Koss Portapro and Sennheiser PX100 - PX200 Headphone Review and Comparison

This past January, 2003, at the Consumer Electronics Show, Sennheiser introduced their portable headphones, the PX100 and the PX200. My first thoughts when I first heard of the new releases... “I hope Sennheiser finally has some decent sounding portable Cans?” You see, I have been raving about the Koss Portapro headphones since about 1988 when I first heard and sold the Koss line at my CD store. Over the years, Koss, not necessarily known for high quality headphones in recent years, has somehow managed to keep this one gem in their headphone line up! The Portapro is light in weight. Very comfortable. And it’s sound quality when used with a portable player made most any one want to junk the cheapy headphones that came with their portable. In fact, the Portapro’s sound much better than almost any under $50 headphone, regardless of brand or size!

Then there is Sennheiser. In becoming a dealer for them back in about 1995, I remember being totally disappointed with their portable headphones. I tried out both their $30 HD56 and the top 400 series mid-size which probably went for about $100 at the time, (I usually judge a line up by listening to the top headphone in each category). Both totally disappointed me. The HD56 barely sounded better than the cheapy giveaways that come with portable players and the 4?? model more comparable to a Grado SR60 or SR80 in size and weight, wasn’t a match for the Grado’s great sound quality, (which if you’ve read any of my other reviews, you know I’m a Grado fan). Enter the PX100.... finally Sennheiser is living up to their sometimes over rated reputation!

Senn PX100 Folded Sennheiser PX100: At first listen, I could tell Senn was finally getting my attention with a portable headphone! Mids, Highs, and bass all sound quite good. Worthy of spending the $50 bucks or so for a good sounding portable. Plus, it’s well made, and folds down nicely to fit in a hard plastic case Senn includes with it. However, I note, though the headphone itself is light in weight and fairly small, the plastic case is somewhat bulky and adds a couple ounces to the traveling weight.

PX100 Vs Portapro: OK, you’ve probably been waiting for this comparison. How does the new Senn stack up to the old reliable Koss Portapro... Well, uh, it’s just about as good! What???? Over a decade later and Senn can only match the quality of the 1980’s introduced Koss? But to be fair, the Portapro is a great portable headphone and I almost doubt Senn could have beat it? In fact, when I compared the two headphones back and forth, I was having a difficult time really hearing much difference. OK, how about portability? Here I give the edge to the Senn. It’s method of folding flat is much more stowable than the Koss method of collapsing into a ball. One might think the Portapro would be susceptible to breakage when packed for travel. But to be fair to Koss, I had a Portapro for over 10 years that withstood the test of time so I know first hand the Portapro is very durable considering the ultra light weight. And comfort.... here I give the Portapro the edge. It has a feature which Koss calls “Comfort Zone.” The already light weight of the headphone is distributed between the earpads which sit on the ear and some temporal pads which rest just above the ear on your temples. The “Comfort Zone” is referring to a switch that varies the distribution of the pressure between the ear pads and the temporal pads. Even if you didn’t follow that, just remember that I think the Portapro’s are just about the most comfortable headphones I have ever listened to!

Senn PX200 Sennheiser PX200: Many of you have thought that since this model has a higher number, that it must be better than the PX100. In fact, it’s the other way around. The PX200 is actually a “Closed” headphone in a portable version. Closed headphones are handy when you don’t want sound to leak in or out as much, (handy when using in public and leaking sound can be bothersome to those around you or some noisy environmental sounds interfere with your listening experience). But, sound quality generally suffers with closed headphones and the same is true here. Sound quality wise, the PX200 is no match for either the PX100 or the Koss Portapro. It sounds muffled, and not as natural as the “Open” PX100 or Portapro. But, if your portable listening needs are better served by a “Closed” headphone, the PX200 is worthy of your consideration. Like the PX100, it’s well made, and folds down nicely, (also into it’s included hard plastic case).

Conclusions: Congratulations to Sennheiser for finally introducing some portable headphones I can recommend! But, since you didn’t out do my trusty Portapro, and it took you so long to even come this close, I am going to continue to recommend the Portapro over the PX100. They sound great! They’re comfortable! And they’re durable! I love my Portapros!

Original Portapro review (written written in 2000):

I have purchased a few portable CD players in the last 13 years, and I am continually amazed at the marvel of such neat little machines at affordable prices. One thing that always disappoints though is the cheapie headphones that come with such great portable players! In order to keep costs down, virtually all of the companies have shortchanged us with inexpensive headphones that barely do their players justice. The best sound I have heard from these great portable wonders, has occurred when I hook up a pair of Grado SR60's or SR80's to the headphone jack. But, to be fair, these headphones aren't really in the same category as the smaller portable units supplied with the portable CD players. These are serious, high quality headphones originally intended for home use, but just happen to be efficient enough to shine when connected to a portable. And at $69 and $95 respectively, they cost just as much or more than many portable players.

Koss Portapro - For those of you who want great sound from a truly portable, lightweight, comfortable and affordable headphone, I have always recommended the Koss Portapro headphones. At about $50, these collapsible little wonders put most full size headphones in the same price range to shame and certainly sound better than any other portable headphone I have auditioned. I first discovered the Koss’s back in the mid to late 80's. I owned a small retail CD store in Oregon where I used to sell Koss headphones. I had a rotating display set up to compare about six different models priced from $20 to $80. At that time, Koss sold a version of the Portapro called the Junior which sold for $10 less and basically only left off the “Comfort Zone” feature, (more on that later). The Portapro Jr. stood out above the rest of the Koss line so much, that I purchased a pair for myself and they became our best selling headphone model. All of the other Koss models of that era have long since been discontinued, but the high sound quality and the durable build quality of the Portapro has kept it in the Koss line up for all of these years. The Portapro has stood the test of time and is an audiophile favorite for portable headphones!

