New, Old Stock Headphones Question

raybbj

Member
So I've been using the same pair of headphones for the past 25 years. I won't say the make/model as that's not the point. They get used daily. I loved them so much I bought a new spare pair around 16 years ago and put them away for a rainy day. Maybe that was a bad idea.

Well it's finally starting to rain and I busted out the "new" pair and they sound horrible.
They are much louder than my old pair, but there are no highs to speak of. It's like anything over 4 or 6 KHz is missing. The bass is flabby and not tight. The whole thing is very mid range'y and honky.

2 theories. My 25 year old pair is incredibly broken in with great, full dynamic range and the 16 year old new pair have very stiff drivers that have never moved and need a tonne of exercise I could try pumping some pink noise into them for 50 to 100 hours, but the difference in sound is so dramatic, I don't know if it will make a difference. Maybe I need to pump some serious bass into the cans to really get those drivers moving. I'm not sure.

I might be in the market for a new set all together, but would love to be able to get my 16 year old new spare cans working.

Any insights would be appreciated.
 
So when you bought the second pair 16 years ago...you never even checked them for a few minutes...you just put the unopened box away?

I would say that if you HAD checked them 16 years ago, and they sounded about the same...but now they don't...then maybe your old pair have truly been "worn in" quite a lot...though TBH, I find that not a valid perspective, for them to be THAT much different just from lots of use...unless there was heavy abuse.

Here's the important question...if you can remember, going back 25 years when you first bought the original pair, did they sound horrible, as you describe the second pair to be?
I would think if they sounded good out of the box...then the second pair should too, and it's got little to do with breaking them in.
It's quite possible that something was changed in production between the 25 year-old pair and the 16 year-old pair....and that's what you're hearing.

At any rate...pumping pink noise will not dramatically change their sound. It might loosen then up a bit...but fixing "horrible" isn't about doing that.

Curious what brand/model we are talking about...it may reveal something. Not sure why the need to NOT mention it? :)
 
So when you bought the second pair 16 years ago...you never even checked them for a few minutes...you just put the unopened box away?

I would say that if you HAD checked them 16 years ago, and they sounded about the same...but now they don't...then maybe your old pair have truly been "worn in" quite a lot...though TBH, I find that not a valid perspective, for them to be THAT much different just from lots of use...unless there was heavy abuse.

Here's the important question...if you can remember, going back 25 years when you first bought the original pair, did they sound horrible, as you describe the second pair to be?
I would think if they sounded good out of the box...then the second pair should too, and it's got little to do with breaking them in.
It's quite possible that something was changed in production between the 25 year-old pair and the 16 year-old pair....and that's what you're hearing.

At any rate...pumping pink noise will not dramatically change their sound. It might loosen then up a bit...but fixing "horrible" isn't about doing that.

Curious what brand/model we are talking about...it may reveal something. Not sure why the need to NOT mention it? :)


When I bought the originals 25 years ago, I remember them sounding fantastic. I didn't have to "get used to them"
When I bought the spare pair 16 years ago, I do remember them sounding "a bit different", but I dismissed it as them not being broken in yet and put them in my mic locker.
The cans are SONY MDR-V600

Another factor at play, and I think this might be the answer .............. the pads on the original cans are badly deteriorated. I have them covered with cotton ear piece covers. The same ones on aviation headsets such as this: DAVID CLARK H10 COMFORT COVERS from Aircraft Spruce Canada

I have the same covers on the new cans as well so I don't think these are making the difference . I think the difference is between the deteriorated 25 year ear pads and the brand new 16 year ear pads. I know ear pads can drastically change the sound of a set of cans.

Ironically, a bout a year ago I purchased replacement ear pads for the 25 year old set. The new pads completely killed the high end. so I put the old ones back on. Now that I think about this a bit more, I think this may be where my problem is. I could swap pads between the new and old set and see what I hear.
Having said that, regardless of the sound picture, the newer cans are way louder.

You might be right about the manufacturing process between 1995 and 2004. There definitely could be some differences there.

Also, after 25 years of using the same cans daily, my ears and brain are used to them. Anything else would sound bad until I re-train my ears and brain.

I have always dreaded the day these cans died :(

I"m eye balling some new DT-990's
 
Maybe the specs were changed - freq resp or impedence..?

Another point is I bought the 16 year pair off ebay. I have no idea when they were actually manufactured. My 25 year old pair came without a bag, but my 16 year paid came with a bag, so there's probably at leas ta few years difference .
 
The cans are SONY MDR-V600

I think you can still get the appropriate pads for those:

sony mdr-v600 replacement pads - Google Search

I'm not sure if I ever tried that Sony model...but I remember back than when Sony came out with a few models for studio use...and TBH...I thought they all sounded horrible...very harsh in the upper end, which made them work for some people in the studio when live music levels were real loud, the Sony phones would cut through for the cue mix, and you could hear yourself.

It might have been different models...but it was certainly their MDR line...but hey, to each his own. :)

My advice...go to some music store and audition a few pairs, and pick ones that are not "the same"...but that sound best to you compared to the others...and then just get use to them...let your ears forget the old Sony phones. ;)

TBH...it's not a real great set of phones...I mean, if you are doing audio work on phones, there are many great sounding, better quality phones...so you have a LOT of choices out there, compared to what was available 25 years ago.

