If you’ve been looking for a budget pair of noise-canceling on-ear headphones, you may feel like your search is more useless than the pursuit of the Holy Grail. However, you shouldn’t despair just yet: If you haven’t already check out the Koss Quiet Zone QZ-2000, a set of headphones that can be head for around $125 in today’s market, you really owe it to yourself to give them a go. They’re not the best noise-canceling cans we’ve ever seen—we sort of assumed the price said that, though—but with an incredible fit, a warm sound, and a wallet-friendly price tag, they’re easily worth a consideration. For our full thoughts on this killer set of headphones from Koss, check our full headphone review below!
Design and Comfort
Koss QZ-2000
First and foremost, a single glance at the QZ-2000 headphones will likely conjure up thoughts of the more famous Koss PortaPros. Koss is well known for its angular and lightweight designs, and the QZ-2000s are no different. Here you’ll find the same wireframe headband, thickly padded earcaps, and otherwise commuter friendly, folding design. However, the real kicker here is the additional noise-canceling power pack, which has been left on the cable itself, rather than in the headphones. This might save on weight, but at the end of the day, we found the bulky unit much too distracting. It tended to hit us in the chest often, and also tangled frequently with the rest of the cord. However, we found the fit with these headphones otherwise satisfactory, which is a tremendous saving grace for the somewhat clunky design. At the least, they’ll fit snugly on your noggin.
Sound Quality and Performance
To begin with, we’re assuming you’re here with questions about the noise-cancellation: Overall, Koss has produced a pretty incredible experience for the price. We managed to block out about 85% of even the loudest ambient noises with the headphones, which is an incredible marker for something in the price range. That being said, the sound quality itself was somewhat lacking. Koss is known for headphones that produce a markedly warm tone, and the offering here is no different. Still, the overall effect of the music lacked a certain clarity, making the mix sound as if it were lost in itself and muddy. This is most noticeable in the lows, which though they weren’t terrible, didn’t knock our socks off. So to contrast, the QZ-2000s will provide an astonishingly good noise-cancelation experience for a lackluster musical performance.
Overall Value
At the end of the day, though, any pair of headphones that can be had for only $125 that offers this level of noise-cancellation is worth considering. If blocking out the outside world is monumentally important to you, it’s hard to go wrong with the QZ-2000’s asking price. Still, for only about $80 more, an infinite number of better possibilities could be arriving at your doorstep.
