Customer Reviews

Koss KEB24 Portable Isolation Earbud (Black)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I bought these to replace a pair of worn-out Koss Plugs. I bought the Plugs originally because the pads made them the only earphones I could find that wouldn't fall out of my ears at the slightest jarring. But I got sick of having to go through a big process to get them in my ears in the first place, which is actually kind of embarrassing to do in public (you need to put your arm over your head and pull your ear up to get them in). I wanted something a little more "normal", that I could just put in and pull out whenever.

So I bought these because I figured they'd sound similar to the Plugs, they're cheap, and they've got the kind of cushions I always think I'll like - the soft rubber kind, not the little bit of foam that goes around a big, hard plastic driver. I figured rubber would be more likely to fit my ears better too.

Well, I must have some huge ear canals, because even with the largest cushions installed, these still fall out. And I'm not being overly gentle, as I suspect some of the people complaining about a lack of bass are. I'm getting them in there all the way, they just don't stay there.

I also didn't realize these have the behind-the-back wire design, where one wire is longer than the other. I could live with this if everything else was ok, but I don't prefer it. It makes it harder to keep the 'phones organized when you're not wearing them, if nothing else - and I still think it just looks a little dorky.

I still give them four stars because not everybody is going to have my problem with the fit - but you should be aware of it if you have large ears. Sound-wise, I think these are great. They sound better than my Plugs (clearer, with better mids and highs), and they have plenty of bass if you get a seal around your ear canal. That's the key with any set of earphones like this - getting that tight seal. If you do, you'll have no complaints with bass.

But I'm gonna need to go back to the Plugs just for the fit.

Buying a set of earphones/earbuds is like buying shoes - you gotta shop around, get burned a few times, then once you've found your brand & style - stick with it. A couple reviewers said they don't fit, but I don't think that's a reason to give a 1-star review.

For me, the Koss earbuds fit perfectly. The only problem I've had is during exercise my ears sweat a little (gross, I know) and the earbuds can slip out.

Although I don't have a $100 pair of buds to compare them to, the sound is great, the bass is good, and with a good seal, I can turn my volume down to 1. Even with the music off, these things cut out a fair amount of ambient noise - they can double as earplugs!

I'm sort of audiophile, owned a number of bookshelf and floor-standing speakers, Monitor Audio, JBL, Boss, Infinity are the brands I tried. My taste, clear and dynamic sounds that faithfully reflect live play, not those hysterically loud explosions or bang bang bang bass. I like a balanced presence of high, mid-range and decent depth of lows.

I have a pair of AKG 240M. People who's into speakers and headphones know what I'm talking about. Yes, professional monitoring headphones especially good for classical music. I also have a number of other brand headphones. But when I moved to New York and had to take subway trains a lot, I found I have to start using ear plug headphones to block out the noises.

I started from Sennheiser 300x. The music sounds messy and muddy. I wondered if it's because it's plug instead of semi-open or bigger headphones.

Second purchase, Shure E2C, lots of reviews, mostly positive, though they did touch upon the lack of bass issue. When I tried them at last, I had my own conclusion. Yes, mid and highs are much clearer than the Sennheisser, almost on par with normal out of ear headphones. But the bass is really lacking, no matter how deep I push them into my ears. It's ok for me to use them for music, as sometimes we can get by with even the laptop speakers.

Curious of Koss's plugs, as reviews all say they have lots of bass, and I have a pair of Koss ksc75 and have known their good bass, I bought Koss SEB24. So cheap, only 14 bucks. First hear is surprisingly good, because I didn't expect too much. Compared with Shure's E2c, the mid and highs are not as good, but clearer than Sennheiser's 300x, and here comes the bass, quite deep bass. If I have to sacrifice one end of the sound range, I'll prefer "darker" music instead of over bright sounds, because bright sounds are exhausting for me. The Koss's lower range is not bad, though on some low drum beat you can hear a little bit boomy sound sometimes, but generally, the lows come out pretty satisfactory. I'm surprised that without any break-in, the Koss is already very good sounding. I remember the open headphone Koss ksc 75 took me a long time to break in, as it sounded painfully screaching on the highs in the beginning.

