Headphones aside for a moment, are you a gym rat? If you find that offensive—which, by the way, totally means you are—let us rephrase: Do you spend most of your time running or lifting at the gym while spending the rest of your hours waiting to hit the treadmill with your favorite tunes? If so, we’ve got headphones that might peak your interest. Today’s review covers the Koss Clipper, a pair of clip-in headphones with a solid design, incredible fit, and debatable sound quality. If that sounds like a deal, you can head on down below the break to see our whole thought on this set of clip-ins from a reputable manufacturer.
Design and Comfort
Koss Clipper
Believe it or not, we actually don’t see many clip-in headphones these days. We have a feeling the trend is due to all the celebrity-endorsed over-ears and Beats-madness that’s gripped the market, but either way, a set like the Koss Clipper is truly a rarity. That being said, we did like the overall design of the headphones. The red-studded earcaps felt solid, if somewhat plasticy, while the ear clips themselves left us reassured that they headphones won’t be sliding off during an heavy workout. This is due in part to the rubberized design of the clips, which work to counteract slipper sweat. We also liked the foam padding on the caps, which felt nice against our ears. All in all, the Clipper does what it was intended to do: It feels incredibly comfortable and secure against the ear, guaranteeing you a solid performance during even the most stringent of runs at the gym.
Sound Quality
However, the headphones tend to fail in the slightly more important sound quality area. Granted, if you’re interested in these as gym-based workhorses, you aren’t looking for an audiophile’s best friend. Still, the overall sound quality and performance left us wanting terribly. The lows are decent, and potentially the best aspect of the headphones. In other regions, the highs were terribly crunched, while the mids were so far back in the mix that they might as well have not shown up. Additionally, we had some problems getting the Clippers to pull a decent volume out of an underpowered device like our iPod. Above sound quality, this could be a problem for the gym rat who’s constantly fighting the overhead speakers for dominance. All in all, though the fit is fantastic, the sound quality is on-par with the $15 asking price.
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Overall Value
All of that being said, the headphones do only cost around $15 on the street. For that money you’ll get a solid fit that won’t leave you wanting more at the gym. However, your purchase also comes saddled with terrible sound quality. Depending on your preferences, this may or may not be a deal breaker, especially with Monster’s Lance Armstrong support and sweat-resistant iSport in-ears coming just around the corner. Ultimately, the decision is yours to make.
