Koss UR20 Headphones

Koss UR20 Headphones 

DESCRIPTION

- High fidelity Stereophone utilizes neodymium rare earth magnet and 16 micron mylar element for deep bass and treble clarity.
- Flexible headband with sling allows for easy, single sided listening and maximum durability. Perfect for deejay use.
- Straight, single entry 8 foot cord for home and portable use.
- Includes 1/8"" and 1/4"" stereo plugs for home and portable use.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 18  
[Aug 24, 2020]
stevens


Strength:

The sound is very good for the price. The UR-20 have a good tonal balance but lack a litle bit on the transparency. It isolate completely the listener from the outside noise and vice versa, great for office ! They are also great for mp3, because you dont hearing the hiss that could be present on mp3, heaven when they are silent moment in the song, like Pink Floyd.

Purchased:
Used  
OVERALL
RATING
3
[Jan 09, 2020]
Your_lord_Adam


Strength:

They look great and feel great and don't rub the top of your head like alot of other over head headphones tend to do.

Weakness:

The above strengths really don't mean much when it comes to the weaknesses cause at the end of the day headphones are meant for sound and these sound horrible. i use these for gaming and the bad sound quality makes some games unplayable ambient sounds went from wind blowing to a horrible scraping sound to the point of having to mute it,

Price Paid:
Gift.
Purchased:
New  
Model Year:
2019
OVERALL
RATING
2
[Dec 28, 2019]
Old Cuss


Strength:

For General All-Purpose Casual music listening ---- ------- These UR20's are just Point Blank Super Deluxe BARGAINS !! !! The multiple comments from others bitching about the ' muddy ' mid-ranges & Highs are Not ALL that bad to My Notion !!!!! !!!!!!! For under $20, , , , , these are SLEEPERS !!!!! !!!!!! I Like 'em a BUNCH !!!! !!!!! VCT in western MO

Weakness:

They're a bit " Cheap " looking but then again -- -- -- these ain't $400 Sennheiser's ! ! !

Price Paid:
!5.95
Purchased:
New  
Model Year:
2019
OVERALL
RATING
4
[Aug 25, 2011]
Brandon Lazarus
Audio Enthusiast

I have owned the Koss UR20 DJ Headphones for a little more than a month. For the money, these headphones are decent, but if money doesn't matter, these headphones are not too good. If you don't have a lot to spend, these are one of the better headphones you can buy in the $20-$30 range, but there are still some that are far better.

Sound Quality: I must say that the lows and the bass on these are decent. It's deep and fairly strong. For listening to rap or hip hop, these sound pretty good, but that's just about it. The mids and especially the highs sound muffled and muddy. You cannot hear so much detail on these headphones and they are not too clear. It sounds like the lows, the highs and the mids are blended together, which means that there is close to no instrument separation. The bass is decent, but it is overpowering and it decreases the audio quality. 5/10

Build Quality: These are made out of cheap plastic and does not feel high quality, but $24.99 is understandable why the build quality is poor. The plastic hinges would fall off if you are not careful when adjusting the height of the ear-cups. I must say that these headphones are very flexible and you can move them anywhere you want and you will not break them. Construction can be better, but I love how these headphones are so flexible :D. 5/10

Comfort: There is not much to say about this. The cushions are very comfortable and fit on the ear very nicely. You can wear these for long periods of time without them hurting your ears. The headband adjusts to your head, so they are more comfortable. That's all I really have to say. 7/10

Portability: First of all, these headphones have no case. Secondly, these are the biggest headphones I have EVER seen, even bigger than the Monster Beats Pro. If these headphones had a case, than it would be pretty portable. Koss should really add a case. 4/10

Value For Money: For the money ($24.99), these headphones are decent: Mediocre audio, decent construction and pretty comfortable. 9/10

There are many better choices in this price range than the Koss UR-20. Buy Shure, Sony, Sennheiser and Skullcandy in you are wanting to spend 25-35 bucks.

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jun 17, 2011]
Julien
Audio Enthusiast

It’s hard to knock the UR-20’s at their ultra low price range. They are full sized, seemingly durable, closed headphones that can be driven by just about any source. As for the sound, well, they sound alright, or as Daniel Rutter put it in his review the “UR20s sound inoffensive”. Overall, the UR-20’s are aimed at people looking for the lowest possible entry price into the world full sized “cans”. Surprisingly, despite being the cheapest full-sized option I know of, the UR-20’s offer both acceptable durability and listening.

Appearance and Build
We’ll they’re big, round, made of plastic and canvas, and have a website printed on the side. They should fit most heads, big or small, but some might find them a little over-sized. Compare that to the Senn HD201’s at $5 more, which are criticized by some for having cups that are too shallow. The advantage is that my ears don’t get hot and don’t feel crushed or crowded. The downside is that they look ridiculous and the padding rubs against the side of my neck just behind my ear (they are that big). Surprisingly, all that extra size doesn’t seem to add any extra weight. Unfortunately, the size adjustment (at least on my pair) doesn’t stay in place once I remove them from my head. I fixed this with some Gorilla glue, but now I can only share them with other like-headed people. As for the unsightely URL, it was easily hidden with some black electrical tape (nearly the exact same shade and finish as the cups). The headband is flexible in ANY direction and doesn’t look like it will brake anytime soon. The single sided wire is convenient, but it is stiffer/cheaper than I would like. Even several weeks after buying the the UR-20’s, the cord is still wavy from being coiled in its package. The connector is fairly slim and would be well-matched with an iPod, although the 8ft cord might be a little much for portable listening.

