How Long Can a Headphone Last (before being obsolete)?
Jan 11, 2004 at 1:13 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 26
dj_mocok

dj_mocok

Headphoneus Supremus
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I was wondering, how long can we enjoy our headphone before all the new generation headphones come and blow your good old headphone away in terms of quality ?

I mean, if you are talking things such as video card for PC, the supposedly "lifespan" of your video card will not be more than 2 years in general, before you will have this feeling of you are riding a bicycle and everybody storm past through you with their ferraris...

So when i get a pair of decent (decent as in somewhat midrange) headphone, how long can it last before i have that feeling of using some outdated piece of junk ?
 
Jan 11, 2004 at 1:17 AM Post #2 of 26
Headphones aren't like video cards or computers. (At least the good ones aren't.) Joe Grado's headphones from the early 90s are still popular today -- and in fact sell for more than when they were made. The Sony R10 was first designed in the late 80's. The Stax Omega II is pretty old (mid 90's?). Even the lowly Koss KSC-35 has been around since the mid 80's. It was discontinued two years ago, but pressure from this community brought it back last year, and it's still going strong.
 
Jan 11, 2004 at 1:17 AM Post #3 of 26
Longer than you might think. The Grado HP1000 is a decade or more old design, but still regarded as one of the top dunamic cans, same with the Sony R10. Headphones don't really seem to change in leaps and bounds, more like small tweaks, i.e. the recent HD650.

EDIT: DO'H, Wodgy you just barely beat me to the punch
biggrin.gif
 
Jan 11, 2004 at 1:24 AM Post #4 of 26
Headphones/Speakers don't really get oudated - if they sound good to you, they'll always sound good to you.

The problem with video cards/CPU's is that newer programs and games tax the system more, so as better programs come out, our current equipment can't handle it. What was considered fast a couple years ago won't be able to handle everything else.
 
Jan 11, 2004 at 1:27 AM Post #6 of 26
good headphones will last forever, and keep their value (for the most part) provided that they were quality to begin with.

video cards go out of style every 6 months. CPU chips every 3 months.

look at the K340 and CD1700, the HP1000 and SR100 and SR200.

there are a lot of sought after classics.

the DT531 will soon be a much sought after headphone. get one now.

newer is not necessarily better. remember when all the new headphones came with "Digital" stickers on the box? hokum.

I wouldn't worry about it. just buy quality to begin with. and while you are at it, buy a spare set of pads, or two.
wink.gif
 
Jan 11, 2004 at 1:28 AM Post #7 of 26
The simple reason for this, is that technology hasn't changed MUCH in headphone designs for the past 20 years.

You still have the designs like the dynamic, electrostatic, etc. that are dominating.

Edit: contrast this with computers, where performance doubles every 18 months like clockwork... if that level of improvement were applied to headphones, the Sennheiser Orpheus would be so cheap it would be given away on airplanes.
 
Jan 11, 2004 at 1:35 AM Post #8 of 26
Its really good to hear that, because boy, if you are into PC hobby, it will drain your wallet crazy... me, i dont have so much money to spend unfortunately, so i'll be looking for some headphone that can serve for a long time without failing on me.
but that means huge $$$$$$$ ???

by the way, in terms of pads... im quite sure you wont be able to get a set of pads for your old headphone ? so its better to get a few pads when you buy a new cans ?
 
Jan 11, 2004 at 2:32 AM Post #9 of 26
Like other have already said, good headphone designs tend to stick around for years.

I think most hifi is like this. Personally I've not heard much in todays hifi that is vastly better than gear that was available a few years ago. Speakers and Amplifiers especially.

If you look at turntables in particular, there are quite a few manufacturers who are still producing deisgns that were first introduced back in the early 1970s. Personally I stand by the fact that the BBC LS3/5a was and stil is the fienst miniature monitor ever to be produced.


The only thing that tends to progress at a great rate of knots is digital technology. DACs have improved greatly over the past few years and there have been some great advances made in merging hifi with computer technology to provide greater control and storage of media.
 
Jan 11, 2004 at 2:36 AM Post #10 of 26
Amplifiers and Sources and Interconnects and other signal path entities are the ones that will see major development. The transducers can only get "this much" (holds thumb one cm away from forefinger) better. Sound is like a bottle of wine...gets better with age until the bottle breaks...

Good headphones are good while they last...
 
Jan 11, 2004 at 2:59 AM Post #11 of 26
Never!

The Koss PortaPro was introduced in 1984!!! People still are buying them today!

The HD580 is still very much a great headphone, reguardless of the fact that we now have the HD600 and HD650.

The Grado HP-1000's still kick ass as does the old Sony R10! People forget just how old that R10 really is
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Jan 11, 2004 at 3:03 AM Post #12 of 26
Quote:

Originally posted by dj_mocok
Its really good to hear that, because boy, if you are into PC hobby, it will drain your wallet crazy... me, i dont have so much money to spend unfortunately, so i'll be looking for some headphone that can serve for a long time without failing on me.
but that means huge $$$$$$$ ???

by the way, in terms of pads... im quite sure you wont be able to get a set of pads for your old headphone ? so its better to get a few pads when you buy a new cans ?


Did you know that those Sennheiser Yellow pads that people buy for their grados is from the very 1st Sennhesier headphone ever made, which just so happens to be one of the very 1st audiophile headphones ever in history? It's true!
 
Jan 11, 2004 at 3:34 AM Post #13 of 26
Human limits have been reached in some areas of technology. I think with headphones, we have had great sound for a while already. The different manufacturers have their own take on what's "the best" though.
 
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