Headphones

[SteveFord]

It's been a while since I bought any audio gear and I wrote to Japan to see if they would have a headband for my old Stax Sigmas (purchased new probably 1982 or 1983).

That got me poking around to see what Stax products are currently on the market and next week I should have a used pair of Stax headphones and a Stax tube amp in my fat little fingers.  This is a good way to get really good sound on the cheap (more or less).

Edited July 31, 2022 by SteveFord

[Sgt. Pepper]

You are the cutting edge Steve.

I just have some Sennheisers. I had a pair of brown Koss headphones when I was about 10.

Edited July 31, 2022 by Sgt. Pepper

[SteveFord]

Sennheiser makes really good headphones.

I've been using some mid-tier Byerdynamics but they're a bit too bass heavy for me.

[Sgt. Pepper]

2 hours ago, SteveFord said:

Sennheiser makes really good headphones.

I've been using some mid-tier Byerdynamics but they're a bit too bass heavy for me.

I really hate headphones and only use them only when I have to. 

[merciful-evans]

I use Sennheiser and Audio Technica phones in my studio. They are dry for monitoring of course.

For just listening I have some earphones, but I hate being tethered to the amp. I really need to get some cordless ones. 

In the 80s, there were some superb headphones available. I remember them well.

[Whitefang]

Yeah, back in the "day" Koss were the headphones everybody coveted.  In later years I tried an earlier version of "wireless" headphones(can't remember the brand, they were a gift too) which didn't work too well.  Lot of "hiss" in the back, and the "base" kept eating batteries too fast.  And if someone walked between you and the base they acted like those AM radios in cars did when you drove under a viaduct.  And the last type of earphone I used were the small ones I'd plug into the little portable CD unit I'd wear while mowing the lawn.  I think Craig made them.

I don't have a home studio so they're really something I, by myself now, don't need to use, so I'm unfamiliar with what's out there.  Except those "Beats" phones by Dr. Dre.  WAY too pricey for just home listening far as I'm concerned.

Whitefang

[Larsongs]

I have about 10 different sets of Headphones I’ce acquired over the years.. I can’t remember all the makes, most are in storage because I didn’t like them that much. Among them Beyer Dynamic & other fairly expensive ones..

I like Headphones & use them a lot. For Recording & Mixing I’m using older Sony VR-600’s.. Unavailable new. Great as part of my Mixing process. Used VOS are too expensive now.. 

I hear good things about some of the Sennheisers..

[ksdaddy]

First set I had were Pickering OA-3 (open air), in 1975. Loved them until I got a pair of Koss HV-1LC in 1978.  Loved them stupid. Since then, I have owned countless pairs, mostly cheap junk.

I just use wireless earbuds now.

[Sgt. Pepper]

I had these. K6

[SteveFord]

If you had Koss back in the 70s you were the King of The Junior/Senior High School Heap!

It turns out they're still around but you don't hear anything about them these days.

Grado in Brooklyn, NY makes good sounding ones for not a terrible amount of money.  Kind of cheaply constructed, though.

[Rabs]

1 hour ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

I had these. K6

Yup we had the same ones in my house when I was growing up..

[SteveFord]

I had some spare junk laying around collecting dust so I managed to repair the headband on my old Stax Sigma headphones (bought new in 1983, whaddaymean no parts available, what kind of a company are you running?) and did a temporary lash up.

Rega Saturn CD player, Conrad-Johnson MF-2275 amplifier, Sonic Frontiers SFL-2 preamp and it all worked out really well.  I'll move this upstairs in the Fall and add an old Harman-Kardon tube tuner which I just love.

Total overkill, it's kind of like putting a Marshall Stack in your bathroom but oh well.