[Rizumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch These Portapro2's have a certain midrange clarity that makes the words of songs easier to understand than I've heard from many headphones much more expensive.

It's called buy a headphone other than HD600...and you will hear midrange!

The PortaPro's are definitely more boomy than KSC-35's, and not quite as bright. The mids are better on the PortaPro though, I think...I dunno, they're both really fun and close enough in sound that you can't go wrong with either. I sort of prefer the PortaPro since you can sleep with it much easier than with the KSC-35 due to the shape of the cups, and the fact that the KSC-35 pinches my ears after prolonged use. But yeah. I need to pick up some PP2's for myself as I own neither anymore.

 

[hottyson]

The Koss PortaPro has the boomiest bass of any headphone that I have ever heard. Bass completely lacks definition. The bass can be a tad overwhelming but not as much as the Beyerdynamic DT-770. I can't stand the painful bass of the Beyerdynamic DT-770 but at least it is tight, deep, and defined bass.

The bass of the Koss PortaPro improves a little bit with better amplification. davei has mentioned before that his "Oehlbach 120ohm adapter with PortaPros helped the bass quite a bit." I would like to build a similar adapter to use with the Koss PortaPro and PortaPro2. A couple of resistors and connectors should only cost a few dollars.

Even though it has the boomiest bass, I love the Koss PortaPro for it's value. For the price you can't go wrong. Now that the PortaPro2 is available and only $20 I think that they are an amazing steal if Koss has indeed used the same drivers.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rizumu It's called buy a headphone other than HD600...and you will hear midrange!

I sort of agree that the HD600s don't have the world's best midrange (it's somewhat distant and not too transparent)... but imho they do so many other things right that it really doesn't matter to me.
Quote:

The PortaPro's are definitely more boomy than KSC-35's, and not quite as bright.

My personal definition of "boomy" is when bass overwhelms the rest of the frequency range... for example, a lot of cheap car subwoofers are boomy. The Portapro's bass is heavy and overemphasized, but to my ears is not at all boomy. I can't stand boomy bass, and wouldn't be able to listen to them if the bass was overwhelming the midrange.
Quote:

Originally Posted by hottyson The Koss PortaPro has the boomiest bass of any headphone that I have ever heard. Bass completely lacks definition.

You certainly have a right to your opinion, but I don't agree with it. Could be that this is at least partially amp-dependent. It's not what I'd call tight bass, but it isn't lacking in definition to my ears.

 

[hottyson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch I can't stand boomy bass, and wouldn't be able to listen to them if the bass was overwhelming the midrange.

Ah, gotcha. Boomy-ness to me is lack of definition. What you might call "muddy" bass. The over abundance of bass I like to refer to as “groovalizing.”

 

[ReDVsion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hottyson The over abundance of bass I like to refer to as “groovalizing.”

Hey now, that's only part of the groovalizer experience.

 

[blessingx]

They sound pertty good out of the MG-Head via an Etys 4P/S adapter. Female vocals (always my test) are especially nice for the price.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blessingx They sound pertty good out of the MG-Head via an Etys 4P/S adapter. Female vocals (always my test) are especially nice for the price.

So are you actually increasing the impedance when listening via the 4P/4S adapter? Any sonic difference (aside from volume) between that and listening straight out of the amp?

P.S. one thing the PP2 has really made me aware of is the missing treble around 8 KHz with the HD600s, and how certain things like cymbals sound a little unnatural because of it. Switching back though, I could hear the far better HD600 coherence, and just how jaw-droppingly boosted the PP2 bass is.

 

[hottyson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch Best $20 I've ever spent on a pair of headphones .

Me too. Best purchase since the eCost Sony MDR-CD780.

In the middle of typing in this thread I just got up and went to Circuit City to pick two sets up. I was going to wait until tomorrow but I was too curious about how they might sound and my impatience got the best of me.

