Frequency response: 10Hz20kHzDynamic element for extended frequency responseUnique earbud design directs sound into ear canalSpecialty ear cushion material forms to fit in the ear canalIncludes replacement ear cushionsShipping package dimensions: 8x4x1 (len x wid x dep)
Koss's miniature portable earphone, affectionately dubbed "The Plug," makes use of an ear-cushion material (similar to that used in sound-blocking earplugs) that slowly expands in your ear canal to provide a custom fit and maximum sonic isolation from external noises. A detachable, extrawide headband makes these Koss-termed "stereophones" easy to carry or store.
For accurate sound reproduction, these earbud-style headphones are made with oxygen-free copper voice coils and neodymium iron boron magnets. You can enjoy them with either a portable or home audio device, since both 0.125-inch and 0.25-inch adapter jacks are included.
"The Plug" weighs a mere quarter ounce and has a frequency response rated at an impressive 16 to 23,000 Hz (though its unlikely you'll hear bass output anywhere close to what you'd get from a similarly rated loudspeaker!).
Impedance is 16 ohms, with less than a 0.3 percent distortion and reasonably high sensitivity of 112 dB SPL/1 mW. The straight, 4-foot cord is outfitted with a handy mute switch.
This item comes with a carrying case and a manufacturer's lifetime warranty.
1 An average cheap earplug
I just bought this KOSS The Plug few days before. And intended to use it with my newly bought iAUDIO M3L DAP.
I also own an old SONY EX71 earplug, too.
First thing I noticed about the plug, is the extremely difficult to wear it. The foam itself is good but once they are in your ear canal, they want to get out, inch by an inch.
The sound quality is very sensitive by how you wear the plug. If you wear then just slightly wrong, the whole sound is gone.
Second thing I noticed is the high bloated bass. I read many places that the SONY EX71 actually has a very muddy and unclear bass that so overwhelming. But, the plug has EVEN MORE bass than my EX71. It is even more muddy than EX71, because it is TOO CLOSE to ear drum.
Mids and Highs are little bit weaker than my EX71.
In a conclusion, this earphone is not bad for it's price. But if you are looking for good quality earphone/canalphone, just don't buy it.
2 Garbage
I would have felt better if $20 would have blown away in the wind. At least someone would find it and it would have made their day.
The fit? Horrible. They come with 4 differant sized plugs. The material reforms to shape too fast and does not allow for time to properly position. Once in, they want to work their way out.
The sound. Like listening to music underwater. Mucky bass and no highs.
I am very dissapointed with them and have thrown them away so I do not have to look at them to be reminded how I wasted good money. Time for me to step up and buy some decent phones. You get what you pay for.
3 Excellent sound quality for their price
I bought these earbuds a year ago, and I have used them A LOT. I use them almost every day on my way to school, on my way home from school and when I go to sleep at night.
First what I like about them. They do an excellent job of cutting outside noise. When I have them in and the music is playing, I can literally not hear anything but my music, even at a middle of the range volume. Because they block out so much noise, you don't need to have your music as loud to hear it well, so that is a big plus for me. I dont have any trouble getting them to stick in my ears like some other people. It took a little bit to figure out how to get them in comfortably, but its no problem now.
There are of course some things I don't like about them. When I wear them for long periods of time, (2 or more continuous hours), they start to get a bit uncomfortable in my ears. Just recently, I have had the problem of the foam buds falling off. This problem could easily be fixed with a tiny bit of glue to help hold them on, but I am nervous about permanently gluing them on because the foam is starting to fall apart a bit on the tip. Once again, this is because of how much I have used them (I misplaced the extra foam buds shortly after I got them).
I have tried using over the ear type of headphones since I got these, but they just don't off the same level of passive noise cancelling that these do.
Overall, these are great headphone, in my opinion. Even though there are a few annoying issues that arise after a year of very regular use, i still think they deserve 5 stars, especially considering how much they cost.
4 Good idea; didn't work for me
Not a good set of headphones but the isolation-effect is noticable over a pair of standard iPod earbuds; but the bass is SO good, it drowns out the higher freqs and trebles; also, impossible for me to exercise with these, they simply would not stay seated in my ears. If you exercise regularly, you know that a lot of heat is expended through the top of your head, your eyes and your ears. If you can get these seated in your ears (believe me, I worked harder at this task than I did exercising--and it's very irritating to stop in the middle of a run or workout to try and replace a plug that popped out), it quickly becomes very uncomfortable. Despite the uber-minimal weight of the actual product, you are VERY aware that these things are jammed down in your ears; they're uncomfortable and hot (if you wear them right, your ear canal is completely 'plugged' up). I returned them after one day. the original iPod earbuds (the headphones that came with your system) are still the best overall.
5 Good for those with large ears
I'm giving a 4 star review for these earphones with a couple big caveats. I've owned a lot of portable headphones throughout the years and most recently have used a set of Koss SportaPros that have served me well; they sound good (not as good as the PortaPros, but still good) and were pretty cheap. But they leak sound terribly, meaning they're not a great choice for listening on a crowded subway or while at work, and also are not that convenient to carry around. When I recently bought an iPod and finally got to try out some in-ear headphones, I loved the convenience of being able to stuff both my player and the phones into one pocket when not in use, but I never could get the stock iPod headphones to fit my ear. They didn't sound particularly good either. So I knew I wanted to try something else.
I first bought a pair of Sennheiser MX-500's, and while I actually liked their sound a lot (better than the stock iPod phones), they didn't fit my ears any better. They'd fall out even if I so much as turned my head to one side. One of my co-workers then recommended The Plug, and at such a low price I figured I'd give them a shot.
I've now spent a few days with mine and my feelings on the whole are mixed, but I do feel these earphones are a pretty good value. Most importantly to me is that so far, they're the only in-ear headphones I've found that don't seem to require constant fiddling to ensure they stay in place. I do have to use the largest of the several types of included cushions - I apparently have very large ear canals - but they seem fairly secure (though not tight) once they're in there. Some people may find this type of earphone uncomfortable - you really have to place them well up into your ear canals (make sure you clean your ears well every day!) - but I find them much more comfortable than the standard designs included with most portable players because you don't have this piece of hard plastic wedged into your ear.
Sound-wise, I'd say they're fine, though certainly not remarkable. My MX-500's sound better, and my SportaPros sound a *lot* better. I'd put these about on par with the included iPod headphones. They're pretty bass and mid-range heavy, though like other in-ear headphones the "bass" isn't really very bassy - it cuts off well above what most larger headphones can reproduce. It ends up sounding a bit forced and artificially juiced, and there's a lot of this fake "bass". On the high end, there's a lack of clarity - things like cymbal crashes sound "muddy" and ragged. This is typical of low-end headphones of any type.
Still, I'd rate the sound "good enough" considering the application most people will use these for (portable listening), and considering the increased comfort and dramatically better physical stability vs. more conventionally-designed in-ear headphones.
6 For Bass-heads ONLY
"The Plug" offers VERY poor balance across the sound spectrum, they are very bass heavy/boomy, resulting in a very muddy sound. Unless you listen to your music with the bass turned ALL the way up, I suggest looking elsewhere. Also, the acoustic tube is far too rigid and can scratch/gouge your ear canal. Overall, a poor choice.
7 Great sound
Good solid earbuds. The sound is surprisingly good, really a step up from the cheap sony $9.99 earbuds. They are very comfortable, and stay in your ear well. I can't stand the feeling of that coarse foam that is used on most headphones, so these are a great alternative. Also, the 4' cord is nice, compared to most other earbuds that only have a 3' cord. The only potential problem I see, is that the cord is fairly small gage wire, hope it doesn't break, but they do have a lifetime warranty.
8 great sound
the only thing i'd like to see changed is the thin cord, other than that the sound is great. i returned a $100 pair of shure e2c's for these because the sound is so much richer. the shure's are better built, more heavy duty but the sound.....ugh. at $20 you can afford to replace them when you lose them like i did once already.
9 Not that good
The ear buds arent as comfortable as most others on the market and the sony fontopias sound much better, are more comfortable, and only cost a little more. These earbuds also didnt stay in my ear despite their manual on how to customize the fit.
10 The Pluys
Great headphones for the money. Takes some getting use to with putting them in your ears. After stuffing them in for 2 weeks and having them constantly fall out, I finally got the hang of it. Roll and squish them in your fingers then twist them in, don't force them or it wont sit properly. I've had them for about a year and on my 2nd set (cord broke) after looking at "The Plug" mod site I tried adding a drop of epoxy on the vents on the backside to tame the boomy bass. Damn, what a difference! There is now more definition on bass edges as well as more kick. It seems as if it softened the lower midbass hump and extended the extreme lower end(6db roll off due the close box factor??? Who knows.) The mids seem more prominent also but that just might be in my head. But if you feel like modding them try 1st placing your fingers over the vents as you listen then remove them while still applying the same pressure to the Plugs into your ears. Good luck.
11 Just OK. Make sure you know what you're getting them for.
I own several pairs of headphones: these, the Sony Fontopia EX-71's, the Creative Labs earbuds, and a big over-the-ear set of Sony stereophones. I have a very varied use for my headphones, and each serves its purpose. As that implies, these Koss Plugs are NOT all-purpose headphones.
These don't work for the gym because the porous cushions will get sweat logged in them and become gross quickly. The Sony EX-71's, by contrast, use rubber cushions which can be rinsed off and stay new for a long time.
These don't work for walking around town because they create a "seal" around the ears which makes navigating around cars and pedestrians dangerous- they block out all exterior sound. The Creative Labs phones are superior for this purpose.
These are, however, fantastic studying headphones. I can take these to a noisy coffeeshop and they create almost full silence without any music on; putting music on softly puts you in your own world.
Generally, these are decent headphones and excellent for the cost. They tend to scratch your ears when you insert them, but this can be fixed by cutting a very small amount off of the ear tubes. The scratching is usually caused by an imperfect seal on the machine that made the tubes, resulting in a little bit of extraneous plastic that can be jagged. Taking the cushions off and cutting this off with scissors or sanding it down solves the problem.
The bass is phenomenal and can actually be overpowering at times, although toying with your EQ with a minute or two fixes this as well. I'm not an audio snob, but even with a proper EQ the mids and highs do sound muted compared to the Sony pair.
Koss could greatly improve the product by including a small earbuds case like Sony does with their pair, which keeps them from getting linty in a pocket. While useful for the Sony set, it'd be even better for these as their design makes them even more likely to nab lint, and lint stuck inside them really compromises their performance.
