Koss KPH14K Retro Style Headphone, Black, Lightweight, Wired 3.5mm Plug

very clear acoustics and great stereo separation, but no bass. perfect when walking, jogging, working out and shopping as you can hear outside noises in case you need to hear something. does not hurt your ears like headphones during polonged wearing as it fits inside your ear. it's true that headband is narrow so it can squeeze and hurt your head but you can stretch out the headband to fit.. it is well made and durable, probably worth twice the price.

I purchased these to replace my one-side-dead Sony MDR-A44 (shiny silver sides) and MDR-A34 (short cord from a minidisc player). Both were basically just like MDR-W08. (I haven't tried the Sonxtronics...) I find that in-ear over-the-head phones are perfect for long wear at a desk in a shared office environment. They need to have good sound, moderate sound isolation, low sound leakage (Koss KSC75 are my #1 headphone choice, but sound leaks out too much for my office neighbors), easier on/off the head than earbuds, and lightweight enough not to fatigue my noggin. These Koss HPH14K ticked all the boxes, except they squeezed my head so tight that I couldn't wear them for even 1/2 hour. They need a wider headband. No problem. Grab yourself some scissors and try to find some 1/4" inner-diameter flexible tube (mine is some kind of black fuel tube that I already had around). Shut your eyes and cut through the top-middle of the headband (actually you can just notch it a bit and then flex the band until it snaps). Cut your tube around 4" length. Stick each end of the headband about 1" into the tube. Presto; you're now adjustable in four places. Get a lighter tube, if possible, so that it's not heavy on top of your head. Four stars because the sound quality and price is right ($15!) but 1 star off for for the small-head people design (or maybe Koss thought people want these to be really tight for exercise).

Avoid these. Way too small for my adult head. Yes, the buds are adjustable, but they can't be extended far enough down, so they put extreme stress on the outer ears. It's like they're designed for a child's head?? Also, the plastic across the top is brittle; it snapped completely in two after just two months. Garbage.

In addition to inventing the Walkman, Sony also (apparently) invented the side-firing/vertical/call-it-what-you-will headphone. These headphones stay in your ears (yes in, not over) without needing to be press-fit like corks in wine bottles. They became somewhat popular among exercisers decades ago, which may explain why the disappearance of the headphones is so vociferously protested: the more sedentary users of other styles of headphones have long since died. ;-) As someone who refuses to hang up his running shoes despite the protestations of his knees, I too was alarmed by the disappearance of Sony’s side firing headphones. If needs be, I could run without running shoes, but without side-firing headphones? Horrors! For me, at least, the Koss KPH14 headphones are a perfectly adequate replacement. I do not know how the Koss headphones compare with the similar Sonys, nor do I think it is possible to make a comparison: over the years Sony would move the manufacture of their headphones from one exploited third world country to another such that the question “Are the Kosses better than the Sonys?” begs the retort “Which Sonys and when?”. I’ve used the Koss headphones for a couple of years, and I have no complaints whatever about their sound quality. I’m also totally satisfied with their construction quality. Despite using them at least -- or at most ;-) -- once a week for years, and often rinsing them after use, I’ve only had two pairs fail. One failed after I drove forty miles with its cord accidentally dangling out of my car door and bouncing across the asphalt, and the second failed when I snagged its cord on an immovable object while I was moving. The Koss headphones do have two notable/questionable quirks. First is the very generous length of their cord. If the cord is too short for you, good luck with your basketball career. Second is the size of their headband. As has been mentioned numerous times by others, the headband adjusts from very small to small. As a person with a large head and short hair, I am just able to achieve a comfortable fit by gently bending the headband around its middle and thereabouts. Bending them without heating the plastic risks breaking them, but one grows cocky with practice. Wearing them without bending them would not be at all comfortable. Other than heating the headband a bit before bending them, I have not found the more extreme methods mentioned by others necessary. One difference on the Koss KPH14 headphones is its connector. Rather than use a straight 1/8” (aka 3.5mm, if you’re a Commie ;-) connector, or a ninety degree connector, the Koss uses an approximately 45 degree connector. This is of no concern to me, but I thought it worth mentioning. Almost forgot: my recollection is that Sony made several different side-firing headphones with speakers of different diameters. The diameter of the speakers on the Sony MDR-W08 were, as I recall, of the smallest sizes produced. I have not measured them, but the Koss speakers are of a very similar size; possibly identical.

