Vintage KOSS earphones PRO-4AA buying decision.

[Jacques Carrier]

Hi fellow techs,

Would you buy these earphones?They are 25 years old.
A friend of mine is asking $20.
They seem OK but I wonder about the speaker cones
versus the sound quality.


Any feedback would be very much appreciated.

Jacques

 

[jakdedert]

Hi fellow techs,

Would you buy these earphones?They are 25 years old.
A friend of mine is asking $20.
They seem OK but I wonder about the speaker cones
versus the sound quality.


Any feedback would be very much appreciated.

Jacques

These are still highly prized in the audiophile (some say 'audiophool')
community. I wish I still had mine. I sold them when I bought my Pro4AAA's
back when I was a dealer in the 70's.

FWIW, Koss has a very good program (or did, it's been years) for
repairing/reconditioning their headphones. For a flat fee, you can send
them to Koss, and they fix *everything* that might be wrong with them. In
addition, they replace any parts which might have been improved from the
time yours was manufactured.

jak

 

[Asimov]

"Jacques Carrier" bravely wrote to "All" (22 Sep 04 12:10:35)
--- on the heady topic of "Vintage KOSS earphones PRO-4AA buying
decision."

JC> From: [email protected] (Jacques Carrier)

JC> Hi fellow techs,

JC> Would you buy these earphones?They are 25 years old.
JC> A friend of mine is asking $20.
JC> They seem OK but I wonder about the speaker cones
JC> versus the sound quality.


JC> Any feedback would be very much appreciated.

JC> Jacques

Test them by having at least a 20 minute listening session. The reason
is that in my experience with some headphones their coils may become
thermal intermittant over the years. Dropping headphones is one cause.
This hidden problem may show up as the phones gradually warm up from
contact with the head/ears.

A*s*i*m*o*v

.... A stereo system is the altar to the god of music.

 

[Michael Black]

"Jacques Carrier" bravely wrote to "All" (22 Sep 04 12:10:35)
--- on the heady topic of "Vintage KOSS earphones PRO-4AA buying
decision."

JC> From: [email protected] (Jacques Carrier)

JC> Hi fellow techs,

JC> Would you buy these earphones?They are 25 years old.
JC> A friend of mine is asking $20.
JC> They seem OK but I wonder about the speaker cones
JC> versus the sound quality.


JC> Any feedback would be very much appreciated.

JC> Jacques

Test them by having at least a 20 minute listening session. The reason
is that in my experience with some headphones their coils may become
thermal intermittant over the years. Dropping headphones is one cause.
This hidden problem may show up as the phones gradually warm up from
contact with the head/ears.

Of course, it also depends on useage, and even model.

I used to use headphones a lot, and the cord would tend to break. I
retired my good pair of Koss, I forget the exact model number, because I
couldn't figure out how to pen them to change the cord. Or maybe it was
because the pads covered the screws, and I couldn't figure out how
to get them off without ruining the pads.

In the model I had, the pads were just open foam. I bought them in '78
and when I eventually scrapped them some years back, they'd been out of use
for some years, the foam had disintegrated.

Micahel

 

[Richard]

Of course, it also depends on useage, and even model.

I used to use headphones a lot, and the cord would tend to break. I
retired my good pair of Koss, I forget the exact model number, because I
couldn't figure out how to pen them to change the cord. Or maybe it was
because the pads covered the screws, and I couldn't figure out how
to get them off without ruining the pads.

In the model I had, the pads were just open foam. I bought them in '78
and when I eventually scrapped them some years back, they'd been out of use
for some years, the foam had disintegrated.

Micahel

The Pro4AA were the standard of the professional sound industry when I
was in the biz along with the Sennheiser. The seals were fluid filled
plastic of some sort and yes they did cover the screws to take the
headphones apart. As I remember it you removed the ear seal by pulling
it out of the groove around the ear piece. This revealed 4 screws that
you removed and the phones could be opened.

Personally I never liked the open foam because when I was monitoring
sound I liked a complete seal to reduce ambient noise as much as
possible. I still miss mine and have seen them at garage sales for as
little as $1.

