[Bingturong]

Oh I forgot to mention, though not exactly a vintage there was the Qualia MDR-EXQ1

That was supposedly included with the Qualia 017 MiniDisc player. However unlike the Qualia 010 it was based off a regular production MDR-EX71

 

[Bingturong]

One of things I really want to do is to get these working.

Especially since my 8 ohm pair is non-working (though by shear luck I managed to snag another one and that one is on the way)

However there's one big issue

It's 10k ohm. That's the highest I've ever seen for any headphone, antique crystals included. I have no idea to even begin to power them

 

[Moak]

One of things I really want to do is to get these working.
Especially since my 8 ohm pair is non-working (though by shear luck I managed to snag another one and that one is on the way)

However there's one big issue


It's 10k ohm. That's the highest I've ever seen for any headphone, antique crystals included. I have no idea to even begin to power them

That is really vintage! Unbelievable. Is that to hear music or is it for construction worker?

 

[Bingturong]

That is really vintage! Unbelievable. Is that to hear music or is it for construction worker?

The Elega DR-631, the Japanese DT-48. Actually manufactured from 1965 until some sources say 2003. I went through more detail as well as a teardown of an 8 ohm my previous posts https://www.head-fi.org/threads/show-us-your-vintage-headphones.420490/post-15361956 https://www.head-fi.org/threads/show-us-your-vintage-headphones.420490/post-15355192 Unfortunately I somehow lost the magnet so the 8 ohm is now out of commission. Shame as I really wanted to give a proper impression. Although now have another one on the way. Except the absolutely terrible handling of the coronavirus here meant some countries are still restricting flights. So no idea when I'll get that

 

[Moak]

The Elega DR-631, the Japanese DT-48. Actually manufactured from 1965 until some sources say 2003. I went through more detail as well as a teardown of an 8 ohm my previous posts https://www.head-fi.org/threads/show-us-your-vintage-headphones.420490/post-15361956 https://www.head-fi.org/threads/show-us-your-vintage-headphones.420490/post-15355192 Unfortunately I somehow lost the magnet so the 8 ohm is now out of commission. Shame as I really wanted to give a proper impression. Although now have another one on the way. Except the absolutely terrible handling of the coronavirus here meant some countries are still restricting flights. So no idea when I'll get that

Could you describe the sound of this headphone? I read your thread but I found no sound assessment.
I think it‘s difficult to find one of this Elega.

 

[Bingturong]

Could you describe the sound of this headphone? I read your thread but I found no sound assessment.
I think it‘s difficult to find one of this Elega.

I would more than love to give a proper assesment of the sound, I truly do but Im unable to as the 8 ohm is in pieces another 8 ohm is in shipping and Im still trying to get the 10k to work. Its been quite some time since I heard the 8 ohm when they were still in one piece so any impressions I had the are unreliable.

They're pretty much non-existent outside Japan and even so you need to be lucky to find a stereo 8 ohm as mono and 10k seem to be more common.

 

[GREQ]

I would more than love to give a proper assesment of the sound, I truly do but Im unable

Plz buy a small nuclear power plant and get back to us

 

[Bingturong]

Plz buy a small nuclear power plant and get back to us

Im thinking of a few ways to power them as I do have an NAD 317 intergrated that might do the trick, first is to make an adapter as I dont want to chop the plugs off no matter how annoying they might be. Unfortunately they're not screw off and if they were I couldnt get them to bulge with a set of pliers. The plug is somewhat larger than a 6.3 as when I tried to make an adapter using some jacks I got off a guitar board but that was to no avail. Unfortunately DIY electronics is near non-existent here and I need to get something as simple as a 3.5 plug online. I seem to be cursed in regards in phone connectors here.

 

[tabness]

Just missed out on a brand new MDR E252 (first earbud ever? some say even better than the E282/E484? i think id like the E464 more than the E484 more prominent midrange) and there were two available! Wasn't willing to go over $1300 (shipped) lol

https://zenmarket.jp/auction.aspx?itemCode=x726926662
https://zenmarket.jp/auction.aspx?itemCode=g451719957

maybe someone here got them?

 

[Bingturong]

The most expensive vintage headphones/earphones I ever see are usually 80s-90s Japanese earbuds. Pretty much every major vintage Japanese audio company earbuds go for huge amounts of money. I genuinely cannot understand why though. Is it because of the sound quality or rarity? Surely they can't be as good as a fullsize of the same era?

The first earbud ever released was the Trio KH-0.5 aka the Petitphone, came out 1981. The E252 would follow suit in 1982

 

[tabness]

Thanks for the call out on the Petitphone! (looks like Sony's marketing material is a little inaccurate lol)

For sure the prices on the vintage earbuds are insane, a lot of it is just collector mindset likely. There's no question some of the top end ones sound great (and I'm not much of a believer in transducer superiority now vs 30 to 40 years ago it's mostly just different tunings nowadays as the technology is pretty mature). My E464 sounds really nice, unbelievable clarity for a dynamic, it's like a Utopia or Stax. But of course, there's the small stage, and it is an earbud so it has all the issues of the form factor.

Now, I can buy that the headphones/earbuds from that era of Sony are better than the more recent ones of the same (original) price point. My experiment with getting the MDR 101 (circa 2000) to compare with the MDR 51 (mid eighties) was an eye opener in how much better the latter was, but then again, you can find something like the CD3000 for like $500-$1000 bucks depending on condition. Not sure why some earbuds go for more lol

Then again, the high end headphone market nowadays is utterly insane anyway, I like reading old head-fi threads from years back when $500 was considered really expensive...

 

[Moak]

I bought another bizarre headphone.
The sound could be better but it‘s ok.

 

[Bingturong]

I bought another bizarre headphone.
The sound could be better but it‘s ok.

Never heard of the brand before but Im assuming its a paper cone design, which tends not to sound too good. Also almost always when I see a volume control, it never bodes well for sound quality. Its certainly unique though.

 

[rx79ez08]

Stax Aperio Alpha

The Aperio Alpha 1 appeared as the only dynamic headphone model from Stax (1990).
He has the typical Stax sound, very good, but far away from a good Lambda.
I bought him few month ago in the Netherlands in very good condition for cheap money.
It' s very rare.

I have one too. I thought it sounds horrible....... I brought it mainly out of curiosity.

 

[GREQ]

I bought another bizarre headphone.
The sound could be better but it‘s ok.

A quick gewgle search shows up a few others under the roelofs branding that I recognize under the Universum (German) brand.
So basically they're cheap Japanese OEMs for the EU market.
Going by the name, probably for the Netherlands...?