Koss losses force it to another exchange

fredcohiba

fredcohiba

Super Member
I don't get it. As a fan of US manufacturing, Milwaukee manufacturing in particular and an avid audio guy, it makes me mad that Koss can't get its stuff together. Why can't they produce a market leading line of quality headphones for general consumer use and or a high end line audio lovers would gladly pay for?
I want to go to their offices and ask them why.
For those of you that don't know it, a few years ago they lost millions in an embezzling scheme from one of their accountants. That had to be devastating to their ongoing R&D and marketing efforts. All the more important to get on the ball......

attachment.php
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    136.7 KB · Views: 453
Last edited by a moderator:
+1
Living just north of Milwaukee I have a unique opportunity to be able to drop off broken headphones at their HQ as per the lifetime warranty. They don't fix them, it's cheaper to toss the old pair and give away a new one! :no: That's saying something. I'm pretty sure all of the manufacturing is done in China too.
 
Panamafred said:
+1
Living just north of Milwaukee I have a unique opportunity to be able to drop off broken headphones at their HQ as per the lifetime warranty. They don't fix them, it's cheaper to toss the old pair and give away a new one! :no: That's saying something. I'm pretty sure all of the manufacturing is done in China too.
Click to expand...

Yes, I bought two pair there in May. One for traveling, KTXPro1 and the Pro-4AA. The KTXs are fantastic for the money.
I heard a pair of Pioneer SE-A1000 at Flanners and couldn't believe how nice they sounded and fit. I sold the Pro-4AA.
 
The "original" ProAAA's and the HV/1's and variations (A & LC models) used the Series one drivers which are highly thought of as being the best drivers Koss ever produced. Having purchased a set of the modern ProAAA's a couple of years ago, they are not even close to the same league as the original ProAAA's.
I think the term "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" comes into play in this situation. They "fixed it" with a much degraded product and see where they are now. My HV/1A's remain my favorite set of cans.
 
The other mainstream headphone makers have diversified themselves to an extent. Shure, Sennheiser, Audio Technica and AKG all make pro sound gear. Microphone systems, microphones for recording etc. AKG is also a massive OEM making ear piece speakers and transducers for cellphones.

Basically, I don't believe Loss does any of that. Not sure how they're supposed to generate the revenue for R&D to catch up.

That's probably why their bread and butter products are still the 40+ year old Pro4 series and the 30+ year old Portapro. Two designs that have not at all stood the test of time.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
fredcohiba said:
I want to go to their offices and ask them why.
For those of you that don't know it, a few years ago they lost millions in an embezzling scheme from one of their accountants. That had to be devastating to their ongoing R&D and marketing efforts. All the more important to get on the ball......
Click to expand...

It wasn't an accountant it was their CFO and it happened right under Micheal Koss's nose. He and the Board could have caught this a LOT sooner with a little digging and few pointed questions. How the hell do you let someone embezzle $20,000,000.00? Very derelict in their duties.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/01...ion-embezzlement-should-be-a-wake-up-call-to/

Seems like being "on the ball" isn't their strong point
 
In the course of an audit, it's actually the accountant's job to detect what are euphemistically called irregularities, But it can be close to impossible when the CEO is the perpetrator. Many employees are intimidated by a corrupt corporate climate. I recently saw Carl Icahn in an interesting discussion. He bluntly stated that our countries' biggest business problem is attracting talented corporate leaders. Their style of leadership affects every employee.

On a more positive note, my nephew just completed an M.B.A. at one of the most prestigious business schools in the country. His undergraduate work was mostly in Liberal Arts. The graduate school was looking for more students who were well rounded from exposure to a more diversified liberal undergraduate education. Perhaps the business community recognizes that they need a change.
 
Andyman said:
It wasn't an accountant it was their CFO and it happened right under Micheal Koss's nose. He and the Board could have caught this a LOT sooner with a little digging and few pointed questions. How the hell do you let someone embezzle $20,000,000.00? Very derelict in their duties.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2010/01...ion-embezzlement-should-be-a-wake-up-call-to/

Seems like being "on the ball" isn't their strong point
Click to expand...

