Koss UR40 Collapsible Over-Ear Headphones

Comment: this headphone is great except for 2 things: (1) the cord is too thin and easy to dislodge from the unit; (2) the unit itself is not loud enough, of course this is just my opinion, but that's what you asked for.

Comment: >i live in new york city so these are not as piratical or inconspicuous as the Sennheiser HD 202
>for about $30 you get a LOT more than if you were to buy scullcandy (hesh TI, ect) they break in like a month literally
>as a teenager a found these affordable and they sounded BETTER than any other skullcandy headphone ive tested (no distortion, and its not all BASS its able to separate everything hi's lo's mid's all wonderfully well
>open diaphragm (the opening on the outside that mesh thing outside of the speaker) was good when listening to rock and classical music where the low tones are not as accentuated
>hip hop sounds chrispy and clear (which is rare in a town where everyone wants giant woofers)
>eletronica (dubstep, house) sounds good the bass mixes well with the highs and kicks
>a lot of leaks but thats because its OPEN stupid its made for theater and studio use
>Vocals sound amazing (sometimes i listen to only vocals)
>had them for a year and there still sound like the day i got them (there was no break in period as with others)
> very comfortable they are super light and don't hot hot and sweaty after hours of use
>the BASS goes out at about 20 Hz HIGHS go out at about 14KHz tested it here [..]
the name is under my moms card im joe

Comment: I have always used Koss headphones, and this one was a mistake. The sound quality is 'OK' --no better or worse that most low-end headphones (i expected more, due to the specs, which is why i bought these). They are very comfortable, and very nice to look at, and have more than enough bass. However the cord is less that 3 feet long, which doesn't even allow me to lean back in my chair at me desk (i plug it into my desk speakers). One other thing i noted, is with very high volumes the sound takes on too much midrange (makes it sound like it's coming out of a cone).

Comment: that music could be so heavenly. My doctor and I were discussing earbuds -- I've purchased cheap ones and expensive ones and all of them make my ears ache.
He recommended The Koss UR40 -- the biggest problem I'm having is returning to reality. When I put them on and play anything from jazz, to classical to meditation it's as if I've been transported to another world.
Some reviews stated that the headphones had too much bass. I have a Sansa Fuze and went to settings and adjusted them to reduce the amount of bass -- the sound is perfect. With the jazz especially, I feel as if I'm listening to a private music session the sound quality is that realistic.
I've owned these a total of two days and have absolutely no complaints. I don't even care that they squash my hair. Who cares what the rest of the world thinks when I'm in music Heaven?
In addition the price through Amazon was fantastic -- brilliant shipping and super fast delivery.
Buy them -- you won't regret it.

Comment: The following categories are ranked in order of importance (with the top ones, like comfort, being most important for headphones in my opinion).

Comfort: 9/10
Sound: 8/10
Soundstage: 9/10
Bass: 7/10
Durability: 8/10
Value: 10/10
Isolation: 3/10 (after open modifications)
Style: 6/10
Volume Sensitivity: 9/10
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Overall: 9/10
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Comfort: 9/10
The comfort is insane on these headphones -- at this price point, you will not find full-size circumaural headphones with this much comfort. They're so comfortable that if they're within eyesight, you literally start to feel bad that your head isn't cushioned between those nice, puffy earpads. I've worn them for 7 hours straight (anime marathon) without any discomfort. The pressure of the earcups on the sides of my head is enough so that the headphones won't fall over if I'm jogging, and definitely nowhere near the pain from the Sennheiser HD202's vicegrip. It's also VERY lightweight for full-size headphones. The earcups vertically adjust to your ears really well (they have like 160 degrees of vertical rotation, mostly from its collapsible feature). My ears don't get warm/itchy wearing them. The only reason I didn't give it a 10/10 in this category is because the Panasonic RP-HT21 and Sennheiser PX100 beat the UR40 in comfort, but note that those aren't full size headphones anyway.

Sound: 8/10
Love it. LOVE it. I'm running these unamped, but I've heard the sound on these scales much better with a quality amp/DAC. Fun fact: these headphones have the legendary Koss KSC75 drivers built in -- these drivers are even praised by audiophiles for how amazing they sound at such a low price (Check the reviews for KSC75's sound). Scorewise, I'm playing it safe because I've never heard what the Sennheiser HD800 or other really high end headphones sound like, but they're probably a lot better (and 50 times pricier!). But make sure you give it some decent burn-in time -- at least 100 hours -- I didn't quite like the sound right out of the box, but they're sucking up my free time right now. The best thing is, the sound is actually really fun to listen to, unlike the dark, boring, cave-like sound from the Sennheiser HD202s.

