Customer Reviews

Koss HB60 Infrared Clip-On Wireless Headphones

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

The best part of the Koss HB60 is that you can plug any standard headphone jack into the infrared receiver. Thus, with the HB60 you can convert any of the headphones that you already own (and love) to wireless usage.

The worst part about the Koss HB60 is the headphone that it comes with. This thing is designed to be clipped onto your ears, and boy, do they hurt after about 5 minutes! These headphones also have a very strong high frequency boost (which seems to be the standard "Koss sound" - headphones for people with high frequency hearing loss). If you have never listened to Koss headphones, you might think that this hissing sound is due to poor infrared transmission. IMHO, Koss should lower the price of the Koss HB60 and just sell it without this bad headphone.

When I plugged my two Sennheiser headphones (HD545 and HD570) into the Koss HB60, they both sounded great! I can't tell that there is much difference between plugging these headphones directly into the computer/player versus plugging into the Koss HB60. There is very little hissing noise with the Sennheiser headphones plugged in as long as the receiving unit is facing the transmitter directly and located less than about 8 feet away or so. Turn the receiver to face another direction and the hissing increases only slightly, as the receiver picks up the reflected signal off the walls of the room. Step out of the room, or go to a part of the room where the transmitter is not sending any infrared beams, and the signal is completely replaced by static.

The Koss HB60 amplifies the input signal quite a bit, about 4-5 times as loud. This is great if your input signal is fairly weak, such as can happen with some cheap CD players or computers. However, because of this high gain, the amplifier of the Koss HB60 will saturate on the louder pieces of music if you set the input signal strength too high. This will sound like bursts of irregular high frequency static coming through. However, if you set the input signal too low, then there is a slight increase in the hissing sound. So you have to adjust the input signal carefully.

The only really annoying thing about the Koss HB60 is that the belt clip is located directly over the cover for the two AAA batteries. However, the clip is detachable, which, as I only discovered recently, is the real trick to changing batteries on this thing - pull the belt clip off first!

So I took off one star, but otherwise the Koss HB60 is a fine product as long as you understand the inherent limitations of this form of wireless transmission.

I got the Koss HB60 because I wanted to listen to headphones while stringing tennis racquets. I do the stringing in our family computer room, so I can't use the computer speakers most of the time when others are working in the room. The racquet stringing requires some moving around, but mostly I am standing facing in one direction. Thus, I can clip the receiver to the collar of my shirt so that it mostly faces the transmitter. Before, I had plugged the Sennheisers into one of the computers in the same room through an extension cord. This long line was always very messy and easy to step on or get entangled. I ruined at least two of the Sennheiser headphone cords in this fashion by stepping on them and jerking them until they developed an internal break in the wires. Now I can listen to the Sennheisers without worrying about the cord.

I bought this set of headphones after going through 2 sets of RF headphones (advent and AR) for use while working out. My RF phones were both a little bulkier than I'd like while working out, and I eventually had problems with both pairs of them losing reception in the middle of workouts after a few months of use (new batteries didn;t help).

I had heard that IR might be a better choice, as the IR signal would generally hold as long as there was a line of sight to the transmitter. I also thought this would be a good unit as it had a seperate clip-on receiver that I could use with any set of headphones, so I wouldn't have to worry about too much sweat eventually causing a problem with the electronics. I also wanted the ability to use lighter phones more condusive for workouts.

I had read that IR wireless phones were generally similar quality to RF phones, the only drawback being the line of sight limitation.

As soon as I tried these phones, though, I was immediately dissatisifed with the amount of background noise with them. No matter how good of a signal I run to the transmitter (without overloading the input, of course), I couldn't get rid of a very distracting hiss. I don't expect wireless phones to be as good as wired ones, but my RF phones were way quieter (until they lost their signal, of course).

I haven't tried any other IR wireless phones, and after reading some good reviews on other units, I can't believe they all sound this bad. There's the possibility that my unit is bad, but so far no response from Koss support.

Right now, I find them completely unusable. If you like tons of hiss, these are for you.

I almost gave it four stars but added a fifth star because in all the searching I have done, this is the only product in the market, as far as I know, that has a separate receiver that has an input jack so that you can plug in any headphone.

The advantage of this for me is that I can listen to the TV or my CD player with my favorite earbuds plugged into the Koss receiver. The receiver is small and light-weight and can be clipped onto my exercise clothing, allowing me to do floor aerobics with no problem. It is also tough; I dropped it 5 feet onto a hard surface and thought it was a goner, but it is working just as well as before.

The earbuds I use are comfortable and has high-quality sound. These are not the earphones that came with this Koss unit. Those earphones that came with the unit are extremely uncomfortable and, for me, unusable because of that.

However, other elements make up for this.

Receptivity is good, but, as with all infrared devices, you need to keep the receive and transmitter in line of sight. I can go out of the room and still use this, as long as the door is open and there is a direct line of sight between the transmitter and receiver.

Battery power is very good. Two AAA's have lasted me about twenty hours.

