I recently stumbled onto a few pair of Realistic headphones from the 80's on Ebay.
I was in the market for my first real full size headphones as I recently acquired a pretty nice Yamaha receiver. I purchased a pair of the Sony earbud XL71's for my Rio Chiba 256 and had been using them with my computer also.
They sound pretty nice for what they are but after aquiring the Yamaha, I wanted something better suited for my late night game/dvd/music sessions.
Since it's Christmas money is tight I figured EBay would be best.
I quickly noticed that anything Sony,Bose,Sennheiser etc went for a suprisingly high price...close to retail in a lot of instances.
I remembered the Realistic headphones being suprisingly pricey and built well back in the 80's so I did a search for them.
Lo and behold 2 of the 3 that popped up were the exact models I remembered!
I bid on all 3 and won them all with suprisingly low bids.
First was the ones I was looking forward to the most, the Nova 40's.
They were the most substantial of the bunch and I'm pretty sure the most expensive.
I ended up paying $15.00 plus $7 shipping!
I figured they would sound nice maybe not Grado nice but nicer than the current models the Shack carries.
Wow talk about some powerful volume! I always have liked loud music and most headphones and sources for that matter leave me wanting not only more volume but better clarity as well.
After throwing in some various rock and techno I was dumbfounded by just how much headphones I got for a measly $22!
As I mentioned earlier the volume levels are astounding! I really need to be careful with these so I don't do too much damage to my hearing...these are certainly capable of doing it!
I eventually plan to get some Grado SR80's and can't wait to see how the vintage Realistics compare.
Next I recieved a pair of Nova 45's. They are over the ear cans too but are meant more for a walkman.
They have the total 80's look to them.
I think they were a relatively steep $45 or so in the late 80's.
They are perfect for using at the computer...the cord is just the right length although the cord might be a little long for portable use. Also they seem rather brittle unlike the tank like Nova 40's.
I only paid $5 plus $3 something shipping though and again what a deal!
They really do sound pretty sweet on the computer although for durability sake I'll probably stick with the Sony 71's for portable use.
The last pair I bought a couple of weeks later and haven't recieved them yet. They are Nova 44's. They are mid 90's vintage I think. I don't remember them but they look like they are pretty high quality.
I read somewhere on the internet they were made by Sennheiser but I don't know if that's true.
Anyways I got them also for the ridiculous price of $9 including shipping!
I figured at that price I couldn't go wrong!
They look comparable to the Bose Triports as far as looks go. Judging by the harsh reviews I've read about the Bose's I wouldn't be suprised if the Nova 44's end up sounding superior to the $130 even on EBay Triports.
I can't wait to try them next.
If anyone knows anything about any of these models I would be curious to hear about it.

Highly recommended budget phones!

I'm certainly impressed for the money.

BTW the best cans I ever had the pleasure of owning was a pair of late 80's vintage Sony MDR-CD6 headphones. They were a whopping $130 back then and I liked them because they really rocked and they were more compact than the V6 model that was $70ish at the time. They were about the size of the more popular $50 V4 model but the sound was way superior as was the comfort!
I keep trying to find a pair but they seem pretty rare. Most probably ended up getting worn out from so much use like mine did.
I'd love to do a test with a pair of them against the Grado SR80's.

I think rat-shacks cans of that era were mainly re-badged Koss. I had Pro4X plus cans since 86'. They sounded great for the $$$ IMHO.

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I still have my MDR-CD6's, in fact I was able to get replacement ear cushions for them directly from Sony last summer. I also own the Grado SR80's, the Grado's are very smooth but don't off the detail or isolation that the Sony's do. I've used many headphones but still think the MDR-CD6's one of the best portable phones' ever made.

I have a few different Realistic branded headphones, and the best-sounding are the Pro-10 (Re-badged NAD Model 12) and the Pro-50 (re-badged AKG K250). I love them both, but for different purposes. The Pro-50's are over-ear headphones that require a buttload of power to drive. The Pro-10s are relatively efficient models that I can use with a portable device. (I had a 1/4->1/8 adapter). The Pro-10s have quite a lot of bass for over-ear cans, and I like them very very much!
 
Charles.