Overall, these are OK phones which serve the purpose I bought them for- drowning out noise when I want to study, when I don't care too much about the music quality and just want a beat to help keep my mind focused. They're good for the money, but they're not all-purpose.
12 I have tried a lot of inespensive headphones, earbuds...
There is nothing better than The Plug for portable music listening. The sound you get out of these tiny earphones is enormous. Don't confuse The Plug with earbuds-The Plug offers so much more:
1)great bass without blowing out your ears
2)crisp, clean treble with no harshness
3)they fill your head with music! Virtually no outside noise
The package comes with four pair of cushions. I find the cone shaped cushions that are already on the earphones fit my ear best. All ears are different. You may need to experiment with the other cushions. Roll the cushion between your fingers to insert the earphone. A little tugging on the ear can help position the phone. They will feel funny once inserted. Just turn on the music, you will get used to them. If you don't have a good sound balance, left to right ear, one of the phones might not be in as far as the other, just readjust.
I have a literal drawfull of earbuds and portabel headphones. I use The Plug exclusively.
13 The Best for BASS!
127 reviews later, i'll sum up the critical reasons why *i* absolutely love these "stereophones".
i've tried a LOT of different earbud headphones looking for that obnoxious, over the top, chest-pounding heart attack bass sound that typifies my favorite style of music, drum'n'bass. they all fell far, far short compared to the PLUG. i was even willing to spend the big money on those Shure's and Etymotics but i've read they are weak with bass as well. dont bother with those sony ex51/71 fontopia's. they were a huge sonic disappointment and they have that stupid long right/short left cable arrangement. not these puppies. symmetrical cables baby!
bad parts:
1) eventually the foam cushions go "bad" from too much use and dont "inflate" the way they used to after being squeezed, causing them to fall out and dampen that beautiful bass. i used to just buy a new set when this happened (~1 year) but i just found out about these "plug mods" so i'll try that now.
2) ear wax buildup! eeewww! yes, well, what else did you expect? luckily the plugs lend themselves to a very easy clean if you have a paperclip or baby pin. but they do get very juicy pretty fast so dont buy these suckers used or try to share with your buddy.
3) purple color is lame.
4) no case provided and its gross sticking juicy buds in yr linty pants pocket and then putting em back in your ear.
if you are some audiophile nerd who is more interested in highs than lows, i can't recommend these at all. if you've ever said "turn the bass down" out loud to someone, keep searching. but if you like the feeling of a big foam bullet gradually expanding in your ear like a snuggly pillow, pick these up today.
14 Blocks all background noise
I bought these in January 2005, and the ones I got are apparently the new version. There's no mute button or detachable headband as on the previous version, and the claimed frequency response has been improved to 10 to 20,000 Hz. They are inexpensive, and come with a "limited" lifetime warranty.
As far as sound quality, it is very good. More importantly, they block all background noise so that I can actually hear the music when I'm sitting at the back of a bus or in a noisy location. I prefer to listen to music at a quiet volume and it's nice not to have to blast my eardrums out just to hear the music. The fit is very secure, which I also like (I always felt like my iPod-style headphones were going to fall out of my ears).
15 Unbeatable for the price and purpose.
For $15, by far the best choice for portable applications, particularly when there's a moderate level of ambient noise. Excellent for Walkman or MP3 player use at the gym; they block enough sound so that I can hear the music, but I can still hear if someone is talking to me (although I have to remove at least one of the plugs in order to hear what they're saying).
Be sure to save the spare ear foam pieces - you'll probably need them eventually, since they don't fit as well after they soften up too much.
16 Great Phones if Size is Important
We've always heard that size is important and in headphones size and weight is sometimes really important. These phones are extremely light and are good choices when traveling or for noisy environments. Excellent sensitivity, decent bass but a little light in the high end would be my overall impression. If you can go for a little larger headphone to get a considerably larger sound, go with the Koss Sportapro, KSC50 or KSC55. If you purchase these, checkout www.headwize.com for some good articles on improving the sound coming from these units.
17 great value!
The first time I bought The Plug, I thought the sound was tiny and weak, and I immediately returned it. Then I saw someone mentioned the purple v.s. blue (earlier version), and I purchased it again, making sure it was purple. Sure enough, the purple ones are great! Like other Koss headphones, you not only hear the bass, but you also feel it. It's amazing that such big bass can come out of these tiny earplugs. I replaced the included foam plugs with regular plugs from a drugstore and they make an even better seal.
I also have the Etymotic ER6i, which costs at least 7 times more than this one. When it comes to sound, of course the ER6i have a much higher fidelity (but much less bass), but considering the price difference, I think these Koss earplugs have a greater value. Overall, the sound quality is just average, but if you mostly listen to pop while on the road, you probably won't mind or care that some notes are a little imbalanced and muddy. As far as sound isolation go, after replacing the included foam plugs with the ones from the drugstore, they are as good as the etymotics.
Be sure to get the purple ones!
18 ehhh..
put these on. tried all sizes. kind of hard to get them in without having them fall out later. furthermore, the pressure from these plugs cause tension on my forehead area and gives me a headache.
i'm going to try using different kinds of earplugs but while using these koss headphones. perhaps the old school squishy earplugs and cut a hole and stick the koss in it. or maybe the swimming or gun shot earplugs as described in another post.
good deal for just the koss headphones. you might want to modify them yourself like all these other people.
19 Cant beat em....
I first learned of The Plug by doing a bit of internet research. I was not disappointed. The new version has fantastic range... deep bass... superior volume... excellent clarity... and a ridiculously low price. I bought a pair of Etymotic 6i for my girls iPod and decided to do a bit of A/B testing to see what the difference was. My conclusion is that although the Etymotics are tighter and clearer (and it took a while to deduce this)... the Koss come pretty darn close... and for the price... its a no brainer. I'd still buy these plugs again even if they were priced at 60 bucks instead of 20. One final note... the reason that some people report that these plugs fall out and bass and noise isolation are less than optimum is that they arent inserted fully into the ear canal! The secret to securing these puppies in your ear is not to squeeze the foam or some other nonsense. Simply pull your ear up and back and shove these babies in... problem solved.
20 Step up and buy the Sony MDR-EX71SL
I wanted to give "The Plug" a fair shot, so I bought a pair. First of all, everything you have read about the stock foam earpieces is true; they are worthless. The foam expands way too fast for you to compress it, shove it in your ear, and have it expand to get a good seal.
So I followed some of the recommendations given in the reviews here, and modified some roll-up foam earplugs. Now at least they will stay in my ears.
I am recommending that people spend a little more money and buy the Sony MDR-EX71SL Fontopia earbuds, and here's why:
-They seal really well to your ear canals, once you have selected the proper size silicone adapter. The result is excellent bass.
-You can put them in and pull them out really quickly. On insertion, they just go in and seal, there is no waiting around for the foam to expand and seal. You can quickly yank one or both of them out, and be able to plug them right back in. This is really a good thing if you want to use them at work.
-The sound of the Sony earbuds is just plain superior to the Koss'. Really, it is. They are worth twice the money of the Koss', which is about what they cost.
About the only reason I may keep the Koss' around is that, with my foam earplug modification, they probably block more ambient noise than the Sonys, and they seem to be more efficient (more volume for a given drive level). These two factors make them a good candidate for use when I am riding my motorcycle. If it weren't for this, I wouldn't even consider them over the Sonys.
21 Noise cancelling wannabe's (w/ modification)
I have owned two pairs of these earphones, and I love them!
"Noise cancelling wannabe's"... by me saying this I am applauding Koss for the price to quality ratio. You could spend $100+ for a noise cancelling pair of headphones, but I find that these headphones do equally good of a job (i have a pair of Creative noise cancelling headphones, and I prefer the Koss Plug).
"w/modification"...
If you replace the provided foam plugs with regular foam ear plugs, you will get a much better fit. Do this by triming a regular pair of foam ear plugs to the length of he "canal" on The Plug. Then drill a hole through the center using a small drill bit or use a needle and work around to make the hole bigger. This process is tedious I will admit, BUT having a clean pair (negates the CON listed below) that fits better than the provided foam plugs is well worth it. You will also find that the replacement plugs will stay compressed longer, making it easier to insert into your ear.
CONS:
the rubber "canal" that channels sound to your ear can fall off easily... if lose that.. its all over (this is why i gave it 4 stars instead of 5). Build up of ear wax on the plugs (no matter how well u clean ur ears, you will get some dirt build up on these things.. replace the plugs every few months using modification above)
PROS:
price... deep bass (even w/o "super bass" systems)... noise "cancelling" ability (w/ modification listed above)
22 They do the job very well
I needed a good portable set of headphones for the noisy bus ride to work and looked at the expensive noise cancelling models but just didn't like the bulkiness so I kept looking around and found these Koss earplug earphones. Actually, I found them in my drawer because I had them for a few years and didn't need them until now! I'm glad I didn't go out and buy anything because these are just what I want and need. I use a portable DVD player on the bus and these work great.
I can insert them fairly quickly and the key is to hold them in place until the foam expands. You might have to experiment with them a few times to get the proper sound but it's not that tough and the result is certainly worth a little early hassle.
I actually like the mute button but understand other frustrations with it. I don't use these for working out but any in-ear phone is going to have problem with working out or moving around.
The price is also right. You can buy more expensive "pro" quality units but for the rigors of travel and commuting, these sound just fine. Most audio devices have some type of EQ, anyway, so you can usually control the sound quality.
23 Nice earphone.
I just bought this phone to replace my lost MDR-EX71SL.
About the sound quality, this phone rocks!
...provided you can fits it properly in your ears.
From other reviews, it seems that the main problem is with its supplied buds, and I can't agree more. The buds given in the package expands so quickly unlike proper ear plugs, and putting them into my ears is a really painful process, especially with the rigid core thingy scratching my ears.
I got myself some earplugs from hardware store to replace the stock buds, and now that fitting them is no longer a problem, these babies are really awesome.
Pro: Strong bass. Good overall sound. Good performance for your bucks.
Cons: Supplied buds hard to fit in. No carrying case. The cord seems a bit fragile.
