Koss QZ-99 Noise Reduction Stereophone, Standard Packaging,Black

I am really so very gratified to have these wonderful headphones, they do everything I want and more. I really wanted a one-wire headphone with an integrated volume, which these are. The added features of a long cord and an integrated stereo-mono switch makes them even better. Do not hesitate to buy these headphones.Love the volume control on one side, protruding from the outer phone, in the form of a knurled knob that simply twists in either direction to increase or silence the volume. GREAT FEATURE. This feature makes other phones with a volume control integrated into the wire seem silly, it's so much easier to reach up to one ear and twist the volume control without any fumbling.Really like the mono/stereo switch that is integrated into the wire, which is a one-wire design, hanging from the left ear. I prefer the mono setting for listening to podcasts and watching videos. Also some videos have mismatched stereo sound and setting the input to 'mono' fixes that and equalizes the volume to both phones on both ears.Like the combination coiled/straight one-sided wire. Very long, enough to provide lots of freedom of movement and it is almost impossible to get the cord tangled up in anything while wearing these phones.DISLIKE: I only am frustrated that I did not buy these sooner. I've been using the KOSS UR20s for years now, without ever discovering these. If only I had known about these sooner. I've gone through several KOSS UR20s and these would have been so much better.Some users note that the tension on these phones is tight, but I find that it is a good feature to have them very snug. When it feels very tight I gently pull the springs/phones apart from each other and it temporarily loosens them, which helps if wearing them for several hours. It is still possible to forget they're on, noting that, even if they are snug they're are not bone-crushingly tight. The UR20s are looser but get more uncomfortable than these, the cups on these are large enough to cover the entire ear and they do not hurt after long listening sessions.I highly recommend these headphones. Don't hesitate to purchase these, especially if you liked the KOSS UR20s. They are a world apart from the UR20.

Wow, just WoW! .. These are like the ear protection we used in the military.. we called them micky mouse ears.. they were hard plastic cups that encased the ears with sound silencing materials lining the inside. If you combined micky mouse ears with the little plastic insert ear plugs you became effectively deaf.. well tehse headphones are like mickey mouse ears with speakers installed. They passivly block external sounds thru extremely effective sound silencing. and the audio is not bad either. the cable is curly so it does not get caught up in my chair's wheels or drag on the floor.. yet it has the reach where i can stand up and move around the room a bit so i love the cord.. love the headphones.. the ONLY draw back is they do put some pressure on your head. and being a bit airtight you might sweat in a hot environment. bottom line is tho i have found the love of my life when it comes to headphones. I really like these headphones, they are high quality construction. They sound great too but i'm no sound expert. They are over the ear.. except they rest on the bottom of my earlobes.. update: july 2015, well the adustable volume makes the left ear drop out.. you have to spin the volume back and forth like your wearing thru the corrosion on the resistor parts so it gets a good connection. The wires are solid.. the connections are solid.. I believe this intermittant left ear connection is in the variable resistor itself.. not in a faulty wire or connection. So sadly we go from a 5 to something less due to they used a cheap part.. which cheapened what would otherwise be a first class product. I know this product is discontinued so perhaps this was why. bottom line is the left ear is dropping out and i have to mess with the volume knob to restore the left ear sounds. i might try the upgraded version of this and pray they aren't using the same part that is failing here.

Excellent quality and very nice sound. The 4 stars is for the weight (very heavy to have on head very long) and the coiledcord is a pain.

I've gone through 3 pair of these in the last 5 years using them every single day in my studio (I'm a drummer). I use them on stage, too, if I don't want to deal with in-ears (particularly if clarity of sound isn't crucial). That to say: sound quality is so-so; the low-end leaves some to be desired but most of the mix is there. Using and abusing these (on the road stored in a pedal case or backpack) the weakest link is around the volume knob. Every pair I have had has developed a short in the cable around the volume knob, however the volume knob is my favorite part of these headphones. Having that autonomy in a studio or on stage has been amazing... I'll do my sound check with the knob at about 80% volume, then I have some freedom up or down for my stage mixOverall: BEST BANG FOR YOUR BUCK FOR ISOLATING HEADPHONES I'VE TRIED ALL OF THEM... Go ahead and take a nail file to the pointy corners on the headband— they round out with just a touch of something rough

Build quality and looks are good. The head band gets uncomfortable due to these two plastic tabs that hold the foam in that dig into your skull. The overall sound of them is good, but the bass on them are terrible. Kind of wished I went with a different pair around this price range.