Show us your vintage headphones!
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ruhenheiM
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hopefully this is vintage enough
Feilong4
Headphoneus Supremus
I'd consider these vintage, but no idea if you guys do. Just wanted to share about these.
Sony MDR-V900
Just got these yesterday! Headband and Earpads are in beautiful condition. If I had to nitpick, there's like one little blip that stick out that can be peeled off - one on the headband and one on one of the earpads. No messed coiled parts on the cable. Some fairly deep scratches on the earcups, but nothing too crazy.
Firstly, the foam on in front of the driver was perfectly ok. When I pulled off the earpads a couple of times, it took off a huge chunk of the foam that's covering the driver. Oops. I eventually just took all the foam off and carefully peeled the foam on the other side (for consistency I guess). I put some acoustically transparent material in front with tiny pieces of blu-tack to keep it in place. I don't think I hear a difference(?) with and without the foam. I listened to them briefly with one side without the foam and I think it might've had more upper mids by like a couple of db? So minuscule that it could just be placebo.
The tight clamp and the stiff pads don't really made the headphones very comfortable. I've never liked the feeling of the material used in these earpads - I see it commonly used in other cheaper headphones. I tried different pads on them (with a slight mod) and actually kinda like the results. More on that in a bit.
The headphone seems to be pretty durable even if made out of plastic(?). Even so, it just looks special with the color combination and the interesting design. The click-fold mechanism seems to work well. I'm pretty confident that it won't break soon under lots of stress.
First impressions on sound (with stock pads):
First off, I haven't used a closed-back in a while now, so I'm noticing this closed feeling or "cuppy" characteristic in vocals here. It took a bit of mental burn-in for it to "go away". The mid-bass is powerful. I initially put on "Everybody Dies" by J. Cole and it was absolutely pounding my head. Oh, and they're very sensitive. I get a comfortable listening level at 8-9 o'clock on my Gustard H10 amp (which is among the easiest headphone I've driven). I have seen someone's measurements on these so I am biased in saying that these do roll-off fairly quick and it's noticeable. I do find these pretty thick sounding; I didn't really enjoy these for rock or for anything that has a fast tempo (besides electronic/EDM). @GREQ mentioned that these are like closed-back HD650 (if I'm quoting him correctly) and I definitely agree - An HD650 with a very punchy mid-bass.
For vocals, as I mentioned, I felt that there's this "cuppy" characteristic - almost congested. Not unpleasant but a bit unnatural. In some songs, electric guitars sound a bit off - not very clear/realistic and sometimes seem a bit too forward(?). However as I listened more and more, I'm liking these for female vocals like in the way I like ATH-AD2000X for female vocals. I'm confused though; it feels like it's pretty neutral but at the same time I think there might be an emphasis somewhere. I dunno. It's not emphasized say like a typical old headphone with dynamic drivers would be; definitely not honky and overbearing.
These are like the HD650 in the treble. Smooth, yet fairly detailed and articulate. No sense of sibilant notes, harshness, or peaks anywhere. Some may call it veiled sounding. I'd say it's pleasant.
Edit: After listening some more, I found the timbre of the bass to be a bit odd with the pad set-up below so please disregard the impressions below.
Impressions with the TX0RP MK3 pads (with a bit of foam added):
The purpose of me pad swapping was for more comfort. The added foam (next sentence) was added in hopes to lessen the congested sound as the driver is further from the ear.
I ripped some foam off a counterfeit HD600 earpad, cut it, and slid it under the backside of the earpad to simulate an angled pad. Without this added foam, they sounded pretty much the same as the stock pads or at least I don't notice any significant differences. With the added foam, there is about a 2-3 db increase in the upper mids or lower treble - I found this gave a bit more clarity in the vocals. Small, but significant. I think the mid-bass is more tamed which I don't mind. It definitely is less thick sounding and in turn a touch clearer overall.
