[adamm]

And I lost them! This is going to sound like a strange question, odyssey, plea, quest, whatever. But I trust that it will lead to sonic bliss for anyone/everyone reading this thread...

My goal: to find the 'phones I bought but gave up...way back in 1983!!!! Whoa! I swear, they were THE BEST sounding 'phones I have ever listened to, bar none. Some clues:

Clue #1: YEAR OF RELEASE: 1983 or 84.

Yes, these puppies were released at the same time as the fabled Discman.

Clue #2: UNPARALLELED SOUND QUALITY.

These nameless 'phones were PURE SONIC BLISS. The overall response was flat, with a slightly warm, and maybe a touch overly bright treble. The bass was unbelievable. It had terrific punch, but never sounded bloated, or warbly; instead bass guitar strings snapped and vibrated with incredible clarity. It just sounded "tight" for lack of a better term, and ridiculously "accurate."

Clue #3: Ill-Fitting Headband:

This was their only downfall. They top of the head band started off very thick and fat at top, and tapered down to a more narrow profile as it connected to the drivers. There was no padding under the plastic band, and it was constantly slipping and had an irritating feel.

As a result, I must have closeted, shelved, or forbid, tossed these cans into the can.

Clue #4: They cost me next to nothing.

I believe they were the same or similar price as portapros at the time.

SPECULATION:

I BELIEVE these were open portable style audio technicas. But I simply can't remember. I have since moved on to portapros. These were without a doubt the SECOND BEST sounding phones I had heard up to that point. They were light, portable, and with cushions above the drivers, much easier to live with.

HELP ME FIND MY OLD 'PHONES. I know some of you old fogies can help me piece this one together.

I have turned to this community after doing many hours of fruitless research on my own. Stereo Review archives only date back to '94. No luck. I ordered a pair of budget audio technicas/closed, and they sounded horrible.

I know I'm one step closer to glory. If you can help me locate these, of course, you will also know which phones open the gates to sonic bliss as well....

 

[Kabeer]

Maybe if you could draw them or something people might recognise it?

 

[audionewbie]

no clue here, but are you sure it is not just nostalgia at work as to how good they were?

 

[TDRKZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kabeer /img/forum/go_quote.gif Maybe if you could draw them or something people might recognise it?

Stick Figure headphone hint!

 

[charonme]

Since portapros are the second best you've heared a question must be asked: what other headphones have you ever listened to and how would you compare them to your portapros and your lost phones?

 

[philodox]

The way you describe the headband makes me think of Grados.

 

[miscreant]

go away! GO AWAY AND NEVER LOOK BACK!
this place here is evil! you could loose everything... everything that can be sold and traded for headphonestuff.

... look at me.. what sad and lonely man i am now.. do you want to be like me? DO YOU!?!

 

[Slickman]

I don't know what they are but I guarantee they aren't up there with even the mid level headphones of today.

 

[adamm]

Good questions. To be honest, I "settled" for the portapros. They sounded good enough, and were so much more comfortable than my perfect headphones, I stopped searching. It's like relationships man, ha ha!

The only other phones aside from my perfect 'phones (pp) and portapros have been low -end recycle worthy junk.

The lost phones to my ears had the following characteristics:

1. bass: very controlled, very tight, extremely well defined. You could hear EVERY detail, but it never sounded bloated, or "big." It took up its proper space and volume without trying too hard.

2. midrange and highs. The midrange and highs were slightly sweetened and exaggerated. The midrange sounded "warm" and the highs were on the verge of being slightly fatiguing. If I listened to a song like "paper in fire" by john cougar mellencamp, the perfect 'phones revealed every detail making them exhilarating to listen to, but slightly fatiguing because that record, I mean CD, is produced to sound very bright.

Now, when I use the terms "warm" and "bright" I do not mean that the 'phones sounded shrill. These are simply noticeable characteristics that stand in contrast to the portapros.

If I had to use two terms for the soon to be recovered phones I would say: "extremely detailed" and "noticeably bright." I would also use the term "extremely detailed bass" but that is subsumed under the "extremely detailed" category.

So there you have it.

The portapros, by comparison, have a slightly dulled midrange and treble response. And why wouldn't they if the perfect phones slightly exaggerated midrange and highs? Second, the bass CAN sound a bit big and overwhelming, again, by way of contrast. In comparison to any other budget phones, the portapros sound ridiculously detailed and revealing. These are relative terms, here.

So, the portapros have served me well. They cook, they clean, they get the job done. They're not much to look at, but she has a big heart (and a big bottom), works hard (sometimes a little too hard with the bass response), and are very faithful (lifetime guarantee).

The perfect 'phones are finicky (have a funky fit), difficult to live with, sound shrill and will wear you out in a relatively short period of time (the highs are too high). But she is so gorgeous, her sugar rush is intoxicating and has you yearning for another visit.



Quote:

Originally Posted by charonme /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since portapros are the second best you've heared a question must be asked: what other headphones have you ever listened to and how would you compare them to your portapros and your lost phones?

 

[adamm]

Yeah, I checked their website and the drivers and headband do look like what I recall. However, I don't recall those funky metal sticks connecting the headband to the drivers. Hmmm, two out of three characteristics are in place.

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif The way you describe the headband makes me think of Grados.

 

[MONVMENTVM]

The sound signature you are describing also really fits most Grados (more or less) exactly.

Probably you had SR-80?

 

[Namrac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MONVMENTVM /img/forum/go_quote.gif The sound signature you are describing also really fits most Grados (more or less) exactly. Probably you had SR-80?

In the early 1980s? Aren't SR80s much newer than that?

 

[adamm]

One more difference between the perfect 'phones and portapros: listen to the same hi hat and cymbal attacks, as well as just about any metal percussion, and the perfect 'phones are vastly superior to the portapros.

Koss headsets "smear" these sounds (metal percussion instruments) into a dull/flat, sloppy mess, whereas the perfect 'phones retain all of the sharpness of the original recording, to the point where you can hear the hi hats settling into place and you could follow the movement/vibration of drum cymbals. The difference is almost embarrassing, and

For reasons which are unclear to me, Koss has never addressed this significant shortcoming. Given their incredibly loyal following (count me among them, albeit reluctantly so), they really have no incentive to change, but it's a flaw which has prevented me from truly embracing their 'phones as hi-fi or high-end, even though they absolutely trounce everything in their price range ($39.98 and under).

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox /img/forum/go_quote.gif The way you describe the headband makes me think of Grados.

 

[malldian]

Sony R10's?

 

[MONVMENTVM]

R10's? How do you come to R10's?

Anyway you're right about the SR-80... I don't know if they were existant back then, but maybe it was some of Joe Grado's phones.