Koss PRO-4 AA vintage headpones

[Rare Bird]

Hi Alex,

They look very nice, but they're not 1970s originals - compare with these and you'll see:

They look possibly like the newer models that were introduced in the late 80s (defo 80s vintage, I think), see info below (from the current Koss advert):

Marco:
Those in Alex link are PRO/4AAA, they came out around 1977, they are what i had

[Marco]

That's cool and useful to know, dude, but they look rather different from the ones from the early 70s, as you can see from both pics....

Note the softer earpads in the later ones, for starters

Marco.

[Rare Bird]

That's cool and useful to know, dude, but they look rather different from the ones from the early 70s, as you can see from both pics....

Note the softer earpads in the later ones, for starters

The original Pro4/A didnt look like your either

[Marco]

Originals from the early 70s:




The PRO4-AAs you had, and also the ones Alex linked to earlier (observe the earpieces in particular, compared to those used in the ones above):





They're TOTALLY different!


Mine (the current models, based on the early 70s originals, but updated with modern components):





Mine look much more like the early 70s ones, than those you had.....

Marco.

[Rare Bird]

[Marco]

Ok, cool, but the fact remains that the ones Alex linked to, or the ones you owned, aren't/weren't the first originals either!

Also, having compared mine to one of the early models (albeit not the first originals, as you've shown), I know which ones sound better and also look great....

Marco.

[Barry]

Koss were able to save money on manufacturing costs by only using one 'A'.

[Marco]

Hi Andre,

It hasn't gone "arse-up", dude. It's actually very interesting seeing all the versions from different eras, which with your help we've now become aware of...

Original PRO4-A:





It's original box:





Later early 70s model:





And it's original box:





PRO4 AAA:





Do you know roughly which year the versions second from top were introduced? Because those look almost identical to the ones I have.

Also, in terms of ascertaining where they were made, I've checked the box and all the packaging they came in, reading the small print, and this is what it says:

Made in USA of US and imported components. Printed in USA.

There is no mention whatsoever of anything to do with their design being produced outside of the US.

Does anyone know what the legal position is on this? If they were in fact being made elsewhere, then would this have to be declared somewhere on the packaging?

My feeling is that it's a bit like it was with the Techy. National Panasonic could sell the SL-1200/1210 for £350-550, retail, before the prices went up at the end, because of in-house mass production. Furthermore, with the design having been sold for nearly 40 years, the tooling and original set-up costs had long since been paid for.

Had that not been the case, the Techy would've cost much more today, new.

Well, the PRO-4 AAs have been in production for a similar period of time, so who's to say that Koss haven't done exactly what National Panasonic did?

No-one ever said that modern Techies were cheap because they were being made somewhere other than Japan, and thus were 'fakes' compared to the originals..........

You might not like the current PRO-4 AAs, dude, because they aren't genuine vintage designs, which is true and absolutely fine, but that's rather different from implying that the new ones are somehow 'inferior', either sonically or aesthetically, which quite simply isn't the case.

I am fairly certain that the current Koss PRO-4 AAs are as American as the Techie was Japanese.

Marco.

[DSJR]

Hi Dave,



That's the whole point - they are made now. I'm using the currently produced ones. And they are far from being "seriously coloured" - quite the opposite!

Was the pair of PRO-4 AAs you heard fairly recently a vintage pair or the new versions like I've got?

There is quite a difference in presentation, as I listened to a vintage pair the other day, and I would (mostly) agree with your assessment. The new versions have been considerably improved, sonically, and are thus a different ball game.

If you heard those, shweety, trust me, you'd have a rather different opinion. I would not be using them if they sounded as you describe!!

Andre, the ones I'm using are made by the same company as the vintage ones, only they've been upgraded with modern components, and they look identical to the originals... There is nothing whatsoever better about the originals in terms of build quality or sound. I've done the comparison

Marco.

I stand corrected again. I hadn't realised this model was re-introduced with modern drivers etc and assumed you were discussing the 1970's originals - apologies.

For my head though, it's HD25's or HD265's

[Marco]

No worries, Dave. That's the problem with only scan-reading threads, rather than digesting them thoroughly...

However, I'm guilty of that too!

Marco.