[2ter]

hello,
i found 2 vintage headphones lately.
 
one is a chechoslovakian made one from the 70s.
it looks just like any other cheap paper cone headphone from the 70s, but its back is vented and baffle and cups are entirely made from metal.
the ear cushions are really soft and chunky. its extremely hard to drive, needing at least double the power than all my other headphones.
unfortunately the cable needs replacing, but that would require to open the riveted cups and replace the rivets with tiny screws, and i am not shure if its worth the effort to me.
 

 

 
 
the second one is a grundig gdhs 216k.
it looks similar to a sennheiser hd 424 and i hope i can fit some 424 earpads. the foam in front of the drivers was sticky and crumbling, so i need to find replacement for it too.
i found some technical information in german: http://grundig.pytalhost.com/grundig76-1/773.jpg
 

 
since i can not upload any pictures yet i uploaded some to my flickr:
you can find more pictures on my flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/2ter/albums/72157667537283426

 

[takato14]

  hello,
i found 2 vintage headphones lately.
 
one is a chechoslovakian made one from the 70s.
it looks just like any other cheap paper cone headphone from the 70s, but its back is vented and baffle and cups are entirely made from metal.
the ear cushions are really soft and chunky. its extremely hard to drive, needing at least double the power than all my other headphones.
unfortunately the cable needs replacing, but that would require to open the riveted cups and replace the rivets with tiny screws, and i am not shure if its worth the effort to me.
 

 

 
 
the second one is a grundig gdhs 216k.
it looks similar to a sennheiser hd 424 and i hope i can fit some 424 earpads. the foam in front of the drivers was sticky and crumbling, so i need to find replacement for it too.
i found some technical information in german: http://grundig.pytalhost.com/grundig76-1/773.jpg
 

 
since i can not upload any pictures yet i uploaded some to my flickr:
you can find more pictures on my flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/2ter/albums/72157667537283426

I don't think that Sennheiser did any OEM work, so the Grundigs are likely a clone/copycat of the Sennheisers. They were very popular so this wouldn't be surprising, but I'm not certain. Maybe GREQ or nick could chime in? 

 

[GREQ]

Despite living in Germany I've never seen that Grundig before.
But from my experiences Sennheiser NEVER sold their tech to other companies.
 
I agree with you Tak - this does seem to just be somewhat of a clone/improvement attempt.
Going by the size of the driver in the technical sheet linked, it does seem to be a new piece.
I think the Senn driver is smaller.
 
Just as a side note, I think they're stunning. Way cooler looking than the Sennheisers.
Doesn't look like it will be possible to get a closer look at the drivers without destruction though... oh well..
But going by the style they were probably made during Grundig's glory days when they made pretty decent bookshelf speakers and OEM headphones. 
 
@2ter - I'm wondering what's going on in the 4th pic on your flickr page (the Czech headphone)
That grill pattern with many holes looks interesting. I'd like to see what's going on inside that one ^_^

 

[2ter]

her´s a picture of the czechoslovakian grill. i think i can see a ca. 7cm diameter paper dome driver:
 

 
and here you see the the rivets, the reason i don't want to open the cups:


 
 
the grundigs are easy to open. the soft plastic enclosure that holds the dust cover just pops off:
 

 

[GREQ]

  and here you see the the rivets, the reason i don't want to open the cups:

the grundigs are easy to open. the soft plastic enclosure that holds the dust cover just pops off:

Thanks for sharing! 
 
That Grundig is interesting. How does it sound?

 

[2ter]

they seem to have a little less bass, not as detailed mids and slightly harsh hights compared to my akg k140 and mid production sextetts.
i hope some earpads and foam will improve not only the fit .

 

[GREQ]

I would try to get some 1cm thick memory foam (or very soft foam) - usually that kind of stuff smooths out trebles strongly and boosts bass. 
Medium density/open cell foams tend to accentuate treble.

 

[takato14]

Time to let the cat out of the bag...

 

[GREQ]

.

 

[ATau]

Time to let the cat out of the bag...

Ok. I'm very jealous now...

 

[Monsterzero]

I recently picked up a Yamaha YH1 Mario Bellini and Sansui SS-35....neither are in awesome shape,but damn are they super uncomfortable to wear,esp the Sansui

 

[BucketInABucket]

  I recently picked up a Yamaha YH1 Mario Bellini and Sansui SS-35....neither are in awesome shape,but damn are they super uncomfortable to wear,esp the Sansui

If you need new pads, I use these for my HP-1A.
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301766583653
 
They might fit on the SS-35 too and they're also cheap enough to buy more than one pair for experimentation!

 

[Monsterzero]

  If you need new pads

No,i absolutely adore wearing old shoes against my ears.....

Serious tho,thanks for the link,how do you get the old leather pads off,and new ones on?

 

[takato14]

Time to let the cat out of the bag...

You sly dawg!   ... dang, they both look MINT...

You can thank the camera, Photoshop, and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser for that impression... the second pair was absolutely trashed when I got it and has some serious damage.

The rubber gaskets that hold the cups on are rotted to hell and breaking, the right cup mesh had fallen off and the damping for that channel is missing, the cable was oxidized to hell, and several screws have been lost and replaced... I honestly think this was found crammed into the back of an outdoor storage unit or something. It's gonna take a lot of work to get it back up to snuff.

At least it's clean now. I'm eventually gonna give the ebay seller a piece of my mind for ripping me off. I can fix all the problems... but anyone who is not DIY-oriented would have had no way to use this headphone as it was. Absolutely inexcusable for the price he charged. $50 less got me the almost perfect pair you see next to it.

 

[BucketInABucket]

  No,i absolutely adore wearing old shoes against my ears.....

Serious tho,thanks for the link,how do you get the old leather pads off,and new ones on?

I do fancy a nice pair of army boots myself 

 
You just peel the old pads off, carefully if you wanna keep them intact, get some double-sided adhesive sheet at the local craft store and use that to stick the new pads on.