Soundstage: 9/10
Try giving it some virtual surround sound, and just smile throughout the experience -- these headphones have great soundstage and positioning, especially if you mod out the foam behind the drivers. It sometimes feels like you know where every note is coming from, and some notes feel relatively farther away than other notes. Whenever I watch movies or any other high quality media with these on, I just can't help noticing how "real" everything sounds -- it almost feels like you're in a concert auditorium or movie theater, the soundstage is just that good. You're really in for a treat if you feed these headphones some high quality instrumental music (eg. I'm listening to the Final Fantasy X Original Soundtrack at the moment, and I know the game didn't sound this good through my TV speakers!)

Bass: 7/10
Honestly, I've never really owned real bassy headphones, so its possible that I may be a little off on this rating, but I just wish it had a bit more bass -- then it would be even more fun to listen to. I think that because the drivers are positioned at a small distance from your ears, you can't really "feel" the bass that well, but it's definitely there (unlike the Sennheiser PX100, which has less bass than the UR40, but since it's an on-ear type, you kind of "feel" the bass more with it than with the UR40). These do have adequate bass though -- it's the "full" kind of bass that you'd feel indirectly, as if you were at a band concert or movie theater -- just not the sharp kind of bass that shakes and hammers your head. Whether that's a pro or con for you is your decision.

Durability: 8/10
Yeah, it definitely has solid build. I know several people who have used these headphones for years. Just collapse them and stuff them in the corner of your backpack -- they're designed for this kind of treatment.

Value: 10/10
Really, the value is superb for $25 at Amazon, but I was lucky to steal these for much less elsewhere. I doubt you will find headphones with a better ratio of comfort, sound, soundstage, and durability than these under $50 (unless you absolutely need isolation).

Isolation: 3/10
The headphones I ordered came pre-modded without the foam behind the drivers, so the sound leaks like crazy. For me, if I put the music at a moderate listening volume, set them down and walk to the opposite corner of my dorm room, I can hear ~10% of the music pretty clearly. Although if you buy these retail, like from Amazon, the foam will be there, so you will probably get some more isolation when you buy these (albeit not very much more, I would imagine). And honestly, all I need to do is stick some heavy duty tape to the side grills to dampen the leakage, but I'm worried the clear, open, fun sound (especially the soundstage) will suffer as a result.

Style: 6/10
Yeah, they may look just a bit goofy on your head, but honestly, this barely fazes me. They're really designed with comfort and usability (collapsible) in mind first, and style second.

Volume Sensitivity: 9/10
Wow. Plug in my Panasonic RP-HT21, and turn up my laptop's volume to 45% for moderate listening volume. Plug in these headphones, and I have to turn down the volume to 25% for equivalent loudness. Take off the headphones and turn up the volume to 100%, and you've got full laptop-speaker sound. Really sensitive!

Misc:
It's collapsible! Yes, this feature isn't quite as prominent as with the Sennheiser PX100, but at least it's there. The cord length is only like 3-4 feet, which actually is a plus in my eyes -- if you need more cord length, just buy a cable extender (for a dollar if you know where to look).

Final thoughts:
Just buy it, and MAKE SURE to give it a lot of burn-in time in the beginning (basically, don't go with your first impression of how it sounds the day you receive it.) Really, if you burn it in, you won't be disappointed unless you're used to listening to $100 sound, or are looking for isolating headphones.

Out of the headphones I've listened to, I would recommend these over the Sennheiser PX100 (the sound on the UR40 just seems "fuller" (from its circumaural design) and more fun, and the Sennheisers cost more than the UR40), Sennheiser HD202 (hate 'em. Good sound quality (not as good as the UR40 though!), but terribly boring to listen to, and very uncomfortable), and Panasonic RP-HT21 (Honestly, I didn't know how tinny the sound from the Panasonics really were before listening to the UR40).

I dare you to find headphones with a better ratio of comfort, sound, soundstage, and durability than these headphones under $50.