[timb5881]

My grandson and drove cross country 2 weeks ago, he loved, as does my wife when we go on trips.

 

[Mad Max]

   
Can someone explain what they mean by "reversed" 414 pads? Are they turned inside out or something?

 
You use them backwards with a hole cut in the center.
 
HD414 pads on a grado as example
 
single pad alone with center cut for demonstration

 

[stuck limo]

Does anyone know if the plastic diffusers can be purchased separately? That way I don't have to keep buying the headphones over and over during experimentation.

 

[HiCZoK]

So I was in Media Markt today to do some listening (Always looking for something that can beat my porta pro).
And I found only one contender this time. Sony H.ear on sounded kinda similar. 
 
Anyone share the same impression?
Also, Fidelio 2 totally underwhelmed in my opinion... but that was not a good source (my phone) nor a good place to do listening test

 

[harry501501]

  So I was in Media Markt today to do some listening (Always looking for something that can beat my porta pro).
And I found only one contender this time. Sony H.ear on sounded kinda similar. 
 
Anyone share the same impression?
Also, Fidelio 2 totally underwhelmed in my opinion... but that was not a good source (my phone) nor a good place to do listening test

Hey,  do you mean the Sony MDR100AAP? if you do then 'no', it's not an upgrade to the Koss. I liked it at first when i was starting out but didn't have much to compare with so thought they were the bees knees. the Koss Pro destroys it for sound quality IMO. The Hear On is quite airy and spacious and very clear, but is lifeless and hollow sounding.

 

[harry501501]

I'm really impressed with the Koss P, I've been let down by so called "giant killers" before. Most notably the Havi Pro B3 1, Creative Aurvana Live!, Monk+ (which i originally liked). I've also been let down by hype... re-400 comes to mind.
 
BUT... the Koss Pro DEF lives up to it's reputation and I only paid £27 for it WOW. It is not out of place among my other on-ears Senn HD25ii, Yamaha HPH-200 and Sony MDR 10RC. These are all fantastic sounding on-ears. The KP really gives them a run for their money
 
EDIT : Well after a few hours of listening the biggest positive I can give these is they are SO much fun and you can just enjoy your music without having to focus on one area. Comfiest set i have by far cos they're so light and unobtrusive, love their retro look.

 

[HiCZoK]

  Hey,  do you mean the Sony MDR100AAP? if you do then 'no', it's not an upgrade to the Koss. I liked it at first when i was starting out but didn't have much to compare with so thought they were the bees knees. the Koss Pro destroys it for sound quality IMO. The Hear On is quite airy and spacious and very clear, but is lifeless and hollow sounding.

That's good to know !
Everytime I go to compare some headphones and put pp back on,. it's always a surprise how this cheap looking thing can sound so great and be this comfy. And by comfy I mean that I am not noticing it. Sony seems super comfy when trying it out in store but more like pillows on your head

 

[danmlr]

So many awesome 'phones in the koss lineup:
 
portapro
sportapro
ksc75
 
You can experiment also with mixing up portapro headband with ksc75 drivers, etc. 
 
The sweet spot for me are the 75 drivers on PE headband. It takes some of the excess shimmer off the 75's with clips and they wind up sounding very balanced, still retaining some of the high end sheen while having a bit more bottom end. Really, really nice. 
 
I too am burned out by the hype which 90% of the time turns out to be unfounded. The portapro's and other koss 'phones are the real deal and are keepers.
 
Spoiler alert: the stock portapro's are PHENOMENAL for listening to movies. The best I've used BY FAR!

 

[waynes world]

  So many awesome 'phones in the koss lineup:
 
portapro
sportapro
ksc75
 
You can experiment also with mixing up portapro headband with ksc75 drivers, etc. 
 
The sweet spot for me are the 75 drivers on PE headband. It takes some of the excess shimmer off the 75's with clips and they wind up sounding very balanced, still retaining some of the high end sheen while having a bit more bottom end. Really, really nice. 
 
I too am burned out by the hype which 90% of the time turns out to be unfounded. The portapro's and other koss 'phones are the real deal and are keepers.
 
Spoiler alert: the stock portapro's are PHENOMENAL for listening to movies. The best I've used BY FAR!

 
Yup. The only thing that beats the ksc75's as giant killer for ridiculously low price is the $5 VE Monk+ earbud:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/783669/venture-electronics-ve-monk-monk-plus-a-5-earbud-that-taking-the-world-by-storm
 
The Sony HPM-62 earbuds are crazy good as well, but they are getting hard to find and need to be recabled to get away from the crazy j-cable.

 

[danmlr]

Man, I hope the hype over the monk+ doesn't turn out to be more overblown FOTM headfi fanboy hype. These hype trains are usually driven by: novelty, scarcity, recabling options in fun primary colors, or some other strange feature (smell) etc. 
 
One of the more memorable fanboy hype trains (which has surely derailed by now) were some item's which smelled like chocolate==can't recall the name of those. 
 
I admit to having a very low opinion of head fi recommendations and of most headfi posters but hopefully the monk+ will be one of those very rare exceptions. 

 

[Hutnicks]

Wayne, didn't know you were a Kosser How are the 62's  holding up?
 
