Koss A-250 Headphone Review - Sennheiser HD570 Take Note!

2004 Update: Koss has discontinued the A-250! Unfortunately, this happens, even with good products? We're looking into some other alternatives. E-mail us if you want some ideas?

E-Mail: HeadphoneInfo@GoodCans.com

Meanwhile we'll keep the review up to give you an idea of what we're trying to replace:

Back in about 1987, I began selling Koss headphones in my CD store and the most expensive headphone I remember them having at the time was $80. I couldn’t imagine spending $150 on a headphone back then! I hadn’t yet discovered the audiophile world so I was pleased with the Koss line of headphones. In fact, I bought a pair of Koss PortaPro Jr.’s for myself and was quite happy using them with my new fangled Discman. Then, I guess it was in 1995 when I did some serious headphone research and discovered Grado headphones and was re-introduced to Sennheiser headphones, (I actually owned a pair of Senns back in the 70’s). I was so impressed with my findings that we signed up and became a dealer for both Grado and Sennheiser. We were also still selling Koss. But other than the PortaPro line, I was not too impressed when I had Grado and Sennheiser headphones to compare them to! Even though they offered a Lifetime Warranty, I became a dismayed with Koss’s quality on several of their models and eventually weeded out all of the Koss line except for the war-horse PortaPros.

For those of you who have read some of my other headphone articles, you may know that I am a fan of Grado headphones. A small audiophile company whose primary goal in producing headphones is superior sound quality, Grado has raised the bar considerably in the last 10 years when it comes to headphone sound quality. Meanwhile, most of the other headphone manufacturers have struggled between the balance of mass production, mass merchandising, and promotion. I would categorize Koss as being one of these companies. Very little seems to have been done by these companies in the interest of sound quality for several years... possibly even decades. Oh, they come out with new models all the time, but they are usually lighter, fancier looking, and more cheaply made than previous models. But since sound quality is not easily promoted in advertising or promotional packaging, it is very low on their list of priorities when increasing sales is their main goal. Even the highly regarded Sennheiser is getting difficult to understand! Almost their entire line has changed since I researched them in 1995. And quite frankly, most new models have not improved in sound quality one bit. In fact, many have taken a step or two back! While Senn is still making some great sounding headphones, you currently have to spend $250 or more to get them!

So let’s just recommend some $95 Grado SR80s or $150 Grado SR125s and be done with it... right? Well, not quite. I have a hard time getting past comparing headphones for anything else except for sound quality, but there are those of you who consider comfort just as important! While I personally can listen to a pair of Grados for as long as just about any other headphone because I am used to them, the supra-aural design of Grados, (sitting directly on the ears), tends to be a source of discomfort for some people. They prefer the circumaural type of headphones, (slightly larger with earpads that fit entirely around the ear). Unfortunately, Grado has yet to develop circumaural headphones. I tend to think they believe their supra-aural headphone design is important in the interest of sound quality. Until recently, I had not really come up with any circumaural headphones for under $300 that I really felt came close to that detailed Grado sound you can have for much less. Until I received a Koss A-250 to review....

Koss A-250 - Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! For reasons stated above, and not being a fan of Koss in recent years for anything except for their wonderful portable PortaPro headphones, I avoided testing this top model from Koss. The A-250 was actually introduced at the $250 price level several years ago, and after a couple of price cuts, it now retails for $130 to $150. It’s been a few months since I received a review model of the A-250s, so here are some thoughts:

Full Size Headphones - At first glance, the A-250s are ultra large, even for headphones intended for home use. But don’t let the size scare you off. They are actually very light weight. And obviously, they are circumaural, (fit around the ear rather than on the ear)! On the downside they do have the standard cumbersome dual entry cord found on most headphones of the past, (a single entry cord to the left earpiece is a very nice feature found on some headphones these days). And the leatherette ear pad material though comfortable, does get warm on my hot ears after a full CD of listening. A velvety soft material showing up on a lot of other similarly priced headphones would be a nice improvement to the A-250s. Don’t get me wrong though. They are actually very comfortable and have a highly padded, leather covered headband. I can listen to two CDs straight through without having to take a break from these cans! The 8 foot long cord is of very decent quality, much thicker than Koss’s department store cheapies, and it connects with a standard full size 1/4 inch plug.

