Koss KPH14K Side Firing Headphone (Black)

In addition to inventing the Walkman, Sony also (apparently) invented the side-firing/vertical/call-it-what-you-will headphone. These headphones stay in your ears (yes in, not over) without needing to be press-fit like corks in wine bottles. They became somewhat popular among exercisers decades ago, which may explain why the disappearance of the headphones is so vociferously protested: the more sedentary users of other styles of headphones have long since died. ;-)As someone who refuses to hang up his running shoes despite the protestations of his knees, I too was alarmed by the disappearance of Sony’s side firing headphones. If needs be, I could run without running shoes, but without side-firing headphones? Horrors! For me, at least, the Koss KPH14 headphones are a perfectly adequate replacement.I do not know how the Koss headphones compare with the similar Sonys, nor do I think it is possible to make a comparison: over the years Sony would move the manufacture of their headphones from one exploited third world country to another such that the question “Are the Kosses better than the Sonys?” begs the retort “Which Sonys and when?”. I’ve used the Koss headphones for a couple of years, and I have no complaints whatever about their sound quality.I’m also totally satisfied with their construction quality. Despite using them at least -- or at most ;-) -- once a week for years, and often rinsing them after use, I’ve only had two pairs fail. One failed after I drove forty miles with its cord accidentally dangling out of my car door and bouncing across the asphalt, and the second failed when I snagged its cord on an immovable object while I was moving.The Koss headphones do have two notable/questionable quirks. First is the very generous length of their cord. If the cord is too short for you, good luck with your basketball career. Second is the size of their headband.As has been mentioned numerous times by others, the headband adjusts from very small to small. As a person with a large head and short hair, I am just able to achieve a comfortable fit by gently bending the headband around its middle and thereabouts. Bending them without heating the plastic risks breaking them, but one grows cocky with practice. Wearing them without bending them would not be at all comfortable. Other than heating the headband a bit before bending them, I have not found the more extreme methods mentioned by others necessary.One difference on the Koss KPH14 headphones is its connector. Rather than use a straight 1/8” (aka 3.5mm, if you’re a Commie ;-) connector, or a ninety degree connector, the Koss uses an approximately 45 degree connector. This is of no concern to me, but I thought it worth mentioning.Almost forgot: my recollection is that Sony made several different side-firing headphones with speakers of different diameters. The diameter of the speakers on the Sony MDR-W08 were, as I recall, of the smallest sizes produced. I have not measured them, but the Koss speakers are of a very similar size; possibly identical.

They work fine. Good volume and are easy to adjust. My complaint is that they are way too tight across the band and hurt my ears after 20 minutes. I have placed them on a box that spreads the ear pieces for a few days to stretch the band. I think once they are stretched out, then they will be more comfortable.

So, I got my KOSS headset yesterday around 4:00 p.m.. The fit is good and the sound is good. Why did I give it 5 stars? It is because of the ease of putting them on ! I only have partial use of one hand and putting in earbuds and keeping them in was hard to do. I would need help and then, if they fell out, and sometime my hand would get caught in the wires and I would pull them out (which frequently happened,) I would need help. I have a LARGE head, so instead of putting them over my head, I slide them from my cheeks back to my ears and then stand them up. The plastic headband is not flexible like the old Sony, so they shouldn't be pulled. I think that I may have a solution. I am ordering a wired girls' headband. I will Gorilla glue the metal headband to the headset band. I will update afterwards !I connected my HonShoop blu-tooth dongle and now I can listen to and control music, call and receive calls and adjust volume with zero help!I am ordering a second headset today to experiment on. Being disabled, I am always looking for ways to make my life easier and morecomfortable : )P.S. Even headsets with earhooks would not stay in !I feel asleep watching videos and listenng with my KOSS headset. I had no ear pain.UPDATE; I had no ear pain for over a week , then I fell asleep and my head had rolled to the right and then, ouch ! I have not been able to experiment with the wire headbands yet. I still like my Koss headset ,but I am more careful. If I am watching TV late, I will take the right side out and let it rest behind my ear.

Fit nice and snug. Great for running. I could see how they might be uncomfortable for many hours of wear. But fantastic for running.Sadly these broke after the third use. The photo of fracture plane, appears to be a void in the plastic. I’m returning and have ordered a white replacement pair. Hopefully that color plastic will be stronger.Update: bought the white ones. They broke in an identical way (thankfully within the return window), snapped at the top. These are very brittle and will snap when opened any wider than your ears. I was trying to put them around my neck so opened them a little wider than my ears to clear them, I have a small head and was aware of the failure mode and was being careful, but they broke anyhow. If you choose to buy them be very careful, they are super delicate. I would recommend gluing on a curved strip of metal. Too bad because these are great otherwise. The tight fit is great for running. You could use them until try break they buy an new one and return the broken one. This is a major product flaw that needs to be fixed.I wish I could leave a second one star review for the white pair. Two different products should allow two reviews. I’ll buy the next pair from the wife’s account.

Listen, you get what you pay for, and I wasn't expecting an amazing level of quality for the price, but my only issue was the actual size. When stretched to as far as the adjustable sliders would go, I could barely make them fit. Then you have the side to side amount of space in between the ears, and that was way too small as well. Another inch here and there these would have been fine, but as they are, probably better for a teen, with little to no hair, or an even smaller child. As for quality, I'm not real rough with my headphones, so while the quality didn't seem amazing, I don't think they would have fallen apart either(but maybe). Sound quality was solid as well, no complaints in that area, especially for the price, but my biggest issue was the overall size, just way to small(and I have a near bald hair style, so that wasn't a factor for me).