[wualta]

Before this thread got rolling, "orthodynamic" would most likely lead you to sites selling corrective shoes and other less fun medical devices.
 
Glad to hear you performed another successful infraction of an HOK out of Germany and that no one got their würfels in a twist. That box is for an HOK 80-1-- is that what's inside? Looks like the girl's saying "Hey, these are awrite! Gimme a beer!", only in German.

 

[cifani090]

Quote:

I was thinking a few min. ago, if i were to get a WA6 and run some ortho's what is the list of the best of the best ortho's? Vintage and new doesn't matter.

Bymp, and did you guys (after i tell you

) see the rare YH-1000 headphone sale?
 

 

[tzjin]

 
Yay received my YH-3's today! Do I get to join the Ortho club now?
These actually seem to have quite a bit of bass stock! I may perform the stage one mods when I have time.
 
 
Quote:

Bymp, and did you guys (after i tell you

) see the rare YH-1000 headphone sale?
 

I did! $300 for a one-sided YH-1000, guess it's repairable though.
 
 
 
 
 

 

[nickchen]

Quote:

I think the RP18 is the one to aim for if you want the ultimate 70's sound. 

In respect of 70s sound, I think the cheaper Kapton with its warm mids may be the better option...
 
 

 

[vid]

Quote:

Before this thread got rolling, "orthodynamic" would most likely lead you to sites selling corrective shoes and other less fun medical devices.
 
Glad to hear you performed another successful infraction of an HOK out of Germany and that no one got their würfels in a twist. That box is for an HOK 80-1-- is that what's inside? Looks like the girl's saying "Hey, these are awrite! Gimme a beer!", only in German.

 
Yeah, it's the original 80 inside as well – the side plates have "DDR" on them, the headband has eight holes and so on. The warranty card is dated 27 Aug 1982, and what I presume is the receipt is dated 11.11.82 (with a price of 165,-).
 
Before I got them, I thought the HOK packaging was pretty unfortunate design-wise. A color scheme of black, yellow and pink – huh? But now I think it's quite cool; simple yet eye-catching. I still feel that some of the other HOK box designs are sort of not so nice, but this one I like (even if the girl on the other side does look a bit disappointed in her pair).
 
I'll try to get some more HOK pictures for the thread, but I need to figure out what sort of background might work for them.

 

[wualta]

She's not disappointed-- she's looking soulful. It would be fun to interview her now-- "Whadja think of those headphones, huh? Didja notice the lack of headstage?"
 
18% reflectance gray infinity background, please.

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

Quote:

 
Yeah, it's the original 80 inside as well – the side plates have "DDR" on them, the headband has eight holes and so on. The warranty card is dated 27 Aug 1982, and what I presume is the receipt is dated 11.11.82 (with a price of 165,-).
 
Before I got them, I thought the HOK packaging was pretty unfortunate design-wise. A color scheme of black, yellow and pink – huh? But now I think it's quite cool; simple yet eye-catching. I still feel that some of the other HOK box designs are sort of not so nice, but this one I like (even if the girl on the other side does look a bit disappointed in her pair).

So, what's the look on your face when you try them out?
 

 

[dBel84]

we DEMAND pics 

  ..dB

 

[vid]

It's my first pair of orthos, and I may have looked confused by what I was hearing.
 
The tininess (and slight echo-y-ness) of the HOK soundstage hits you right off – I'm definitely going to take out the back disc first and see what that does. I've only had time for a 30-minute listen so I can't say anything very specific, but right now the sound seems a bit congested and not always easy to listen to. Yet at times it kinda sounds good, and with vocals it sounds good all the time (it's almost like vocals have more emotion compared to dynamic phones, but maybe that's placebo). The overall sound is a bit laid-back – but with the right song the phones seem to get quite fast. Not much bass, but some EQ makes it more reasonable.
 
The seal is a bit problematic since the cups don't turn sideways, but that can be worked around I think.
 
I'm confused, but I'll keep listening. And I'll take out the back disc. And pictures.

 

[wualta]

Reading that, I think we can say your ears are screwed on correctly. Listening to vintage orthos, it doesn't take long before you're struck by the yes-it's-right-but-no-it-ain't sound that so many of them had. The HOK 80 is almost human: wonderful and appalling all at once.

 

[JianStuart]

WOW! All of these are so complicated for me....I have a long long way to go..........

 

[vid]

Two HOK pictures from today's hour of daylight.
 
It's not quite 18 %, and not quite infinite, but sort of tinted gray in any case.
 

 

 
EDIT: Is there much agreement on how these phones should be called? I see most people write it as RFT HOK 80, but is RFT really the right thing? The HOK papers have a bunch of confusing acronyms like VEB, RFT and KWH, and any of them could potentially be the "company name". VEB is apparently a collective name for companies that did this or that sort of thing, so that's not it. RFT, according to a translation of the German wiki page, was likewise an acronym of an umbrella term of some sort (under which were apparently collected the various factories or whatever). KWH appears to stand for the actual place where the HOKs were made – Keramische Werke Hermsdorf.
 
I would rather use the KWH acronym since that's where the credit should go, but is there a specific reason for why RFT is the most commonly-used acronym for the HOK?

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

This is from one of the HOK boxes:
http://wiki.faust3d.com/wiki/images/9/9a/Hok80-2.box2.jpg
It says RFT on it. Doesn't it say RFT on your box or other materials that you got in it?

 

[vid]

I don't think it says RFT on the box on mine, but I'm pretty sure it was somewhere in the papers (which are safely tucked away for now).
 
However, according to this Wikipedia page – and this is a Google translation, so it may have been translated out of proper context – "RFT radio-and telecommunications-technology is therefore no company name, but a trademark , logo or logo one Warenzeichenverbandes in the GDR, "Radio Related Products", the enterprises of the industry radio and television technology and the biotechnology industry news and metrology belonged."
 
Kind of a confused translation; but here's the Google translation of the same page in Swedish: "RFT was an acronym for Rundfunk-und Fernmelde-Technik , a generic term for products that different people owned businesses in radio and TV electronics in East Germany made."
 
So, based on that, RFT was apparently a kind of Soviet-type umbrella name to unify the gains of the people.
 
Oh, and thanks again for tipping me off about the HOKs, DAC.

 They seem like cool phones despite the slight confusion they're causing. I'll think up a storm and try to figure out a way to even out the sound a bit – I'm sure there are ways even if extra damping is out of the question on this particular driver.

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

Quote:

I don't think it says RFT on the box on mine, but I'm pretty sure it was somewhere in the papers (which are safely tucked away for now).
 
However, according to this Wikipedia page – and this is a Google translation, so it may have been translated out of proper context – "RFT radio-and telecommunications-technology is therefore no company name, but a trademark , logo or logo one Warenzeichenverbandes in the GDR, "Radio Related Products", the enterprises of the industry radio and television technology and the biotechnology industry news and metrology belonged."
 
Kind of a confused translation; but here's the Google translation of the same page in Swedish: "RFT was an acronym for Rundfunk-und Fernmelde-Technik , a generic term for products that different people owned businesses in radio and TV electronics in East Germany made."
 
So, based on that, RFT was apparently a kind of Soviet-type umbrella name to unify the gains of the people.
 
Oh, and thanks again for tipping me off about the HOKs, DAC.

 They seem like cool phones despite the slight confusion they're causing. I'll think up a storm and try to figure out a way to even out the sound a bit – I'm sure there are ways even if extra damping is out of the question on this particular driver.

 
That translation was quite perfect.
Feel free to add your images and impressions to the wikiphonia page: http://wiki.faust3d.com/wiki/index.php?title=RFT_HOK_80