managed to get a reply from our local Koss distributor, so I *might* get the portapro replaced. Here's hoping their "little questions asked, lifetime warranty" extends to the EU. Because I doubt I still have the receipt lying around after 8-ish years.