Call it a bias, but we just haven’t been covering the lower end earbuds as much as we should. Doesn’t everyone enjoy stereo headphones that are easy on the budget, lightweight, and sound great? We feel your pain from our oversights, so with that in mind, may we now present the Koss KEB24, a low-cost, highly colored work of earbud art that tends to perform about as well as it looks. We aren’t saying these Koss headphones are perfect, but at the $25 price range, they’re solid gold. For our full thoughts on this fantastic in-ears, check out our headphone review below.
Design and Comfort
Koss KEB24
Though some of our coworkers may not have liked the headphones quite as much as we did, we felt quite enamored with the slick black design and green highlights. Overall, there’s nothing too spectacular about these bud’s design, aside from the more sticklike shape, culminating in a rather bulbous ear canal tip. All in all, we liked the fit of the headphones, though we did have a lot of trouble forming a permanent seal. In fact, when we exercised or moved about much with the KEB24s, they tended to slip right out of our ears. Even simply walking from one block to another required a few taps to the side to encourage the in-ears to stay . . . well, in-ear! That being said, they were quite comfortable, and we foresee no problems at all wearing them for extended periods of time, or even during a lengthy commute.
Sound Quality and Performance
Before we go any further, we feel we should at least mention the price the KEB24s go for: $25. That’s right, only twenty five bucks to own a quality set of Koss headphones. So with that preface finished, let’s talk about sound quality. We were generally surprised by the KEB24s, as they tended to produce what we’d call adequate sound. The bass was nice and thumpy, and generally speaking the highs and mids were nice and clear. That being said, we did find the bass a bit too overpowering, a symptom that’s great for hip-hop, but not so brilliant for musical forms with an hefty amount of guitar rifting. In other words, these headphones are great for dance, electronica, and street, but not so great for punk, rock, or even punk rock—that was a joke.
Overall Value
Still, we can hardly knock the headphones for their value, as they do clock in at the aforementioned $25. For that price, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better-made set of headphones, much less a pair that produces this much high-quality sound. It’s not the greatest listening experience we’ve ever had, but at the price rang, you can hardly call it a rip-off. The fit is slippery, the sound okay, and the design lovely. For that, we feel twenty five is an acceptable price.
