Headphone quiery

[guest102]

My first decent headphones were a set of 1980s vintage Realistic Pro-60s, a re-badged Koss hv1a set according to my research. They were the perfect accessory for bringing rock's high frequency percussion sounds into my night time listening. Over the years I replaced it's foam earpads with units sourced through Radio Shack. Through the 1990s I heard less and less high frequency information with them which I was inclined to attribute to a loud work environment's erosion of my high frequency hearing. About five years ago I let an acquaintance who happened to work in an A/V specialty store listen to the Pro-60s and he commented on how lacking the high frequencies were. After hearing his suggestion to audition some Grado headphones (which he sold) I went to his store and tried a few. I settled on a set of 125s which seemed to nicely reacquaint me with some of the headphone high frequencies I had been missing for a long time. I know my hearing is not as acute as it was thirty years ago, but since removing myself from the daily thrumming of a loud work environment by retiring I have noticed than some of my high frequency hearing has come back. I can now hear a bit of drummer's cymbals with the Pro-60s, but not nearly as crisply as with the Grado 125s. Right now the Grado 125s seem to sound like the Pro-60s did thirty years ago.

And this brings me to a string of questions which left unanswered are not explaining why the Pro-60s no longer supply the crisp splashy cymbals that the Grado 125s bring out. Is it possible for headphone drivers to "get tired" with age? Are the Radio Shack sourced replacement foam pads killing the highs? Are the Grado 125s simply better at projecting highs than the Pro-60s ever were? Or is the mysterious entity in whose mind I am a figment of imagination causing me to lose MY mind?:scratch2:

 

[tubeboob]

I'm not sure how to answer your questions, but I can tell you that headphones are capable of supplying amazing sound rivaling some of the best speakers out there in audio world.

I just purchased a pair of Audio Technica ATH-AD700's and am amazed at their performance.

See my review in this forum.

My old headphones never sounded that good.

Hope this helps.

 

[guest102]

I guess the first question to ask is: can headphone drivers over time lose their ability to reproduce high frequency sounds?

 

[Trance88]

I guess the first question to ask is: can headphone drivers over time lose their ability to reproduce high frequency sounds?

I think it is very possible. Speakers are probably much like shoes in a roundabout way. The drivers in the headphones probably became loose from use over the years and they could have lost some high frequency response. To really find out if they lost any high frequencies, you would have to find another pair of those headphones that are either unused or know they have less "milage" on them.

 

[guest102]

Trance88, thanks for the response. It raises an interesting possibility. Since my Pro 60s are a Koss product I found this revelation from a similarly themed thread also interesting.

"Koss K-500, also about 30 years old. I used to like them as much as the Pioneers but now they sound horrible in comparison."

I need to do some more digging.:scratch2:

 

[guest102]

Resolution

While attempting research on my Realistic Pro 60s I ended up on the Koss web site. Eventually I came to a page offering replacement ear pads for their headphones so I requested a set of pads for their hv1a phones which I had been led to believe was the equivalent of the Pro 60s. The cost was $5.00, no extra charge for shipping. What arrived was documented for the hv1a phones but the pads were slightly smaller than the Pro 60s needed. However I decided to put them on anyway. They are soft enough to be comfortable and did make a difference in what I heard compared to the Radio Shack sourced ear pads. The Koss pads allow more high frequency sounds through. The Pro 60s are not as bright as my Grado 125s and I had to back off on the bass tone control a bit so as not to overpower the highs, but listening to a 1980s record through the newly padded pro 60s sonically took me back to the era - very close to what I remember from them in their prime. The Pro 60s do not quite have the clarity of the Grado 125s but they are still enjoyably listenable. I put them with my secondary system planning to use them when I fire it up for a little variety. I won't try explaining the difference in sound, I'll just appreciate what I got. Sometimes nothing succeeds like success.