I'll start out with the pros first: - These headphones are pretty inexpensive, which my wallet and I are thankful for. - The sound quality is excellent. The audio that I listen to comes in loud and clear, which I couldn't say for other headphones that I've tried in the past. The cons: - I've mentioned the excellent sound quality, but the product details describe ambient awareness, which I took to mean that even though I'm wearing the headphones, I can still hear things that are going on around me. In this case, I hear nothing but the audio in my ears. For some people, that may be a good thing. But if you're going on a jog or, in my case, working in an office, you need to hear what's going on around you. Especially when my boss walks in, stands at my door, and repeats my name several times before I'm even aware of his presence. - They have an adjustable band that snags on my hair when I try to take them off. - Even though the headphones are adjustable, they're very snug. I don't have a very big head, and the ear buds feel like they're hugging the sides of my head for dear life. This has actually caused scrapes on the inside of my ear that have gotten very sore, to the point where I have to take them off for long periods of time at work. I'm not loving that. - And finally, the main reason why I decided to write a review of these headphones, the headband snapped in two while I tried to take them off. They're not resilient, obviously, but just trying to lift them off of my head, and the band snaps? Ridiculous. I'm currently holding them together with a couple of pieces of scotch tape until the new headphones I just ordered from SONXTRONIC arrives. I only had them for a couple of months. I bought these in April, I think. It's only June. I understand that they're cheap, so i guess you get what you pay for, but I was hoping to get at least half a year out of them before having to come back to Amazon for a new pair. I've actually purchased these in the past, but I think this will be my last time getting this specific brand. I wasn't satisfied with this purchase, at all.

So, I got my KOSS headset yesterday around 4:00 p.m.. The fit is good and the sound is good. Why did I give it 5 stars? It is because of the ease of putting them on ! I only have partial use of one hand and putting in earbuds and keeping them in was hard to do. I would need help and then, if they fell out, and sometime my hand would get caught in the wires and I would pull them out (which frequently happened,) I would need help. I have a LARGE head, so instead of putting them over my head, I slide them from my cheeks back to my ears and then stand them up. The plastic headband is not flexible like the old Sony, so they shouldn't be pulled. I think that I may have a solution. I am ordering a wired girls' headband. I will Gorilla glue the metal headband to the headset band. I will update afterwards ! I connected my HonShoop blu-tooth dongle and now I can listen to and control music, call and receive calls and adjust volume with zero help! I am ordering a second headset today to experiment on. Being disabled, I am always looking for ways to make my life easier and more comfortable : ) P.S. Even headsets with earhooks would not stay in ! I feel asleep watching videos and listenng with my KOSS headset. I had no ear pain. UPDATE; I had no ear pain for over a week , then I fell asleep and my head had rolled to the right and then, ouch ! I have not been able to experiment with the wire headbands yet. I still like my Koss headset ,but I am more careful. If I am watching TV late, I will take the right side out and let it rest behind my ear.

I currently have a Sony DR-BT22, a MDR-A30 and a MDR-W24. I also had a countless number of Sony headphones and earphones from the good old days. The Sony's from the good old days sounded really great. I try to find one that is as good as any of the Sony. This Koss KPH14W is not it. The spec printed on the box is as follows. 3.5 mm plug 4 feet long cord 100 - 15,000 Hz 18 Ohms 104 dB SPL This Koss sounds average at best. I think the best I can describe the differences is that the Sony's sound like an expensive 2.1 speaker system with clean sound and house-shaking bass. The Koss is just a very average 2.0 speaker system. It is not FM/AM radio bad. It is just average. Your car radio sounds better. The fit of the Koss is very bad. It is for kid with small head. The Koss is at least an inch shorter than the Sony. The plastic material is hard plastic. It clamps to my head and inside my ears so tight. It hurts. Compared the plastic from the Sony, the Sony uses soft flexible rubbery plastic. The Sony is soft like a pillow but very supportive at the same time. I have to follow the advice from the other reviewers. I use my hair dryer to soften the plastic. So, I can bent it wider. Even it is wider, it is still too short and not comfortable. On the positive side, the Koss has the longest cord. It is 4 feet long. The plug is in a 140 degree angle. I have some pictures. The white one is the Koss. The picture with the Koss inside the packaging is how tight it is. It is a clamp. You can see how wide I have to bent it to fit better. I cannot recommend this Koss. It is too small for an adult and the sound is just average.