Richard

 

[jakdedert]

[email protected] (Michael Black) wrote in message


The Pro4AA were the standard of the professional sound industry when I
was in the biz along with the Sennheiser. The seals were fluid filled
plastic of some sort and yes they did cover the screws to take the
headphones apart. As I remember it you removed the ear seal by pulling
it out of the groove around the ear piece. This revealed 4 screws that
you removed and the phones could be opened.

Personally I never liked the open foam because when I was monitoring
sound I liked a complete seal to reduce ambient noise as much as
possible. I still miss mine and have seen them at garage sales for as
little as $1.

One of the 'improvements' of the AAA's, over the AA's, was the incorporation
of air-filled pads. They sealed up against the head quite nicely--when
new--but 'popped' like balloons at the slightest mistreatment. I did
replace the pads on my AA's...in fact they had just come back from the
factory when I unloaded them in favor of the newer model. For the (then)
$25 flat fee (including return shipping), they replaced both drivers (only
one was bad, but there had been an upgrade since mine were new), both pads,
and the cord.

Wish I'd kept them....

jak

 

[gothika]

"Jacques Carrier" bravely wrote to "All" (22 Sep 04 12:10:35)
--- on the heady topic of "Vintage KOSS earphones PRO-4AA buying
decision."

JC> From: [email protected] (Jacques Carrier)

JC> Hi fellow techs,

JC> Would you buy these earphones?They are 25 years old.
JC> A friend of mine is asking $20.
JC> They seem OK but I wonder about the speaker cones
JC> versus the sound quality.


JC> Any feedback would be very much appreciated.

JC> Jacques

Test them by having at least a 20 minute listening session. The reason
is that in my experience with some headphones their coils may become
thermal intermittant over the years. Dropping headphones is one cause.
This hidden problem may show up as the phones gradually warm up from
contact with the head/ears.

A*s*i*m*o*v

... A stereo system is the altar to the god of music.

Koss is and always has been TRASH.
If you want a decent brand try Sennheiser or AKG for starters.

 

[Asimov]

"gothika" bravely wrote to "All" (24 Sep 04 01:59:17)
--- on the heady topic of "Re: Vintage KOSS earphones PRO-4AA buying
decision."

go> From: gothika <[email protected]>
go> Koss is and always has been TRASH.
go> If you want a decent brand try Sennheiser or AKG for starters.

And you work for...?

All kidding aside, some people rave about some brands just like they
do a football team. It is all quite subjective. For example I like
some Sony headphones for their clarity and definition.

A*s*i*m*o*v

.... A stereo system is the altar to the god of music.

 

[Eodyg]

I have a pair of Koss PRO-4X PLUS I bought new in 1988. They still sound
great. Absolutely the best pair of headphones I've ever owned.

In fact I'm glad to hear about Koss' factory reconditioning program--I'll have
to see if that still exists, because I think mine are beginning to show their
age.

 

[Jim Adney]

One of the 'improvements' of the AAA's, over the AA's, was the incorporation
of air-filled pads. They sealed up against the head quite nicely--when
new--but 'popped' like balloons at the slightest mistreatment. I did
replace the pads on my AA's...in fact they had just come back from the
factory when I unloaded them in favor of the newer model. For the (then)
$25 flat fee (including return shipping), they replaced both drivers (only
one was bad, but there had been an upgrade since mine were new), both pads,
and the cord.

I still have the Pro4As that I bought in the mid to late 60s. To me
now, they seem excessively heavy and I haven't used them in years. One
of the main reasons they never get used, however, is that the Green
Pads are now "flat." They seemed to have been filled with something at
one time but that has all either leaked out or dried up.

I've often wondered if I could just buy new pads. That would make them
useful again.

Are replacement pads for these (of equal or better quality) still
available from Koss?

What do you people think of the Pro4As?

-

 

[gothika]

"gothika" bravely wrote to "All" (24 Sep 04 01:59:17)
--- on the heady topic of "Re: Vintage KOSS earphones PRO-4AA buying
decision."

go> From: gothika <[email protected]>
go> Koss is and always has been TRASH.
go> If you want a decent brand try Sennheiser or AKG for starters.

And you work for...?