Overall, I think it's a solid headphone in construction and performance. If this headphone was released again today, I'd say it can still compete with popular modern offerings like the DT770 and the V-Moda M-100. Not very comfortable though.
My full image album: https://imgur.com/a/6TAi4
Sony MDR-V900
Just got these yesterday! Headband and Earpads are in beautiful condition. If I had to nitpick, there's like one little blip that stick out that can be peeled off - one on the headband and one on one of the earpads. No messed coiled parts on the cable. Some fairly deep scratches on the earcups, but nothing too crazy.
Firstly, the foam on in front of the driver was perfectly ok. When I pulled off the earpads a couple of times, it took off a huge chunk of the foam that's covering the driver. Oops. I eventually just took all the foam off and carefully peeled the foam on the other side (for consistency I guess). I put some acoustically transparent material in front with tiny pieces of blu-tack to keep it in place. I don't think I hear a difference(?) with and without the foam. I listened to them briefly with one side without the foam and I think it might've had more upper mids by like a couple of db? So minuscule that it could just be placebo.
The tight clamp and the stiff pads don't really made the headphones very comfortable. I've never liked the feeling of the material used in these earpads - I see it commonly used in other cheaper headphones. I tried different pads on them (with a slight mod) and actually kinda like the results. More on that in a bit.
The headphone seems to be pretty durable even if made out of plastic(?). Even so, it just looks special with the color combination and the interesting design. The click-fold mechanism seems to work well. I'm pretty confident that it won't break soon under lots of stress.
First impressions on sound (with stock pads):
First off, I haven't used a closed-back in a while now, so I'm noticing this closed feeling or "cuppy" characteristic in vocals here. It took a bit of mental burn-in for it to "go away". The mid-bass is powerful. I initially put on "Everybody Dies" by J. Cole and it was absolutely pounding my head. Oh, and they're very sensitive. I get a comfortable listening level at 8-9 o'clock on my Gustard H10 amp (which is among the easiest headphone I've driven). I have seen someone's measurements on these so I am biased in saying that these do roll-off fairly quick and it's noticeable. I do find these pretty thick sounding; I didn't really enjoy these for rock or for anything that has a fast tempo (besides electronic/EDM). @GREQ mentioned that these are like closed-back HD650 (if I'm quoting him correctly) and I definitely agree - An HD650 with a very punchy mid-bass.
For vocals, as I mentioned, I felt that there's this "cuppy" characteristic - almost congested. Not unpleasant but a bit unnatural. In some songs, electric guitars sound a bit off - not very clear/realistic and sometimes seem a bit too forward(?). However as I listened more and more, I'm liking these for female vocals like in the way I like ATH-AD2000X for female vocals. I'm confused though; it feels like it's pretty neutral but at the same time I think there might be an emphasis somewhere. I dunno. It's not emphasized say like a typical old headphone with dynamic drivers would be; definitely not honky and overbearing.
These are like the HD650 in the treble. Smooth, yet fairly detailed and articulate. No sense of sibilant notes, harshness, or peaks anywhere. Some may call it veiled sounding. I'd say it's pleasant.
Edit: After listening some more, I found the timbre of the bass to be a bit odd with the pad set-up below so please disregard the impressions below.
Impressions with the TX0RP MK3 pads (with a bit of foam added):
The purpose of me pad swapping was for more comfort. The added foam (next sentence) was added in hopes to lessen the congested sound as the driver is further from the ear.
I ripped some foam off a counterfeit HD600 earpad, cut it, and slid it under the backside of the earpad to simulate an angled pad. Without this added foam, they sounded pretty much the same as the stock pads or at least I don't notice any significant differences. With the added foam, there is about a 2-3 db increase in the upper mids or lower treble - I found this gave a bit more clarity in the vocals. Small, but significant. I think the mid-bass is more tamed which I don't mind. It definitely is less thick sounding and in turn a touch clearer overall.
