[rc7]

I would just like to say I was happy to find the headwize forums because I finially have a decent portable headphone setup for travel. My last pair of headphones were the QP-33 sony headphones that fit over your ear. I figured they looked cool and they must sound fine being from sony.

Then I came across someone selling a hi-fi headphone setup on anandtech. I investigated the headphone scene further and found headwize.

Next, I ordered a pair of Koss Porta Pros. Awesome sound. Deep, tight bass. Clear highs, and highly portable. I was still unhappy with the distortion I got a higher volumes on my minidisc portable.

Final step was the discovery of headphone amps. I would have built my own 'headbanger' amp if I was fimiliar enough with the schematics, but they were too advanced for me. So I ended up ordering a headbanger, and it has enhanced my listening ten fold. It is also very compact and easy to travel with.

Thanks to the forums and everyones' suggestions.

 

[joelongwood]

Congratulations, rc7. It's good to hear you're enjoying your new toys. I had the Porta Pros for many years (bought 'em in '87), and usage finally got the best of them recently. I tried to repair them and made it worse........ into the garbage ......bought the KS-C35s as a replacement. Weird ear-hangers......I prefer the Porta Pros for comfort and ease of use. Enjoy the music.

 

[rc7]

Thanks. Another nice thing about the Porta Pros is that they come with a lifetime warrenty from Koss. Just pay shipping and they'll repair/replace the phones.

 

[joelongwood]

I know.........but these things were really in pieces. I was kinda hesitant to send them back......it was well beyond normal wear and tear. I may get a new pair in the future, but I have way too many headphones as it is.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

I have a pair of Koss Porta Pros, too, and apart from the distortion at higher volumes they are easily the best headphones for under $50. I couldn't agree more!

 

[sapphiremodena]

Is that Koss lifetime warranty valid for all of their headphones??

 

[rc7]

I think the warrenty is good for all koss headphones, just register at koss.com. As for the distortion at higher volumes, the headbanger amp cleared that up for me.

 

[slwiser]

I just got two Koss KTX Pros which have the same driver as the one under discussion from
Computers4SURE.com for 12.95. They may still have a few left.

For this price you can't miss.

 

[thomas]

Quote:

Koss KTX Pros which have the same driver as the one under discussion

Actually, the KTX pro uses cheeper "titanium" drivers...They have a harsher sound that is noticably worse than the Portapros. There are several headphones that do use the same drivers, they are the Portapro, Sportapro, KSC 35, and KSC 50 (and probably all of their high end phones as well)

All of their headphones are elibible for their lifetime warentee... Its great for their expensive headphones (especially the esp950!), but for their cheaper headphones, it'll cost more to send them back than to simply buy a new pair...

Occassionally, the drivers in my sportapro "bottom out" when the volume is cranked up, and several people have complained about this. (different from the distortion you mentioned, which is caused by the amp running out of power) However, i can't see how anyone could listen at such high levels that this would be a problem...

And i also agree that the sportapros are the best headphones for less than $50....

 

[fiddler]

Actually Thomas, Mike Walker took bought the KTX Pro and took it apart too see what the drivers are like, and he found that the drivers used in the KTX pros are totally interchangeable with those of the Porta/Sporta/KSC-35(50)s... He said that he actually switched the two sets of drivers around to see for sure, and his vertict was that the KTX Pro does in fact use the same drivers.

 

[thomas]

well, all koss drivers are interchangeable... They all use the exact same driver housings... I've used the Koss KTX pro, sportapro, TD-60, TD-65, R-80, A/200, and they all use the exact same driver housings... However, they do not sound the same... I found the sound of the KTX's to be noticably worse than the s/portapros, but that could be attributed to several different factors...

 

[fiddler]

Now I'm remembering Mike Walker mentioning two versions of the KTX-Pro.. I'm not sure which one he was talking about though.

 

[Mike Walker]

Mine was the Radio Shack version of the KTX-Pro. I think the new one is called the Pro-35. I compared it in the store with Radio Shack's version of the Sporta Pro (using my Aiwa XP-R100 portable cd player and Total Headroom), and was surprised to find that the two headphones sounded identical. I bought the Pro 35, took it home, popped out the drivers, and popped them into my KSC-35. The sound remained IDENTICAL to how it had sounded with the original (KSC-35) drivers. I next snapped the drivers into the Sporta Pro. Again, the Sporta Pro's sound remained unchanged. The drivers are visibly identical, and in my tests were AUDIBLY identical!

I have not, however, ever actually seen, let alone owned the KOSS version of the KTX-Pro, so it may not have the same drivers, although it seems cosmetically identical to the Radio Shack model.

One other thing...Koss headphones certainly do not all have interchangable drivers. I dare anyone to attempt snapping drivers from the KSC-950 into their Sporta Pros

 

[skippy]

thomas is right, most of the koss drivers look exactly the same but have very different sounds. last time i heard the ktx pro, they sucked quite horribly. however, i remember that rat shack's pro 25 came recommended, and there was some controversy as to whether it used the same drivers as the porta pro. if i recall correctly, the pro 25 looked like the ktx pro. the pro 25 was replaced by the pro 35 which also looks like the ktx-pro. (i think) i've listened to the pro 35, and i can say with confidence it's worse than the porta pro.

 

[Mike Walker]

You can say that "with confidence", can you Skippy? Maybe my Pro-35 was made on a Monday and they put the wrong drivers in it, but I can assure you, it's IDENTICAL in sound to the Sporta Pro! IDENTICAL! And when you put the Pro-35's drivers in the KSC-35, it continues to sound like a KSC-35. Note that I own multiple pairs of KSC-35s, so I can do comparisons. MINE have the same drivers!

I'm not disputing you, Skippy. Perhaps my Pro-35 isn't typical. But it IS identical (in sound) to my Sporta Pros. If you're ever in Northwest North Carolina, you're welcome to stop by my house and listen for yourself