7 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
The definitive review!
Date of Review: Oct 25, 2002
The Bottom Line: Excellent for bass-addicts who can't listen to music without good bass! Be prepared to fiddle quite a lot to get them to stay comfortably in your ears!
Before I start, don't be put off by the length of this review - it's all good stuff!
Having put up with some tinny little Sony earphones for ages, I desperately wanted some new earphones that would deliver great sound, but most importantly awesome bass response! The main reason for wanting new earphones (apart from the sound) was that I needed some decent phones to use with my new Apple iPod MP3 player - the supplied earphones were crud for bass.
I remember years ago seeing some in-ear type earphones that go right into your ear in a Maplin Electronics catalogue (I think it was the 2000-2001 edition) made by Koss, but the next year they were gone. I scoured the internet for companies in the UK that sold similar things (I live in the UK ...), and the only company I found was AdvancedMP3Players up in bonny Scotland. So I ordered them (safe in the knowledge that I had 7 days to return them if I didn't like them - fortunately I didn't need that!). Having read many reviews on web about the good and bad points of them, I still wanted to see if I could make them work for me.
As with most people, when I first tried them, I was heartily dissappointed. But not being the type to give up just like that, I kept persisting with them. You have to play with them a lot before a) you can get them comfortable, and b) you can get them to stay in your ears! The version I got appears to be a later model that the one other people are reviewing - mine are the ones shown on Koss's website - there isn't a stupid mute button, and it came supplied with lots of different foam pads of differing shapes and sizes. You need to try most of them before finding one that's right for you. The bog-standard conical ones seem to work best for me ...
Ah, that's much better! Once they'd formed themselves to my ears properly, the sound was incredible! Especially the bass - it was AWESOME for a set of such tiny earphones!
Not only do these earphones sound fantastic, but also because of their unique seal they create inside your ears, they really do block out a heck of a lot of sound around you - the only thing comparable is literally sticking your fingers in your ears! Go on! Try it - that's almost how effective they are at blocking outside sounds! (well, for me anyway!)
I'm looking into ordering some more foam pads, as I can almost guarentee they'll lose their ability to reshape sooner or later. Also, I want some sort of soft carrying case for them - I don't want to mess up the earphones and get a load of muck and dust on them ...
I find them really comfortable to wear, but only once I'd inserted them properly - otherwise ... ouch! The practically all-foam earpieces are so much more comfortable than just solid plastic or plastic with a stupidly-thin layer of foam on top like most other earphones are!
Also, the price is great for what it gives you! Although I've put $26, it was actually #16.95 in the UK, but I just converted it ... I've heard that the real McCoy in-ear headphones cost around #200 - not worth shelling out for unless you've got more money than sense!
I'd definately recommend these for any bass-junkie who a) can't listen to music without earth-shattering bass, and b) doesn't want to lug around a pair of huge headphones just to have good bass!
