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Updated January 10, 2024·
The Koss Porta Pro with mic offers an open design which generally provides a more spacious soundstage, making them better for music listening in quiet environments, but this also means they don't isolate sound well, so they may not be suitable for noisy places or for keeping your listening private. They are lighter and more portable, hence a good choice if you're on the move. On the other hand, The Razer Kraken features a closed design that provides better noise isolation, making them a preferable option if you want to block out ambient noise or if privacy is a concern. They also have a boom microphone which is typically better for clear voice communication, so if you're gaming or on calls frequently, the Razer Kraken might be more appropriate despite its heavier build and less portability. Both headphones are wired, and while they offer good sound quality, if you're looking for active noise canceling, wireless connectivity, or an optimized experience for a specific mobile operating system, you might want to consider other models. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the Koss Porta Pro (with mic)
Very good for music
Advantages of the Razer Kraken
The Razer Kraken has no clear advantages over the Koss Porta Pro (with mic).
Key differences
Music
8.2/10
7.1/10
The Koss Porta Pro (with mic) is very good for music, while the Razer Kraken is good.
Phone Calls
6.1/10
5.5/10
The Koss Porta Pro (with mic) is only fair for phone calls, while the Razer Kraken is poor.
Podcasts and Audiobooks
6.8/10
4.7/10
The Koss Porta Pro (with mic) is only fair for podcasts and audiobooks, while the Razer Kraken is poor.
Noise Reduction
2.5/10
6.5/10
The Razer Kraken is only fair for noise reduction, while the Koss Porta Pro (with mic) is poor.
Cost
$60
$50
$0
$20
$40
$60
$80
$100
The Koss Porta Pro (with mic) has a price of $60 and the Razer Kraken costs $50.
Build Quality
6.0/10
8.5/10
The Razer Kraken has very good build quality, while the Koss Porta Pro (with mic) has only fair build quality.
"It’s clear to see why these have been such a popular choice amongst listeners for nearly four decades. It’s a charming pair of headphones that delivers a truly enjoyable listening experience and one that I think punches well above its weight."
"Generally the Kraken is a very comfortable headset and there’s nothing that really identifies it as anything else. All in, the Kraken performed exactly as I’d expect a premium, designated gaming headset to perform: performing well in game audio, though not quite with the same quality of those headsets further up the price scale."
Get a great deal on the Koss Porta Pro (with mic) or the Razer Kraken
About Koss
Koss is an American headphone manufacturer established in 1953. In 1958, they created the first set of stereophones, that is headphones with stereo sound, and in 1984 they released the world-famous Porta Pro, a set of on-ear headphones that has remained essentially unchanged for more than 30 years and that is still made, sold and loved by many audio enthusiasts around the world today.
About Razer
Razer is an American-Singaporean hardware manufacturer aimed specifically toward the gaming market. They manufacture a very wide array of gaming laptops, tablets, phones, peripherals and, of course, headphones and earbuds both wired and wireless. Since 2016, Razer has owned the THX suite, aimed at quality assurance of audiovisual systems such as speaker sets, video game consoles and even movie theaters.
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This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec earbuds & headphones team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest earbuds or headphones information and makes it digestible for you.
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About the Earbuds or Headphones team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
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Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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