The Porta Pros have been available since 1984, and because to their sound quality and affordable pricing, they’ve remained one of the most popular choices among audio fans over 40 years after Koss introduced them to the personal audio market.

Porta Pros range in price from $30 to $50 depending on where you check, and they come in black and blue, all black, black and gold, and black and silver. In this article, I’ll talk about my experiences with the Porta Pros’ stock pads and Yaxi’s Porta Pro earpads (which cost $12).

Koss Porta Pro Headphone Performance

Over the years, the Porta Pro has seen a few changes, with some variants adding controls for mobile devices and others featuring Bluetooth connectivity. Still, the Porta Pros’ core design and the neodymium iron boron driver that powers them haven’t altered since their introduction–which is a good thing, given how well they perform.

When compared to the original pads, I believe Yaxi Pads provide the most evident audible difference in the bass region. Starting with the included pads, the Porta Pros’ bass response has a lot of bass presence thanks to a large midbass boost between 100 and 250hz, which helps to compensate for their lack of bass extension and depth.

I was actually extremely impressed with the Porta Pro’s midrange voicing, regardless of the pads I used. The Porta Pros have a very linear and well-balanced midrange tuning with well-defined fundamental tones and a present upper midrange that contours vocal and instrument tones without feeling forward or shouty, with the exception of a slight upper-bass bleed and a tiny bit of a 2000hz nasally timbre that is present with the stock pads.

I’d describe the Porta Pro’s treble region as laid-back and warm sounding for the most part. Despite being slightly darker, the treble felt quite even and fleshed out, with even more upper-treble extension than I would have expected for this price range. There did appear to be a little peak between 5500 and 6000hz, however this elevation was not extremely noticeable or tiring, causing just minimal glare and sibilance.

Koss Porta Pro Headphone Design

The Porta Pro’s construction isn’t particularly impressive. While the Porta Pro has a robust metal headband and a collapsible design, the ear cups and driver assembly are constructed almost completely of plastic, which rattles when held in the hands, making them seem cheap. Nonetheless, while the Porta Pros’ chassis is far from being one I’d describe as strong, it does an excellent job of establishing a secure and comfortable fit. The materials utilised in this construction are exceptionally light, making the headset highly comfortable to use for long periods of time. Furthermore, despite the fact that the Porta Pros are on-ear headphones, I experienced little tiredness while using them due to how softly the ear cups rested on my ears.

However, there are two additional things to mention about the Porta Pro’s comfort. The first is that each ear cup includes “comfort zone” sliders that allow for very modest tension/clamp force adjustments. Then there’s the headband extension mechanism, which works great while you’re wearing the headphones, but it’s a little tough to adjust, and if you do so once they’re on your head, you’ll almost certainly lose some hair in the process.

Koss Porta Pro Headphone Value

Since the invention of detachable wires, the Koss Porta Pro Wireless have been the most plainly good and desirable thing in the world of headphones. Nowadays, everyone has a Bluetooth connection on their phone, and many people have less than $30 to spend on a good pair of headphones. Koss already has the formula for great sound and comfort. It was only a matter of combining those elements into one.