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i think im gonna stick to vintage!

rotelrx503

rotelrx503

Well-Known Member
I had some newer cheap headphones, thought they sounded good. My landlady overheard me saying my headphones broke, and gave me two pairs of vintage headphones for free. One pair being realistic nova 34, and mura red set 7. HOLY CRAP!! Those realistics blow these newer 300 dollar headphones AWAY! the muras need new foam pads. Ill tell you how they sound when there done.
 
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Sounds like you got lucky! The Realistics are made by Koss. I have three different ones that I rotate into listening time.
 
Ask skylab what he thinks of vintage headphones. I'm not your landlady, but ten minutes with my Philips X1 - a mid-priced headphone - on your noggin and I guarantee you'd see things a whole lot differently. I wont start ranting about other cans, but the Philips are affordable and sensationally good for the bucks.

http://www.whathifi.com/review/philips-fidelio-x1

If you want cheap, get a pair of Koss Portapro or the Grado SR60i if you are prepared to spend a little more than Koss want for their little giant killers, but the Philips are a revelation when you consider what their direct competition costs.
 
I had a pair of Realistic HV1 headphones that sounded superb back in the day. A friend had some very expensive headphones then that used a special box connected to the speaker outputs that had little if anything over the HV1. However I have heard his recent Sennheiser headphones (about $250) and I must say, they really do sound superb too. I think some manufactures voice their headphones for certain markets, so those of us who value Neutral, Accurate headphones will find them offensive. I'd highly recommend auditioning Sennheiser headphones if you in the market for a good pair of new ones in the $200 - $300+ price range.
 
You're welcome to meet up and hear some newer headphones. I've got AKG Q701, K550, K240S, Bose AE2, Sennheiser PX100, Grado SR60i and Shure SE215 that I'm willing to put up against anything vintage.

Anything.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk
 
My first headphones were from the Allied Radio store on Western Ave. in Chicago, around 1962 or so. My Dad wired them up to our GE portable stereo and they sounded great, "Sheila" by Tommy Roe never sounded so good.
 
charles 1973 said:
I had a pair of Realistic HV1 headphones that sounded superb back in the day. A friend had some very expensive headphones then that used a special box connected to the speaker outputs that had little if anything over the HV1. However I have heard his recent Sennheiser headphones (about $250) and I must say, they really do sound superb too. I think some manufactures voice their headphones for certain markets, so those of us who value Neutral, Accurate headphones will find them offensive. I'd highly recommend auditioning Sennheiser headphones if you in the market for a good pair of new ones in the $200 - $300+ price range.
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Actually your Realistics were the LV-10 which were a variation of the Koss HV/1A's. I have the Koss HV/1A "Plus" which I prefer over my ATH-M50's when listening directly my receiver.
 
gbroot said:
Actually your Realistics were the LV-10 which were a variation of the Koss HV/1A's. I have the Koss HV/1A "Plus" which I prefer over my ATH-M50's when listening directly my receiver.
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Quite correct, I went by the picture. They still have the Koss name molded into the ear cup. Those M50's look like a fine headphone too, and one I might have purchased if I hadn't bought the Koss/Realistic model. I believe Audio-Technica made some of the better headphones too at the time If I remember correctly.

I think some vintage headphones, like some vintage speakers and amps that are in good working order are quite capable of holding their own against today's headphones that are in the same class relative to their era. I not familiar with the op's Realistic nova 34's, but I believe they were at least as good as others in the same price range then, and might very well do a fine job by today's standards.
 
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charles 1973 said:
Quite correct, I went by the picture. They still have the Koss name molded into the ear cup. Those M50's look like a fine headphone too, and one I might have purchased if I hadn't bought the Koss/Realistic model. I believe Audio-Technica made some of the better headphones too at the time If I remember correctly.

I think some vintage headphones, like some vintage speakers and amps that are in good working order are quite capable of holding their own against today's headphones that are in the same class relative to their era. I not familiar with the op's Realistic nova 34's, but I believe they were at least as good as others in the same price range then, and might very well do a fine job by today's standards.
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Actually of all of the vintage headphones I have heard or had, Kenwood made some great cans and were very expensive for the day. I had a set purchased in 1973 that were around 100.00. From a comfort level they were not. Shortly after that is when I got my first set of HV/1's which are very comfortable and I also like their open style.
What I like about the better modern headphones is that their detail is better but in the bass dept. many of the better vintage cans hold their own very well.
 
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