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Opinions on Early-80s cans. Most popular to Least in rank.

VPM7981

VPM7981

New Member
Heya everyone! I have already bought myself a decent Cassette deck system since my last member introduction post. Now I am in need of a pair of Vtg Cans. I love the look of many '80s budget store-bought Products. :idea: Such as Realistic/koss Mura, etc.

I am thinking either the Rebadged Realistic/Koss units or a Mura SP502-504. I'm just looking for something to get me by until i can afford the $200-400 ones with Supreb! sound quality. If anyone can spare a few minutes of their time to put together a list of their own, on what they think were the most popular to the least popular/uncommon headphones of the early '80s. That would be Awesome.

Thank you for the time reading this.
 
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I would say that all of those are crap (and a web search tells me that the Nova 10 is, confusingly, a speaker and a headphone) and don't have what I'd consider "decent" sound quality (I've heard some, but not all of them). I don't think any of those were particularly popular, either. Koss made some decent phones back in the day, I'd probably start there. The Pro 4AAA is pretty good, as is the HV1A which was also sold as the Realistic LV10 (actually, many Realistic headphones were rebadged Koss). Some of the higher number Sony MDR models were good, too, although you may have trouble finding proper replacement foam for some of them. Beyerdynamic also had a good selection back then. And of course there's the venerable AKG K140. If you want to see what models were current for any given year, you can check the October issues of Audio Magazine, which had a yearly buyer's guide.
 
swechsler said:
I would say that all of those are crap (and a web search tells me that the Nova 10 is, confusingly, a speaker and a headphone) and don't have what I'd consider "decent" sound quality (I've heard some, but not all of them). I don't think any of those were particularly popular, either. Koss made some decent phones back in the day, I'd probably start there. The Pro 4AAA is pretty good, as is the HV1A which was also sold as the Realistic LV10 (actually, many Realistic headphones were rebadged Koss). Some of the higher number Sony MDR models were good, too, although you may have trouble finding proper replacement foam for some of them. Beyerdynamic also had a good selection back then. And of course there's the venerable AKG K140. If you want to see what models were current for any given year, you can check the October issues of Audio Magazine, which had a yearly buyer's guide.
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Yeah, i was assuming the same too, lol. Maybe I'll just have to buy and hoard them as a display collection. LOL. I'm already addicted... :rflmao:
Might save up for some others i was reading about. DT150, AKG 240, so on. I did a quick check on the Koss HV/LV Units, but i am only able to locate "parts" right now.

Appreaite the link to the mag website. I was having a difficult time finding a "Popular" list from any website that didn't post it 15+ yrs ago and had the domain taken down.
 
VPM7981 said:
Heya everyone! I have already bought myself a decent Cassette deck system since my last member introduction post. Now I am in need of a pair of Vtg Cans. I love the look of many '80s budget store-bought Products. :idea: Such as Realistic/koss Mura, etc.

I am thinking either the Rebadged Realistic/Koss units or a Mura SP502-504. I'm just looking for something to get me by until i can afford the $200-400 ones with Supreb! sound quality. If anyone can spare a few minutes of their time to put together a list of their own, on what they think were the most popular to the least popular/uncommon headphones of the early '80s. That would be Awesome.

Thank you for the time reading this.
Click to expand...
Find you the best pair of Sennheiser/AKG/Beyer Dynamic headphones you can afford with your budget. The AKG K-40 will do just fine ($40-$50 would buy you a pair)
 
Some of the early 80s Philips headphones can be had for peanuts and sound pretty decent. Stick to the open back type with early 80s styling and mylar drivers. Here's a set by Philips I picked up a few weeks ago. One cable needed soldering..but they sound pretty nice. A pair of Grado SR-60 makes a good pair of entry level *modern* headphones or maybe a well preserved pair of Sennheiser hd-555 or the hd-595. Both should be easy to find at a good price now that they have updated their lines several times over since the early 2000s
If you like the 70's look and are not to critical about sound quality...there are some very cool cans still out there. I have a small collection just for the fun factor.
Sony DR-XX range are interesting, Early Akai, Mid to late 70s Ross Electronics, Sharp, Sansui, Trio, Pioneer and many others made some extremely nice looking headsets that wouldn't look out of place next to a vintage hi-fi setup. You don't see real chromed steel on headphones much these days.
 

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VPM7981 said:
Heya everyone! I have already bought myself a decent Cassette deck system since my last member introduction post. Now I am in need of a pair of Vtg Cans. I love the look of many '80s budget store-bought Products. :idea: Such as Realistic/koss Mura, etc.
Click to expand...
Throughout the '70's and '80's, my only headphones were Koss Pro/4AA, and they can still be purchased new (about $80 on Amazon). A similar look can be found in the Koss QZ99 (about $46 currently on Amazon). I replaced my Pro/4AA with the QZ99, and I've been very happy with their sound quality, isolation properties, lighter weight, greater comfort, and features like a volume control and mono switch. Koss says they were "initially designed for racing radio scanner and metal detector users," but I agree with their conclusion that "Sporty and strong with superior sound quality, these Passive Noise Reduction headphones are every audiophile’s dream."
 
Three of my headphones, the Sony MDR-V6, the Beyerdynamic DT770-Pro, and the Beyerdynamic DT990-Pro all first entered production in 1985. Not only are they all great headphones, but all three are still in production in one form or another. Only good designs stand the test of time like that.
 
I really loved my Koss ESP. 9's at the time. There are some times when I wished I had kept them instead of selling them when I bought my Signet electrostatics. I enjoy my Sennheisers, the 598 for casual listening in particular. The SIGNET, STAX LAMDAS are more for critical listening. But now that I have my line arrays I really don't use them anaymore. The exception being when I dubbing records for myself or friends to CD. Setting the EQ's and the 3 BX for the best results is a very delicate matter that great headphones can make the chore almost easy.
 
I remember the old Koss hv1. It was much better than most of the
Old vintage stuff. The stax sr80's with the transformer box was really
good. I still have a set. The number of good modern models is endless.
If you're looking for good mid level headphones, try a set of Sennheiser
Hd58x. I have Akg , modern Stax, and Grados as well. I mostly use the
STAX and Senn hd650's.
 
I've purchased 4 vintage headphones in the last 4 years as I started getting into the hobby. The AKG K340 electrostatic dynamic made in the late 80's to early 90's and the mid 80's Sennheiser HD 540 Reference. Both are very solid, detailed quick sounding headphones that are just a touch bass light vs modern ones. Other than the bass being light, they can pretty much match anything made today that not priced like a cheap motorcycle. You can find many great vintage headphones like the AKG K340, Sennheiser K540, Sennheiser HD250 Linear, HD 560 / 565 Ovation, *HD580 Precison ( *goes for good money if in great shape ), if you look at Ebay. Just a warning, they will all need a headphone amp to power them. There is some great deals out there if you are able to change some ear pads and maybe add some foam to the headband. I also bought 2 Realistic headphones that I was really disappointed with, the Realistic Pro10 and the Pro IIA. Both were extrememly flat sounding with little or no dynamics range when compared to vintage higher end model from AKG or Sennheiser. I did look for the Realistic LV10 / Koss HV1 but a great pair of those will cost you the same, if not a little more than a pair of vintage Sennheiser and I just don't see it.
 
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