Koss Corporation
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Koss Corporation is a United States company that designs and manufactures headphones.
Founded in 1953 as the J.C. Koss Hospital Television Rental Company by John C. Koss, after a short time Koss was looking for new ideas, and partnered with Martin Lange to eventually develop a stereo headphone. Based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; in 1991, Koss Audio & Video Electronics started producing and selling consumer electronics products as a separate company in Hazelwood, Missouri, USA. The Koss family owns more than 75% of the firm.
Having only a high-school education, John C. Koss worked with Lange, an engineer, to develop the headphone that launched the company almost by accident, as they came upon the headphone idea as a result of an attempt to market a portable phonograph [1].
In 1991 Michael J. Koss, son of founder John C. Koss, took over as president and chief executive officer.
In addition to selling headphones under their own brand, Koss headphones are also rebranded as Radio Shack headphones under license and sold in Radio Shack stores. They will usually have the same drivers as the Koss phones, and these can usually be spotted by the fact that the minijack connector has the Koss logo on it. Radio Shack sells them as Titanium Diaphragm headphones. Some of their more popular products are the Koss Plug and Koss Spark Plug which are noise isolation earphones. Their ability to be adapted to take the high-end Etymotic ear tip (known as the Koss Hybrid), and the popular Koss Porta Pro has contributed to their success. Their budget-priced headphones (the KSC series in particular) are widely regarded as some of the best low-end headphones on the market. [2] As of 1989, all produced and manufactured in North America by KOSS come with a no-questions-asked-lifetime warranty. [3]
Diversification into related electronics areas in the 1980s ended in disaster for Koss, who filed for bankruptcy after a net loss in 1984 of $6 million. Koss emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in 1985. [4] [5]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Life after near-death - Koss Corp. near bankruptcy | Nation's Business | Find Articles at BNET.com
- ^ Koss KSC 75 @ HeadRoom - Right Between Your Ears
- ^ :: KOSS :: Welcome
- ^ Life after near-death - Koss Corp. near bankruptcy | Nation's Business | Find Articles at BNET.com
- ^ Life after near-death - Koss Corp. near bankruptcy | Nation's Business | Find Articles at BNET.com
Bednarek, David I., 'Koss Corp. May Be Suffering from Wall Street's Low Interest,' Milwaukee Journal, September 1, 1991.
[edit] External links
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