Impressions: The KOSS Demo Headphones

I spotted something weird on eBay recently: KOSS demo headphones.

They were pretty cheap, and even after a slight price bump they’re still not expensive. I’ll admit the looks got me, and the listing said these use the same driver as the KOSS PP, with the same performance, and that KOSS used them as demo units.

Most of all, those orange foam pads are genuinely nice-looking.

So I got impulsive and grabbed a pair to see how they do.

They turned out to be pretty fun once they arrived. The packaging is laughably bare — just a plastic bag — and the contents are about as simple as it gets: the headphone itself plus the orange foam pads.

The build is dead simple too. What you see is a single telescoping steel band holding the two drivers together.

On sound: I’ve long forgotten what the KOSS PP actually sounds like, I just remember the bass being heavy. This driver is definitely not cheap junk, though. The three ranges are fairly balanced, but the low end does get extra weight. Put simply, it suits modern pop with a lot of electronic elements.

Now for the best part, which is the fit. Because the structure is so simple, it sits on your head easily, and the foam makes it semi-open by nature. I think it’s great for carrying around and using in the office.

It’s that just-right feeling where you can enjoy the music but still hear someone calling you from the next desk. Add that it suits pop, the sound is passable, and it’s dirt cheap — nothing fits the office scenario better.

And the orange foam really does look good, which makes the value proposition even stronger for something this cheap.