24 piece of crap
they were great for about a week then the foam got all mushy and wouden't go in. my advice, save you money and get some real noise cancling ones
25 nice but id rather something better
They worked great for about a week. Now they anger me. I want my old earbuds that hurt my ears after a few hours that need to be wrapped over my ear to stay on. It takes so much effort to sit there and attempt to scrunch the foam then you need to stick it directly in your ear in under a second (can't miss) otherwise the foam will already be expanded and push back out of your ears. I'm sorry I don't have pin point accuracy sticking objects into my ears. Let me go get a mirror.
Then once you finally succed in actually getting them in, you end up fumbling over the small cord and pulling them straight out leaving you with having to scrunch them all over again and take another 15 minutes getting pissed on trying to get them in. I would take them back if I was allowd to!!
Yea they have great sound but the foam just stinks. It's to much troubly trying to get them in my ears. However if you have huge ears, these could be for you!
26 Amazing isolation!
The Plug kills two birds with one stone: earplugs and earbuds. They are a hybrid between an earbud and earplugs. I use earplugs constantly to cut out noise pollution. The Plug pumps music into the earplug with a tiny tube. The result is fantastic. You get noise cancellation and pure clean music. I have actually turned down my MP3 player from 15 to about 8 because the music is not competing to drown out environmental noise pollution. I go to the gym and it is very noisy. Sometimes, to hear my music, I had to crank up the volume to 18. Crazy, and bad on the aging ears. This technology lets you turn it down and actually hear the music.
The Cons: the foam plugs have to seal to sound good. That can be tricky. I have about 10 different kinds of earplugs. I have tried them all on the Plug. That's right, you can put just about any foam plug on these baby's, which means you'll never run out. Just pierce a hole in them, insert the Plug's tube in, put them in your ear and go. I find the ordinary cylindrical plugs work best and stay in best. When they seal, the bass is very rich. You'll have hit your equalizer to flatten the bass. To me that's a plus.
One other caution: don't use these anywhere you could get hurt by not hearing something. It could be dangerous. I can't hear hardly anything with these baby's.
Bottom Line: I love the Plug. They are cheap and worth trying. They soung fantastic, but I am not super picky like some audiophiles. Some hate'm becasue they are impatient getting the foam plugs to seal. I've had four sets of Koss headphones in my life. All were above average quality.
Kudos Koss!
27 Good Sound, Poor Fit
My old headphones stopped working on a 6-hour flight from NYC to LA. Though my headphones were already not the best (blah set that came with my MP3 player), I hadn't had the inclination/energy to buy another pair until I was desperate. In other words, I was too lazy. Well, I was now headphone-less and desperate, so it was time to spring for a new one.
I tend to like the "in ear" headphones because of the sound quality that comes through in loud environments (loud cities, subway, airplanes, road noise). I bought the Koss "Plug" with hopes that the earplug-like earbuds would fit perfectly into my ears. I have normal-sized ears and don't usually have problems with store-bought earplugs for bedtime. However, no matter how much I played around with the foam plugs on the Koss set, after 5-10 minutes of fantastic sound (yes, the sound IS amazing!), the plugs would just voluntarily fall out of my ears, for no apparent reason. I tried squeezing, pinching, twisting, pushing, pulling, and even switching various plug sizes, etc...but with no luck. And even though I'm feeling the burden of returning to the store (Circuit City--Amazon's price is cheaper), my Koss Plug is going back. I don't want to super-glue the plugs into my ear to listen to music. That's not the idea here.
But, take note: the bass and general sound of "the plug" IS fantastic. If it fits your ears (lucky thing, you), stick with this one for the sound and the cost. Otherwise, don't waste your money. It will only add to your pile of "things I may use one day" and we all have too much of that stuff, don't we?
28 Sound Nirvana for the Ears! But read everything!
Ok, I've noticed those @ K-mart while I was looking their mp3 players, remembered the name ("The Plug") and did some research @ home/net.
What really draw my attention in reviews is that people eather liked it so much or hated it. I figured, there must be something about them. I remember one reviewer wrote "I feel bass pounding on my chest" :)
So, I went and got them for only 14.95, I believe. I got home, I tried them with foams, and it did not feel right right away. I almost had them back in the bag and off to return them. But, I kept messing with them and, boy am I glad I did!
After pushing, twisting, pushing again, even had some pain felt (read further), I finally got them to work as they are meant to and WOW! WHAT A SOUND. WHAT A BASS!
After some thinking, here is what I did and I suggest you read this as it may help you experiance the sound faster then you decide to return them becose they do not fit you:
There is small TUBE on each earphone that fits in the foam. After pushing far enough, I coud feel little scraching from it, so I decided to shorten them just a little, like less then 1/8 of an inch, with a razor . This worked perfecly for me. I could push them far enough that I actually do not hear the sound (or hear dull sound), and when they automatically "backed up" on ther own, it was just perfect sound.
Ok, for you that use mostely earphones, let me explain further: Do you ever push your earphones (the ones without foams) little further, hear the bass and you wish that they can STAY in that position? Well, this is how "The Plug" sounds, only clear sound with a lot of undistorded (no distortion) bass!
Anyway, after shortening and fitting for about 30 minutes, I realized that no way am I going to be returning these.
Put it this way: Before "The Plug", I was using SONY's MDR-EX51LP noice cancelling earphones (the ones with silicone plug), they sounded great but they were simply not loud enough for me and not enough thump in the bass. So, I got them on eBay, and since I sometimes sell too, I sold them in a flash after using KOSS The Plug. And I was always like "KOSS? WHO???", but now I have totaly different opinion about Koss. Well, at least about this perticular product, since I did not try any others by Koss:)
Oh, yea, one more important thing in regards to prompt fitting: Few days later I found solution to better and faster adjusting - try this: (Clean ears required:))
- Before inserting them in the ear, MOISTEN THE OUTSIDE WALLS OF THE PADS WITH WATHER, LIKE MOISTEN YOUR FINGERS FIRST AND THEN THE FOAMS. This will make an perfect fit, it will help foams mold to your ear faster, and they will be dry in a minute anyway, all you need is little help to fits "like a glove".
I will also add that what you have (what device you are playing) matters too. I have a CHD-1000 Classic 10GB mp3 player, and this thing ROCKS THE SOUND. I actually got brand new Frontier Labs L1 20GB (you guessed it right - on eBay) and I had to sell it back since the sound of that perfectly designed unit SUCKS! I also had Archos Jukebox 10, that sounded good but only at lower volume - crank it up and that sucks too:) So far, nothing comes close to my player with sound. Well, I am getting Creative Labs Zen now, and trully hope that it will sound good, I am tired of "testing" mp3 players in order to upgrade to new one. (I have not tried Ipod, too much money to start with and I do not want to mess with extra firewire stuff and spend loads of additional money for accesories - I am not so crazy about the way it looks anyway, and being that I would most likely use diferent earphones with it - what't the point.)
SO, back to earphones: All I am saying is: try them, and if you want to really hear how they sound, try harder then just "Bu-huu, they do not fit". Once you have them fit right, you will be surprised (At least I was).
I am totally, absolutely, positively RECOMMENDING "THE PLUG"!
PS: English in not my native Laguage so exuse any errors you may have found while reading this.
29 warranty
These earbuds have awsome sound qualities and a warranty that is really GREAT! If you break them or whatever, you can send them back to the company. All you have to do is send them in with a $6.00 US dollar/ 7.00 Canada dollar check or money order and they will send you a Brand New pair.
30 Not for everyone
Let me preface this quick review with the statement that I already own the Shure E2 in-ear headphones, which are well known for their excellent sound quality. I did not purchase "The Plug" with expectations of anything near the experience I have had with the E2's. The E2's are not perfect, however, and I've saved up some gripes for that review as well.
In any case, I bought "The Plug" as a backup and alternative to my other headphones, and I have many. On the New York City subways and city streets, isolating headphones are the only way to really hear your music without getting those huge over the ear style headphones. I see everyone with the white iPod style earbuds - can you even hear your music? I swear that I had to turn the volume up all the way to even hear the music over the din of the city streets.
So, I'm already a convert to the in-ear experience. These headphones, however, are a total bummer. They don't fit in my ear with any of the built in foam inserts. They hurt. The sound is tinny, tiny and has no bass whatsoever. I tried every permutation of different foam plugs with no luck.
I'm sure the poor sound is entirely because they don't seal in my ear canal well. I looked around on the web - other people are having the same problem, and have gone so far as to create their own foam plugs to fit their ears better. Unfortunately, I don't have the time nor the inclination to bother. So, back they go.
31 Outstanding For The Money
After trying, Sony's, Sennheiser's and the stock headphones that came with my Ipod, I finally broke down and decided to give these a try and, am I ever glad I did. As almost everyone else has stated, the bass on these is incredible compared to most of other earbuds out there. While some much more expensive earbuds may sound marginally better, I couldn't justify the price differential.
Overall they had excallent range and the foam earpieces do a very good job of blocking outside noise and isolating whatever you're listening to.
The earbud's come with four different sized foam pieces to fit a large variety of ear shapes and sizes. Once you get down the hang of getting them seated in your ear, you almost don't even notice them. They are very comfortable and stayed securely in place, even while running.
My one, albeit minor complaint is the cord seems very thin compared to other earbuds. While this doesn't seem to affect their preformance, it may affect their durability.
For the price, these can't be touched for their sound, some people may find the foam annoying to deal with but, for the price, you owe it to yourself to give them a try. I think you'll be truly amazed, I was!
32 The Plug - Superior noise blocking- great for travelers!
I'd been searching for some headphones to use with my Dell Digital Jukebox that would block out noise when flying or working outdoors (the primary times I listen to music). The standard headphones that come with most MP3 players are foam or hard plastic, not very comfortable, and do a miserable job of blocking ambient noise.
I had started looking for some "noise cancelling" headphones, sold here on Amazon among others. They are primarily large over the ear designs and require battery power-- not the optimum combination for travelling, not to mention pricey!
By accident during my researching, I stumbled across someone's Blog where they recommended the Plug as a great alternative to noise cancelling phones at a fraction of the price. I picked up a pair a day before leaving on a plane trip.
These phones are AWESOME. The foam is a very soft one, very similar to the soft foam used on earplugs used for noise blocking. The phones come with four different sets of foam inserts in different shapes and sizes, so everyone should be able to find something that fits. In the center of the foam are very small plastic tubes, which attach to the plug itself and funnel the sound through the soft foam. Be sure to swap the tubes along with the foam if you change. I was able to wear The Plug for over 2 hours on a plane due to the comfort- something I was never able to do before with other phones.