The sound quality is good enough for me. There is always a background hiss that becomes louder as the distance increases between the receiver and transmitter and as the battery wears out, but I can hear the bass and treble ranges well. It seems to not handle the bass as well. Luckily, the hiss becomes less noticeable if you are playing rock. It is more noticeable for classical music but is not a great drawback, at least for me, because I am no audiophile; however, I am still pretty discriminating a music listener and enjoy my music. But I can imagine how it can disappoint if you expect no background noise.

I've found that to decrease the hiss and the vibration from the bass, you need to turn down the volume on the stereo/TV of origin very low, and then to adjust the volume on the infrared receiver to the desired level.

For both the functionality and the uniqueness of the separate clip-on receiver with the output jack, I think this product definitely deserves 4 stars but I gave it a fifth because I was in an unusually generous mood. Koss needs to redesign the awfully painful earphones or just get rid of them.

As others have noted, the headphones Koss supplies are not very good. I'm currently using another brand of headphones with the transmitter. Moreover, I've only used the transmitter with a radio since it will not work with my TV (a high end flat screen Panasonic). It seems that most of the newer TVs do not include a headphone jack and the Koss system is not compatible with a TV's audio out. In short, to use the transmitter with a TV you have to run the audio out signal through another device (such as a hi-fi, or a radio) that has a headphone jack. Presumably, there is not enough signal strength otherwise. I could, of course, use my radio as an intermediary, but what a pain. I can't be enthusiastic about a product which doesn't support one of its most obvious potential uses (namely, using it with a modern TV).

I got this product since my investigations indicated I could use it with headphones that suppress background noise (none of which seem to have a wireless option). In particular, when exercising on my treadmill, I find it hard to hear my wall mounted TV, particularly with DVDs, so this seemed like it would provide a nice solution. However, as noted earlier I can't use it with the TV without adding in an intermediary device. Given the general drawbacks of IR as a transmission mechanism, it just hasn't been worth fiddling around with it in this manner, so I purchased a nice pair of Sennheiser wireless headphones for use with the treadmill (I've reviewed them separately). The cost is about twice that of the Koss system, but they have proven to be completely satisfactory and are hassle free (plus they automatically recharge when you place them back on their stand). If your investigation has been along the same lines I've taken, I suggest you look for another option than Koss's product and particularly consider Sennheiser wireless headphones. Of the options available, I found Sennheiser to be the one most consistently favored. Having lived with Sennheiser wireless headphones for several months now I'm quite glad that is the direction I ended up taking.

The transmitter / receiver work great. My wife wanted something she could wear while exercising, and the "normal" wireless headphones were too big, too bulky, and too heavy for that. This was one of the few products we could find that would transmit sound to a normal set of headphones / earbuds.

As for the headphones that were shipped with the unit, as soon as I tried them on, my comment was "What in the _____ was Koss thinking when they designed this POS?" A speaker from Radio Shack and a clothes pin would be more comfortable.

But I didn't buy it for the headphones anyway, so I gave it 4 stars. Ship it without the headphones and cut the price by $5, and it would be a 5 star product.

One headset barely works - it has a lot of static on it & one doesn't work at all. They are cheaply made & not worth the price at all. My kids were very disappointed with them on Christmas day.

Unlike most users, I was looking for wireless headphones to use with TV, instead of with a computer or audio system. I also wanted a unit that would accept other headphones so that I could use my own earbuds which are comfortable for me. This product met my needs and at a much more reasonable price than other units I could find on the market that accept other headphones.

Items of note:
I had to provide my own adapter to go from the small stereo audio plug on the base unit to the dual RCA plug outlet on my TV, but I expected this. I wasn't sure this would work, but it does.
When the unit is turned on, it causes some interference with my TV picture. It's not so bad that it makes using the headset not worth it.
I like the fact that it is infrared instead of radio frequency so I don't have to worry about interference with my cordless phone or computer wireless connection (or that of my neighbors!)

Overall, this is a very good product at a reasonable price.

May 2009 update: Almost 3 years later and we're still using it.

I have been using good over-the-head earphones to listen to TV because my wife and I can't agree on the volume level - I am loosing some of my hearing and needed comfortable wireless earphones. The over-the-head were very annoying. This item is great except for the provided earphones. I substituted a pair of my own earbuds and am now very happy.

Before i purchased these headphones i read lots of reviews about their "sub-optimal sound quality". however since i only wanted to use them to watch DVDs while i worked out on my elliptical machine, i figured they'd be good enough. (And if not i could always turn on the subtitles) And the price was really good so I ordered.

I was a little wary since i felt some of the reviewers made the hook-up sound kind of complicated. (like lots of pieces or something) But when i got them, i hooked them right up without reading the instructions no problem.

I have no complaints at all. I did take the advice from other reviewers which probably made my experience so good, so i will pass them along again:

1) Make sure your TV has a place to plug in "headphones" in the back
2) The Koss box that plugs into the TV needs to be in direct line of sight with Koss receiver that you plug your headphones into
3) Use your own headphones/ear buds (not the clip ones they give you)
4) Turn the volume almost to the loudest on the Koss receiver and then use the TV remote to adjust volume

The result is great.

Sure there's background noise. Just adjust the volumes to tune it out. I never tried the headphones, I just wanted it for the wireless jack to plug my earbuds to. This is much better than my previous TV Listener because I can use any headphones with it. As my dog and my bird chew them up I just plug in a new one. Perfect!