[Fmarco64]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyre /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here's a pair of vintage Stanton Dynaphase Sixty headphones (aka Pickering PH-4955). These headphones are kind of unique in that they are 2-way, with a separate driver for low and high frequencies in each earcup. I got this pair off of ebay and, unfortunately, one the right side drivers is damaged so it makes an annoying disorted sound when playing. I think these have to be one the best looking vintage phones I've seen. And yes, they weigh as much as they look.

Tyre:

In the year since you originated this thread, have you been able to fix your Sixty?

I've seen this model come up on eBay once a month or so; maybe you can pick up another pair for a "parts" unit.

I have what I think is the complete line of Dynaphase "cans," at least the original, gigantic size, which I believe was made between about 1975 and '78:

Forty (single driver per side; identical to the Pickering PH-4933)
Fifty (same as the Forty but with volume controls on earcups)
Sixty (two drivers per side; identical to the Pickering PH-4955)
Sixty Five (four-channel version of the Sixty, with two phone plugs)
Seventy Five (inline volume-tone-stereo/mono control box on cable)

A British gentleman wrote to me a few years back, asking to buy one of my Stanton units to use in a film that was set in the 60's. Nothing came of our conversation, but those "big blue" Dynaphase models sure do look like something out of an Austin Powers movie.

Paul :^)

Hello all,
I found this old thread about Stanton Dynaphase models and wanted to ask if anyone knows anything about the Dynaphase 35 which I'm going to receive shortly. The list in this thread does not mention the 35's.
They were just a 10 euro thing, I could not resist.
I was not able to find precise information, the only web stuff I saw were few pics and ads from the end of the 70's or early 80's.
The headphones should come with the original box so I'm confident I will be able to post their specs as printed and some real pictures.
Any additional information about drivers, listening opinion or hints for a good restoration process are more than welcome!
Happy 2021 to all

 

[Fmarco64]

As stated, here come the pictures: headphones and specs, plus the instructions sheet. If anyone is interested, I can send scans via PDF of the documentation (a simple, 4 sides leaflet).
Headphones: there's a damage on the outer lip of the can on the left (which is actually the right channel). This is not the worst, unfortunately.

Right side: almost perfect. Also here, lip cracked:

Specs:

Now comes the bad part, the left can is badly cracked:

The good side of the story is that they work fine, no audible distortion or hiss, cracks and the like. Cable is intact and fully original, the only damage to it is on the splice where the Stanton logo has been scratched away by years of abuse...

Earpads are glued to the cans. I have not removed them yet, will do to make some general cleaning and to find some ideas for rebuilding the cracked part. or just change the pads and use the headphones as-is, until they die.
And I really love that blue color.

Cheers. Hope I contributed to the list of vintage stuff.

On a side note: I've seen a listing here for a pair of Dynaphase Sixty-A. They look like these ones, except for a different design of the metal plate. Cannot tell if specs are the same.

 

[FullBright1]

Love the colors.
(why should black have all the fun...)

Apparently tho, Headphone Fames have not changed much in 40 yrs.

"Im just a copy of a copy of a copy".

- Trent Reznor

 

[Fmarco64]

I started to disassemble them.
Here's the cup assembly after removing the earpad (left side):

Remove 3 screws, you get this: the driver post are connected via clips, then a wire is soldered to the driver poles. Is this an unusual setup?

Last, I took the driver off its plastic housing, it is full metal on the front side no membrane exposed.

The housing is indeed very brittle. I think the plastic aged a bit and can't take much of stress now. One of the screw holes is broken, too.

Any suggestion about how to "easily" take apart the housing? I'd like to separate the cups' bracket and the cable, then remove the metal ring placed on the outside of the housing. Also the cable gland looks hard to pop out, with that metal collar on it.

 

[Fmarco64]

Update.
It turned out that full disassembly required drilling of the bracket pins - at least one. So at the end you get one plastic earcup, two pins, one metal ring (I needed to warm up the metal ring to be able to slide it out of place). After removing the ring, the cable becomes totally free.
The bracket ends are pushed into the plastic pins' housing and they are retained via a small dent in the metal, that engages in a small plastic protrusion inside the housing.
Tricky explanation, I understand. Will post some pics asap. That means also that if you want to get to the bare metal of the bracket, pins must be destroyed.
Basically I am at the point where the original earcup is no longer usable: I am currently asking for a quotation for 3-printed samples of the earcup and the 2 pins, which I re-designed in a 3D CAD program.
I hope it's not too expensive...

On a side note, I checked some listings for Dynaphase 35's around the globe (and Sixty-A model as well), found not many indeed, and noticed that the plastic earcups are very very prone to crack especially in the outer profile.
It looks like the choice of the plastic wasn't that good - or, at least, that the long-term behavior of that specific plastic was not known or disregarded.

 

[Fmarco64]

After receiving the quote for the earcup made with 3D printing, I decided I wanted a cheap 3D printer myself. Some researches done and finally I had the part made in house, here's the finished thing. The bracket pivot is also 3D printed, it does not look wonderful but it works. New earpads still on their way, I hope I can get them soon. The last work left is to make the headband better - the two metal frames inside are quite stretched and pressure is too weak, so headphones tend to slip.