Koss (company)
Encyclopedia
Koss Corporation is an American
company
that designs and manufactures headphones
.
, 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.
Diversification into related electronics areas in the 1980s ended in disaster for Koss, who filed for bankruptcy protection after a net loss in 1984 of $6 million. Koss emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in 1985.
In 1991 Michael J Koss, son of founder John C Koss, took over as president and chief executive officer.
In December 2009, former vice president of finance Sujata "Sue" Sachdeva was charged in federal court with wire fraud
after the firm discovered her alleged embezzlement
of $4.5 million, with the company suspecting as much as $20 million had been taken over four years, an amount exceeding the company's earnings during the same period. Allegedly, as much of $2 million of the missing funds were used to purchase clothing that was stored unused. The company plans to restate four years of financials.
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. As of 1989, all headphones manufactured in North America by KOSS come with a no-questions-asked-lifetime warranty.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
company
Corporation
A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...
that designs and manufactures headphones
Headphones
Headphones are a pair of small loudspeakers, or less commonly a single speaker, held close to a user's ears and connected to a signal source such as an audio amplifier, radio, CD player or portable Media Player. They are also known as stereophones, headsets or, colloquially, cans. The in-ear...
.
History
John C Koss founded the J.C. Koss Hospital Television Rental Company in 1953. After a short time Koss was looking for new ideas, and partnered with Martin Lange to eventually develop a stereo headphone. Based in Milwaukee, WisconsinMilwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
, USA, in 1991 Koss Audio & Video Electronics started producing and selling consumer electronics products as a separate company in Hazelwood, Missouri
Hazelwood, Missouri
Hazelwood is a second-ring suburb of St. Louis, located in northwestern St. Louis County, Missouri. The population was 25,703 as of the 2010 census. Hazelwood, a northern suburb of St. Louis, is located north of Lambert-St...
, 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.
Diversification into related electronics areas in the 1980s ended in disaster for Koss, who filed for bankruptcy protection after a net loss in 1984 of $6 million. Koss emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in 1985.
In 1991 Michael J Koss, son of founder John C Koss, took over as president and chief executive officer.
In December 2009, former vice president of finance Sujata "Sue" Sachdeva was charged in federal court with wire fraud
Wire fraud
Mail and wire fraud is a federal crime in the United States. Together, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1341, 1343, and 1346 reach any fraudulent scheme or artifice to intentionally deprive another of property or honest services with a nexus to mail or wire communication....
after the firm discovered her alleged embezzlement
Embezzlement
Embezzlement is the act of dishonestly appropriating or secreting assets by one or more individuals to whom such assets have been entrusted....
of $4.5 million, with the company suspecting as much as $20 million had been taken over four years, an amount exceeding the company's earnings during the same period. Allegedly, as much of $2 million of the missing funds were used to purchase clothing that was stored unused. The company plans to restate four years of financials.
Products
In addition to selling headphones under their own brand, Koss headphones are also rebranded as Radio ShackRadio shack
Radio shack is a slang term for a room or structure for housing radio equipment.-History:In the early days of radio, equipment was experimental and home-built. The first radio transmitters used a noisy spark to generate radio waves and were often housed in a garage or shed. When radio was first...
headphones under license and sold in Radio Shack stores. They will usually have the same drivers
Loudspeaker
A loudspeaker is an electroacoustic transducer that produces sound in response to an electrical audio signal input. Non-electrical loudspeakers were developed as accessories to telephone systems, but electronic amplification by vacuum tube made loudspeakers more generally useful...
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
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
Diaphragm
Diaphragm (acoustics)
In the field of acoustics, a diaphragm is a transducer intended to faithfully inter-convert mechanical motion and sound. It is commonly constructed of a thin membrane or sheet of various materials. The varying air pressure of the sound waves imparts vibrations onto the diaphragm which can then be...
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. As of 1989, all headphones manufactured in North America by KOSS come with a no-questions-asked-lifetime warranty.