Koss QZPro

It’s headphone time again; probably my favorite device to review. Why? Because it’s personal and aids in slacking, as I don’t have to move around too much. But headphones are no joke; serious high audio grade ones need special attention. I plan to give just that to these new Koss headphones I have received: the Koss QZ Pro. These are noise cancellation ones, so let’s see…

Design and Features
These are circumaural (closed back design) with cushion padding all over the inner side of the headband and rims. Weight-wise they are quite light; this is good for ergonomics. The cans have an aluminum finish, with a mild reflective smooth surface. The rest of the body parts are black, again with the typical plastic smooth finish.

The right enclosure has the on /off switch. 2 AAA batteries are required to use the NC facility. Volume control is a simple slider control on the cord itself. The Koss branding is on the cans, but doesn’t scream for attention. All in all it’s a decent looking pair of headphones.

The physical structure allows the user to fold in the cups inwards for carrying around, though one must make sure he/she is turning the cups the right ways, or they might break. I didn’t experiment too much.

The sensitivity is low, I feel, at 90 dB SPL/1mW. Impedance is normally valued at 32 ohms, like most headphones these days, while the frequency range is 4Hz – 20 KHz.

__PAGEBREAK__

Performance

I first tried the headphones with the NC on, and realized that it would take you a while to figure out where the batteries are. Then I looked on the site and found that you have to screw off the right earcup and basically fiddle around. That’s not cool; too much work to put it back the first time. Once done it shouldn’t be a problem though.

The sound with and without NC was slightly different, but I can’t say the NC circuit does its job in totality. Though Koss states that the unit works only to reduce low frequencies, this too was not too satisfactory. None of the NC headphones I have checked can really do much, so I guess the technology needs to improve.

The sound without NC was expectedly better, especially the nice rolled-off highs and flat mids. Bass was a bit muddy-sounding; I envision a slightly more than needed bump on the low end of the frequency response. Volume and distortion are fine; though a decent amount of power is needed for ‘loudness’, my levels were at their highest when I felt the sound was loud enough.

Conclusion
Now here’s the reason why I’ve been so finicky with the review. The cost is Rs 6150, and that’s pricy. There are good points, like the nice highs and mids, and the good comfort factor. But bass is not the best, and noise cancellation, alas, is only ordinary.