Most importantly, the sound is excellent-- strong bass and clear highs. Best of all, the soft foam fills your ears and blocks about 90% of ambient noise, enough that you can comfortably listen to your music on a plane or public transportation without hearing all the background noise, but can still hear enough of it to be safe.
At the price, in my opinion there is no need to spend more to get extra noise blocking, unless you are a true audiophile. In any event, I recommend you try The Plug before spending more on something else.
33 Good product but with some flaws, worked nice with a mod.
The rubber cilinder that comes with this product is just not flexible enough to keep compressed until you put them on your ears, and most of the people complain about the ear pieces "gets out" of their ears. you can apply some "mods" to this product, just google for "the plug" and "koss" and you will find some pages on information about making this product better.
34 I love these headphones
I bought a pair of these headphones in the hopes of being able to listen to music/news while riding my motorcycle. I could not believe how good they sound and how much road noise they block out. I use to use a pair of behind the ear clip on headphones. I would have to listen with the volume at max at not be able to hear very well, but I would be able to hear. These buds rock!!! I can listen with the volume turned down to half. What suprised me the most was the amount of bass that these little buds kick out. I had to turn the settings for bass down to get it to sound right to me. All other headphones have to have the bass almost maxed out. I have read where others have to readjust them to get them to fit correctly. I guess Im lucky. I used the foam plugs that fit my ears best and have had no trouble. I now use them when I run, ride, or just am hanging out. I love them. They are well worth the 14 bucks
35 Edited -- don't forget the little plastic tubes!
Edited 7/13/04: I'm editing my review because I discovered (completely by accident) the little plastic "tubes" that are supposed to be inserted into the foam plugs (before putting them in your ears) which are absolutely essential for proper usage! I found them in a different set of the foam plugs included in the package. Yeah, I'm an idiot. I can't recall if they were inside the default size plugs when I opened the package or what but, regardless, they are required to get the most out of The Plug.
You see, these plastic tubes make a world of difference because they add a bit of rigidity to the foam plugs which
a) makes them much easier to insert
b) makes them stay in *much* better, primarily because you can set them deeper into the ear canal
c) makes them sound fantastic!
I can't believe I didn't see these things before. Anyway, I'm changing my rating from 2 stars to 4. My edited comments are in-line with my "old" review, below.
---- original review -----
I bought The Plug to replace my (broken) Creative "behind-the-head" headphones that came with my old Nomad II MP3 player. I had reservations about using an "ear plug" style for use with my semi-brisk applications (exercising, cutting the grass, kayaking) but the combination of good "sound performance" reviews and low price was enough to convince me to give them a test drive.
After using them for a few weeks I've discovered that the "ear plug" style is definitely not for me, primarily due to the following reasons:
1) Constant adjustment. For optimum performance The Plug requires a lot of fiddling around. First, you have to roll the foam in your fingers to compress it and then quickly insert it into your ear before it expands. This is much easier said than done (especially on a kayak) and it usually took me a few tries to get it *just right*. To add insult to injury, the plugs would slowly creep out of my ears so that I'd get to do the entire process again every 10 minutes or so. Oh joy.
Edit: The little plastic tubes were the answer to this complaint. The added rigidity of the tubes allows for much better/easier insertion. They can still creep out with heavy activity but pushing them back in is really a cinch with the tubes.
2) No case or clip. There were times when I needed to remove the plugs for a short time and do other stuff and during that time there's nowhere to put the things so they just ended up hanging there and getting in the way. A method to clip or hook them to a shirt or something would have been helpful.
Edit: Still an issue for me but now that my #1 complaint is essentially gone, I'm going to work with these things and buy some sort of clip or case.
3) Foam requires cleaning. I don't care how clean your ear is, you're going to want to (have to!) clean these off at some point. Personally, I don't want to be bothered.
Edit: Still an issue. Anything you regularly stick in your ear is gross.
4) Replacements?! Lastly, with all this squeezing, rolling, squishing, and cleaning, I imagine the plugs are going to need to be replaced. I suppose this would require a "MOD" as described by other reviewers or an order directly with Koss. Again, I don't want to be bothered...
Edit: Still a concern.
The bottom line is, I'm not a fiddler. I don't want headphones I have to fuss with constantly during usage and then think about cleaning them afterwards.
I want headphones I can:
- fit in (or over) my ears and just get on with my activity
- remove/refit quickly and easily during the activity (like for the dozen or so times my kids/wife want to talk to me when I'm trying to cut the grass!)
- easily hook or hang it up somewhere so I can have my hands free for other things
- just toss on the shelf when I'm done and not worry about cleaning the things off (yuck)
So if you're like me and are having similar reservations about The Plug, you may want to reconsider. Personally, I'm going back to the "fuss-free" behind-the-head style and calling it a day.
On the plus side of things, The Plug sounds good (heavy on bass, though) and does indeed block out nearly all *background* sound but outside noises tend to slowly creep in as The Plugs slowly creep out...over and over again...
36 These Plugs are worth the $$
I bought these about 2 weeks ago thinking they would be cheap headphones with pretty poor quality, but at least they would block that loud airplane noise. They performed better than I ever thought possible. They are a little bass heavy, but I use them with my laptop, so that is easily overcome with the EQ (I used Winamp). Once I got the bass taken care of, I was able to hear the full range of the music. You will also notice little nuances in the music that you simply couldn't hear before. It blocks the majority of external environmental noise and allows you to listen to your music/video without straining to hear. I did decide to modify the headphones because I don't like the disposable nature of the foam plugs (they fit ok, but they wear out and are a little inconvenient). I used a pair of Smith & Wesson silicone arrow plugs and simply put a hole through them. Now I have the convenience of simply pushing the plugs in and they are more durable. I would recommend these plugs to anyone that needs to filter out background noise. They aren't going to give the sound of a >$200 pair of canal phones, but they come 2/3 of the way for <$20.
37 Excellent little audio device.
Unlike many of the other reviewers, I have not had any major problems with my purchase. I am actually on my third pair since mine keep disappearing from my house (unknown culprit). I really enjoy the way the foam conforms to the ears for a nice "customized" fit. I did not experience the "tinny" sound that some reviewers did, but I would have to agree that it would be due to placement in the ear and not the actual device itself. The only complaint that I do have is that when I am exercising or running and I am wearing these is that when I get hot and sweaty, they have a tendency to slip out of my ears. Other than that, I am more than pleased with my purchases.
38 Try them on first
I bought these headphones thinking they would be perfect for running. However, I CANNOT get them in my ears no matter which shape rubber plug I use. At this point it is just funny. I stand there trying to squeeze the little rubbery thing while stretching my ear out as pictured in the little diagram to no avail. My advice: TRY THESE ON BEFORE BUYING. While it's a great idea, it might not be such a great idea for you.
39 Fix for foam plugs falling out
(...)these are great ear phones.
I had the same problem as other reviewers with the foam plugs not staying in my ears.
My solution was to replace the foam plugs with a set of plugs I fashioned from a set of ear protection plugs. These are the yellow foam plugs you can buy at the hardware store to protect your ears from leaf blowers and other high decible equipment.
The yellow foam plugs can be compressed more and they then slowly expand in your ear for a snug fit. They stay in until you pull them out.
I made a hole in the foam plugs for the plastic tube that comes with the Koss phones.
40 save the money, buy better headphones
When my husband bought me these headphones I was thrilled for two reasons. One, my ipod earphones are terribly designed and two, I am always happy to buy a product from a company headquartered in my hometown, however, I cannot stand these headphones, they are contstantly falling out of my ears and they sound tinny, for lack of a better word. They may be cheap, but I would be willing to shell out the extra cash for nicer headphones anyday, especially if you use them often.
41 Great idea in theory, but...
I bought "The Plug" thinking I would be able to block out all sound, but what I wanted to hear. The stereophones are designed like ear plugs. You squish the foam around the sound device together and stick it in your ear. The foam is then supposed to spring back to fill your ear. My problem is that the foam expands right out of my ear. You see, the foam expands so much that it pushes itself back out of my ear and all that lovely foam is on the outside. I have to keep shoving the things back in my ears every few minutes, so I can still hear my music.
42 Good, but not great.
Lots of verbose reviews here, but if you want the short and sweet of it here it goes. These are good, but not great. Sony's earphones - yes all of them - make better sound. Sony is great in my experience. These are ok, but I went back to my Sony non cushy ones (regular basic no foam earbuds) and thought it was a lot better sounding. Too bad becuase these do stay in your ear better - they still fall out sometimes when I run, but I can deal with that as the non foam earbuds always fall out all the time. So, if you don't care about super sound and want something to stay put these are good. Want great sound? then go Sony. Oh, by the way I've had mine for a year now and the foam isn't nearly as responsive to holding shape as it once was so they don't go in easy or grab hold as well as they used to. The upside is they don't hurt if I have them in my ears for hours. It's only a few bucks so make a decision now and get back to the music asap! It's only earphones after all.
43 Efficient, Broad Response, Custom Fit...at least 4 stars
First, while I'm no audiophile and won't attempt to offer comments about the smooth, deep bass or crisp highs...your results may vary...I will say that I'm personally very pleased with the sound from these earbuds and find the isolation they offer is a real plus. In fact, that's partly why I bought them: Working sometimes in a very noisy environment that necessitates wearing hearing protectors, I thought it would be nice if I could turn them into headphones and at least enjoy some music while working. I've never cared for earbuds that rest in your outer ear, so prone to falling out. With the hearing protectors on over them, it was still rather easy to tug the earbug out of position. "The Plug" stays quite well put, thanks to the soft foam cushions. Away from work, the noise isolation of these stereophones continues to serve a great function, especially when travelling on airplanes or in any noisy environment.
It is the isolation offered by the ear cushions that surely attribute to their efficiency. Even low-powered headphone outputs on portable music players will likely still have all it needs to drive these plugs sufficiently for enjoyable listening. The drawback of the ear cushions is, as others have said, that they do mean you must be careful about how you position the plugs in your ears, as that will affect overall sound quality. The bass is excellent yet can become "boomy". That is why I say "your results may vary". But, for anyone willing to spend some time getting familiar with "The Plug", I think they will be happy with the sound potential provided.
Now...about the custom fit. Yes, they really do custom fit to your ear canal if you choose the appropriate size cushions from those included. However, again as mentioned, the provided cushions do not remain compressed very well while attempting to insert the plugs in your ears. Moreover, while the foam does seem to be the best I've experimented with in terms of comfort against the skin and general acoustic performance, it doesn't hold up very well over time. So, this led me to exploring for a substitute, and learning in the process what a difference in sound the type of foam makes.
