KossActive Noise Cancelling Wireless Bluetooth 5.0 Over-Ear Headphone BT740iQZ, On-Board Controls with Microphone, 30+ Hour Talk/Play Time, Multi-Point Connectivity, Black

These headphones were first offered for sale on January of 2023. This review was finely crafted in August of 2023. Ladies and gentlemen, you are reading a review of what is possibly (hopefully) the LAST product designed to be charged with micro-USB.Yes, micro-USB. That stupid wear-prone directional plug that everyone stopped using nearly a decade ago.Upon learning this, I almost immediately repacked these to send back, but I figured since I already have them and they were already taken out of the package, I could at least give them a quick demo to get some basic impressions for this review.. just in case the micro-USB charging situation is not a deal-breaker for someone out there (I don't know who you are, if you even exist).COMFORT. 7/10. Ear cups are slightly small compared to other over-ear headphones I've had. They fit, just a tad bit more snug than I usually like, specifically the top and bottom aspects of the my outer ear (helix and lobule, IIRC). Koss's D-shaped cups would be a welcome addition to these. I imagine I could wear these for a few hours and feel fine, but there's still room for improvement, and Koss themselves have done much better on other headphones. Clamping pressure is perfect even for my large head.SOUND. 5/10. Koss makes some of the most legendary budget-audiophile headphones you can buy. This, unfortunately, is not the Koss sound. These are midbass-heavy to a degree which masks the clarity and spaciousness of the midrange for which Koss's more revered models are appreciated. These, in comparison, sound muffled and poorly-defined. The extension on both ends is good, but it's an unbalanced sound profile that I wouldn't expect from a headphone costing more than $50. Highs are capable but still muffled by the overbearing midbass. It's overly warm sounding at the expense of detail and accuracy (and in some cases, speech intelligibility).ANC. ??/10. While I have had numerous headphones over the years and am comfortable in my ability to judge the general sound quality, I have only had a few noise-cancelling sets with the most recent being a 10+ year old design at this point (I usually use in-ear monitors for listening in noisy environments). For this reason, I'm not a good resource for judging how well the ANC works, but to the best that I can tell, they work well for steady and consistent sounds (e.g. a fan or plane/train environment). As with every single noise-cancelling headphone I've heard, though, voices can still come through virtually unimpeded. I suspect that this is par for the class, but as I mentioned, I don't have a lot of experience with this technology, so I don't feel qualified to judge. I can say that it noticeably works for a wide range of noises and doesn't alter the playing sound too much in doing so.If ANC performance is of crucial importance to you and you want the best at any reasonable price, the typically-recommended Bose and Sony stalwarts are bound to be the reliable choice. Sony and Bose have been competing with each other to produce the very best of the best for years whereas Koss is rather new at this, and my gut tells me that its performance is mid-tier (which might be appropriate considering that the Sony and Bose cost about twice as much).Ultimately, this may look like a Koss headphone, but it doesn't sound or act like one. This is a huge miss, feeling like a lazy effort. It sounds more like a $50 headphone to me.. But even at that price, I'd still find the micro-USB unacceptable. I'm not going to pretend that I'll never buy another Koss product--I will because they do make some truly great headphones--but this has admittedly dampened my enthusiasm for the brand a bit.Koss, you need to do better than this..

Bought these and for the price, it’s by far the best bang for your buck. Quality is top notch, will easily connect to a laptop or phone. I use these as my work headphones and have had zero drops in calls or while listening to music. Build quality is top tier too. Can’t help but love these headphones being American made right in the Midwest too!

There’s a lot of static when noise canceling is on.

I have buying Koss headphones for 35 years and they have never disappointed. This is another winner. They fit great, sound amazing, and I have not had the battery die yet. A quality product from a great company. If I had any gripe, it would be that the new storage bag isn’t as nice as the hard shell case from the BT540i.

Got these for a long train ride and a few things stand out, first the Noise Cancelling is outstanding. Even on low mode it works really well but high mode cuts out virtually all ambient noise and I didn’t notice much of a reduction in sound quality, still had tons of bass and mids. The battery life is also great. I was on a 48 hour trip and I never had to charge them. Koss says 30 hours with ANC off, I always had it on and had about 10 hours of listening time and was still at 55%. Also these can connect to two devices at the same time so it was great being able to take calls and also watch a movie on my MacBook without having to disconnect every time to switch to my phone. Over all I can’t recommend these enough! Worth every penny!