[fewtch]

... and they sound as expected for the price... schweet! In fact, they're just good enough that I may use them with my main rig for the infrequent occasions I listen to guitar rock and other music where a lot of thump & slam increases the enjoyment factor. I was thinking about more classic 'groovalizers' but these are pretty groovy cans... they're realy bottom heavy, but not as bad as Koss KTX-Pro. Although bass is really emphasized, it's not muddy or one-note like the KTX-pro was. Best $20 I've ever spent on a pair of headphones

.

Edit -- they're also really light and comfortable too... the pads above the earpieces help a great deal.

 

[fewtch]

As I listen to these cans, I'm increasingly impressed by their midrange. Bass is strong and very heavy, but it doesn't overwhelm the midrange like it does with the KTX-Pro. What's impressing me is that I'm picking out words of songs that my brain normally glosses over... in fact, they're jumping out at me. You know how some singers are hard to understand? 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. I'm assuming this is a midrange strength, but it whatever it is, seems to me to be the strong point of the Portapro2's.

 

[raif]

my m-audio transit has been causing itunes to crash,(???? I know) so the ipod->pp2 has become my main listening rig.

Maybe it is because my standards are really low, but I have actually been enjoying this setup alot more than I would have thought.

And just to avoid the whole Flavor of the Month moniker, and the impossible expectations it brings, NO these won't replace your sennheisers or cd3ks.

However, if you have $20 bucks and like "grooving" low end, you could do much, much worse than these, at even three times the price.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raif my m-audio transit has been causing itunes to crash,(???? I know) so the ipod->pp2 has become my main listening rig. Maybe it is because my standards are really low, but I have actually been enjoying this setup alot more than I would have thought.

I don't think your standards are low. I tried to go back to Denon AH-D950s ($100+ headphones) at one point and found them to sound terrible, no midrange and horrible/grating highs. But I'm having no trouble listening to Portapro2's after listening to nothing but HD600s for a long time. The bass is heavy but not to the point of overwhelming the music, and midrange/treble are really very nice to my ears. IMO if the bass could somehow be tamed, these might sound as good as some of the higher end cans we listen to around here.

 

[minya]

Low-end Koss headphones are awesome. My KSC35s rule and I love listening to them (even though my home rig is a lot pricier and a lot better, they have an amazing fun-factor that can't be beat).

- Chris

 

[TMC]

Strange that no one has done any direct comparison with the original portapro since there should be a lot of owners out there. Right now I just have a feeling these are unfoldable portapros, which would explain why they cost that much less.

 

[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMC Strange that no one has done any direct comparison with the original portapro since there should be a lot of owners out there. Right now I just have a feeling these are unfoldable portapros, which would explain why they cost that much less.

They are collapsible.

 

[Steve999]

Fewtch! Youv'e discovered portapros!

On the original portapros I used the comfort zone setting to get the pads away from my ears and the sound became excellent. I've since cheated a little and bent the headband just above the temple pads to get the pads off my ears a little more permanently, and I use the comfort zone setting for fine tuning. I can get the highs to sound anywhere from subdued to strident this way, and the bass diminshes as the pads come of off of the ears. The sound on the original portapros is really quite nice after doing this. Maybe the bending would work on the PP2s. Bend the headband inward just above the temple pads and the pads may pivot outwards if it's like the portapros. It's easily reversible, the metal headband seems to have no memory effect and doesn't break. I could run off a list of well-regarded $100 and less headphones that I don't like as much as my portapros, but it would be as much flame-bait as anything else. So I won't. But I could.

Thumpin' bass, nice mids, not so bad highs.... portapros.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch I don't think your standards are low. I tried to go back to Denon AH-D950s ($100+ headphones) at one point and found them to sound terrible, no midrange and horrible/grating highs. But I'm having no trouble listening to Portapro2's after listening to nothing but HD600s for a long time. The bass is heavy but not to the point of overwhelming the music, and midrange/treble are really very nice to my ears. IMO if the bass could somehow be tamed, these might sound as good as some of the higher end cans we listen to around here.

 

[TimSchirmer]

These sound a lot boomier than i remember my KSC-35's being. Since i paid 40$ for them, back to circuit city they go.

 

[Iron_Dreamer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TimSchirmer These sound a lot boomier than i remember my KSC-35's being. Since i paid 40$ for them, back to circuit city they go.

IME PP's are definitely bassier than KSC35's, so that doesn't really suprise me. I think the bass of the PP's is far too much as well.

 

[TMC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fewtch They are collapsible.

A little more research show you're right, I read about them not being foldable from another user. Looks like they are cheaper portapros without the ability to change the "comfort zone" pads. $20 is nice but I can't say I've ever liked the portapros boomy bass.

 

[fewtch]

It's very strong bass, but doesn't sound boomy or one-note to my ears (and doesn't overwhelm midrange, which kinda surprises me considering the amount of bass). I think I can tolerate it with certain kinds of music (well recorded pop and rock). I can see it would be enough to bother some people, but it's OK by me because the quality of mids and highs is quite good to my ears.

 

[raif]

I have fewtch's back on this one. The bass is very strong, and "punchy" but it doesn't bleed all over the rest of the sound, like with the sony ex-71.

EDIT: Actually, I think boomy is a good term, but boomy in a good way.

 

[HD-5000]

I am buying these headphones soon. I had KSC-55's, but I gave them away...

His reaction:

OMG THE BASS!!!!!!!!!!1

 

[ooheadsoo]

I've always loved my portapros. On some nights, when I'm feeling crazy, I wonder why I bought my HD580's...then again, I gave my 580's to a friend and picked up some HD600's which goes to show you just how crazy I am. The portapros are some great phones! After listening to my senn px200's for months and switching back to my portapros, I'm just struck by how lively the music sounds. I don't think it does anything horribly wrong and does all sorts of things right. I will probably only use the px200's from now on when I go to loud noisy places.