Nobody, I'm retired. No, I never worked for either companies, just
found their headphones to be the best for the bucks.
BTW I do have a pair of Sony's(mda 5a's) amd yes they do have fairly
good clairity and definition in the mids and highs, good transients
and smooth frequency response in that range as well. Just very thin on
the bass and only marginal imaging.
They do make for a good headset for field recording though.(I modded
mine by making them closed air to keep out unwanted exterior noise.)
All that said in my day I liked the Sennheiser's for studio work and
the AKG's for field work.(The AKG's were good lightweight fairly
durable headphones with very flat response, a desirable trait when all
you had in the field was a Nagra and if lucky a small mixer.)
For more finnicky work I have an old pair of Beyer dynamics
electrostatic's(discrete quad) for doing detailed imaging on 5.1 audio
tracks.
Still I DO stand by my original statement that Koss is junk.
Absolutely the worst frequency response of ANY headphones I've ever
tested.(I have an old waldo rig that I use for specing out any set I
buy.)
The last set of Koss's I tested barely eeked out 12,000hz of audible
highs and the bass was so ragged/fuzzy as to make the user WANT to cut
anything below 80hz.
Imaging was non-existent as well.
If the original poster's budget doesn't allow for even the low end
models of the brands I mentioned try something in the Panasonic line.
They have good bass, fairly clean highs and very good imaging.(For the
money)

 

[JURB6006]

From: gothika

snip

A long time ago I had a pair of Sansui SS10s. I had to modify them with a
razor, but I did get them where I wanted them. Killer.

Later I discovered Sony MDR-CD5s, which were a bit pricey, but I had them. At
45 ohms the dropping resistor in the reciever dropped alot less. I would
equalize etc, but the thing is these things boasted response down to 2Hz. This
was back in album days and indeed when you put the needle in the groove you
could feel it. Rated 128Db@100mW and a max of 500mW they were LOUD !

Just another bunch of stuff I wish I still had.

JURB

 

[gothika]

snip

A long time ago I had a pair of Sansui SS10s. I had to modify them with a
razor, but I did get them where I wanted them. Killer.

Later I discovered Sony MDR-CD5s, which were a bit pricey, but I had them. At
45 ohms the dropping resistor in the reciever dropped alot less. I would
equalize etc, but the thing is these things boasted response down to 2Hz. This
was back in album days and indeed when you put the needle in the groove you
could feel it. Rated 128Db@100mW and a max of 500mW they were LOUD !

Just another bunch of stuff I wish I still had.

JURB

I had a Fisher(please no flames!) class "H" amp that boasted 0hz to
30khz response, one of the cleanest, and quietest consumer amps I've
ever had.
It really could pass very low frequencies and it's highs were sharp as
glass. I plan to dig it out of storage one day and get it back up to
snuff.(It suffered from prolonged exposure to the elements, had it in
a storage room that had the roof cave in and the storage manager
didn't inform anyone of this calamity for over a year.)

I still have alot of the hifi and studio equipment that I aquired over
the years.(Used to have a recording studio business up until the mid
80's)
Got most of it stored in a small warehouse I have, unfortunately I
have a wife now so most of it just sits.(That spousal factor can be a
real bitch.)
I'd love to be able to dig much of it out and play around with it
though. I went over the other day and got out a couple of JBL
signature series monitors(Hardwood with teak veneer, 15inch woofers
and 10 inch horns. big and heavy but with that robust bass old analog
gear was so noted for.)
Plan to fire them up the first day the old lady is out of the house.
If you are young and love messing around with audio gear you might
want to take a bit of advice from an old timer, DON'T get married.

 

[Noah Little]

unfortunately I
have a wife now so most of it just sits.(That spousal factor can be a
real bitch.)

Plan to fire them up the first day the old lady is out of the house.
If you are young and love messing around with audio gear you might
want to take a bit of advice from an old timer, DON'T get married.

How sad for you. How very, very sad for you.

 

[gothika]

How sad for you. How very, very sad for you.

Yes I guess I should have checked her allowable SPL before commiting.
She's one of these types that can't stand any audible levels above
that produced by old hand held AM radios.