As I write this, I'm wearing my plugs, modified by replacing the Koss foam cushions with some I made myself from Aearo E-A-R Classic foam ear plugs. The beauty of this approach is that as the ear plugs are designed for hearing protection, they do compress very well and hold their compressed shape longer, making it easier to insert the plugs into your ear canal, for a better and deeper fit. But, therein lies the rub...it is that more deep, secure fit that affect sound quality. My observation is that the impact is primarily upon the bass...making it even deeper and risking again a potential "boomy" quality. I'm pleased with the results I obtained from the Aearo ear plugs after trimming them down in diameter so there wasn't quite so much foam to "bulk up" in my ear. While the Aearo plugs work well and sound good, I've found an even more comfortable and better-sounding (I think) alternative in using Howard Leight Laser Lite foam ear plugs. The latter have a Noise Reduction Rating of 32 and are made of a softer, smoother-textured foam than the Aearos. I think the Aearos have a similar NRR, but they are not labeled with it.
Now, how do you go about making your own ear cushion? The approach I took was to compress one end of the foam ear plug down until it was basically flattened squarely against the other end on a flat surface. Then, holding the "pancaked" plug in place, I heated a large nail over a flame and then pierced the center of the ear plug with the tip of the nail, pushing it gently through the foam so as not to tear the foam. Rotating the nail tended to help. Once the hole was pierced through the foam to the other end, I lifted the foam off the surface and pushed the nail fully through, this also serving to tug the foam along enough that it helped it to stretch back out along the nail shaft. Once the nail cooled a bit, I slid the plug off the nail and had a rather cleanly pierced ear plug that I could then slip onto "The Plug". If the new ear cushion was too long or too thick to fit my ear well, I'd trim it down gradually with sharp scissors. In the end, I made up several pairs of cushions to interchange as I like. The Aearo plugs were rather easy to modify since the foam is stiffer and thus easier to pierce with the hot nail. But, with care, the Laser Lite plugs could also be pierced without tearing the foam and they are smaller in diameter such that I found no need to trim them, except in length. When the modified plugs are slipped over the sound delivery tube of "The Plug" earpieces, ensure the tube does not get crimped and extends fully through the cushion so as to deliver the best quality sound.
This may sound like a lot of work for such inexpensive headphones, but they are great-sounding headphones for a small price and can be customized to your own liking with a similar approach to what I describe.
When I'm not using "The Plug", I switch to my Koss KTXPRO1 Titanium headphones...another pair of excellent headphones that I don't think can be beat for the price. They too sound great and have very good efficiency, at about the same price as "The Plug". They are better-suited for an office environment where you need an open-air type earpiece to hear conversation through, rather than being isolated. The volume control on the cord is also a real convenience and is the only thing I find missing from "The Plug".
44 Unusable
These work for some people's ears and not for others. One reviewer claimed that I must be either retarded or deformed since they don't work for me. That reviewer is best described by words not allowed in this venue.
I'm going to replace the useless foam, others have suggested:
for hunters: Silencio Super Sound Baffler earplugs
from a pharmacy: Flents "Quiet Please"
I believe you have to create the center hole in these products to retrofit them to the Koss' "stem".
- Jeff
45 Works in Iraq
I'm a soldier and I have been using these headphones in Iraq in some pretty harsh conditions since May of 2003, and here it is almost a year later. I have used these earphones in C-130's, 5-Ton Trucks moving through the desert, and Hummers as well. They offer excellent sound insulating properties so that when the ambient noise around you is high the volume does not have to be loud to still enjoy your music... so my ears are not ringing when I take them off after having flown in aircraft and enjoyed my music on my Iriver mp3 player. They are pretty durrable as they have not failed me in this year either. The sound is great also, and the bass is right on top since it is sealed into your ear much like our foam hearing protection is. The replacement foam that comes with the headphones are an excellent touch, and KOSS has my business when it comes to finaly having to replace these headphones. They don't fall out of your ear when you are running PT either.
46 Very good for the price
I bought these to replace the stock iPod earbuds because A) they sound very tinny B) the white wires just make you a walking Apple advertisement.
The good: They blow the iPod earbuds out of the water 100 times over. The bass on these little guys is rich and the highs and mids are nice. These are obviously not for audiophiles, but for the price (I paid $10.99) they are absolutely worth it. The in-your-ear design had me hearing my music in a way I had not heard before.
The bad: Like everyone is saying, they don't quite fit in you ear as advertised. Keep trying until you hit the sweet spot and keep them there. They may not be suitable for people jogging or working out because I would imagine they would lose their position often if you shuffle around a lot.
So one point off for bad ergonomics, four points for great sound and value.
47 Fantastic sound, deep bass, perfect fit
I bought these to use with my iPod, and I think they're great. The Plugs are more comfortable to wear than the iPod's original earbuds are, and the sound is much better. Highly recommended.
48 Get your own earplugs
I recently purchased these to have a pair the would make listening on the bus bearable. They failed at one critical point...I was unable to get them in my ears! Despite the range of cushions that came with it, I couldn't get any of them to fit. But after a quick trip to Walgreens (to get nicer earplugs) and a little work with a soldering iron, they live up to their initial purpose. While the sound quality doesn't blow me away, for the price they offer excellent isolation. They block out sound as well as the earplugs would have. One problem is they are extremely bass heavy. While at times that doesn't matter, when I'm listening to classical the balance isn't too good. In summary, you might have to shell out a few more bucks for better earplugs, but after they offer the most isolation of any earbud under 50$.
49 For people with unlimited time to fit earphones
I have no idea how people can achieve to fit this thing properly. Me and 4 of my friends with different ears have tried to fit this earphone and even after 15 minutes nobody achieved a proper fit. The thing expands within a second (and I mean 1 second!). There's no way you can plug it into your ear within that time. My normal 1$ earplugs (which I use at night) work much better than the material Koss chose. Nice try, but not suitable for most ears...
50 WoW!
I came to amazon.com to find some in ear headphones and that is exactly what i found. I read some reviews from the customer, the ones that really know what is going on as they are the ones who use the products most and they recomended this product. And now that i have purchased and tried out these headphones i implore you to give them a try. For a relatively cheep set of earphones the bass response is great. Also you hear everything as they are plug style and you hear very little outside noise.
51 Thanks Mint78!
Well, mint78 has a great idea for getting these to stay in with the foam plugs they come with - remove the foam plugs, roll them to squeeze them down, insert them without the earbuds attached, then insert the ear buds into the foam plugs (that are already in your ears).
With them in the *right* way, they go to up a solid 4 star, especially in light of their price. Warm, clear, sweet, smooth. Good lows (boy they really go deep!), with all the midrange smoothness I mentioned earlier. Highs are smooth and clear, though a little subdued. Voices are natural and listenable. I am blown away at how good these are. These aren't in the same league as the best normal headphones (such as high-end Sennheisers and Beyerdynamics), but they are so far ahead of others in their price range it isn't funny. A very affordable (and to my ear, better sounding) alternative to the Sony MDR-EX71.
Amazingly highly recommended.
52 Surprisingly good, with some work...
I bought these on a whim - they were $2 from a place that deals in closeouts and overstocks. The foam Koss uses that goes in your ears will not stay in my ears - the phones kept falling out, no matter how I squeezed it down before putting these things in my ears, or which of the foam plugs I tried (4 different sets of plugs come with the phones). Useless. But I had read that the ear protectors that shooters use can be adapted as substitutes for the foam plugs. So I found a set of shooters' plugs that had holes down the middle (Silencio Super Sound Baffler earplugs), trimmed to them fit the Koss, and started listening.
The Koss phones are very good. Mids are open and smooth, voices are natural. Highs don't go out very far, but are not accentuated; also very smooth, very listenable. Deep lows are missing, but that's highly dependent on how well the earplugs seal in your ear. You really get the feeling you are listening to a quality transducer - much better than even the list price would lead you to believe. It is not a warm sound - it is a balanced, neutral sound that is easy to listen to hour after hour.
What really is best about these is the midrange, and how natural voices sound. Where they err, they err by subtraction (rolled off lows and extreme highs), which is better than what many other phones do (accentuate the lows or highs through unnatural resonances). They are not 5 star material, but 5 star phones cost hundreds of dollars more. They are worth the effort to modify with good replacement earplugs, and are certainly worth the price.
53 Best In-Ear Headphones I've Used!
I just purchased a pair of Koss "The Plug" Portable Stereophones and they are wonderful! Picked them up at K-Mart for $14.99. Opposed to other reviews, I had no problem getting them in my ears. Perhaps I just have big ears. Unlike ear bud headphones, these cause your ears no pain during long listening sessions. Since the cusions on the headphones expand to fit your entire ear canal, most outside noices are muffled out. I'm using them as I type this review and can't even hear myself type. Also, they provide great sound quality and you definatly don't need to crank the volume up while listening (unless you want to be deaf). As I said, these are comfortable headphones, great for long listening sessions, at a great price. If you're in the market for in-ear headphones, I would definately pick up a pair of Koss "The Plug" Portable Stereophones.
54 A Very Good product with 1 disadvantage
As for those who are not able to get this thing into their ears, I like to tell them, you are not using it properly. Anyway, I'm having the same problem getting this thing into my ears at when I first buy this product.
The instruction on the package said that I should roll the foam (the rubbery sponge thing on the earbud) in between my thumb and index finger before inserting it into my ears. It doesn't work. It still won't fit in my ears, it sounds awful and they keep falling out. After a few trial and error, I have came up with an alternative. I would first REMOVE the foam from the bud, roll and squeeze them (just the foam without the earbud) into my ears (something like trying to stuff your ears with cotton). Let the foam expand THEN only fit the earbud into the foam that is already inside your ears. It takes quite some time to get use to.
It is generally a good product, awesome product. I used this for my daily travelling on bus and train. They are very food in blocking outside noise. Nevertheless, it is really troublesome having the wear the thing like that. Especially if you have to insert/remove it repeatatively, like receiving a phone call. But at $15 it is a good buy. If you are willingly to spend $50 for a similar ear bud, you can try on the Sony earbud that is used in their popular noise cancelling ear bud MDR-NC11. I haven't tried those ear bud yet but it does look like it will be much easier to use than the koss. But then again, it $30+ more.
55 Good sound but don't stay in the ear.
I found no way in 2 years to get these earbuds to stay in my ears, but if they did the sound would be awesome - very deep bass and no outside noise.