Stowability: Did I mention these headphones were big? But get this... the earpieces actually detach from the headband and they can be stowed compactly in a nice drawstring bag that Koss includes for free! Can’t do that with any of the full sized headphones that I am familiar with! I don’t think Koss intended for these to be portable headphones, but they’ve never seen me with my battery powered CD player and my battery powered headphone amp! I can pack these babies easily in my suitcase and take them on the road!

Home Headphones - Though I personally wouldn’t hesitate to take these headphones with me to my cabin, on vacation, or on a business trip; judging by the size, you probably guessed they are more meant for home use rather than portable use. However, with an impedance of 60 ohms, a portable player could power these cans. But personally, I would use a battery powered headphone amp, (or AC powered headphone amp if you only use it in a hotel or similar location with power).

Open Headphones - Though Koss lists these headphones as “Closed” on their web site, we are classifying them as “Open” headphones. For those of you who have not read my headphone information posted at GoodCans.com, most open headphones, including the Koss A-250, have grills on the outside portion of the transducer housing rather than solid material. So rather than letting the sound bounce around inside the housing, the sound escapes. The result is a much more natural sound than the traditional closed headphone offers. Closed headphones are handy if you need to block outside sounds out or keep your listening to yourself in a quiet room. But natural sound quality comes easier to open headphones.

Build Quality - Unlike those breakable Koss’s I experienced a few years ago, these headphones seem to be well made. I think they would last the average consumer who takes care of their headphones many years. And remember, Koss has a lifetime warranty on their headphones! You pay the shipping, but they’ll repair it for Free, (remember to save your receipt)!

And The Sound - Believe it or not, the A-250 is coming closer to the detail of my Grado’s than anything I’ve heard from Senn or other competitors at this price level! No, it’s not quite there, but for full size, circumaural headphones, I’m impressed! If you’ve read my reviews of the more expensive headphones, you might recall that I described the detailed Grado sound as that of being on the stage with the musicians and I described the sound of the circumaural Senns more like sitting in the audience several rows away from the stage. Some people prefer the ultimate detail of the Grados while others prefer the more hall like, in the audience sound of the larger circumaural headphones. This hall like phenomenon is also true of the Koss A-250s. After all, the size of the earpieces are just about as large as I have seen on any headphones. To my surprise, I really like these headphones! Some forms of music with larger ensembles just sound better with larger speakers. More soundstage is required.

Nit-picking - To be fair as a reviewer, I do have to mention that my very positive comments on the A-250s is based on the sound quality, build quality, and value of these headphones. Compared to any similarly priced Grado’s or the $350 Senn HD600s, the sound of the midrange is not quite as satisfying to my ears. But remember, I’m nit-picking! In fact, the detail of the higher frequencies is pretty much in the same category! Comparing to a bit more affordable Senn I would say the overall sound of the Koss A-250 compares favorably to the $250 Senn HD590s, and beats the pants off of the Senn HD570s or HD575s!

Conclusions: Koss is not what I would consider an audiophile company. These days most of their offerings are priced to sell competitively at department stores. However, in the distant past, (a few decades ago mind you), Koss was more associated with high end headphones. In fact, they produced several electrostatic headphones, (they still do but I am not going to get into that here)! However, at $150, I have yet to see the A-250 on the shelves of a standard mass merchandiser. So is this an audiophile headphone? Well, it sounds better than Senn’s offerings at this price level, (if you’re considering the Senn HD570s or HD575s, please reconsider)! And it sounds better than any Grado circumaural headphones, (remember, Grado doesn’t make a circumaural headphone)! Since I am going to recommend the Koss A-250 to those of you wanting very good sound from full size circumaural headphones.. I guess I would consider it an audiophile level headphone! I like these Cans! Good work Koss! The A-250 is well deserving of GoodCans.com status!

Koss A-250 Headphone Review (Senn HD570... Take Note!)