A good pair of cheap closed headphones!

The Koss UR-30 is a full-size closed headphone with circumaural (around-the-ear) “pleather” pads. Frequency response is 18-20,000 Hz. It features a single-sided 8-foot-long cord that attaches at only the left earpiece and is terminated to a gold-plated mini-plug with a gold-plated 1/4" adaptor. Impedance is 100 ohms, with a 101dB/mW sensitivity rating. I bought these headphones yesterday at Best Buy on clearance after seeing the mostly rave reviews on Headroom, GoodCans and Epinions. I had hoped that they were as good as those reviewers said they were.

After listening to them for a day, I will have to say that I will agree with most of those rave reviews. These headphones have plenty of bass; in fact, the bass may be a bit too strong for some listening tastes. The bass on these headphones extend below 20Hz (the frequency generally regarded as the lowest in human hearing), but like most cheap headphones, this bass extension comes at the expense of a somewhat boomy mid-bass. The upper mids are a bit recessed, as well; the highs are decent and not too fatiguing. Inside these headphones’ oversized earcups I noticed some foam stuffing behind the driver units themselves; that stuffing helps to minimize the resonances that can ultimately cause muddiness in the sound. The overall sound quality – while no match for the pricier closed or semi-closed headphones, such as the Sony MDR-7506 and the AKG K240DF – is more than adequate for the average music listener. (The cheaper Koss UR-20 sounds a bit clearer than the UR-30, but is not as portable - it doesn't fold up.)

These headphones fold up flat, with the two earpieces “smashed” against each other, thus making them easily portable in a gym bag or a backpack. And once unfolded, these headphones are very comfortable to wear despite their very large bulk. This comfort is due in part to their being surprisingly light in weight for headphones this bulky, and the fabric headband. Aside from the usual sweating in the summer, I can wear these headphones for many hours – if not days – at a time. The headband, like that of most other low-priced full-size headphones, is somewhat difficult to adjust for a proper fit. And like other cheap headphones, they have no lateral pivots.

Despite the mostly plastic construction of these headphones, the Koss UR-30 should last for a few years under moderate use. They feel less flimsy than most other low-price headphones, and metal rods that form the outer part of the headband create tension (to keep the headphones in the proper shape).