56 Best "Earbud" style headphones on the market
I have always liked the idea of the "earbud" style of headphones, but I don't like wearing them for more than 30 minutes, because they start to hurt my ears. True, this may be a small price to pay for Apple's Earbuds, which tout superior sound quality, but I just can't take the pain. Koss delivers the same frequency response (20-20k), with lower impedence.
Koss has innovated this area of the market with The Plug. You do need to practice and experiment with these before they will fit properly, but once in, the sound is amazing. I get similar performance to my Koss TD/65 headphones. The bass is rich, the overall quality is excellent, and they are super-comfortable. I have used them for 2 hours plus, and the only time I had discomfort was when one wasn't seated properly.
I agree, that you need to smush the plugs between your fingers and then quickly insert them into your ears and hold them there for a few seconds for a good fit. You'll know it when you get it, because it won't feel like they're falling out immediately.
57 More annoying than enjoyable
I bought these headphones hoping to find great sound quality for a low price. I reasoned that if the speaker was ported directly into my ear canal, I would not lose any sound to the surroundings (as in open-ear designs).
This turned out to be true, they offer excellent isolation, and I hear all the nuances of the music. Unfortunately, the size of the drivers negates any advantage that the isolation offers. The small surface area of the speakers makes the music sound very papery. The sound quality is definitely an improvement over the stock headphones packaged with most music devices, but it still sounds cheap and unappealing.
Many reviews emphasize the importance of proper insertion, and I agree. Improper insertion yields horrible sound. My problem with these headphones is exacerbated by their tricky insertion. It usually took at least 2 tries to place them properly. I don't want to screw around trying put a pair of headphones on, I just want to listen. I would not recommend this product to people who have difficulty with the foam earplugs available at concerts.
The thing that annoyed me the most about these headphones was something that I did not expect. The headphones seal your ear canal from the outside air, creating two separate areas. A slight movement of the headphones in your ear causes the speaker diaphragm to move in or out due to the difference in air pressure. This produces an extremely irritating "crinkle" noise, as if someone were crumpling cellophane. This was the most annoying thing in the world, and it happened *all the time*
The positives:
Small, Blocks outside sounds, Pretty good bass.
The Negatives:
So-so sound quality, Difficult to insert, Aggravating crinkle.
These headphones are more trouble than they are worth. If you are usually satisfied with stock headphones, you might like this set. If you find the stock set lacking, spend the extra 5-10 dollars and get a much better-sounding pair.
58 excellent
these headphones are the greatest for the price.
pros--
GREAT BASS! makes up for the not so good treble
noise-canceling saves you eardrum
cheap
cons--if you don't know how to put them in, then they wont stay in. they are like foam ear plugs. twist them in your fingers and quickly stick them in your ear and hold them there for about 5 sec.
takes time to get used to. they can make your ears a bit sore.
can fall out easily, if touched too much
because of the cons, I gave it 4 instead of 5. but don't get me wrong, they are great.
definately worth your $$$$$
59 Great earphones - READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!!!
I concur with the last two reviewers - you must use "The Plug" correctly to realize how good they are. You must squeeze the foam between your thumb and forefinger while rolling back and forth. This will make it long and thin; then QUICKLY insert firmly in your ear and hold a few seconds until the foam expands. The result is a secure fit and the bass is amazing! There is no obvious distortion and you will probably have to turn the volume down and turn off any bass boost (which is only there to compensate for the lousy base on regular ear buds). I wear mine while exercising and they stay put. Do youself a favor and get a pair - they are a steal!
60 Very uncomfortable
Well the poor design on these headphones provide a very uncomfortable fit. I'm 17, have average if not large ears but maybe my ear canal is smaller than average, my friends too? Because neither of us could get it comfortable in our easily. I tried for 20 minutes until my ear was raw trying to roll the big foam up and place it in my ear, and each time the foam uncompressed it would slide out of my ear. I managed once to successfully place it in my ear, but soon realized that more than 10 seconds to put a headphone in is ridiculous. Please do not go this route if you are searching for budget noise-cancelling headphones, i did and regret it.
61 Great value
These earphones are great for the price. The sound is solid, and they deliver good bass. They're a little tricky to get a hang of, becuase if you don't put them in your ear right they fall out easily. But with a little practice they stay in great. On the inside of the box there's a diagram and instructions for the correct way to put them in.
62 Very Good Earphones
These are very good earphones. they have good sound, and feel nice, nicer than normal earbuds. my only complaint is that the cord is a bit small, but i solved this with a simple cord extender. other than that, A++
63 Good isolation, average sound
I read a lot of reviews of these headphones so I decided to check out how they really are.
Usability:
1. I had absolutely no problem with the earphones staying in my ears. If you just push them in then you'll definitely see them fall out at some point. However, if you squeeze the foam from all directions and then quickly push in, then they should stay.
2. The isolation from the ambient noise is decent.
3. The cord is in my opinion very flimsy. With normal use I would not expect the earbuds to survive more then two months.
Sound:
1. The quality of the sound strongly depends on the way the earbuds are placed in your ears.
2. The quality of sound is average. Comparing to other headphones in the same price range it is probably slightly above average. The bass sounds unnatural similarly as the demo speakers in any electronic shop with the subwoofer level cranked up too high. Generally the sound is slightly muffled and cold. Piano sound slightly plastic.
If you one of these people who don't really believe that there is much difference between the quality of sound of Grados and average Sony reference headphones then these headphones will sound great. However, if you more picky about sound look elsewhere. If you are looking for something better sounding in the same price range check out Koss KSC50 (they have their own set of problems in terms of usability but sound much, much better then these). Don't buy any sub 20$ Sony headphones because all I have ever tried sound very cheap, much worse then any Koss headphones at the same price (with Sony you have to pay a lot for quality).
I am returning mine today because I really don't think they are worth my 20$.
64 Works Great! Less Filling?
OK, the deal is that I was looking for earbud headphones that I could wear while riding my motorcycle long distance on the highway. Most earbuds are useless because at high speed the wind noise drowns out everything. In fact, wind noise is so bad that I normally have to wear earplugs.
Enter the Koss earbuds.
First, the sound. *Great* sound, very accurate with excellent range. Headphones aren't worth it if the sound does not satisfy.
These *more than* satisfy.
Second, the applicability to the task.
The earplugs supplied with the earbuds are darn good and will work for most applications. I decided that I wanted something even more custom, so I cut up some of my normal motorcycle-riding foam plugs and fitted them over the earphones. The result is excellent. Even at 80 mph I get good sound with comfort and acceptable windnoise reduction.
If you want absolute noise isolation plus sound, I recommend you get large-size soft foam earplugs. Drill out a hollow shaft through the center. To do this, heat up a 3/32" drill bit, force it through one end and then twist repeatedly to cut out a shaft. Press the earplugs over the small tube on the earphone, then apply the earplugs according to the instructions on the earplug package.
*Purchasing Note*
I was suspicious of the Circuit City pickup option, but tried it anyway. I was *very* pleased. Circuit City confirmed the purchase within 20 minutes, and I picked up the headphones the same evening.
65 Can't live without it
I just wanted to say that I have used Koss "plugs" for some time now and they are terrific.
I use them everywhere and they really block out most of the noise (if inserted properly). It takes some getting used to and you don't want to share earbuds w/ someone else (because you stick it into your ear cannal).
I have no problem putting them into my ear or removing them. It does however have to be squished into the ear, so some people cannot get used to this idea. However, that is how it blocks outside sound. Try twisting while inserting. That's my 2 cents.
66 Forced to write my own review...
I'll keep this concise and pertinent...
GOOD
----
1. Very good sound (esp. for the price), just make sure you are not using any bass expansion/extension equalization. Even with old Sinatra (as in Frank, "ol' blue eyes"), using my TDK Mojo's bass expansion sometimes causes distortion, simply because The Plug has exceptional low frequency response. Rap obviously causes a lot of distortion w/ extra bass emphasis; I wonder if this is the 'muddiness' about which some have complained. Flat equalization (at least for bass) is a requirement for these headphones.
2. Excellent isolation and efficiency due to the foam sealing design. Just don't blow your eardrum turning the music up too loud, nor get run over by a bus 'cuz you can't hear it comin'!
3. Excellent overall sound quality; no tinny sound other reviewers have mentioned, unless The Plug is inserted incorrectly (ie - off-axis, or not "aimed" correctly).
BAD
----
1. True, the black foamy material does not stay compressed very long, so you have to 'roll' it in your fingers then immediately put it in your ear. I'd say I have average ears and have no problem using these, but I could see that those with small ears may have problems fitting these properly; problem solved by retrofitting a standard foam-type earplug (as others have mentioned). Whether you would or should do this is another question. The packaging does include a few different styles of foam inserts to try; angled, straight, etc.
2. The first pair of these I bought had uneven bass; the left earplug's bass was a lower sound pressure than the right; treble was fine. I verified this with both ears and then with a function generator. I exchanged them and the subsequent pair is perfectly balanced.
3. If The Plug is not inserted straight (not 'aimed' into your ear canal) the sound will lose its midrange (the 'tinny' thing some have mentioned). This would depends a lot on how your ears are 'designed.' I personally don't have an issue with this.
Overall, I think these earbud headphones are excellent, especially for the price.
67 adjustable plugs
The stock plugs that koss supplies you with will be inadequate. You should rather visit your local cvs or eckerd and buy their sponge plugs. Once that is done its just a simple matter of poking a hole through the plug large enough to fit the plug through the sound pipe. Be sure to leave the pipe opening unobstructed so as to not impede the high frequencies. BTW this tip was given by this very macguyveresque dude named Xin Feng in San Fran. The guy has tips for everything! If interested here's the link: http://www.fixup.net/tips
68 Horrendously uncomfortable
I've had many different kinds of earbuds, and I've never experienced any that were as uncomfortable as these. These were too difficult to use and once in my ear, extremely uncomfortable. Putting on headphones should not be an intellectual exercise. I know where the foam is supposed to go -- it just doesn't get there (in my ears, anyway) without exposing the hard plastic tube. I would not recommend these to anyone.
69 not that great
I bought these to get earbud-quality sound and discretion (low leakage) without the discomfort and difficulty of keeping traditional earbuds in place. I think it's a great idea, but the execution leaves something to be desired. There's something along the same lines by Sony but costing more than twice as much; I haven't tried it.
