I am a big fan of the Koss KPH30iK On-Ear Headphones, but I have one major complaint. I keep breaking the headphone bands. I’m not sure if this is a problem everyone has, or its just some thing about the way I use them. Perhaps my head is too big or their is something about the way I put them on and take them off. I’ve broken the headbands on three pairs of these and it’s getting annoying.
Normally breaking three of anything would be, er, a deal breaker. But this headphones have a lot going for them.
First, they sound really good. And they are inexpensive. You can pick them up on Amazon for a retail price of $30, but they frequently go on sale. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever paid $30 for them. I think I got two pairs for $20 each on Amazon and one from koss.com for $18.
They sound way better than $30 good. Next up they are light weight and on-ear. So I can use them with my Mac while working and still hear if someone is talking to me. They are comfortable on my head, and I don’t sweat when wearing them in warm weather. I like. to use them to edit videos, listen to music, and watch videos. You can use them as a headset too. They have a 3.5mm TRRS plug and and in-line microphone. You can use them with Zoom whether doing and audio orr video conference. They have an unobtrusive look.
They come in four colors. Grey, which I use. But they are also available in white / blue, beige, and clear. Yes I know clear isn’t a color, but you do have that option.
Finally, they have a lifetime warranty. If or when they break you can send them back to Koss and they will repair them. But Koss wants $9.00 per pair returned for shipping and handling, and you need to pay to send them back to Koss. So it turns out to be less expensive to replace them under warranty.
And I did that for two pairs already, and I just broke a third pair. For me, the adjustable plastic piece that connects the ear cup to the headband breaks on one side. At that point I repair them with some gaffers tape until eventually t the other side or the top of the headband breaks.
I shipped two pairs back to Koss at the same time and enclosed a check for $18. Some weeks later, i receive back two pairs of headphones. They appear new, but wrapped in aa plastic bag rather than the retail box.
I wish that Koss would improve the plastic headband. Its a rigid plastic. It would be nice if it had a little elasticity to it. From time to time I search google to see if anyone has comee up with an easy to do headphone band mod or hack for these things but I haven’t found one that looks worth trying.
What about you? Have you snapped the bands on one or more Koss HPH-30i headphones? Do you know of a good replacement band, hack or mod? Leave a reply below and share.