By the way, compared with my other two plug earphones, this Koss wears very comfortable, and easy to get in and stay put. Performance versus cost, this Koss is the best amongst my three pairs of plugs.

Specifications are concrete and objective but comfort and sound quality are subjective. It won't be until you open the box and put them in your ears with your favorite music playing that you'll know if they're right for you. For me they are great performers. Easier to put in my ears and more comfortable than the Koss Plugs that I also enjoy. Sound quality is more than acceptable with sufficient base and relatively even response across the spectrum. Great sound isolation. Bottom line is that I highly recommend these because the 90/10 rule applies here. You get 90% of the sound quality of the top of the line earplugs for 10% of the cost. They are only $19.97 at Walmart. If you want TOL sound reproduction, pay the full $350 and skip listening to MP3's. But if MP3's sound good to you, so will these earbuds.

I bought these a while back, love the sound, even good bass out of them. (I don't know why others have problems with the bass, they produce great bass) Everything about them is great, they drown out the outside sounds so you can hear the music better, but I have had one big problem...the left earbud just "went out" after two weeks. Never treated them rough, never tugged on them much, but one day...no more sound out of the left channel. Other than that, they're everything you could want out of an affordable, China made, isolation bud. I returned them for another pair, I liked them enough to try again, but we'll see if they hold up.

**Update**

I've had my second set of KOSS Isolation buds for several months, maybe a year or so, not really sure. They're still sounding great, holding up just fine, and both channels work great. Not sure what happened to the first set, but these are still going strong. I recommend if you like the offset chord design. You know, it's offset so a friend can listen too, and trade some ear-butter while you're at it. So the main chord splits right by the left bud and a long wire wraps around to the other ear. It's a bit cumbersome, but no deal-breaker. The sound is where it's at anyway.

I find all earbud style headphones painful to use for any length of time because my ears are small. So I am very happy to have found these. I use the smallest of the cushions and can actually leave them in for a long time. Plus they are a nice sound - for me even better than the earbuds that came with my ipod. I bought some for my husband, and though he doesn't have the size issues, he loves them too.

Purchased these after using Koss Sparkplugs for a year (with the tape modification to clean up the muddy base). The KEB24 is vastly superior in every way. Sound reproduction is excellent, rivaling earbuds costing much more. Three sizes of cushions provide a custom fit. I have used them exclusively for all types of music on my player and didn't even have to touch the EQ. Koss does offer a more expensive pair of buds but, I am more than satisfied with these.

I bought these at Wal-Mart for 2 bucks less. I thought they might be cheap and not sound all that great considering my past Koss earbuds I bought, but that's totally inaccurate. These deliver very impressive bass for the size and are basically earplugs with speakers in them; they block out ambient noise very well. For 12-15 dollars, you really can't go wrong, replace almost any stock earbuds that come with an MP3 player with these, especially iPods. You for sure won't be dissatisfied.

Edit:

Also, watch out for some of these, as they tend to be very fragile. I replaced my first pair in a couple of days, but the others have been lasting for around a year now. If you want REALLY good bang for your buck, look up Sennheiser. You pay more... you get more. End of story.

I had a set of objective in mind when I was searching for earphones:

1. easy to put on take/take off
2. small and portable
3. have a decent sound (defined as not needing to crank up the volume just to hear what's going on with the music)
4. does not hurt my ears

I have to say that this set of earbuds have matched all my criteria pretty well, and I am an happy owner of these earbuds. In addition, I understand that Koss has a lifetime warranty on their products, which is another plus.
Only complaint I have is that the cords do seem a little fragile, and due to the nature of earbuds, I can hear myself breathing when listening to music.

Thought they have good sound and bass, after some months they just stop working. First the right ear and a week after the left one. They just stopped working when i was in a plane to venezuela to visit some family... so no much music while i'm here.