First, the sound seems pretty distorted to me. Very bassy, but kind of a fuzzy bass. I've tried it with a few different types of music, and it doesn't sound great with any of them; I can't conceive what they were thinking of.
Second, as other reviews mention, the plugs are hard to insert.
I use earplugs pretty regularly, so I thought it'd be a cinch, but this foam is not all that compressible, and very springy, so
it doesn't stay compressed long enough to get in your ear. I think I have better luck actually sticking them partway in and
poking at them in situ to get them farther in. Maybe they're just not supposed to go in as far as regular earplugs. Anyway, sometimes it works, sometimes it's very fiddly. I plan to try making replacements of regular earplugs, as suggested by another reviewer.
Finally, when they are in and the sound is equalized a bit, they're okay - more comfy and more apt to stay in than regular earbuds, less interfering or fiddly than clip-on or band 'phones,
decent sound.
70 Muddy bass
Positive aspects: Does stay in your ears, affordable
Negative aspects: *MUDDY* bass, unbalanced sound
OVERALL: Not recommended.
71 Not satisfied; they won't stay in.
PROS: Blocks outside noise, doesn't leak noise. Good bass.
CONS: Impossible to position in ear correctly; full potential of these earbuds goes unrealized.
These headphones sound GREAT when you get them in your ear far enough (holding them in). Good bass, crisp sounds. However, I simply cannot seem to get them to stay in deep enough to enjoy their full potential.
Each bud consists of the purple body, a little plastic tube about 1/2" long, and a compressible spongy foam cover. The foam covers are identical to the type of cheap earplugs many people wear, except these covers have a hole down the middle which fits over the plastic tube. The concept is that it will cancel outside noise just like an earplug, so the only thing you hear is the noise coming from the earphone through the plastic tube.
Unfortunately, I can't seem to compress the foam bud well enough to fit it in my ear. I squeeze it, and by the time I bring it to my ear, it has unsqueezed itself. If I then try to just push it into my ear, it sort of rolls up onto the earpiece, and then as soon as I let go it expands again and pushes the earbud right out of my ear.
With foam earplugs, you can compress them far enough, and you can work them into your ear since after all, it's just a piece of foam. But when you add the plastic tube through the center, along with the purple plastic body on the outside, it makes it very difficult to manipulate the foam cover to get it in your ear.
It would help if the foam part weren't so thick, and I may try whittling them down to get a better fit.
Unless you really need discrete, noise-canceling ear buds, and are willing to spend time working them in just right, I'd suggest going with something else.
72 Good sound, low durability
I like the sound and form, but have gone through three of these by now, each lasted only a few months before it stopped working (wire or connection degraded, I assume). I will now look for something else...
73 A bass player's dream.
In the business I am in I get to try out many different brands of earphones. For the amount of money these cost they provide excellent sound. Right now, my bass players are comparing these economical ear phones with top of the line (thus quite a bit more expensive) earphones designed for In Ear Monitors. The quality of sound is good. Bass response is excellent and they can handle a large sound load. The high end is a little lacking in crystal clear clarity but overall these are awesome little earphones.
74 Read this review
Koss makes excellent headphones for a decent price (eg, Portapro, Sportapro line, etc.). I found these not only a terribly uncomfortable fit in my ear (when they stayed in), but to have the worst sound I have ever experienced in earphones of any brand. My wife thought the sound was great and the fit perfect. That should be enough to make you wary: there is something about these headphones that evokes raves from some, earaches from others. Dicey at best.
75 Yes, it's all that but the sound is *awful*
Here's the good stuff: great isolation from outside noise, comfortable, damned near excellent bass, and very power efficient. But I'm returning my pair to Tower Records where I just bought them for $15. Why? Because the sound itself is truly awful: compressed, dead, flat, hazy, and tinny (the great bass notwithstanding). These 'phones literally suck the life out of my music, by destroying its dynamics, detail, rhythm, tonal accuracy, and high frequencies, and then layering a harsh fuzziness on top of that. I can't say enough bad things about the actual sound. I suspect you can have a more rewarding musical experience at your dentist's office. I know I did.
76 tiny phones with BIG SOUND!
These are e-x-c-e-l-l-e-n-t!!!
The sound reproduction is remarkable. You hear all of the music from the lows to the highs in crystal clarity.
I've had these for over a year now and love them. I can't say enough about how great they sound! There are some pros and cons with these phones, but the pros outweigh the cons for me.
Cons: ...Not very rugged. They are a delicate piece of equipment & must be respected as such.
.............I don't care much for the "jell type" ear pieces (I replaced mine with something else. I'll tell you "what and how" in the latter part of this review)
.............If not properly inserted in the ears, the sound quality suffers greatly. (THIS IS A KEY FACTOR)
Pros: ...Tiny phones which will out perform most other phones (small or large) in the much higher price range. (I'm not kidding)
............Very power efficient (small input = BIG OUTPUT)
............Batteries on portables last longer because you don't have to pump-up the volume. But you can pump it up till your ears bleed if you'd like. They sound great either way.
About the ear pieces...
The unit comes with several sizes and shapes of ear pieces and the key to these phones is proper fit and comfort. I replaced the originals with "soft foam ear plugs", which were purchased at a local pharmacy. These are the type that you compress, stick'em in your ears and they expand to fit perfectly. They don't cost much and are very easy to modify for use with "The Plug". All you need to do is to cut the foam ear plugs down in length to fit over the tube on the ear pieces. Then heat up a straight pin on the stove and use it to pierce a hole through the center of the foam ear plugs. Bingo! You've got new ear pieces which work better than the originals.
77 best phones for portable use EVER
Wait a minute...is that bass..and decent volume..from a set of walkman 'phones?
I've been using walkmans for about 20 years now. I've owned every type of headphones produced and been let down by allmost all of them,'till now.
Most of the portables made over the past few years have a pathetic lack of volume output. The "plug" makes up for this...they are LOUD with very little power needed. Even the high $ 'phones ,dont even come close to the bass responce.
These are the best phones ever for portable use.
78 The Best Earphones I have ever Owned
I am not kidding when I say these are the best dang earbuds...earphones, that I have EVER owned. I can actually feel the bass vibrating my ears. And, I don't have to turn the volume way up to hear anything. Also, the foamy things block out a lot of background noise, so these are the only earphones that I have ever been able to use on the airplane. The only hard part is getting them in your ears, but if you smoosh the foam and stick it in your ear really fast, then it usually works. But once it's in, it doesn't fall out, which is a plus. These are my favorite earphones ever, and if Koss ever stops making them, I will be genuinely upset.
79 Great while they lasted
I loved these things, the sound was great, and once you get the hang of it they go in easily and stay put. The one problem I had was I would often lose the squishy ear cushions or they would wear out from use. I ended up having to use shapes that didn't fit as well. Now I'm on my last two mismatched cushions, after having them for six months. You can buy replacements from Koss. Also one earbuds wire is coming loose so the sound cuts out ocasionally, but thy have a lifetime warrenty that will fix them for any reason, though they do charge you for s/h.
80 The best for a great price
I have worn earplugs to bed for a few years now, so maybe that's why I found them so easy to adapt to, but I've tried just about every kind of ear-only headphones and they never work. These stay in your ears and sound great. For this price, you can not go wrong.
81 Great headphones. Truly unique.
I've been using a set of these for over a year. I love them. I have had little trouble with them coming out except when exercising. I have been unable to use them for that and still have not found an adequate pair of headphones for intense cardio sessions. I use them when driving and when I'm working around the house and in the yard. They are great on airplanes. They completely isolate external sound which makes them effective in noisy situations. They are not hi-fi and will not reproduce sound with the quality of a full set of headphones. The sound is more than adequate though. They are particularly great for spoken word recordings. I highly recommend them unless you are looking for ultimate hi-fi audio or want to use them during exercise.
82 Cool
I love this item it keeps in the music and they are easy to use i think any way, its very good, sure its kind of pricey but just think that you pay for these once and wont have to buy headphones for a long time
83 Good, cheap sound solution for the traveller
NOTE: the description I saw on the Amazon page does not reflect the product I have. Above it discusses a headband and an adapter which are not part of this product. Also, the rated frequency response is 10-20k, not 16-23k. I think this is (or was) an Amazon editorial error.
My interest for this product is as a solution to listening to music, lectures, and movies while travelling, and I travel a lot. I have a set of Panosonic noise-cancelling headphones which were good (about five times more expensive than these earbuds) though bulky, but the plastic broke so they won't stay on my head now.
These earbuds are an excellent alternative to noise-cancelling headphones for the frequent traveller. I find them more comfortable for extended listening than most conventional headphones. The ability to seal out noise from the external environment is very good, and makes it possible to understand what actors are saying when watching a movie on an airplane.
The overall performance - sound quality and noise blocking - is not as good as the Bose noise cancelling headphones, but the Bose are 20 times as expensive, much less convenient to carry, and subject to damage from the rough world of the road warrior. If The Plug had an optional noise-cancelling unit (say, combined with the eq), it would be a killer combination - are you listening, Koss?).
The sound is good. Bass-heavy, to be sure; I would like them better if they had a flatter response, but the product is marketed at the portable music crowd, and many of them are looking for dramatic bass rather than golden-ears sound.
Besides, mobile sound is always a compromise, it's just a question of whether the compromise they chose works for you.
Here are some problems I've heard and the solutions:
1. "They fall out of my ear." I think an older version of this product did not come with alternative cushions; the ones I bought recently (as pictured here) came with 3 alternative cushion pairs, one of which fit well in my somewhat large ears. To make them fit well, roll the cushions in your fingers and squeeze them down, then hold them in place in your ears while they adjust the fit. Also, it is possible to fashion your own cushions (easy modification to commercially available ear plugs from pharmacy); go to google and search for "koss plug mods".
2. What about when I have to replace the cushions, they'll get waxy/dirty with use? See last sentence of #1.
3. "They sound tinny". I have a sense that the sound was tinnier on an earlier version of these earbuds, judging from comments I've read in feedback and on the koss plug mods page. The purple plugs (as opposed to the older(?) blue ones) do not sound tinny to me; they seem a bit heavy on the bass instead. Koss also makes a 3-band eq (20 dollars) for their headphones that can be used to adjust the sound some. I have an eq on order, hoping it may temper the boomy bass a bit. Of course, your player may have a way of changing the color of the sound, but my laptop does not.
