Look, I'm not easily influenced. I don't see a celebrity wearing a bag or holding, I don't know, an iPad, and I think 'I must have that'. But when I saw the cover of the special edition version of Caroline Polachek's brilliant album Desire, I Want to Turn Into You, I had to know what headphones she was wearing.
Turns out those retro beige beauties are a bonafide design classic that had somehow passed me by. The Koss Porta Pro on-ear headphones have been around since 1984(!) and, remarkably, the design has hardly changed since then.
No wonder they have so many fans – as well as Polachek, they've been seen on the heads of Zoë Kravitz, Emma Chamberlain and more, and enjoy a cult following on ye olde TikTok.
I've been rocking a pair since 2024, and am still blown away by the sound quality – especially considering the price. These things wouldn't sound out of place on our best budget audiophile headphones roundup, yet they cost just $49. And right now they're 20% off at Amazon, bringing the price down to $39. So take my sound advice and buy these headphones.