I worked for at a Frys electronics around 2002-2005 so the store discounts allowed me to buy the Sony MDR-W08L for around $7.00. one day i go a tip from my manager that sony was discontinuing the headphones and before the store opened he let me buy the left over stock of 22 at $6.00 for $140 he thought i was crazy but even as of 2023 the sony MDR-W08L are still the best running headphones ever made. now in 2023 im down to 9x still in box and 2x in various working conditions so im looking for an alternative, and the Koss is the closest to the sound quality of the original Sony; id say about 98% close to the sony headset quality; and they are affordable only draw back is they are uncomfortable, very little room for adjustment they grip right into your ears the SONXTRONIC Xdr-8000 are 2x the price but have the same feel and comfort of the original Sony mdr but plastic frame is brittle and the sound quality is no better than the Koss I really don't get this generation, i tried ear buds, you have to jam the things tight in your ear to stick. They either leave your ears sore or you end up loosing them. so take your pick, me i want a time machine back to 2003

ビデオの編集で夏にヘッドフォン使うと暑いので、前はオーディオテクニカの顎からかける小さいの使ってたけれども、それも廃盤になって久しく、予備も無くなったので買ってみたけれども 音は悪いしどうしようもないな。音に慣れたら聞くくらいには使えるかな、、、w 頭の上から掛けると耳にとどかないしな（デカイ頭でもないのだが） 逆向きで使うならマアマア使えるかレベル。ただし音は酷いな。 モニタには使えない。聞こえているだけって感じかなw ま、久しぶりに笑えるヘッドフォンだった。が、他にこういうの無いからな、、、w とりあえず使ってみるけれど、、、、w 普通の人は買わない方がいいと思うよ

他のレビューにも小さいってあって、まさかとは思ったけど・・・ マジで小さすぎる。 子供用かと思った

Child sized. Does not fit an adult’s head.

Hallo zusammen, da kamen Erinnerungen, als ich diesen Kopfhörer probe, gehört habe, es war wie früher. Dieser offene Kopfhörer hatte Sony auf dem Markt gebracht, mit dem Sport Walkman, später konnte man diesen Kopfhörer auch einzeln kaufen und wurde bis zur Einstellung verbessert. Wie ist aber nun dieser Koss Kopfhörer? Ich hatte ein Problem, vermutlich ist der Koss kph14b für schlanke wohlgeformte Köpfe geeignet, daher hat jetzt meine Mutti bekommen. Also der Bügel könnte bei mir noch mehr in der Größe einstellbar sein, bei mir geht es gerade so aber zu wenig. Zum Klang: das Empfinden ist für jeden Hörer anders, bei mir kam es so vor, als hätte ich die erste Generation in Verwendung wie damals. Man hört seine Umgebung sehr deutlich und vom Bass nicht so viel hängt auch ab, was ich für Musikrichtung verwende und auch wie der Kopfhörer am Kopf sitzt. Ich wäre zufrieden gewesen, wenn der Koss kph14b besser auf meinem Köpfchen gepasst hätte, ein leichter Sommer Kopfhörer, was will man mehr. Aber nun zur Firma Koss sollte mein Kommentar von Koss gelesen werden (vermutlich nicht) hätte ich ein Paar wünsche. 1. Dass dieser auch bei größeren Köpfen passt 2. Ein Kabel benutzen, das sich nicht verwickelt 3. Einen besseren stabileren Bügel zu entwerfen 4. Etwas mehr Bass 5. Faltbar ganz wichtig für mich. Wenn es also eine verbesserte Version geben würde, würde ich diesen nochmals bestellen.

audio muy mejorable