Koss proves that good sound doesn't have to cost a fortune.

If you&'re one of my fellow apartment dwellers, you know what it feels like to want to crank up your tunes without disturbing your neighbors. Headphones seem like the perfect solution, right? Well, yes and no. There are many different brands, sizes and types of headphones out there at various price levels. Shopping for headphones isn't easy. Most of your local retailers don't make it any easier. They rarely have a display set up in a way that allows you to objectively evaluate the various headphones they sell. Even when they do, they usually don't have them supplied with a quality audio source. Thus, the typical shopper basically has to go by brand name or word of mouth whilst making his/her choice.

Believe it or not, you can spend a bundle on a set of headphones. There are 'phones available that cost thousands! Well, if you have a top notch amplifier and the cash to spend, that sort of investment might make sense. If you're like me, you just want reasonable comfort, decent sound and a reasonable price. Enter the Koss UR-30

I had a pair of lower end Sennheisers that I was initially quite happy with. Over time, though, I noticed that the low end distortion was pretty bad with the Sennheisers. I tried several other sets of phones, mostly sets costing less than $30. After being very disappointed with all of these, I was very tempted to look upwards into the 2-300 dollar range but decided to give Koss a shot. I spent $29.95 + tax on the Ur-30s and took them home, not expecting a lot.

You can never really judge a speaker or a set of headphones by their specifications. Thus, the specs on the package really didn't influence my purchase decision very much. Still, I wanted something with good sensitivity, since my receiver is a lowly Kenwood and I might want to use them with a Discman or something later on. These are listed at 101db, which looks pretty good on paper. They're also listed as having a frequency response of 18-20,000 HZ. Because I'm nearly 30, and also because I've not been exactly protective of my hearing over the years, this probably more than covers what my ears can hear. Considering that I plan to use these with my home system only, I also wanted something with a longer cable. I would have preferred a 10 foot cable but the 8 feet supplied with these is adequate.

Upon getting them home and opening the package, I was pleasantly surprised with their initial quality. Although they're constructed of mostly plastic (like most things these days), they feel pretty sturdy and solid. The ear cups are surrounded by a soft leatherette material that's pretty comfortable resting against the head. The pleather surrounds most average ears completely. It doesn't touch or squish my ears at all (A definite plus if you plan on listening for any length of time). The part of the headband that comes into contact with your scalp while wearing them is some sort of woven nylon and isn't uncomfortable at all (Although it might be a little scratchy or itchy if you're bald). The Ur-30s are actually quite comfortable to wear, in spite of their size. The only time when comfort might be an issue is if you're listening while laying down, for obvious reasons. These are touted for being collapsible for portability but I really didn't have that in mind when I bought them. If that matters to you, they do fold up into a fairly portable ball for relatively easy storage in a backpack or something of similar size.

How do they sound? Let's face it, this is the biggest factor. As I said, I wasn't expecting much when I bought them and they far exceeded my expectations. The sound is pleasing. There is some distortion in the bass and the bass is somewhat emphasized but they don't sound extremely muddy on my system like the Sennheisers I had before. The bass is solid but not extremely distorted or overpowering. The highs are pleasing and not at all harsh (Though they're not exactly very detailed or accurate). Voices sound natural and fairly detailed. I've watched many movies on my PC using these for the audio and have been very satisfied with their performance. They do seem to be better suited to games and movies than they do music but they'll reproduce music in an acceptable manner if you're not really picky about sound quality.

I really like the closed design of these. The leatherette surrounds isolate me from environmental noise and leave me with only the music or audio with no annoying distractions. I was actually surprised by how much of a difference this makes in my ability to focus on the music. Of course, this also serves to seal the sound in, so that you don't disturb anyone. In short, if I didn't know any better, I'd say these things cost at least twice what I paid for them. We're definitely not talking about audiophile quality here but you really can't beat this sound at this price. Better headphones are available in this price range but you typically can't just go out to your local Wal-Mart and purchase them. In my area they're currently only available by mail order and that's something I normally don't do with speakers or headphones. I haven't tried theses with a portable and therefore can't comment on whether they're as good for that application as they are for my Kenwood home receiver. If I had to guess, however, I'd say they should blow away the phones that come packed with most portables. They do seem to be quite sensitive.

Overall, the comfort, sound and price of these is hard to match in low cost consumer headphones. These get a five star rating from me for their value.