One of the best portable headphones on the market

I've been looking for headphones like this for a long time. As an admitted bass-aholic, I've been routinely let down by other headphones. Over the years, I've bought and used so many of the highly recommended headphones. AKG K-240, various Sennheisers, Sonys, open, sealed, earbuds, in-ear. In fact, before the SportaPros, the only other thing that did it for me was my Logitech Z-680 surround sound system, with the subwoofer at a good, strong (although not floor-shaking) volume. I should have bought these sooner.

I've been hearing about the lauded PortaPro model (the older brother to the SportaPro) for over 20 years, and I owned the PortaPro's predecessor, the 1981 Koss Sound Partner, the first model to use the folding design shared by the PortaPro and SportaPro. (I joined the personal stereo revolution early, in 1980 with one of the earliest Walkmans.) Things have certainly progressed in 25 years. The KSP was comfortable and the SportaPro even moreso. In fact, I don't understand all these comments about the SportaPro having a vise-like grip on one's head. Maybe my head's smaller or something, but they feel light rather than tight. And having used canalphones, I'd take the SportaPro for comfort any day, especially for multi-hour listening when canalphones would leave my ear canals raw. My pair of Koss Plugs are comfortable enough since they have foam earplugs, but I never could get them to seal properly in my canals even after trying all the various plug sizes. I've tried wearing the Sportapros both over the head and behind the head and prefer the former. Call me "old school," but it feels more secure and less likely to slip off. It's also quicker and easier to fold from this position. Also, unlike the old KSPs, the sliding headband has yet to snag on my hair, probably due to the plastic sliders fitting more tightly around the metal bands.

The bass isn't as strong as I'd like, given all the comments about how powerful it is, but I guess I like and tolerate more bass than most people. I don't count myself among the audiophiles, so I'm not as picky about whether it's "boomy" or "muddy." I just want "oomph" without distortion, punchiness without sounding loose and rattling like the guys who drive their four-wheel boomboxes down the street. It's not the equal of my subwoofer, even with my iPod's equalizer set to boost the bass, but it's the closest I've had a set of headphones come. I can get a relatively full, rich sound without having to crank the volume to uncomfortable or dangerous levels. (I run my iPod mini at almost exactly 50% volume with these, I would guess about 80-85 decibels.) And yes, I hate to admit that even at those levels, these do leak music like a sieve, so be considerate of the people around you.

If there's one thing I wish this had, it's a retractable reel to take up slack during use and keep the cord from tangling during storage. I intend to add my own anyway, taken from an old retractable USB cable. For the bargain price of $20, I'm extremely happy with these headphones. Maybe they're not the height of fashion, but I've always chosen function over form. And while others may want to take advantage of Koss' lifetime warranty should these ever break, the price is low enough and I'm impressed enough with Koss' design and customer service that I intend to buy a new pair if it comes to that. Heck, if Koss ever decides to discontinue this model, I would hoard a small stock of them to last me the rest of my life.