4. "They're easy to lose." The price of their tiny size and negligible weight, is that you need to be careful not to lose them. I've already lost a pair. Koss also makes a carrying case which may help, or you could just put them in a 35mm film canister. But at $... a pair (compared to $... for noise-cancelling headphones) I'll just keep a spare pair around in my travelling case.
Overall I'm pleased with the price/performance tradeoff for these earbuds, and they are an essential part of my travelling kit. They sound better than any other earbuds I've used, and they remove a good bit of the ambient sound, offering more pleasure in listening. I give four stars out of five because I'd prefer a less bassy sound, though some people will really like the way they sound.
84 Great headphones for the portability!
It's a great set of phones, seriously. I bought these in Australia (residing in Australia) at $$AUD which translates roughly $$ but still consider it worth the buy.
You can get this for half the price here, so believe me it's worth it!
The plusses for this product are listed in most all other reviews; I'll mention the drawbacks to this product.
Obviously no one likes spending the extra second to 'squeeze' the earbuds so that they fit in your ear.
But they WILL fit in your ear, and won't fall out (I have had them in my ears for 3 hours in a row and have no problem with them fitting).
They come with extra ear plugs; which are in different shapes and sizes. MAKE SURE these come with your headset since the ones already one mine didn't fit in my ear properly; I used one of the other earbuds.
Aside from that, great bass; it pretty much DOES drown out most all other noise - I'm still worried other people around me can hear from my mp3 player! Though I know this isn't the case.
Recommended buy; 8.5/10.
Jon
85 Mind Blowing !
Just absolutely INCREDIBLE.
Indescribable. I bet your thinking that it's a high price for some earphones...well they are more expensive than others, but do you see any others like these? The unique design makes ALL the difference. I used to listen to my music at volume 25...now, I can't stand it being any louder than 15, no sound travels between my ears and the outside world. Thats right, ISOLATION. I know, I know... not possible with earphones, right? Not if they're these earphones. I'm rocking out to INCREDIBLE bass( what Koss is known for) and not only can I not hear the bus I'm riding, but the guy who had a bad day sitting next to me isn't bothered by any music because he doesn't hear any! I'm telling you, these little things are PERFECT for little MP3players, especially the 128Mb Creative Nomad Muvu (EXCELLENT music combination). Now that you have read my review, stop wasting your time and get these pieces of gold before they're sold out, because anyone who wants to hear the full potential that their music player can produce is already typing in their delivery address and preparing for this euphoria.
86 Man these Bite!
These are the worst headphones ever. Do not buy! They pop out on a consistent basis (on my 30 minute commute to work on average they pop out, usually out of one ear, 3-4 times). So I'm constantly trying to reinsert them, very troublesome on a subway. I think it's due to the foamy nature of the replaceable plugs. They do not conform to you ear's structure and thus gradually expand over time.
87 Tom M
After buying a Sony MD player I was looking for a set of earbud's that would allow for the low volume of the unit. The Koss 'The Plug' works great. I even tried them out while I was using my noisy lawn mower. It not only drowns out the noise but it's an instant kill switch over the wife. Wow, I can even use them around the house. Oop, what's that honey?
88 uncomfortable and poor sound
I suppose I have smaller ears than some people, I do have trouble getting any sort of earbud head phone to stay in place, but "The Plug" is a really bad fit for me, they fall out just moving my head slightly. And the sound? tinny and buzzy. Some people seem to like them, but they were a complete waste of money for me.
I like the wrap-around, behind the neck headphones much better. The Sonys are OK, but Phillips have some really good & inexpensive ones.
89 Not the most comfortable, nor the best sound quality.
I usually have avoided Koss before because of their cheap construction, but after seeing these among other quality headphones, I figured I would give them a try. These promised better sound qualtiy than your average $10 headphones, but after using them for 5 minutes, I realized that I was probably better off buying cheaper headphones. The cords are a really thin guage wire, the "ear cushions" do not really fit comfortably, and the "big bass sound" is almost non-existant unless you push and hold them in your ear. All in all they sound really "tinny" and the midrange is pretty bad.
Coming from a pair of sony earbud style headphones(which I used for years before they broke), I think I am going to get rid of these and go back to my trusty old sony headphones...atleast then I know I am getting what I pay for.
90 Great
These headphones are amazing for the price. I got a pair of these at Circuit City for 7.99 and I love them. They take a little while to get used to. I took about 5 minutes experimenting with the different shapes and sizes of earbuds included in the package until i found the ones perfect for me. They take a little effort to get in your ears the right way but once they're in all other noise disappears and music fills your ears. My only complaint is that they are extremely bassy. I listen to a lot of live and accoustic stuff so all the bass is a little unneccessary, but they still sound great! Perfect for airplanes.
Give 'em a try!
91 Fantastic!!!
I live in a college apartment complex where my roommate constantly bugs me, the guy upstair's bed squeaks (a terrible sound), and the guys downstairs play their bass LOUD.
When I picked up the Koss "The Plug" earbud headphones, it turned my annoying college life around. Their great. It totally blocks out other noises! I put these phones into my cd player, turn up the volume, and I can't hear a thing! I can't hear my roommate knock on the door to ask for favors (heheh), the bass downstairs is neutralized by the bass this plug emits, which is awesome. It took a while to fit in my ear, but I found it fits nicely when you let the end of the plug rest on the back of your ear.
I highly reccomend these headphones. They fit nicely, have GREAT bass, and drown out everything outside. If I have any con, I'd say that I'm wary about the headphone life. It may not last very long seeing how fragile it looks. One of the tubes fell off on mine, but it's not a problem. But these plugs are so cheap you can easily and cheaply get a new pair! So buy it now!
92 High Quality Sound
The best sound quality I ever heard out of ear plug stereophones. Inevitably they break though. I had to send in my stereophones twice under their Lifetime Warrant. They send back a new pair...
93 These things rule!
I didn't know what to think, but these things sound great!
They get rid of almost all other sound! And at this price? There also seems to be a little underground that's hacking these things to make them sound better. Sound better? How is this possible? Well, I might try just to see.
But if I don't, I'm happy, happy, happy.
94 Not comfortable at all - even modified
I owned a pair of the older (blue and yellow) Koss Plugs and I modified them to fit better using Flents earplugs instead of the one Koss supplied (see the Headwize website for modifications you can do.) Those worked ok (though they were still a little uncomfortable.) When I ordered this new version of Plugs I could not get them to fit right and the sound was really tinny. Fortunately I found the Sony EX-70LPs. Much more comfortable than these, thank goodness! No earphones fit everyone well, and the Koss earphones don't work well at all it you have shallow ears. The Sony's also cost three times more than the Koss, but the comfort is worth it.
95 Best economy earphones
I used to own the KOSS KSC-50's, and those were the best earphones I've ever owned. Well, now these KOSS plugs are the best ones I've ever owned.
-It's an earplug. It'll drown out all the other noise. If anyone knows about the [expensive] BOSE headphones with noise-reduction technology, this is better or if not, then close.
-It also has the enormous bass that KOSS is famous for. It shakes my head, impressive. It also gives a lot of sound at lower volumes, so you get more output and longer battery life.
-Doesn't leak sound.
-Extra earplugs.
SO what are the Plugs? The best way to describe it is an earplug with strong bass.
NEGATIVES: You have to push the plugs into your ear. But you gotta do that with any earbud, plus these KOSS ones will stick and won't fall out if you're running. You also can't hear a thing that anyone else is saying to you, (which is pretty cool actually).
This earphone's pretty special. It's not your basic run-of-the-mill earphone, you can sense the power put behind it. It's like nothing I've ever seen before. And the experience is trembling.
96 For the active user, DON'T BUY
If you are an active user who doesn't dedicate their entire lives to making sure you take good care of your headphones, don't buy these headphones.
* The major problem with these headphones is that underneath the removable squishy inserts is a delicate tube that is easily breakable even if the squishy inserts are on the tube. I broke this tube within the first few days of use and had no more use for them.
* If you plan on keeping a close watch on these headphones and don't share them with others (therefore not spreading your earwax residue that builds up on the squishy inserts), than by all means buy them.
97 Great for Air Travel & Daily Commuting
These headphones are awesome I got my first pair as a Christmas gift 6 years ago!?! I use them frequently (and was able to get replacement pads from Koss a few year after (when the originals were all ruined (I think they came with 8 pair)) they finally gave out a couple months ago (quite durrable)... I'm getting a replacement pair & I will be SO happy when they arrive!!!
The best part is that they block out sound! Great for commuting & especially air travel (you get the movie for free too!! because they are the same standard plug as the rentals) and you don't have to hear a thing ~ even blocks out crying babies (sigh)... of course this isn't good if you are using them when cycling, running or walking around vehicular traffic ~ I wouldn't use then in those cases ~ too dangerous!!!
98 I use them all the time-FOLLOW UP
I just want to warn everyone! These headphones are fragile. I just pulled them out of my bag and the left plug broke! I think there still worth it so i got a case for them. I suggest doing this when you buy them to.
99 Excellent value with many good qualities
I was intrigued by the raves for these very inexpensive headphones, and the Koss brand name convinced me to give them a try.
I compared them to the Sennheiser HD56 headphones that I normally use for portables, and my AKG 240DF headphones that have been used by many studio engineers in recording albums.
The Koss The Plug headphones have excellent dynamic range and sensitivity. This means that you will get more volume out of weaker amps, such as those found in multipurpose portables, like PDAs and portable synths, like the Yamaha QY series. They also have excellent bass, which together with the dynamic range, makes them excellent for any sort of modern dance music.
Unlike another reviewer, I did not find any problem with the midrange or high end. I suspect that this perception some people have had, is due to the fact that increasing the bass automatically makes the midrange and highs seem muted - especially in headphones.
As others have mentioned, the fit is critical to the sound quality. Read the instructions found on the inside of the card in the packaging. Even the orientation of the earphones in your ear can affect the sound. Experiment a little until you find the best sound.
WARNING: These headphones can go very loud with portables that have decent amps (MP3 and CD players). Famous musicians like Pete Townsend and Jeff Baxter have hearing problems from hours of loud music - so be careful!
100 I use them all the time
I really like these headphones. They've got better bass than my big, bulky headphones, which were no where near $14.99! My dad gets mad at me when I wear them because I can't hear him, that's how good they isolate sound! I don't think thier that hard to put in.
WARNING!!!!-Watch out, don't put them in to far because you're gonna hurt yourself. TAKE YOUR TIME!!!! put em in the right way.
