[voja]

I am wondering, the case for many things is that older equipment has better quality.
In many cases older gear can be acquired for a good price, and it's nothing new that you can get a better older piece of equipment for the same price of the new equipment. This seems to be case in speakers, as in the past quality was the main focus. Nowadays quality has dropped and mass-production for as cheap as possible is the standard, but then the technology has improved significantly.
The reliability of older gear also seems to be greater, seeing equipment which is older than 20 years is again, nothing unusual. But nowadays things tend to go bad much quicker.
Amplifiers also fall under this. Some people just primarily prefer old gear over new, sound wise, engineering wise, reliability wise etc.
Cars? A little bit more controversial than let's say audio gear.. but similar case.

Would this be the case for IEM's and earphones, and headphones?
Would you agree that older speakers are better than the new?


I am interested to hear everybody's opinion, as this is an interesting topic for me.

 

[baskingshark]

I am wondering, the case for many things is that older equipment has better quality.
In many cases older gear can be acquired for a good price, and it's nothing new that you can get a better older piece of equipment for the same price of the new equipment. This seems to be case in speakers, as in the past quality was the main focus. Nowadays quality has dropped and mass-production for as cheap as possible is the standard, but then the technology has improved significantly.
The reliability of older gear also seems to be greater, seeing equipment which is older than 20 years is again, nothing unusual. But nowadays things tend to go bad much quicker.
Amplifiers also fall under this. Some people just primarily prefer old gear over new, sound wise, engineering wise, reliability wise etc.
Cars? A little bit more controversial than let's say audio gear.. but similar case.

Would this be the case for IEM's and earphones, and headphones?
Would you agree that older speakers are better than the new?


I am interested to hear everybody's opinion, as this is an interesting topic for me.

I have some Westones (made in China) that are 15 and 10 years old respectively and I'm still using them today. One died at the cable insertion point (which is a very common firstline of failure for IEMs), but once I did a MMCX mod, the drivers are still working fine.

It's quite hard to comment on the reliability of QC for IEMs/headphones, as a lot of the budget to midfi western IEMs are made in China. It's quite a crapshoot in my opinion. Just looking at the forums, there are a few who have QC issues for western and CHIFI IEMs OOTB, but some have totally no issues for years. Though in general the Western brands have a name to live up to and though their stuff is made in China, I would think they still would be more stringent in passing their QC before sales compared to budget CHIFI sets.

 

[voja]

I have some Westones (made in China) that are 15 and 10 years old respectively and I'm still using them today. One died at the cable insertion point (which is a very common firstline of failure for IEMs), but once I did a MMCX mod, the drivers are still working fine.

It's quite hard to comment on the reliability of QC for IEMs/headphones, as a lot of the budget to midfi western IEMs are made in China. It's quite a crapshoot in my opinion. Just looking at the forums, there are a few who have QC issues for western and CHIFI IEMs OOTB, but some have totally no issues for years. Though in general the Western brands have a name to live up to and though their stuff is made in China, I would think they still would be more stringent in passing their QC before sales compared to budget CHIFI sets.

Interesting. But that's what I'm talking about, nowadays it's amazing if you hear an IEM or earphone survived even for a year.. more than a decade?! That's like non existent nowadays, I am not sure if your Westones falls under the new age or is an older model.
But from the past decade, or two, the audio equipment is noticeably more respected than the current one. Same with music instruments and synthesizers.
I bought a 300 eur A/V receiver because I wasn't prepared to look through all the older used gear. But now I kind of regret it and know that certainly if I invested some time, that I could have found a cheaper one which performed even better.
It's interesting, it's kind of a question whether the new technology can outperform the older technology, but with a reliability and durability compromise in the new technology. Is the new technology that much different and better than the more simple older stuff?

 

[PointyFox]

Not true for Headphones. Top of the line, best in the world headphones 15 years ago are now mid-fi, 30 years ago are now low-fi, and 50 years ago are now junk.

But amplification? It reached a point where any improvement isn't audible 40+ years ago in my opinion.

Everything used to be made better because it took more skill to make and parts were larger (because they were made by hand). Now everything is small and mass produced. Big was cheap and small was expensive, now big is expensive and small is cheap.

 

[voja]

Not true for Headphones. Top of the line, best in the world headphones 15 years ago are now mid-fi, 30 years ago are now low-fi, and 50 years ago are now junk.

But amplification? It reached a point where any improvement isn't audible 40+ years ago in my opinion.

Now thinking about it, you are correct. I would actually agree with you on this one, headphones definitely did improve. My bad for the mistake.
The differences seem to be subtle, with some even preferring the sound of the older stuff.

 

[PointyFox]

The changes have been mostly due to the advancement in materials technology. Drivers started off as flat metal plates. Now we have synthetic drivers with thicknesses measured in microns.

 

[voja]

True, the materials did develop, and it's noticeable. Many options with the materials, each one has its different affect on the sound and other aspects. But just like you said, usually the changes aren't mind blowing, even though there are some people who swear by a certain material type or technology type and its "sound signature"

 

[Spareribs]

Yes and no or maybe.

There are people who use vintage gear in a way and mix and match the components to achieve that sound they’re looking for.

Paul from P.S. Audio has his reference speakers that were made in the 80s. I forgot the name but they are these massive speakers. He has access to just about any speakers but he seems to live those.

 

[BobG55]

Pound for pound the 22 year old Sennheiser HD600 still holds it's own regardless of price & still has just about the very best mid range amongst any headphone made.

 

[voja]

Yes and no or maybe.

There are people who use vintage gear in a way and mix and match the components to achieve that sound they’re looking for.

Paul from P.S. Audio has his reference speakers that were made in the 80s. I forgot the name but they are these massive speakers. He has access to just about any speakers but he seems to live those.

Big respect for Paul, now I'm actually interested in what models they are.

 

[voja]

Pound for pound the 22 year old Sennheiser HD600 still holds it's own regardless of price & still has just about the very best mid range amongst any headphone made.

Oh the classic HD600, couldn't agree more. It's so good that now Drop did their take on it for a smaller budget.

 

[Spareribs]

Big respect for Paul, now I'm actually interested in what models they are.

I believe they are Infinity speakers.

 

[voja]

Holyy, when you said massive I did not expect room sized speakers.
I don't even know what this thing is. Well this is something I'll need to get up to date on. I am truly mind blown