Vintage Headphones

I saw this post just now and was going to post about my HP-2's, never thought someone would have just posted about theirs! :D

I got them off head-fi a few years ago. They were listed at something like $70, but after I agreed to buy them, the guy discounted them all the way to $25 because the pads were disintegrating and the cord was brittle.

They came with the original box, and besides those things, they work perfectly. I don't use them a lot, but I still really like them!


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I think we sold the Koss Pro 4 AA's under the Realistic name at Radio Schack back in the late 60's/early 70's for $49.95, and extravagant price for headphones. There was also a beige-colored Koss that went for $24.95 that really was the best one in the house...cannot remember the model name, but they had a little tiny perforated port on the outside of the cup.
 
Just looked them up ....Realistic\Koss Custom Pro.....$24.95! Dark Side Of The Moon and Question Of Balance were the first two albums listened to on them! Memories...... :)

did the same with Question and Children's Children...first 2 lp's on my entry level Marantz and Dual/Shure and D/C David Clark aviation headphones.
 
A pair of 410 Senn's...faithfully used until Dec, last, when I got a new pair of Senn 518 for Christmas..

No comparision, but the oldies have held their own for many years, even though people made fun of the rather orig colouful ear pads. lol

The chord is still a bit of a pain, but I hear that the BT tech has greatly improved in recent years, eh?

I'm starting to use the phones a bit more than reg speakers...and making peace with the little woman at the same time! :)

Q2
 
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I picked up these Leslie W2 while cleaning out my grandmother-in-law's place.
Very smooth highs/ mids.
Very little bass.
 

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I've got a couple of pairs of the Sennheiser HD-414s too. My wife bought them for for Christmas back in the early 80's. Dragged them out of long term storage a while ago to give a listen and the cables have developed a slightly tacky "oily" surface feel. Weird. Washed the cables with warm soapy water but they are still not right. I guess the plastic sheath is deteriorating.

Happily, the headphones themselves still sound amazing!
I have had some success restoring old rubber and vinyl cables using a product called ArmorAll (available at auto parts stores among other places).
 
Get the liquid, not the wipes. Pour some ArmorAll in the palm of your hand and run the cord through it. Use enough so that the cord drips a little. Hang the phones up overnight
and repeat this process three or four times. Then wipe the excess off the cord and see if this does the trick. Also good for putting on the rubber part of your windshield wipers to stop them from squeaking! Let me know how this works.
 
New cords available (?)

I've got a couple of pairs of the Sennheiser HD-414s too. My wife bought them for for Christmas back in the early 80's. Dragged them out of long term storage a while ago to give a listen and the cables have developed a slightly tacky "oily" surface feel. Weird. Washed the cables with warm soapy water but they are still not right. I guess the plastic sheath is deteriorating.

Happily, the headphones themselves still sound amazing!

I believe replacement cords are available, see Ebay. Also see my posts
further down the thread about restoration. They wound up there due to my
lack of knowledge in replying.
 
hey what headphone amp do you use with those DR-7 i have been looking for something better than my preamp for a headphone option
 
A pair of 410 Senn's...faithfully used until Dec, last, when I got a new pair of Senn 518 for Christmas.
Those were my cans for the longest time, till I bought a pair of Audio-Technica closed-ear ATH-30s to wear at work. I sold the 410s to someone local who wanted them to match his vintage stereo. :thmbsp:

I also landed a good pair of Signet TK-22s at a thrift store one day; listened to them for a while, but didn't think they aced the A-Ts, so off they went, too.
 
Even though I have a nice pair of Sennheisers, there's a beloved almost 40 year old Fostex that I won't replace unless it literally falls apart.

Had KH-71 phones that I purchased in the Navy Exchange in Subic about 1974. They were my absolute favorites until my kids' puppy chewed them up. I bought the Fostex cans after the Kenwood's demise.

Can't find replacement pads for the Fostex - no longer available according to the company, so I bought some Sony cans with pads that fit the Fostex & tossed the Sony in the dustbin.
 
Had a pair of koss in the 70,s.I now have a pair of akg 260,s that date back to the early 90,s I believe.
 
Have a set (plus spares) of AT ATH-7's with the power box and all. Need new pads but they still sound great. - dan
 
If you like the ATH-7, you'll love the ATH-8. It was also sold as the Signet TK33.
 
Even though I have a nice pair of Sennheisers, there's a beloved almost 40 year old Fostex that I won't replace unless it literally falls apart.

Had KH-71 phones that I purchased in the Navy Exchange in Subic about 1974. They were my absolute favorites until my kids' puppy chewed them up. I bought the Fostex cans after the Kenwood's demise.

Can't find replacement pads for the Fostex - no longer available according to the company, so I bought some Sony cans with pads that fit the Fostex & tossed the Sony in the dustbin.
Small world. Got my KH-71's from the same place a year or so earlier.
 
One pair of Yamaha HP-1's and one pair of HP-2's. Listening to Naim Radio via the HP-2s right now. The HP-1's I bought new in 77-78 era. The black HP-1's in the photo are those cans. Rewired a few years ago to 4 pin XLR to work with Schiit Audio's fully balanced amp. Put new ear pads on at that time. Before I bought the HP-1s back in the day, i started w the HP-2's. Those went to other family and ultimately disrepair. 3-4 yrs ago bought the set of HP-2's in photo re wired to 3.5mm with new ear pads as well. The headband on the HP-2's was flawless. No break in the plastic/swede headband. Thats on the HP-1's now. Made a floppy leather band for the HP-2's.
99bfad254dcadb684201c5a1fbcc3d98.jpg
. All good stuff. Love the openness of these ortho cans


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Sweet!
 
One pair of Yamaha HP-1's and one pair of HP-2's. Listening to Naim Radio via the HP-2s right now. The HP-1's I bought new in 77-78 era. The black HP-1's in the photo are those cans. Rewired a few years ago to 4 pin XLR to work with Schiit Audio's fully balanced amp. Put new ear pads on at that time. Before I bought the HP-1s back in the day, i started w the HP-2's. Those went to other family and ultimately disrepair. 3-4 yrs ago bought the set of HP-2's in photo re wired to 3.5mm with new ear pads as well. The headband on the HP-2's was flawless. No break in the plastic/swede headband. Thats on the HP-1's now. Made a floppy leather band for the HP-2's.
99bfad254dcadb684201c5a1fbcc3d98.jpg
. All good stuff. Love the openness of these ortho cans


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Jeez how did I miss the original post. Very nice. The original headband condition is unbelievable. The must not have been used much at all. You have the MJOLNIR? I bet that's a nice match.

To update my year old post I bought some AKG K240 ll's for the office and took my Lyr & HP-1's to my Atlanta apartment. Still enjoy them every night.
 
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