Re: The Monk+. Look you are not going to be tossing your HD800's in the trash over them but they are an extraordinary earbud. I rate them slighly below the HPM62 sony for clarity and soundstage reasons.
 
 What you get with the monk and most very good earbuds are an almost open full sized headphone experience. They require some experimentation for fit (They will sound great if you just stick em in your ears and go but really come alive with the ex kit and some fitting experimentation) but when dialed in and fit properly (I use silicone earplug gel on the rears to get them to seat perfectly) they are an absolute delight.
 
 My Koss' sit largely unused in the cases cursing me for deserting them for the buds

 

[danmlr]

It was the xiaomi pistons btw. Supposedly the be all, end all of cheap iem's. And they were brown and smelled like chocolate! Remember those?
 
I can tell you first hand they sounded like CRAP!
 
Bunch of fanboys started to chimp out, saying I got fakes, saying they were the greatest ever, blah blah blah. 
 
Head fi groupthink can get really silly. 

 

[danmlr]

  I'm really impressed with the Koss P, I've been let down by so called "giant killers" before. Most notably the Havi Pro B3 1, Creative Aurvana Live!, Monk+ (which i originally liked). I've also been let down by hype... re-400 comes to mind.
 
BUT... the Koss Pro DEF lives up to it's reputation and I only paid £27 for it WOW. It is not out of place among my other on-ears Senn HD25ii, Yamaha HPH-200 and Sony MDR 10RC. These are all fantastic sounding on-ears. The KP really gives them a run for their money
 
EDIT : Well after a few hours of listening the biggest positive I can give these is they are SO much fun and you can just enjoy your music without having to focus on one area. Comfiest set i have by far cos they're so light and unobtrusive, love their retro look.

yeah, this is what I was afraid of. What changed your mind?

 

[waynes world]

  yeah, this is what I was afraid of. What changed your mind?

 
Harry, I'm interested in what changed your mind as well considering you previously felt this way about them:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/783669/venture-electronics-ve-monk-monk-plus-a-5-earbud-that-taking-the-world-by-storm/4890#post_12735861

  I think the hype is more than justified having paid only £5 and getting as you correctly put it "amazing"... "HiFi sound in disposable form".
 
I've listened to plenty quality headphones of all types and these wow'd me on first listen, something which happens rarely (reflected in the amount of headphones and IEMs I've returned or sold lol).

 
At any rate, 99% of the people continue to like them. And for $5 you really can't go wrong.
 

  Wayne, didn't know you were a Kosser How are the 62's  holding up?
 
Re: The Monk+. Look you are not going to be tossing your HD800's in the trash over them but they are an extraordinary earbud. I rate them slighly below the HPM62 sony for clarity and soundstage reasons.
 
 What you get with the monk and most very good earbuds are an almost open full sized headphone experience. They require some experimentation for fit (They will sound great if you just stick em in your ears and go but really come alive with the ex kit and some fitting experimentation) but when dialed in and fit properly (I use silicone earplug gel on the rears to get them to seat perfectly) they are an absolute delight.
 
 My Koss' sit largely unused in the cases cursing me for deserting them for the buds

 
Hey Hutnicks! Yeah, the kcs75s on parts express headband were my first headphones. Because they were so good for so cheap, they cursed me into thinking that I could spend a bit more money for even more quality, so onto the hype-train-o-rama I went! I eventually figured out that I needed to spend a LOT more money for more quality lol. I also have the sportapro's and put the drivers on the parts express headband, and I like them even more due to the extra bass (yet not boomy like with the sportapro or portapro headband when the drivers are tight against the ear).
 
The Sony HPM62's sound really great to me, and I'm very happy that Nick sent me a recabled pair. I use them all of the time. Also, they are comfortable and sit flush in my ears, so they are the perfect buds to fall asleep with. You two done good by forcing the 62's on me!

 

[Hutnicks]

   
Harry, I'm interested in what changed your mind as well considering you previously felt this way about them:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/783669/venture-electronics-ve-monk-monk-plus-a-5-earbud-that-taking-the-world-by-storm/4890#post_12735861
 
At any rate, 99% of the people continue to like them. And for $5 you really can't go wrong.
 
 
Hey Hutnicks! Yeah, the kcs75s on parts express headband were my first headphones. Because they were so good for so cheap, they cursed me into thinking that I could spend a bit more money for even more quality, so onto the hype-train-o-rama I went! I eventually figured out that I needed to spend a LOT more money for more quality lol. I also have the sportapro's and put the drivers on the parts express headband, and I like them even more due to the extra bass (yet not boomy like with the sportapro or portapro headband when the drivers are tight against the ear).
 
The Sony HPM62's sound really great to me, and I'm very happy that Nick sent me a recabled pair. I use them all of the time. Also, they are comfortable and sit flush in my ears, so they are the perfect buds to fall asleep with. You two done good by forcing the 62's on me!

Ihave the trifecta, KSC75 Portas and Sportas so the 75's swap places with the drivers on the Sporta band, which is awesome. Wonder why you know who never tried sorbo on em.
 
I rarely think of hyping stuff as a must have, but the 62's just stood out so far it became irresistible to recommend them at the price they were at.
 
I'd like to know why harry did a turnabout on the Monks as well.