There’s a good reason why so many artists prefer working on Apple laptops and computers over PCs. When the tool you create art with is a work of art in itself, ideas and inspiration somehow seem to come to you more effortlessly. It’s puzzling then why so many manufacturers create studio monitor headphones that look as something that shift workers on a job site would share among themselves.

Koss has noticed this gap and released the Koss Pro4S to fill it. These lightweight studio monitor headphones sport a very attractive, sleek design that’s unlike anything we usually see on the market. Add in the surprisingly affordable price of around $100 and you are looking at a deal that’s just too good to pass.

Build and Design

Plastics are cheap, but they are hardly as durable as aluminum. To compensate for this fact, manufacturers often slap several plastic layers on top of one another, creating bulky monstrosities that are painful to look at. The Koss Pro4S use aluminum construction for superior comfort and great durability.

Even with the generously padded earpads, the headphones retain a slim profile, which helps them fit into the included hard-shell protective case. The earcups swivel in all directions, making the headphones comfortable even after multiple hours of uninterrupted listening.

The headphones have two 3.5mm connectors, allowing you to choose either left of right cord entry. You can use the other connector as a pass-through to monitor through multiple headphones at the same time.

Sound Quality

Koss is probably most famous for its Porta Pro headphones, which are characterized by their warm, bassy sound signature. These are nothing like the Porta Pro. The name of the game is accuracy. The main goal of the Koss Pro4S is to reproduce music the way it was mixed. That’s mandatory for music and audio producers, but it can have a detrimental effect on the joy of casual music listening.

If a record is badly mixed, you will hear it. If a song lacks in bass, you will hear it. If Dr. Dre decides to produce yet another sibilant album, you will most definitely hear it. And that’s a great news because it means that the headphones do their job well. You just have to decide whether they are right for you.

What’s in the Box?

The headphones ship with a 1/8” to 1/4″ stereo adapter, hard carrying case, and 4.5′ coiled cord. It would be nice to have another, regular cord included right in the box for more comfortable portable listening (the coiled cord looks weird under a shirt), but you can get one for a dollar or so from Amazon, so it’s not a big deal.