It was more like $34 million, and she only got 12 years.
 
I'm over 60-years old and have been playing with hi-fi nearly all my life. Remind me when Koss ever made a decent headphone.

I'm surprised they're still around, to be honest! A good Superex ST-ProB-V from Yonkers, NY, would always kick their butt, but then they're no longer with us.
 
This is all so ironic,considering the premium market headphone boom,and all the traditional speaker companies getting involved.Seems like there is a lot of money being made.
Jimmy
 
2DualsNotEnough said:
This is all so ironic,considering the premium market headphone boom,and all the traditional speaker companies getting involved.Seems like there is a lot of money being made.
Jimmy
Click to expand...

This is the most ironic conundrum of them all. How can a company FAIL to take advantage of this environment?

Sent from my ZTE Olympia
 
RamblinE said:
This is the most ironic conundrum of them all. How can a company FAIL to take advantage of this environment?

Sent from my ZTE Olympia
Click to expand...

Same way you let your CFO embezzle millions of dollars, by not paying attention to business. Looks to me like sonny boy is running daddy's business into the ground. How the hell do you let someone embezzle MORE than your company's net income for 5 years??? Can this guy even read financial statements??

"In December 2009, former vice president of finance Sujata "Sue" Sachdeva was charged in federal court with wire fraud after the firm discovered her embezzlement of $34 million during a five-year period during which the company's average net income was $6 million.The indictment stated that to conceal the fraud, Sachdeva sought to direct other Koss employees to make fraudulent entries. Sachdeva was later sentenced to 11 years in federal prison."
 
Last edited:
I think the lesson here is that I need to get my Porta-Pros in for warranty repair sooner rather than later.

A skilled financial operator can do a very good job of "cooking the books" so that everything looks fine. Oftentimes even good businesspersons in this sort of situation don't find out until the checks start bouncing, especially if the auditors are half-asleep...and most of them seem to be.
 
I guess because I work as an auditor I know what to question and what to look for.
It's still inexcusable to me that a CEO would let something of this magnitude go for years. When you're losing money like that you look at areas for unusual activities or ways to improve. I see what our managers look at line item wise and they are many levels below the CEO. Variances of a few basis points get scrutinized; something of this magnitude would certainly be questioned and looked into, and probably in more ways than one.

Amex had to call the guy and alert him to something he probably should have found. It's his job to make a buck and it seems he and the Board that didn't put him under more scrutiny both failed miserably. Frankly, I'm shocked he's still in charge.
 
Last edited:
Andyman said:
I guess because I work as an auditor I know what to question and what to look for.
It's still inexcusable to me that a CEO would let something of this magnitude go for years. When you're losing money like that you look at areas for unusual activities or ways to improve. I see what our managers look at line item wise and they are many levels below the CEO. Variances of a few basis points get scrutinized; something of this magnitude would certainly be questioned and looked into, and probably in more ways than one.

Amex had to call the guy and alert him to something he probably should have found. It's his job to make a buck and it seems he and the Board that didn't put him under more scrutiny both failed miserably. Frankly, I'm shocked he's still in charge.
Click to expand...

Nailed it!
 
BMWCCA said:
I'm over 60-years old and have been playing with hi-fi nearly all my life. Remind me when Koss ever made a decent headphone.

I'm surprised they're still around, to be honest! A good Superex ST-ProB-V from Yonkers, NY, would always kick their butt, but then they're no longer with us.
Click to expand...

ESP-950. Particularly when connected to a better amplifier than the E/90. Holds it's own with anything in the sub-$2000 range.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
Another SET Forum
Replies
0
Views
618
thetubeguy1954
T
WildWest
OK OK I'll do it!
2
Replies
20
Views
3K
THOR
THOR
RamblinE
No nostalgia. Happy to be here, now, and here's why.
5 6 7
Replies
135
Views
4K
onwardjames
onwardjames
Rex Aeterna
headphones to speaker outputs.
Replies
4
Views
1K
swspiers
S
J
MCD 201 Noise/Is it time to get? (combined)
3 4 5
Replies
86
Views
5K
jesse111
jesse111
Back
Top Bottom