Vintage 70s or 80s full sized headphones recommendations?

[AnakChan]

Asking this on behalf of a friend, does anyone know of vintage 70s or 80s full sized cans they would recommend? In addition to that, aside from the obvious eBay, know of any places where where they can be sourced?

 

[richard51]

Hifishark is a good way to spot headphones....

The AKG K240 sextett is hard to beat.... i recommend them even over the AKG K340 because it is a picky very demanding headphone, more complex and more probability for it to be broken or defectuous in a way or in another... And the confort of the sextett is better because he is lighter....And some dislike the K340 because it is very hard to embed it right anyway he ask for strong very clean amplification among other things....... The sextett is unanimously well reviewed and more easy to drive but ask too for better than just a small headphone amp though...... I just purchase one and i like it even if i prefer my K340....I will keep the sextett, this say a lot...

The sextett has the same soundfield as the k340 with less impact but it is more relaxing..... The two headphones are "cult" for 40 years and more.... The reason they are so good is they partake inside the cups the same acoustic devices... A work of genius by one the AKG founder, a physicist... ...

AKG patent for the passive acoustic diaphragms by Dr. Goerike:

Akg K340 patent https://patents.google.com/patent/US4005278A/en?inventor=Rudolf+Gorike


The sextett had enough bass ( but no deep 20/30 hertz bass) , good non fatiguing highs, beautiful mids and timbre and an holographical soundstage.... To beat it you must pay a lot of money, really a lot.......It is the twin little brother with a singular dynamic driver of the hybrid K340.... From AKG i own also the K701 but these two beat it completely for me with a more natural sound .... I dont listen the K701 at all...It sound artificial and it is fatiguing compared to the K240 sextett and the K340 ....



If your friend is not afraid to lose his money and take a risked purchase and is able to work hard to embed the K340, then yes i recommend the K340, for me the best headphone i ever heard, the more powerful hybrid created with an electret and a dynamic cell... .... Impossible to beat under 1000 thousand bucks and perhaps more...As the sextett in a lesser way , the holographic soundstage is speaker like... The imaging is very precise.... For me it is a "drug" and i never liked headphones but i can no longer listen to speakers .... The sextett and the K340 is the first headphones i liked very much without being frustrated.... I purchased 9 others in the last 20 years...They are under my bed.... RIP....

My best to you and to your friend....

 

[AnakChan]

Thx for your response richard51. I didn’t realise the K240 had been around that long. You’ve provided a lot of info for further digging! I’ll convey the message to my friend.

 

[Reputator]

Do they want them for the actual sound, or for aesthetic reasons?

 

[richard51]

Take note that i recommend the K240 sextett not any other K240 here....but i could also recommend the AKG K240DF, note the DF which means "diffuse field".... The sextett and the DF are very different but very good and legendary headphones....Dont buy any other K240.... I own the K340 and the sextett, and i want to buy a DF soon.... This will be enough for my headphones choices....AKG had made headphone history many times....

My very best to you and your friend ...

Thx for your response richard51. I didn’t realise the K240 had been around that long. You’ve provided a lot of info for further digging! I’ll convey the message to my friend.

 

[richard51]

i FORGOT TO SAY, IF YOUR FRIEND WANT AN EASY HEADPHONES TO DRIVE WITH SMALL AMPLIFICATION, THESE HEADPHONES ARE NOT GOOD WITH SMALL AMPLIFICATION...

And the DF does not punch with heavy bass at all...

The sextett has more bass.....It is my first recommendation.... Very difficult to hate this headphone....

 

[lantian]

If your looking for something more than akg, Sennheiser hd 540 and hd 560 are quite a step up from k340.
Best places to buy vintage cans would be local marketplace for each country, but that will only work if you live in said country, or have a friend there. If that's not an option regular eBay is your best bet for getting vintage cans.
Keep in mind foam will need to be replaced and may end up being a massive rabbit hole just to find one with same acoustic properties being sold/made today.

 

[AnakChan]

Thanks for the suggestions folks. Will convey the message and keep an eye on both the aforementioned AKG & Sennheiser models.

I don't know the full parameters around the interest in the vintage 70s/80s headphones but I gather it's part nostalgia, aesthetics, and probably sound would be a factor too. The headphones will be driven by a home stereo setup.

Thanks again!

 

[yaluen]

I'd probably go with a Yamaha HP-1/YH-1 or YH-100, should be relatively inexpensive and easy to find. They're on-ear as opposed to over-ear though, as was most stuff from that era. IMO the majority of vintage moving coil headphones really show their age vs modern options but the ortho/planar stuff generally have aged well and are mostly quite relevant sound-wise. If it has to be dynamic, something from Sennheiser would probably be my bet as well.

In case your friend doesn't know about this already, here's a pretty comprehensive database of info on vintage headphones, in Japanese though: http://20cheaddatebase.web.fc2.com/list.html

 

[richard51]

I'd probably go with a Yamaha HP-1/YH-1 or YH-100, should be relatively inexpensive and easy to find. They're on-ear as opposed to over-ear though, as was most stuff from that era. IMO the majority of vintage moving coil headphones really show their age vs modern options but the ortho/planar stuff generally have aged well and are mostly quite relevant sound-wise. If it has to be dynamic, something from Sennheiser would probably be my bet as well.

In case your friend doesn't know about this already, here's a pretty comprehensive database of info on vintage headphones, in Japanese though: http://20cheaddatebase.web.fc2.com/list.html

Some vintage rival in quality as my K340 by AKG almost anything way more costlier made today.... I recommended the sextett because they are very good but one notch or two under the K340 but easy to use WITHOUT ANY NEED TO BE OPTIMIZED .... I am glad to own one pair of sextett then .... But the K340 optimized and modded beat all my previous 8 headphones, planar, dynamic or electrostatic and put all of them in the bin of unnatural sound headphone.... Most vintage are underpar with many new products but not the K340 design, why?

His shell cups is packed with two new technology at the times, hybridation of dynamic and electrostatic and 5 passive radiators which together even today are acoustically revolutionary.... The S.Q. of my 100 bucks K340 cannot be beat and even rival by my 2 Stax, which are disconnected now under my bed.... Perhaps an Omega will beat it not a lambda because of his deep bass and his out of the head 3-D holography.... All vintage are not equal....AKG terminated the AKG because it was too costly and com0-plex design to made and sell... Even being improved by successive models improvement, which never happened, they are the King of headphone in the scale S.Q./price ratio.... 100 bucks paid for something who trash almost and probably all headphones under 1000 bucks for sure.... If you know a contender say it i will be glad to know... They are very difficult to understand, drive and optimize...I then rexcommend the little brother sextett, which own 6 radiators but one dynamic driver....Very good S.Q. and more confort....

My very best to you.... Interesting chinese site.... Thanks

Thanks for your chinese adress, not japanese if i trust google translation.... But the pricing of the AKG models are in yen then.....Anyway i succeed to translate with chinese...