[chrislangley4253]

my newest portapro mod. GradoPro's (they use grado comfies and are kramer modded and the headband is bent a bit to make them fit better).
 

 

[ironstar]

Wow thats a really nice mod chrislangley4253.
 
First I would like to thank head-fi and you head-fiers. If it wasn't for this I would not be able to know the beloved Portapro.
 
I really appreciate the Portapro. I was caught smiling at work when I wore it

. One thing is that I commute everyday to work and I can hear the sound of the van's engine. Solution was I found my year old cmoy amp and just louder the volume.
 
I had done the Kramer mod on it and noticed the difference. Its really good. But sad thing I did is that the blue connection to the headband loosened when I did the mod.
 
I was looking for cheap replacement pads since sr60i's bowls are expensive here in the Philippines (Php1000). If someone can teach me how to make those bowls......

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

Wow thats a really nice mod chrislangley4253.
 
First I would like to thank head-fi and you head-fiers. If it wasn't for this I would not be able to know the beloved Portapro.
 
I really appreciate the Portapro. I was caught smiling at work when I wore it

. One thing is that I commute everyday to work and I can hear the sound of the van's engine. Solution was I found my year old cmoy amp and just louder the volume.
 
I had done the Kramer mod on it and noticed the difference. Its really good. But sad thing I did is that the blue connection to the headband loosened when I did the mod.
 
I was looking for cheap replacement pads since sr60i's bowls are expensive here in the Philippines (Php1000). If someone can teach me how to make those bowls......

Be careful with making the volume too loud.. Don't want you to hurt your ears trying to compete with the van's engine .
 
I, uhh. I'm actually back to using stock pads for the portapro, with just quarter sized pieces cut out the middle. After all the different pad mods I've done, I came back to these. They sound the best coming from my grado's, the pads that put the drivers further away from your ears make them really bright. It doesn't sound bad, just unbalanced. Not that the stock pads sound balanced either, they let the midbass take over. If you want to try the even brighter cymbal crashing sound, get a pair of the hd414 pads, they are quite a bit cheaper than anything grado makes. So, in order of preference on pads i would actually have to say stock >grado comfies>hd414's. The stock ones keep them sounding closer to my Grado's which is what I like now that they are my home pair.
 
TLR - I think the further the pads put the drivers from you ears, the more the midbass/bass lightens up, thusly making the pretty bright drivers sound even more bright. I have come to prefer the midbass bloat from the stock pads over all the other ones, plus it keeps them more portable. I would just go to a local place and try to locate some pads that are close to the stock ones. I'd ship you some of those yellow hd414 pads, but I'm sure it would cost me a leg and an arm.
 

 

[Vikingatheart]

One thing I really love about the PortaPro is how friggin' durable it is. Mine have been dropped and kicked about a hundred times and still sound great. I use them everyday at school, and I think I might just buy a few more pairs as back ups. I love those little buggers!

 

[Katun]

Quote:

One thing I really love about the PortaPro is how friggin' durable it is. Mine have been dropped and kicked about a hundred times and still sound great.

Heh, you should have seen the "durability test" I conducted with them. Let's just say it passed about the worst abuse I gave it...
 
 

 

[MaciekN]

PortaPros were my first "serious" headphone, hence I was using portables only back then. Later were senns px200 and atm I have modded AKG 414's but really, I think that Koss has made the best portables in terms of sound and durability.
Since my stock pads fell apart I've put reversed px200 pads on them, so there is only thin cloth between my ear and the driver and I must say that  really do a great job on vocals. What is more, I find them quite balanced, highs aint rolled off as in AKG, detail is great, the only thing I would add is some lower end bass.
With some tuning I think they can make up easily to 100$ level, there is a lot of potential in these drivers.

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

PortaPros were my first "serious" headphone, hence I was using portables only back then. Later were senns px200 and atm I have modded AKG 414's but really, I think that Koss has made the best portables in terms of sound and durability.
Since my stock pads fell apart I've put reversed px200 pads on them, so there is only thin cloth between my ear and the driver and I must say that  really do a great job on vocals. What is more, I find them quite balanced, highs aint rolled off as in AKG, detail is great, the only thing I would add is some lower end bass.
With some tuning I think they can make up easily to 100$ level, there is a lot of potential in these drivers.

Indeed.. I'm struggling to find a pair of IEM's that I'll put on over the portapro's for my portable rig.. We will see if the MC5's fit that bill.. If not I'll just keep using the portapro's.

