Headphone upgrade.

[Allan Black]

Today there’s more headphones for sale than ever before, over the last few years the number has been steadily growing and there’s no indication it’ll slow down. One reason for this is the Covid pandemic, when millions of people around the world started working from home and needed new headphones.

To a slightly lesser degree, now there’s more social media, streaming sites, Podcasts and Audiobooks. Last year in Australia a bit slow to the party, Rode released their first ‘over ear’ headphones and it won’t be long before they release their first ‘open back’ set. Why did they take so long?

Well it takes a while, first they study the market to decide on a competitive price for their market, then their designers construct a few prototypes to that price, to pass around for some local ‘golden ears’ to pass judgment on. Then they start production with advertising. A few years ago I participated in their blind listening tests.

In Sydney as a kid, in 1956 when I started in the audio industry, I used Koss headphones because they were owned by the studio I first worked for. Over the years when pro gear is used by many it can become an industry standard and today Sony MDR 7506s are still in use although they’ve increased in price, $A189 in Sydney, wonder what they cost years ago?

I’ve got a birthday coming up and my grandkids are subtly asking what I’d like for a present. Bruce Brown an associate, first learned electronics then music, playing guitar in studio sessions. Later for the studio he and I worked for, he built a 16track 1” recorder out of an IBM computer deck with custom made heads, designing the amps as well. In 1964 when the Beatles arrived in Sydney, Bruce was contracted to check all their Vox amps before their first concert. Much later he produced AC/DC hits, Olivia Newton John and other pop stars and is now retired after a great career.

Over the years I’ve owned a few different headphones, currently enjoying Audio Technica closed ATH-M50x and Sennheiser open HD600, but it’s time for a ‘birthday upgrade.’ So I mentioned this to Bruce and he suggested I might check out the French Focals and some others. So I did and after checking many reviews and opinions for others, I decided on Focal Celestee closed headphones, and looked around for prices. It must be my lucky day, from a Sydney store I found a $A1399 set on special for $A499, and here they are. No! I’m not promoting them, I have 40 days to return them but I’m enjoying them.

Do multi $$$$$ headphones sound better than $$ headphones? It’s up to you, they’re a personal choice depending on what you’re listening to, with their cost playing a huge part. Now, the question is will new headphones sound ‘better’ after burning them in by using them for a number of hours? No! this is a furphy, it’s physiological, after a few hours you just become familiar with the sound of your headphones, just enjoy them.
Cheers.

[Boyd Ostroff]

Still use my Sony MDR-7506's, with some third party velour ear cups that make them much more comfortable. Hadn't even thought of it until reading your post, but can't remember the last time I wore them. I don't enjoy clamping a big heavy thing around my head, the only time I would wear them was when filming or to get a different perspective on things when editing. But I haven't shot or edited any videos for a couple years now, have just been too busy with other things.

I live alone in a "cabin in the woods" far from the neighbors, and turn the music up as loud as I want. So, no need to isolate myself from other people in the house or block out the world. And, as much as I love all kinds of music (most of my career was working for opera companies, I also play guitar and piano) I'm just not an "audiophile". I also really hate any kind of ear bud that goes into my ear, just don't wear those at all (with the exception of air travel, which I haven't done for the past 10 years).

Glad you found something you like at a good price, hope they meet your expectations. A $500 headphone upgrade just isn't in the cards for me though. :-)

[Allan Black]

Hi Boyd, nice to hear from one of the very first members here at DVinfo, still going strong after 22yrs. Great stuff!

A lot has passed under the bridge since 2002 and it looks like a lot more will in the next 4 years.

Yep my new Focal Celestee headphones are doing very well thanks. However, it’s a pain disconnecting the 2 cables to put them away in their case each time. But it’s important to put them safely away from any tiny nasties that might crawl into the ear phones. So mine now live in a small closed box with cables connected together with tiny packets of silicagel.

With some budget still available, my next project is to checkout new DAC and headphone amps. This $A3,800 Chord Hugo 2 rig is What-Hifi top rating system of 2024, I can go and check it out at a local store here, start there and work down.
Cheers.

[Andrew Smith]

As I'm on the walking track early in the morning listening to content with mere ear buds, it amazes me the number of people who are exercising with a pair of full size headphones over their ears. It looks kinda over the top in a 1980s shoulder pads kind of way.

Yeah, nah, I'm not doing that!

Meanwhile I gave my brother (who is very proud of his home sound system) a listen to his regular music with my Rode headphones and he's going "wow, wow ..." etc as he hears all these new parts of the music for the first time.

Andrew

[Don Palomaki]

I'm at the age where my hearing is not what it once was. Headphones tend to be a personal preference; what sounds and feels good to one in one's applications may not suit another..

Today my #1 issue is with comfort for extended wearing. In the home when I don;t want to fill the room with sound I generally use the AudioTechnica ATH-AD900 open back. A benefit is I can hear when the wife calls to me in my otherwise fairly quiet environment. ADVICE: Never ignore a call from the wife! ;-)

These days I mainly use headphones during flights, especially long haul flights. And I like the noise cancelling Sony WH-1000. I can wear them for 9+ hours crossing the pond without issue and aircraft noise is well muted.

