Vintage Headphones

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pongshi
pongshi Posts: 376
in Headphones
Just picked up a pair of old school Pioneer SE-205s for 6 bucks. They don't sound great, but they are not too bad for non-critical listening. Any thoughts and/or opinions on this? Please feel free to comment. If you have vintage phones would love to some pics as well. (stock photo)068diwg2gf4e.jpg
Living Room
Parasound Model 2250v2 amplifier
Parasound P5 preamp
Turntable 1 - Technics SL-1210Mk2 turntable with Shure V-15 Type III cartridge
Turntable 2 - Dual 1229 turntable, Dual AS-12 45 RPM stacker, Shure V-15 Type III cartridge
Schiit Mani Phono Preamp for Turntable 2
Oppo UDP-205 CD/SACD USB and FLAC duties
Technics RS-1500US reel to reel
Polk SDA SRS (2nd Gen) fully modded
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,453
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    Great price. Same here with these 4 channel gfcp36myg9ly.jpg
    oyfnl0i4i335.jpg
    Pioneers. Heavy buggers. My Grado's sound better
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    Randy/Maine
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  • pongshi
    pongshi Posts: 376
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    Those are gorgeous :)
    Living Room
    Parasound Model 2250v2 amplifier
    Parasound P5 preamp
    Turntable 1 - Technics SL-1210Mk2 turntable with Shure V-15 Type III cartridge
    Turntable 2 - Dual 1229 turntable, Dual AS-12 45 RPM stacker, Shure V-15 Type III cartridge
    Schiit Mani Phono Preamp for Turntable 2
    Oppo UDP-205 CD/SACD USB and FLAC duties
    Technics RS-1500US reel to reel
    Polk SDA SRS (2nd Gen) fully modded
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,453
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    pongshi wrote: »
    Those are gorgeous :)
    When you put them on you think you have all the gear on you head LOL. They do sound good to my beat up old ears. I use them when im laying down so they dont give me a headache :smile: alot of those old cans were made well & like tanks
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    Randy/Maine
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,029
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    The venerable Koss Pro4/AA was always the worst in that regard, IMO -- felt like putting one's head in a vise to wear 'em.

    fester.jpg
    (image from a 1970s Koss ad... not)
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  • sucks2beme
    sucks2beme Posts: 5,557
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    There's not much in the way of vintage "good sounding" headphones.
    I'll stick with modern. The closest thing I've heard that was good sounding
    was old Stax stuff. I've got a sr-40 with a transformer adapter that
    holds it's own against a lot of modern headphones. The earpads are
    flattened out and are torture to wear. I really need to pull, restuff and
    double sticky tape them back on. SR-80's are also very good for
    a very old headphone.
    "The legitimate powers of government extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury for my neighbour to say there are twenty gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." --Thomas Jefferson
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  • pongshi
    pongshi Posts: 376
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    Yeah, you're right on vintage phones. The sound quality is not that great, especially in comparison to what is available today. I think technology along with the change in how music is primarily delivered now has driven this.

    In the old days, music was much more of a shared experience. You had your friends over to check out a new album and you all hung out around the stereo. Stereo speakers were of primary importance.

    Now music is more isolated and personal with people listening through iphone, mp3 players, etc. and a set of headphones or ear buds. Since headphones are or primary importance due to this change, people want the best quality sound in their headphones and ear buds. For us older folk, we wanted the best sounding speakers and headphones were secondary to that.
    Living Room
    Parasound Model 2250v2 amplifier
    Parasound P5 preamp
    Turntable 1 - Technics SL-1210Mk2 turntable with Shure V-15 Type III cartridge
    Turntable 2 - Dual 1229 turntable, Dual AS-12 45 RPM stacker, Shure V-15 Type III cartridge
    Schiit Mani Phono Preamp for Turntable 2
    Oppo UDP-205 CD/SACD USB and FLAC duties
    Technics RS-1500US reel to reel
    Polk SDA SRS (2nd Gen) fully modded
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,453
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    Like i needed another set of cans. SE-205's i couldnt pass them up for 4.00 :smile:rbyjqqek0ski.jpg
    6loiqjgkq1ij.jpg
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    Randy/Maine
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  • TNHNDYMAN
    TNHNDYMAN Posts: 2,145
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    ^ Nice price. I've got a set of SC-405 I use at the computer.
    2-ch System: Parasound P/LD 2000 pre, Parasound HCA-1000 amp, Parasound T/DQ Tuner, Phase Technology PC-100 Tower speakers, Technics SL-1600 Turntable, Denon 2910 SACD/CD player, Peachtree DAC iT and X1asynchorus USB converter, HSU VTF-3 subwoofer.

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  • pongshi
    pongshi Posts: 376
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    Nice pick-up Boston1450....would love to have newer technology in an old skool build like these...oh well.
    Living Room
    Parasound Model 2250v2 amplifier
    Parasound P5 preamp
    Turntable 1 - Technics SL-1210Mk2 turntable with Shure V-15 Type III cartridge
    Turntable 2 - Dual 1229 turntable, Dual AS-12 45 RPM stacker, Shure V-15 Type III cartridge
    Schiit Mani Phono Preamp for Turntable 2
    Oppo UDP-205 CD/SACD USB and FLAC duties
    Technics RS-1500US reel to reel
    Polk SDA SRS (2nd Gen) fully modded
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • George Grand
    George Grand Posts: 12,258
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    Sennheiser 404 and 414 are the only things that come to mind when talking vintage, comfortable headphones. I have a gorgeous pair of the blue, over-ear Stantons from back then. My flying helmet weighed less than they do.
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  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 9,981
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    Yeah I had a pair of Sennheiser 414's and they were comfortable and I liked the sound especially for the price.
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  • George Grand
    George Grand Posts: 12,258
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    I bought a pair of 414 just walking down the street in Karup, Denmark, which was a Luftwaffe fighter base during WWII. An audio shop had them in the window. I did the money conversion and no way could I get them as cheap back home.
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 10,716
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    I got some SE-20A's. 10 large.

    k729tjgpxkv5.jpg
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,453
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    Still enjoying the Pioneers :smile:
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    Randy/Maine
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  • Nightfall
    Nightfall Posts: 10,067
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    I'll stick with my modern Philips headphones. Velour ear cups, leather head band, relatively light weight - comfy.

    300x300px-LS-872b2d87_0db40d9e_PhilipsFidelioX1.jpeg
    afterburnt wrote: »
    They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.

    Village Idiot of Club Polk
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  • boston1450
    boston1450 Posts: 7,453
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    boston1450 wrote: »
    Like i needed another set of cans. SE-205's i couldnt pass them up for 4.00 :smile:rbyjqqek0ski.jpg
    6loiqjgkq1ij.jpg
    Using these to drown out daughters girly show tonight :)

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    Randy/Maine
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  • sgtmick63
    sgtmick63 Posts: 166
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    I still have and use a pair of AKG 240's that I bought back in 1975/76. They still work.
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  • TNHNDYMAN
    TNHNDYMAN Posts: 2,145
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    Here is my daughter Danica wearing my Pioneer SE-405's....

    bx0aceag344b.jpg

    2-ch System: Parasound P/LD 2000 pre, Parasound HCA-1000 amp, Parasound T/DQ Tuner, Phase Technology PC-100 Tower speakers, Technics SL-1600 Turntable, Denon 2910 SACD/CD player, Peachtree DAC iT and X1asynchorus USB converter, HSU VTF-3 subwoofer.

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