markl
Hangin' with the monkeys.
Member of the Trade: Lawton Audio
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2001
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This is by no means a detailed review.
I've got a pair of cheapie vertical phones from Rat Shack that I think are *overall* slightly BETTER than the lauded Koss work-out phones. No, I'm not joking.
Here's the original thread on my rat shack phones with some supporting comments from a few others (yes, this pre-dates the current Sony A44L controversy--I'm really not joking around):
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...ertical+phones
After comparing the rat shack phones to a brand new pair of Koss SportaPros, I'm surprised to find I like the rat shack better.
We pause for the gasp. OK, feel better? Good, let's continue. Now, I'm not going to even suggest that these rat shack phones are better than the HD600s, CD3000, or the Stax Omega. However, in the world of crappy vertical phones for work-outs, they're actually not so bad.
Backstory
My old reliable Sony am/fm radio that I used forever for workouts died. I replaced it with the Aiwa CR LD101, a "lighter-sized" radio. This is apparently the best little am/fm radio on the market today with a friggin' belt clip (the Sanegan doesn't have one!!!!!!). Still, reception is not as good as my old Sony.
Anyway, since I had budget left over for some new phones, I decided to go with the herd and get a pair of Sporta Pros that supposedly use the same drivers as the beloved KSC-35.
Well, here's my quickie comparison:
1. The Koss is woolier and thinner than the rat shack
2. Koss' bass distorts horribly when the Aiwa's "bass boost" is engaged. The Rat shack phones have "less" bass than the Koss, but do not distort when bass boost is used. I leave the bass boost on when I have the rat shack phones on. It's really not necessary with the Koss, as bass is OK normally.
3. The rat shack phones have more, clearer treble and something that actually resembles a soundstage. Midrange is more "present" on the rat shack phones.
4. The Koss still have that "headphony" sound. The rat shack is more "natural" in terms of tone and timbre.
Overall, nod goes to rat shack! These are the best vertical phones I've heard (no I haven't heard the Sony A44L). However, if I hadn't heard the rat shack phones, I'd still be relatively pleased with the SportaPros.
And, no, I didn't do any listening through my microZOTL for this test as that would be silly. Also, this is based on one day's worth of listening to the SportaPros, but that's all I needed.
So what does this prove? It says to me that there are some hidden treasures out there in headphone land that do in fact beat out some other COMPARABLE headphones that are lauded on this site. So there.... or something!
Here is the link to the rat shack phones:
http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...5Fid=33%2D1133
I've got a pair of cheapie vertical phones from Rat Shack that I think are *overall* slightly BETTER than the lauded Koss work-out phones. No, I'm not joking.
Here's the original thread on my rat shack phones with some supporting comments from a few others (yes, this pre-dates the current Sony A44L controversy--I'm really not joking around):
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showth...ertical+phones
After comparing the rat shack phones to a brand new pair of Koss SportaPros, I'm surprised to find I like the rat shack better.
We pause for the gasp. OK, feel better? Good, let's continue. Now, I'm not going to even suggest that these rat shack phones are better than the HD600s, CD3000, or the Stax Omega. However, in the world of crappy vertical phones for work-outs, they're actually not so bad.
Backstory
My old reliable Sony am/fm radio that I used forever for workouts died. I replaced it with the Aiwa CR LD101, a "lighter-sized" radio. This is apparently the best little am/fm radio on the market today with a friggin' belt clip (the Sanegan doesn't have one!!!!!!). Still, reception is not as good as my old Sony.
Anyway, since I had budget left over for some new phones, I decided to go with the herd and get a pair of Sporta Pros that supposedly use the same drivers as the beloved KSC-35.
Well, here's my quickie comparison:
1. The Koss is woolier and thinner than the rat shack
2. Koss' bass distorts horribly when the Aiwa's "bass boost" is engaged. The Rat shack phones have "less" bass than the Koss, but do not distort when bass boost is used. I leave the bass boost on when I have the rat shack phones on. It's really not necessary with the Koss, as bass is OK normally.
3. The rat shack phones have more, clearer treble and something that actually resembles a soundstage. Midrange is more "present" on the rat shack phones.
4. The Koss still have that "headphony" sound. The rat shack is more "natural" in terms of tone and timbre.
Overall, nod goes to rat shack! These are the best vertical phones I've heard (no I haven't heard the Sony A44L). However, if I hadn't heard the rat shack phones, I'd still be relatively pleased with the SportaPros.
And, no, I didn't do any listening through my microZOTL for this test as that would be silly. Also, this is based on one day's worth of listening to the SportaPros, but that's all I needed.
So what does this prove? It says to me that there are some hidden treasures out there in headphone land that do in fact beat out some other COMPARABLE headphones that are lauded on this site. So there.... or something!
Here is the link to the rat shack phones:
http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...5Fid=33%2D1133