Sportapro - A couple of years ago, in an effort to keep up with the times, Koss designed Koss Sporta Transformed an innovative new headband to attach the Portapro transducers to. In addition to the normal on top of head design, the headband also folds back to rest behind the head. Given that the Sportapro has also retained the unique temporal pads which shift some of the pressure away from the on ear pad design, the headphone rests nicely on your ears and temple without the need for the headband in the normal position. Hence the name "Sportapro", the headphones can be worn while wearing a ball hat! But before you go thinking that at $30, you discovered a loophole in the Koss line-up, be sure to read our comments about sound quality below.

Descriptions and comparisons of the Portapro and Sportapro:

Sound Quality - Back in about 1996, I did a comparison review with the Koss Portapro Jr’s and similarly priced Sennheiser HD433's, Grado SR40's, and a $30 pair of Sony's and another $30 pair of Koss headphones. The Portapro Jr.'s easily beat the Senn's, Sony's and Koss's. And though the Grado's were a bit more accurate in the high and mid-ranges, I felt the average public would prefer the fuller sound from the Jr.s as they produced a better bass than did the SR40's. With a frequency response ranging from 15-25,000 Hz, both high and low frequencies are reproduced better than most any portable headphone you will find. The Portapro retains this great sound quality from a portable source!

Sportapro Sound Quality - When I first reviewed the Sportapro, I was excited that Koss had take the Portapro and gave it such a versatile headband... and at a cheaper price! While we have had very many customers pleased with their Sportapro’s, one customer with a very discerning ear mentioned a minor problem he sometimes heard with the bass. I tried his pair and occasionally with very bass heavy music, (something I do not listen to all that often), I could hear a fluttering sound. Trying to recreate this phenomenon, I discovered that it only seemed to happen when that bass heavy music is played at louder volumes, just a bit louder than I normally listen to my music, (remember, protect your hearing and don't play your headphones too loud). Curious, I took a closer listen and compared a Sportapro with a Portapro. Guess what? I couldn't hear the fluttering with the Portapro's and in fact, the sound quality of the Portapro’s was constantly better when listened to closely!

Comparing the specs for the Portapro's vs. the Sportapro's, the only difference seems minor? The Sensitivity changes from 101 to 103 dB SPL/1mW on the Sportapro. I had noticed this difference before and I assumed a mute button on the Sportapro was slightly affecting the numbers, (but now the Sportapro no longer has that mute button and the numbers are still the same). Looking closely at the transducers, they do appear to be the same. But here is a lesson I have learned about the effect the housing has on headphone sound quality. The Sportapro has some additional plastic behind the transducer and it appears the sound is bouncing off of the plastic and having a negative effect on the sound. For active use, we still recommend the Sportapro as it still has better sound than most portable headphones! When you are exercising or walking, most people don’t listen closely enough to even hear the slight sound degradation. But for the best portable sound quality in non-active use, we do prefer the Portapro!

Comfort - Many on ear headphone designs become uncomfortable after a while because in order to keep the headphones on your head, most of the pressure applied is directed to your ears. The Portapro’s and Sportapro's have a unique pad positioned just above the ears. This temporal pad divides the pressure to two additional points, therefore reducing the amount of pressure directed to the ears. Combine this feature with extreme light weight, and you have some of the most comfortable headphones ever designed.

The Portapro's offer a unique feature Koss labels as "Comfort Zone". Like the Sportapro's, the Portapro's are very light weight and divide the resting area between the earpieces and temporal pads which sit above each ear. On the Portapro's, you can adjust them to place more pressure on these temporal pads rather than the ear if you so desire. The result is that the Portapro's are some of the most comfortable headphones I have ever worn!

Folding - Though not shown on the packaging the Portapro’s and Sportapro’s have a truly unique folding design. The headphones collapse and with the connection of a metal hook and loop on the ends, the headphones roll up like a ball to fit into a pouch supplied free with each model. With the addition of the behind the head design, the Sportapro has a second way of folding the headphones which leaves the headphones flat rather than in a ball.

Other Features - As with virtually all portable headphones, all of the above Koss models have earpads that are made of very lightweight foam which with time will wear out. The pads are replaceable, and I am sure you can get replacements from Koss. But I found department stores or even Radio Shack carry inexpensive generic pads which will fill the bill. The connector is a gold plated stereo mini jack on about a 4 foot cord. Also supplied with the Porta and Sporta models is a gold plated 1/4 inch adapter for connection to your home stereo.

Lifetime Warranty - My original Portapro Jr.'s lasted me about 10 years before something broke on the headband. Unlike most plastic headphones, (the headband is metal), these are very durable headphones for their size. Most people use things for a few years, then when they wear out, they discard them. If you buy a pair of Koss headphones and register them with Koss, when something goes wrong, you can get them repaired or replaced. The one catch is that you have to ship the headphone to Koss, (about $5), along with $6 to cover their Shipping costs. But, since I think you will truly like the Koss’s, $11 is a lot better than the $30 to $ 50 to buy a new pair! And like I say, the design of the portable Koss’s is very durable compared to many other headphones I have encountered!

Conclusions - If you own or plan to purchase a portable CD player, Mini-Disc Player, MP3 player, Walkman, or any other portable audio device with a headphone output, the best sounding headphones I have heard with these devices are the Grado SR60's and SR80's. But not being all that portable and possibly costing as much or more than your portable unit, $30 to $50 for Koss's headphones will suit most of you just fine. In any case, don't settle for the mediocre headphones that came with your portable, your player is capable of much better sound quality and the Koss Porta’s and Sporta’s can unleash it!

Koss PortaPro vs. Sennheiser PX100 & PX200 Portable Headphones