Don't feel bad though...I have a bunch of even older headphones...must have about 8 pairs of the Koss Pro4AA, which were a studio staple back in the late '70s.
They still make them...the same exact phones, because they have great isolation, and don't load up your headphone amp...but they are heavy, though you get use to them, they kinda feel very secure on your head...but after 6-8 hours in the studio, they start to get tiresome.
I also have newer phones from Fostex, a few models...which is what I use mostly, and the Koss are just for any larger, multi-person sessions.
 
I think you can still get the appropriate pads for those:

sony mdr-v600 replacement pads - Google Search

I'm not sure if I ever tried that Sony model...but I remember back than when Sony came out with a few models for studio use...and TBH...I thought they all sounded horrible...very harsh in the upper end, which made them work for some people in the studio when live music levels were real loud, the Sony phones would cut through for the cue mix, and you could hear yourself.

It might have been different models...but it was certainly their MDR line...but hey, to each his own. :)

My advice...go to some music store and audition a few pairs, and pick ones that are not "the same"...but that sound best to you compared to the others...and then just get use to them...let your ears forget the old Sony phones. ;)

TBH...it's not a real great set of phones...I mean, if you are doing audio work on phones, there are many great sounding, better quality phones...so you have a LOT of choices out there, compared to what was available 25 years ago.

Don't feel bad though...I have a bunch of even older headphones...must have about 8 pairs of the Koss Pro4AA, which were a studio staple back in the late '70s.
They still make them...the same exact phones, because they have great isolation, and don't load up your headphone amp...but they are heavy, though you get use to them, they kinda feel very secure on your head...but after 6-8 hours in the studio, they start to get tiresome.
I also have newer phones from Fostex, a few models...which is what I use mostly, and the Koss are just for any larger, multi-person sessions.

I know you're right on all points. It's like not wanting to give my trusted Windows XP. At some point you just have to bite the bullet and move to Windows 7. I know the Sony's never had good reviews, but they have worked for me. I have learned them. I guess it's time to move on.

Also, I did buy the authentic replacement pads a year ago. They killed the high end. I really want to go open back anyways. Probably time to move to Windows 7.
 
Yeah...it took awhile for me to give up XP.
At my day gig, they moved to Vista...then Win7...and were starting the move to Win8 before I switch to Win7, only because the network/security guys were saying XP was no longer going to be allowed on the network. :D

Win7 is quite good...move to it. Mind you, Win7 is already obsolete and no longer supported by MS. I still get basic security patches for my online laptops, but they no longer provide any other patches. On my DAW computer, Win7 will still indefinitely...because I run it offline, so patching is not relevant.
I'm not planning to go to Win10 until I see what's next, and then see if Win10 or the next version is the better choice.

Oh...and get some new model headphones. :)
You might have liked and gotten used to those old Sonys...but there are quite a lot of better choices, depending what you use them for the most.
 
FWIW, I LOVE my DT-770 Pros.

Did you get the 80 Ohm or 250 Ohm version?

Apparently, the 80 will push out less treble, so consequently, you can turn it up more and end up with fatter bass, which is what a lot of folks prefer when just using the phone to music listening...but the 250 will be more even, and so you get more treble when you push them, not just bass...which makes them more suited for critical listening, but they may not be as much fun for just casual music listening.

I guess it's like the old boom box thing...where you get that low end THUMP, and when you're just playing music for enjoyment, it seems most people like the extra low end THUMP...where a more flatter response may be more accurate, but kind of boring to people for fun listening.

I'm curious how much of a sound quality difference there is between the 990 and 770, both at 250 Ohms...the price between them is not that much...but they both look like really good quality phones, but then, you can't go wrong with most anything made by Beyerdynamic. :)
 
FWIW, I LOVE my DT-770 Pros.


Yes,I was also considering the 770's @ 250ohm. I'm just trying to decide if I want open or closed back. I'm leaning towards open back and the 990's. I have other cans I can use for tracking when using mics. Now I'm reconsidering the 250 ohms. Other reviews of the 990's quote some treble spikes at 2 or 3 different frequencies. Maybe the 80ohm would tame that.
 
80 ohm. I didn't have the 250 ohm to compare them to, but one of the reasons I preferred these over others that were available at the time was their what seemed to me to be fairly even response, whereas most others seemed too hyped, some in the highs like the Sony's that I hated, and others at the bottom, like they were meant for casual listening to rap (ATs come to mind).

And man, are they more comfortable on my big melon with my big ears than anything else out there. And not the least bit vise grip like.

My only complaint about them is the cheesey molded plug.
 
And I'm not suggesting you'll like them. Phones are like shoes. Everybody's feet and heads are different.

I'm just saying I'm still really happy with mine. I have thought about looking at the 990s though, just to see the difference.
 
I have never subscribed to the 'burning in' concept but it is possible that leaving the cans unused for 16 years means some of the adhesives have 'oozed' and got into places they should not be? After all, things like tape machine belts do not last much over a decade.

I have read good things about the AKG K 371 and once the Flexible Friend has recovered from buying another card I shall get a pair. Closed back mind.

Dave.
 
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