Vintage Asylum

Classic gear from yesteryear; vintage audio standing the test of time.

Return to Vintage Asylum

Message Sort: Post Order or Asylum Reverse Threaded

Auditioning Headphones

198.14.248.244
Posted on September 7, 2014 at 04:02:53
DavidLD
Audiophile

Posts: 4884
Joined: May 29, 2002
 Anyhow, testing out headphones is a lot easier than testing loudspeakers.
1. Headphones are usually cheaper than loudspeakers
2. Heaphones are easier to connect and A-B than loudspeakers
3. Headphones are easier on the back to move than loudspeakers

So far, (see below) the biggest mystery is why the Nakamichis sound distorted through the vintage headphone jack but fine through a computer or tablet.

The biggest surprise has been the amount of bass coming from the cheap Koss ($4.88) heaphones when connected through the 80s JVC receiver. These were supposed to be somewhat bass shy according to reviews. They seem a bit bass shy connected to a tablet or computer, too.

The biggest question is whether the liquid in the vintage Koss ProAA earpads has really completely disappeared. I've never known these pads to feel liquiid filled,but they seem to offer even less padding than I remembered.

The two sets of Panasonic phones (one earbud, one over ear, each about $8) are going to provide an interesting comparison when they get here. Why? Well, one pair, the earbuds, has 12,000 reviews on Amazon,mostly rave. The other pair, over ear, has only 1,700 reviews. These are supposedly ANYTHING but bass shy. I think the latter are similar to the Wal mart Koss set, physically. These are among the best overall reviews I have seen on ANY product sold through Amazon, and 1,700 of them. Can I trust gobs of reviews by Amazon Customers? Stay tuned. This is only going to get more interesting.

My theory is that the distortion issue with the Nakamichis connected to the vintage receivers is really an impedence mismatch. The Nakamichis are listed at 32 ohms on the spec sheet. Does anyone here know the impedence typical of vintage headphones?

Stay tuned.


I just found that the current Koss Pro4AA are rated at 250 ohms impedence. Are the headphone jacks on vintage receivers expecting an impedence in that range? If so, the Nakamichis are way low at 32 ohms.

update: that theory makes no sense. I just discovered the little Wal mart KOSS KPH7's are 32 ohm as well and they don't distort in the vintage receiver like the Nakamichi do. Other theories?

 

Hide full thread outline!
    ...
RE: Auditioning Headphones, posted on September 8, 2014 at 06:27:09
airtime
Audiophile

Posts: 11287
Location: Arizona
Joined: February 4, 2003
 No offense but cheap-ish headphones do not react to power very well. they distort extremely quick, almost for no reason.

Dave, I think I have a pair of over the ear headphones kicking around. I believe they are pretty good. Would you like them? I'm starting to thin out my "stuff" due to an upcoming move this year.

Shot me an email with your address and they're yours.

charles

 

RE: Auditioning Headphones, posted on September 8, 2014 at 08:27:03
Hornlover
Manufacturer

Posts: 2529
Joined: March 8, 2002
 Koss has a lifetime warranty on many of their products. They might fix the earpads on your Pro4AA phones for free. If not for free, I'm sure the cost would be reasonable.

 

RE: Auditioning Headphones, posted on September 8, 2014 at 08:54:24
Crazy Dave
Audiophile

Posts: 14371
Location: East Coast
Joined: October 4, 2001
 I agree. The receiver output probably has more low frequency information and is overloading the Nakamichi headphones.

I found a pair of Sennheiser HD-555 headphones for $20 in a thrift store so I don't worry about new headphones anymore.

Dave

 

RE: Auditioning Headphones, posted on September 8, 2014 at 11:26:04
JonM
Audiophile

Posts: 292
Joined: December 29, 2000
 I think Koss no longer uses fluid-filled cushions on the Pro 4AA. Other than that, the new ones sure feel and sound like I remember the old ones.

 

Panasonic RPHJE120K In-Ear Headphones, posted on September 8, 2014 at 11:55:31
DavidLD
Audiophile

Posts: 4884
Joined: May 29, 2002
 The Panasonic RPHJE120K In-Ear Headphones arrived today.

I put my favorite "Contemporary Jazz Masters CD" in the Laptop. I decided a good initial test might be up against my Dollar Tree earbuds (yes, $1 the pair). Given the rave reviews of the Panasonics I expected to be blown away. Not quite. Ok, maybe they sounded a little bit better, but I have a new appreciation for the quality of the Dollar Tree item. It's really quite good. The Panasonics fit in the ear like an ear plug and are a bit trickier to get positioned right.

The same thing happened to me a few years ago, 1972 to be exact. I had these Utah loudspeakers I had gotten at Team Electronics, Pd $100 for the pair. I had been reading all the favorable reviews on the Large Advents. I figured the low bass would blow the Utahs out of the water. So I saved my nickels and dimes till I got a pair. Turns out the Advents did not blow the Utahs out of the water on the low end. Try as I might, the pedal tones on my pipe organ vinyl sounded all but identical. The Advents did have stronger and better dispersed highs. The 3 1/2 inch cone tweeter in the Utahs was not very strong.

Eventually, I swapped out the cones in the Utahs for much stronger round horns. That was a great swap as the highs improved as did the overall balance top to bottom. The tweaked Utahs are still sitting in my living room and I can still AB them with the Advents. The Utahs are dryer and probably flatter. Julian Hirsch would no doubt have prefered the Advents to the Utahs. I'm still stumped. No hi fi magazine ever gave any Utah loudspeaker the time of day.

