Accessories

Best for the price available
I'm on my third set (They'd get 5 stars, but when you use them every day (like I do), the wires eventually break and you wind up with only one earphone working (which I then use in my computer at work). I've always had problems with earphones falling off my ears, regardless of shape (and I've tried most of them). The foam on these really is excellent, so that once inserted, they remain comfortably inserted (I've had them in for 6 hours straight in long air flights without any discomfort). The sound quality is actually pretty good - about as good as one can get with in-the-ear phones without spending a couple of hundred dollars. And these are about the only kind that fit under my motorcycle helmet, providing much better sound quality than is available in helmet speakers.

Great Evolutionary (but not revolutionary) Bargain
The Koss SPARKPLUG is a marginal improvement over the Koss "THE PLUG" in only in one area: The foam.

Previously, with THE PLUG, many owners had become quite adept at replacing the stock foam with modified earplug foam. The ear foam of the SPARKPLUG is comparatively better, but still not as good as earplug foam from your local drugstore. (I use Hearos.)

Other than the foam, the color and some minor design and styling changes, the SPARKPLUG is THE PLUG's snazzier twin.

The lifetime, no questions asked, warranty is nice. You will probably need to use it, as I have several times. There is little if any cable strain relief where the cable exits from the plug housing. Like THE PLUG, I use my SPARKPLUG's all the time: The wiring can wear out pretty quickly if you are very active.

Regardless, great audio quality. Great passive isolation. Great bargain. Highly recommend with some minor caveats.

Great Value for Price. Smart Choice for Cell Phone MP3s.
Very impressed for the price. Good bass and treble and very clear mid-range. Because these earbuds put the sound closer to your eardrums, while closing off outside noise with expanding foam plugs(covers), I found it takes only a little over half the volume(power) level setting on my Cellphone player to get the same ear volume as my larger sony non-plug type earbuds and even larger sony headset I had been using.

This means I get sound as good or better as my larger headset, using less battery power, and in a much smaller package. I call that a triple play. Good job Koss.

PS: For those not used to earplugs, they may be less comfortable than sit-on-the ear headset type phones, no more uncomfortable than non-plug earphones. A tip when inserting them is to hold the plugs so their leads point straight out in front of you. Then begin to insert them while rotating them as you insert them further so leads finally end up pointing down when fully inserted.

great sound quality, but uncomfortable
Some people have complained about the loud bass you hear from these earbuds, but I like it that way. The main down side (which I probably will trade these in for something better) is that they are uncomfortable if you're not used to wearing earbuds and they keep falling out after I've been running awhile and get sweaty.

LOVE the sound...just one problem
...I find myself having to re-purchase a pair of these ear plugs almost exactly every 3-5mo, because inevitably, one of the buds will just stop producing sound for no apparent reason. This latest frustrating occurence I found out just last night, after they'd gone unused for close to 3days, got ready to hit the treadmill and when I started the mp3 player, only the right bud had sound (and was muffled). I thought maybe the cushion on the left just needed a little tweaking in my ear (I had to do that a lot to get the placement right but is a small annoyance)...still no sound. After a good two mins the ugly truth dawned on me & yeah, I was p.o.'d. I'm really frustrated w/ these ear buds, cos of ALL the headsets I've owned, I love the sound (READ: BASS) in these the most and once you find just that right spot in your ear, it's like heaven listening to music on these. I'd started buying them two at a time just bcos I didn't want to be stuck w/o a pair if--WHEN--the current ones decided to conk out on me, but this last time I didn't for some reason (can't remember). I'm afraid I'm going to have to bite the bullet & try another headset; it just doesn't make sense to spend $8-12 ea on TWO of these only to last a few short months, when I could just plunk down $25 on ONE pair that will last much longer. Koss, please fix this; I know it can't just be my bad luck, I've had this happen with EVERY pair of these I've ever bought (and it's usually the LEFT side that goes first) and I'm super careful w/ them so no winding the wires tight or tossing them around in the purse or whatnot, so I can't explain why this keeps happening. Word of caution if you're planning on trying these out. Great Sound; poor endurance.