Overall, I think it's a solid headphone in construction and performance. If this headphone was released again today, I'd say it can still compete with popular modern offerings like the DT770 and the V-Moda M-100. Not very comfortable though.
My full image album: https://imgur.com/a/6TAi4
Last edited:
MDR30
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Unipolar 2002 Restoration :
1) STAX Conversion - Done
2) Detachable Cable - Done
3) General clean up - Done
4) Tensioned dust cover removal - Done
5) New Pads and other random stuff - Pending
Impressive. These drivers have potential with the right pads (no leakage) and proper drive unit (amp/transformation). All the frequencies are in there... have to finish my own pair.
jon parker
Headphoneus Supremus
Been a while since ive posted here! Not through lack of new headphones though of course!
Picked up this lovely pair of Sennheiser HD 400 from late '70's early 80's 18-20khz 600ohm !
It blows my mind how great these sound and indeed how all the Senns. from this time period were way way ahead of their time. They are beautifully natural and have a true to real life sound. There is nothing that is exaggerated, nothing that stands out, Just wonderfully balanced perfect sound. They do ask for a LOT of power
Was lucky enough to find these good condition HD250 ii. They sound fantastic and somehow now gets more head time than my hd800s. The weight on these just disappears from your head once the music sucks you in.
The most under appreciated headphone IMHO.Its truly stellar sounding,especially thru an OTL.Was lucky enough to find these good condition HD250 ii. They sound fantastic and somehow now gets more head time than my hd800s. The weight on these just disappears from your head once the music sucks you in.
Was lucky enough to find these good condition HD250 ii. They sound fantastic and somehow now gets more head time than my hd800s. The weight on these just disappears from your head once the music sucks you in.
Ooooo, I can't wait! I just traded a largely unused (for me) DT 770 Pro 32 for the HD 250 Linear II with a fellow Head-Fi member, and I'm excited about hearing this "old school" headphone.
Full-sized image here
Timely posts from both of you. I just picked up an HD800 this past week. I absolutely love it. The soundstaging, imaging and separation is incredible. Been holding off getting one for the past decade - so its a relief. However, had I just jumped to it, I may have passed on a number of vintage gems that have been part of this music journey.
Two of them are posted above.
600ohm HD250 Linear
300ohm HD 540 Reference
Neither sport the original headband style, so they aren't the earliest of the version 1s.
Just before getting the 800, I picked up the 540. It has a very natural, somewhat dry top-end. I'll just describe it as a more realistic HD600 (the 600/650 are relaxed). It really is brilliant, and listening to it side-by-side the 800, you can hear the heritage. It performs incredibly well and remains relevant. While the 800 pulls off a completely different dimensionality, I'd say the 540 is a bit-truer from the perspective of frequency curve. Arguably, the 800 may perceived as more realistic given its modern Diffuse-Field curve which imitates frequencies presented in a spatial environment. Either way, the 540, once you adjust, you just sink into the music. They have some real-magic.
Getting the 800, has also made me appreciate the closed 250 even more. Having to switch from the 800 to the 250 to block out some noise - I didn't feel I was missing that much. Yes, it doesn't have that "hi-def' feel, but it is still spacious*, and the lower-end is just wonderful creating real depth. Between the 250 and 540 I can't decide which one I like more, but I think the 250 is the one that is most unique and immersive - I guess it depends on what you are listening to. Awesome to see @Sennheiser revive them in spirit as the new HD 300 coming out August 2018.
*not surprising, considering the HD250 it was one of the first Diffuse-Field tunings
Thats a score and a half.Almost feel bad for the other guy....almost.
HD560 Ovation II - sounds very similar to the HD540 with a touch more bass and smoother highs. Very very pleasing to listen to. The 560 II is my current favorite out of all the Sennheisers I've heard to date. I have a HD224x coming but I have low expectations on those. It's just fun to listen how Sennheiser's sound evolved.
beowulf
Headphoneus Supremus
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GREQ
Headphoneus Supremus
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