I got to thinking about that as I stuck the highly-rated Panasonic buds in my ears. Maybe I haven't mastered putting them in my ears yet. Some reviewers say that could affect the bass a lot. But we have 12,000 rave reviews on Amazon. 12,000 people can't all be wrong.

However, if you have a dollar to spare..., and can't afford $7.88

David

 

"No hi fi magazine ever gave any Utah loudspeaker the time of day." Maybe they though tof Utah as more of a..., posted on September 8, 2014 at 16:30:32
J. S. Bach
Audiophile

Posts: 9576
Location: Chester, SC
Joined: November 28, 2001
Contributor
  Since: June 29, 2004
 ...PA speaker builder. Just a thought.


Later Gator,
Dave
Find more about Weather in Chester, SC

 

RE: "No hi fi magazine ever gave any Utah loudspeaker the time of day." Maybe they though tof Utah as more of a..., posted on September 9, 2014 at 05:54:11
DavidLD
Audiophile

Posts: 4884
Joined: May 29, 2002
 Utah speakers were everywhere! But maybe the majority of them were branded Knight or Allied, and were ordered in various states of completion from Allied Radio cataloges through about 1970. They were frequently paired with a kit-built Knight (KG prefix) amplifier or factory built (KN prefix) amplifier or receiver. MOST if not all of the 2-and 3-way drivers Allied sold were probably of Utah manufacurer as well.

The odd thing I always thought is that magazines such as Stereo Review and High Fidelity never acknowledged that this aspect of the hobby even existed let alone run comparison tests with speakers from the "hoity-toity" east-coast companies such as Acoustic Research. They seemed to act as if they were above all the Knight kit builders running Utah-made speakers. Of course, Allied would happily sell you any AR speaker as well, and even sold some in unfinished pine.

My 1970 Allied catalog has all sorts of Utah-branded speakers and tons of Allied branded speakers that are Utahs in only slight disguise.

The Hi fi magazines such as High Fidelity ignored all of this.

The basic Utah design in later years that had the big 12 inch woofer and huge 8-inch mid-range was really underappreciated by the larger hi fi community. That combination was very musical.

David

 

Utah also sold speakers that were rebranded, posted on September 9, 2014 at 06:04:07
airtime
Audiophile

Posts: 11287
Location: Arizona
Joined: February 4, 2003
 I had a pair of Ultralinear speakers in the early 70's. After they finally died I opened them up to find a Utah label on the inside of the crossover board.

I think Utah was the "working mans" speaker. Good quality sound and affordable, for the time.

charles

 

RE: Utah also sold speakers that were rebranded, posted on September 9, 2014 at 06:28:23
DavidLD
Audiophile

Posts: 4884
Joined: May 29, 2002
 Utah had contracts to do the innards and maybe the cabinets for any number of different brands. They guilt low cost and good quality drivers. The remains of Utah are Pyle. I suspect they made the drivers for a lot of brown goods console stereos in the 60s and 70s as well.

 

Speaking of Utah speakers..., posted on September 9, 2014 at 06:42:58
spindoctor
Audiophile

Posts: 1663
Location: Virginia
Joined: December 31, 2002
 My first speakers were Utah HS-1s that I bought from Allied. They served me well for many years. The price was right and I paired them with a SCA-35 Dynakit that I built over Christmas break at our kitchen table and an Allied Radio badged-Dual 1209 with the angled base. The cartridge was a Shure M44e. Good sound at low cost was a key element in my choices at the time.
Sim

 

RE: Utah also sold speakers that were rebranded, posted on September 9, 2014 at 09:34:18
Crazy Dave
Audiophile

Posts: 14371
Location: East Coast
Joined: October 4, 2001
 I had bought some 12 inch Utah full range drivers in very high quality, home made cabinets. They sounded remarkably similar to my Dynaco A-25 speakers, but were much more efferent. IMO they are real sleepers. You won't get rich flipping them, but good sound can be had for cheap!

Dave

 

Headphone photos, posted on September 13, 2014 at 08:12:25
DavidLD
Audiophile

Posts: 4884
Joined: May 29, 2002



The headphone test: rumble in headphone land

Here is a photo of the headphones involved in the test

Far left: Nakamichi 890 high performance headphones, black
Source: Kmart Cost $15.00

The Nakamichi name and logo dates from the 1970s, when they built high performance and costly (up to $3,000) 3-head cassette decks. (think, beats audio clone)

Center: Koss KPH7 over-the-ear-model.
Source: Walmart Cost $4.88
156 reviews on Amazon averaging 3.81

The name Koss is synonymous with “quality headphones” . What can they do with a low-cost pair?

Right: Koss Pro 4AA
Cost: Vintage pair from the 70s, probably paid $49.95. Still being made. A new pair costs $99.95

These might be the most famous headphones in headphonedom. These were the ones they used in the music listening room at NDSU

Top: Panasonic RP-HT21 over-the-ear headphones with XBS port
supposedly known for excellent bass.
Cost: $6.99 inc. shipping from an ebay vendor

At last count 1,859 customer reviews on Amazon averaging 4.28

Lower left: Panasonic RPHJE120K in-ear headphone
Cost: $7.88 inc. shipping from Amazon vendor
At last count 13,099 customer reviews on Amazon averaging 4.4
#1 best seller on Amazon in MP3 players and accessories
Can that many people be wrong?

Lower right: Dollar Tree ear buds
Cost $1.00 at Dollar Tree
One of the neater of many designs at Dollar Tree. I got these 2 years ago, but checked yesterday and they still have the same model

Which set comes out on top? Not that easy to answer, so I will leave you guessing for awhile.

 

Page processed in 0.028 seconds.

[ Top Top of Page ] [ Contact Us ] [ Support/Wish List ] [ Copyright © 2024, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]