Audio Quality
I find it difficult to talk about sound quality, because it is partly subjective, partly based on expectations, and most importantly entirely dependent on the quality of your various sources and outputs. Nevertheless, no good headphone review would omit talking about the audio quality. I have used the UR-20 with my cellphone, laptop, desktop, and attached to a CMoy amp. They are exceptionally easy to drive, but much to my surprise, attaching them to the CMoy provides a significant bass boost which considerably improved the sound. Should you buy a $40 amp to improve your $20 headphone? Sure, but it wouldn’t be in keeping with the high value/cost ratio of the UR-20’s and would put you in Grado SR-60i territory. Without amplification, the sound quality is good, but a little lacking in bass. At reasonable to high volumes, I don’t hear any distortion and the treble is not harsh. Both of which are rare in something so inexpensive. Not surprisingly, the sound stage is considerably narrower than that of open headphones such as the Grado SR-60i’s or Senn HD-595. The sound is alright throughout the range if not slightly lazy and laid-back. The sound is good, but it doesn’t have the sharpness or clarity of more expensive headphones (but they cost next to nothing).

On my pair, the volume seems to be weighted to the left ear 55% and to the right 45%. That is easily corrected on my computer and isn’t even an issue with Internet radio or non-critical listening. It might also be unique to my pair and isn’t something I’ve encountered on other headphones. They work well for most movies and handle music competently. I’ve also seen video game developers using these, so they are relatively well regarded in some professional circles. They are a definite step up from the ear buds included with most mp3 players. Having said that, if you are an audiophile or critical listener, just don’t buy these headphones. They’re not trying to be the best headphones in the sub $100 range, which is good because they’re not. I use them every day at work and I can’t fault any aspect of their sound quality. If I had nothing to compare these to, I would have nothing but praise for the audio quality. And for the money, I haven’t heard better which is incredible considering the competition in the sub $20 range. To summarize, they’re very good and certainly not annoying in any particular way.

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 27, 2007]
amelius
Casual Listener

Strength:

Twelve years of heavy use, and still going strong!

Weakness:

The material covering the ear padding is flimsy and wears poorly over time.

I purchased these headphones over 12 years ago for my 7 year old son to use while practicing his electric piano. He and my husband also use the headphones on the computer for gaming. What impresses me most is that these phones have held up for so many years. The sound quality is still there and they don't short out after a few months or days of use as does the more cheaply-made stuff you get nowadays. The cord is heavy and durable. The covering on the padded ears has worn badly, but what can you expect in 12 years of use?? Today, I went back to Koss.com, after looking for something for myself and becoming totally disgusted with the lack of a heavy-corded headphone, and I bought two more of the same, exact headphones (the UR-20), one for me and a replacement for my son's computer, even though his set is still working fine.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Aug 08, 2004]
user12
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Good earwarmers!

Weakness:

Everything to do with sound. Bass, mediocre treble and midrange, too big for such crappy sound

These headphones are a P.O.S. A true waste of money. No attempt at musical accuracy, and these sound horrible for their size. No real bass to speak of (equivalent to those cheap 30 mm drivers on common none home use headphones.

Similar Products Used:

Sony MDRV300 far superior pair of headphones, much more pricy thow.

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Sep 02, 2003]
the count
Casual Listener

Strength:

comfortable enough to wear for long periods of time. they look really cool too.

Weakness:

sounds overly bassey and sometimes kinda painful for some reason. It depends on the type of music youre listening to. I think my Optimus Pro-XB100s sound better, and im pretty sure theyre cheaper too. The UR20s dont have any features like volume control either.

The Koss UR20 headphones are pretty good I guess. They feel comfy and isolate outside noise well. In my opinion they are a cut above the rest in the same price range. I have a couple of problems with the sound quality, but nothing too serious.

Similar Products Used:

Optimus Pro-XB100

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jul 04, 2003]
CJ Estrado
AudioPhile

Strength:

Comfortable to wear. Blocks out background noise fairly well. Inexpensive.

Weakness:

No mid-range frequencies. Horrible tone. Too much bass. Too much hiss at low volume.

These should be called Hoover 20 because they suck so much tone. I have owned these for only 30 minutes, and I already know I will be returning these. It hurts my ears to listen to anything. I am straining to hear some mid range tones and they have been sucked out. I do not reccomend these to anyone. Pain in the ears - literally. One of the worst listening experiences I ever had. I'd rather feed my cd's to an elephant then stick my head between it's buttocks and listen. It would sound better.

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Apr 30, 2003]
staldini
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

boomy if you like that, better than the very cheapest headphones. Better than any Sony headphones you wll find at a better price. They can be used as earmuffs.

Weakness:

Gaudy, heavy, uncomfortable, headclamps, not accurate, ugly, chinsey, MASSIVE, made uglier yet by decals.

Extremely boomy, not a balanced upper register, uncomfortable, cheap. In otherwords... I didn't like them. Tehy are better than in the box type headphones, or if you have a tin ear. For music other than Techno, remixes, or hip-hop, avoid these. Spend the extra money and get real headphones. I bought Grado SR60's and they sound beautiful in comparison.

Similar Products Used:

none in this price range.

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
3
Showing 1-10 of 18  

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