 

[ironstar]

I found some earpads in a Japanese home shop. It fits the Portapro and it just costed me Php80 for 2 pairs. Now i just need to cut the holes.
 

 
 
Quote:

Be careful with making the volume too loud.. Don't want you to hurt your ears trying to compete with the van's engine .
 
I, uhh. I'm actually back to using stock pads for the portapro, with just quarter sized pieces cut out the middle. After all the different pad mods I've done, I came back to these. They sound the best coming from my grado's, the pads that put the drivers further away from your ears make them really bright. It doesn't sound bad, just unbalanced. Not that the stock pads sound balanced either, they let the midbass take over. If you want to try the even brighter cymbal crashing sound, get a pair of the hd414 pads, they are quite a bit cheaper than anything grado makes. So, in order of preference on pads i would actually have to say stock >grado comfies>hd414's. The stock ones keep them sounding closer to my Grado's which is what I like now that they are my home pair.
 
TLR - I think the further the pads put the drivers from you ears, the more the midbass/bass lightens up, thusly making the pretty bright drivers sound even more bright. I have come to prefer the midbass bloat from the stock pads over all the other ones, plus it keeps them more portable. I would just go to a local place and try to locate some pads that are close to the stock ones. I'd ship you some of those yellow hd414 pads, but I'm sure it would cost me a leg and an arm.
 

 

 

[chrislangley4253]

A quarter and a razer blade or a exacto knife is the way to go. and then you can super glue the cut outs on the plastic sliders on teh band if you want, i find it helps keep them from pulling hair and makes them more comfortable on my neck.

 

[ironstar]

Thanks! After that I will be trying to transfer the driver to my old sennheiser hd tv 65 headphones.
 
Quote:

A quarter and a razer blade or a exacto knife is the way to go. and then you can super glue the cut outs on the plastic sliders on teh band if you want, i find it helps keep them from pulling hair and makes them more comfortable on my neck.

 

 

[chrislangley4253]

Good luck mate! I haven't tried to transfer the drivers into anything, but they sure do sound good enough that I would try it.

 

[kaienjin]

hey found a review of the koss portapro here
 
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Koss-PortaPro-Review&id=6244927
 
 

 

[JIGF]

Albeit a cheap one, this is truly a gem.
 
Excels at low level listening.

 

[Astrozombie]

Love um guys!

So far i have the MEE M9, Senn HD280, KC75s (ruined with drill but wasn't impressed) and now Portapros. I have to say these are my favorites right now. For some reason the HD280s sounded best when i set my cell phone to "Rock" and cranked the bass boost on the E5, but with everything else "Normal" without bass boost sounds best, so much for those phones. (I think i have liked everything else more than the Senns)
 
Now these are perfect for working out since IEM seems to be a hassle and i need some more comfortable tips. Those are geared for going outside since open cans wouldn't be too nice. My next move was going to be some Senn HD 25-1 because i was thinking a closed set was the way to go, now i'm realizing for about the same price i can get some SR-80s and M50s to have the best of both worlds, open and closed.
I need to find a store where i can sample some phones.

Another + of open is you don't have to move them to the side when someone inevitably interrupts your music listening hehe

 

[chrislangley4253]

Quote:

Love um guys!

So far i have the MEE M9, Senn HD280, KC75s (ruined with drill but wasn't impressed) and now Portapros. I have to say these are my favorites right now. For some reason the HD280s sounded best when i set my cell phone to "Rock" and cranked the bass boost on the E5, but with everything else "Normal" without bass boost sounds best, so much for those phones. (I think i have liked everything else more than the Senns)
 
Now these are perfect for working out since IEM seems to be a hassle and i need some more comfortable tips. Those are geared for going outside since open cans wouldn't be too nice. My next move was going to be some Senn HD 25-1 because i was thinking a closed set was the way to go, now i'm realizing for about the same price i can get some SR-80s and M50s to have the best of both worlds, open and closed.
I need to find a store where i can sample some phones.

Another + of open is you don't have to move them to the side when someone inevitably interrupts your music listening hehe

listened to my modded portapros powered by a clip.. coming from a pair of ms pros powered by an A version Sparrow... Still wasn't let down by the portapros. Incredible little headphones. 
 
Also, I'd suggest the MS1 over the sr80i unless you find a particularly good deal on the sr80i's.