I pluged the Koss PortaPro2 into my Ray Samuels Emmeline XP-7 headphone amplifier. My source was a Denon DCD-1500 cd player. They are connected by short one-foot long Canare interconnects. Out of the box the Koss PortaPro2 definitely sounded different than my Koss PortaPro. The bass was not as prominent and was not able to produce the lows as the original. The midrange and the highs of the PortaPro2 sounded pretty good but a little recessed compared to the PortaPro. Probably since my PortaPro has the dime sized hole modification in the center of the ear pads and the PortaPro2 still needs to be burned-in.

So, right now the new Koss PortaPro2 is going through burn-in in the spare bedroom. As usual, Techmaster PEB - Bass Computer is the cd I am using for burn-in. I will let it burn in for a couple of days and then perform the dime sized hole modification. I will report back my findings afterward.

 

[gsferrari]

HOLY cow!!!

I just got my pair of pair of pp2's !!! (actually got them some time back but just didnt bother to listen to them...)

Straight out of the box - superb bass...very very groovy

Mind you - I am using a cold Headroom Max to power them. I am shocked by the Bass depth and extension. Its not flabby at all. Definitely NOT a single note bass...

Treble is not over the top. nice balance...could use more midrange but $20.00 is all they cost me. I am VERY VERY pleased...

I will have to compare with the Grado SR-60 after I break these in. Playing the Klipsch THX Bass test song through them....

cables are very microphonic though...

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsferrari Mind you - I am using a cold Headroom Max to power them. I am shocked by the Bass depth and extension. Its not flabby at all. Definitely NOT a single note bass...

It sounds pretty good with my maxed-out Meta42 as well, but definitely it's in extreme quantity. Switching back to HD600s it becomes all too obvious... bass must be 10 to 15dB above flat, at least.
Quote:

Treble is not over the top. nice balance...could use more midrange but $20.00 is all they cost me. I am VERY VERY pleased...

So am I... except for bass, the balance is really good. They have a certain lush, airy sound slightly reminiscent of HD580/600, except much less coherent and refined. For the price tho, who's complaining?

. They sound good with rock and pop... I wouldn't use them for live/acoustic music, at least if I had a choice of something better.
Quote:

cables are very microphonic though...

Yeah, I get that too...

 

[phonatic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch So am I... except for bass, the balance is really good. They have a certain lush, airy sound slightly reminiscent of HD580/600, except much less coherent and refined. For the price tho, who's complaining? . They sound good with rock and pop... I wouldn't use them for live/acoustic music, at least if I had a choice of something better.

Glad to read I'm not the only one who finds some kinship between the PP and the HD580. And that the PP2 is no letdown.

Since they seem to employ the same driver as the other PP-based models, you should find the sound becomes more balanced after extended use. The bass will still be extreme, but the mids and treble will come up a bit and it won't seem quite so bloated anymore.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by phonatic Glad to read I'm not the only one who finds some kinship between the PP and the HD580. And that the PP2 is no letdown. Since they seem to employ the same driver as the other PP-based models, you should find the sound becomes more balanced after extended use. The bass will still be extreme, but the mids and treble will come up a bit and it won't seem quite so bloated anymore.

Reporting back after nearly a year and a half... yes, the bass has improved somewhat with burn-in. Proper amping really helps with these cans too, straight out of portables they don't sound nearly as good IMO.

I still use them fairly regularly, and they show no signs of damage from regular (but careful) use. Still wanting to hear them with a 75-ohm adapter, but nobody sells these adapters at a reasonable price anymore. One of these days, I will make one.

 

[kramer5150]

Yet another satisfied Koss 60 Ohm user.

The PP2 is on my list.... But Ive been completely happy with the KSC75.

Can you do me a favor and peek under the earpad foam? Is the driver diaphragm shiny, silver metallic... or is it transparent?

Thanks,
Garrett

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer5150 Can you do me a favor and peek under the earpad foam? Is the driver diaphragm shiny, silver metallic... or is it transparent?

Rather not risk tearing the foam... maybe someone else has more courage and can do this for you.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch Rather not risk tearing the foam... maybe someone else has more courage and can do this for you.