| Product: |
Koss The Plug |
| Date: |
29/12/05 (774 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Reliable. Good sound. Low price.
Disadvantages: Particular to how they fit in youre ear.
I'm just going to give a brief opinion here because the other reviews for this product as so technically accomplished.
These Koss plug earphones have become one of my favourite gadgets. I bought mine for around £8 on eBay. I had always been looking for performance earbud headphones as I like high sound quality but I don't really have the funds to spend on the high -end gearb. At around the time I bought these I was eginning to notice that the high-end design for earbud headphones all seemed to be based on sound isolating earplugs (Shure, Etymotic etc).
I was pleased to see these come on sale as they seemed to utilize the same design but unlike any of the other plugs, were extremely cheap. The design is simple... the plugs use a normal earphone transducer (ie the speaker) in an enclosure that is terminated not by the usual grille as with normal earbuds: that sits in your ear (and usually doesnt stay there for long of their own accord), but by a small tube that ports the sound out at a point that will be about 10 millimeters further into your ear than a normal earbud headphone. This tube is then surrounded by a foam earplug that should fulfil the usual function of an earplug... and block all the external sound from outside of your ear. The principle therefore is that your inner ear becomes an undisturbed medium for the transfer of the pressure the transducers produce... and loss in sound quality from transducer to eardrum should therefore be minimized.
The effect is impressive. The noise from the outside world is suppressed, perhaps by about 70%.. and all that remains is the channel for sound. I assume the transucer is of high quality, because it communicates the low frequency bass signals unlike any earbud headphone (the design also facilitates this). The treble is not as sharp as with other headphones... but the sound remains detailed and punchy... suitable for any type of music. They will also sound better as they are used more. The overall impression is of a high fidelity, smooth and warm sound.
The plugs can be listened to at very low volumes... and I would recommend this as an advantage that should be carefully exploited... I can only imagine that the pressure being transferred to your eardrum by these plugs could be more damaging than usual earbuds... which already carry a potential risk if they are abused. The bass that is achieved with these plugs adds alot of depth to the sound... but I think would be a little bit oppressive if you were thinking of stomping out to some dance beats at full volume.
I wouldn't say that the risk is high. The high-end versions of earplug phones are carefully marketed to be fitted by ear specialists anyway... so I would not imagine that if used safely the design
would be inherently dangerous. (And just for legal purposes: earplug headphones are not to my factual knowledge any more dangerous than earbud headphones. The above is based on my own opinion. It is not stated as a fact.)
The only drawback with the phones is that the foam plugs provided need to be selected so that they will both fit into your ear canal and stay in... and also fill the space within your ear. The phones do not sound good at all if they are not fully inserted to create the essential seal in your ear. Different shaped plugs are provided. Luckily I found that the standard conical plugs fitted.
Hope that helps
Summary: Escapism made easy.
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