Old realistic headphones any good?

[Stutheit]

Looked on eBay for a pair of vintage headphones and came upon several cool looking old sets of Realistic Nova (20, 30, and 40 I think) headphones.

Any of them any good?

 

[Lavane]

Some are. Some are rebranded Koss headphones. I had a pair of the Realistic electrostatic headphones that were rebranded Koss's.

 

[swechsler]

IMO, headphones are one of the few components where vintage, for the most part, is a bad thing. I believe all of the models you've listed are mediocre at best (not to mention very plasticky). Starting in the 1990s is when headphones as a whole started to get really good. Yes, there were a few good models here and there, but most are best ignored.

Yes, some Realistic phones were made by Koss, but most (but not all) Koss phones back then weren't that great either.

 

[Lavane]

IMO, headphones are one of the few components where vintage, for the most part, is a bad thing. I believe all of the models you've listed are mediocre at best (not to mention very plasticky). Starting in the 1990s is when headphones as a whole started to get really good. Yes, there were a few good models here and there, but most are best ignored.

Yes, some Realistic phones were made by Koss, but most (but not all) Koss phones back then weren't that great either.

I bought a pair of Koss Pro 4X's right after they came out. Those were horrible. Kind of spendy at the time too. They lasted a week before the ear cushions went flat and hardened. Then, the connecting wire to the coil of one of the drivers snapped. I never bought another pair of Koss headphones again. The electrostatic Koss's I bought at RS earlier held up well, but they clamped tight to the head and was painful after awhile and gave me ear fatigue.

 

[Stutheit]

Good to know. I think I'll go more modern.

 

[gbroot]

The LV-10's are rebranded Koss HV/1A's which are excellent headphones and attract a lot of attention and hefty prices on the auction site. Several grades above any of the Nova series. I put my HV/1A's ahead of my Senns or Audio Technica ATH M-50's.

 

[swechsler]

The LV-10's are rebranded Koss HV/1A's which are excellent headphones

As soon as you mentioned this, I figured I knew which models these were, and I was right once I found a pic.

 

[setup1]

After a couple of simple mods, I'm enjoying this pair of planar magnetic headphones from the early to mid-80s.

 

[Bill Ashton]

I got a Pair of Nova-20's shortly after they came out in the '70's...my son has them now, still rockin'...very comfortable and still sound good. Maybe not
TOTL today though...at the time I worked there, only two models were rebranded Koss...the Pro-4AA's and then a lesser one...K6's? Never had a return
on the Pro-4AA's, and they felt quality, but were really kinda flat sounding and heavy/uncomfortable. The K-6's were nice, but the Nova-20's better

 

[cjpremierfour]

I've had a few vintage headphones from Radio Shack Nova series, Pioneer SE- 50 and a couple of Sennheiser HD 430 / 455. The Senn. were kind of good but wouldn't handle todays heavy low bass notes without distortion. After having these, a cheap pair of Superlux HD 668b,( under $40 ) would walk all over any of these with ease.

 

[ssmith3046]

I just bought a pair of Focal Clear headphones. Glad to report a better pair of cans than my first Koss Pro headphones in that beautiful Kermit the frog green.

 

[GalyBlasty]

good but expensive

 

[Lavane]

As soon as you mentioned this, I figured I knew which models these were, and I was right once I found a pic.

I bought a pair of these when they came out. Second worst headphones I've ever had. They sounded ok, but were fatiguing after a short time. They are electrostatic if I rem2mber right. They also clamped my head like a vise.

 

[swechsler]

No, not electrostatic, standard dynamic drivers.

 

[Quadman2]

Within the past 5-10 years, considerable advances have been made in HP's.

Rather than spend money of some that you may not like, do your homework on what you would like, and pick up a pair down the road.

Spend some time in the various forums on AK, becoming familiar on what you are looking for. You may even want to go the bluetooth format.


Q

 

[kasador]

There’re a few decent models there, but I suggest you also check Polk audio buckle to compare and see the larger picture. I’ve been using these ones for a few years, and I like the sound.

 

[swechsler]

Within the past 5-10 years, considerable advances have been made in HP's.

What are you referring to here? The Sennheiser HD-580 was released in 1994; while it's no longer TOTL, it still acquits itself very well against most modern headphones.

 

[WillVT]

I had a pair of Nova 20 when I was a kid. I thought they sounded good. They were kinda boomy and bass heavy, but I liked that then.
Some friends would sometimes make fun of me, asking if I stole them from the library...

 

[Quadman2]

What are you referring to here? The Sennheiser HD-580 was released in 1994; while it's no longer TOTL, it still acquits itself very well against most modern headphones.

Just pointing out that in general, HP's are continually being improved, is all.

And, rather than spending on older gear, it might be worth the wait to obtaining newer gear that they would appreciate even more.

The HD-580 was a great set, but time has moved on, and with it advances in this field of listening. I've a tech acquaintance with Sennheiser, and he keeps me up on what's up in their gear lines, and shares on how things are changing.


Q

 

[kasador]

There’re a few decent models there, but I suggest you also check Polk audio buckle to compare and see the larger picture. I’ve been using these ones for a few years, and I like the sound.

Most of those on-site look ‘vintage’ and may seem outdated to some people, but I don’t care about their opinion. Nothing is that great for listening to music than those ‘huge’ pairs. The sound is stunning. Moreover, I never saw operators and people working in the music record sphere wearing apple earphones, so yeah