I have also use AT's ATH-M50 and Sony's MDR-V600 though not as often these days.

[Allan Black]

Hi Don, interesting and congratulations on 23 years here at DVinfo. Yours is about the longest run here. Yep protecting hearing is the prime requisite in all cases.

On Nov. 3, I got an Apple iOS 17.7.1 message on the screen of my iPad, ‘You have reached your monthly limit for headphone use. Press this button to limit loud sounds.’

Huh? Never seen that before and just 3 days into the month? Oh yeah I was checking my new Focal headphones and others.

I’ve never accessed this before … Go to Settings > Sounds & Haptics > Headphone Safety. Turn on Reduce Loud Audio, then drag the slider to specify the maximum volume.

So I did and it’s now set to 90 decibels and I’ve left it there. I’m the only user of my iPad so I haven’t used the ‘privacy’ setting. But check out the louder sound results below. Click it to enlarge. I take my pro earplugs everywhere.
Cheers.

[Allan Black]

Over Xmas folk might like to check their hearing with this Australian University hearing test.

Follow all the instructions very very carefully, if you’re worried with your results, consult a qualified ear professional …

https://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/hearing.html

Cheers.

[Derek Heeps]

Originally Posted by Allan Black

Today there’s more headphones for sale than ever before, over the last few years the number has been steadily growing and there’s no indication it’ll slow down. One reason for this is the Covid pandemic, when millions of people around the world started working from home and needed new headphones.

To a slightly lesser degree, now there’s more social media, streaming sites, Podcasts and Audiobooks. Last year in Australia a bit slow to the party, Rode released their first ‘over ear’ headphones and it won’t be long before they release their first ‘open back’ set. Why did they take so long?

Well it takes a while, first they study the market to decide on a competitive price for their market, then their designers construct a few prototypes to that price, to pass around for some local ‘golden ears’ to pass judgment on. Then they start production with advertising. A few years ago I participated in their blind listening tests.

In Sydney as a kid, in 1956 when I started in the audio industry, I used Koss headphones because they were owned by the studio I first worked for. Over the years when pro gear is used by many it can become an industry standard and today Sony MDR 7506s are still in use although they’ve increased in price, $A189 in Sydney, wonder what they cost years ago?

I’ve got a birthday coming up and my grandkids are subtly asking what I’d like for a present. Bruce Brown an associate, first learned electronics then music, playing guitar in studio sessions. Later for the studio he and I worked for, he built a 16track 1” recorder out of an IBM computer deck with custom made heads, designing the amps as well. In 1964 when the Beatles arrived in Sydney, Bruce was contracted to check all their Vox amps before their first concert. Much later he produced AC/DC hits, Olivia Newton John and other pop stars and is now retired after a great career.

Over the years I’ve owned a few different headphones, currently enjoying Audio Technica closed ATH-M50x and Sennheiser open HD600, but it’s time for a ‘birthday upgrade.’ So I mentioned this to Bruce and he suggested I might check out the French Focals and some others. So I did and after checking many reviews and opinions for others, I decided on Focal Celestee closed headphones, and looked around for prices. It must be my lucky day, from a Sydney store I found a $A1399 set on special for $A499, and here they are. No! I’m not promoting them, I have 40 days to return them but I’m enjoying them.

Do multi $$$$$ headphones sound better than $$ headphones? It’s up to you, they’re a personal choice depending on what you’re listening to, with their cost playing a huge part. Now, the question is will new headphones sound ‘better’ after burning them in by using them for a number of hours? No! this is a furphy, it’s physiological, after a few hours you just become familiar with the sound of your headphones, just enjoy them.
Cheers.

Headphones can , like loudspeakers , be very much a matter of personal preference , as well as the choice being dictated by factors such as intended use , budget and comfort .

The very first decent headphones I bought , now over 50 years ago , were my Sennheiser HD424s , now regarded as classic and collectible ; they were only marginally more expensive than the more compact HD414 ( from memory £17 vs £14 ) but I felt they were more comfortable and had a better extended bass end . I used these for many years for home listening , mainly late at night when I didn’t want to disturb others , although I generally prefer listening through loudspeakers .

As an aside , the 414s and 424s also worked very well as microphones , and if you reversed the earpieces on the headband to have the transducers pointing outwards , you could either wear them or place them on a dummy head to make excellent binaural recordings ! Because they used twin coaxial ‘shotgun’ cables which unplugged from the earpieces , it was easy enough to split a cable into two and solder on 1/4” jack or XLR cables as you preferred ; or if you had a portable recorder with stereo mini jack mic input you could of course plug them straight in .

Sadly , at some point I misplaced the original pair , and eventually bought another pair on eBay , paying much more than the original cost . Then , a few years ago , after my mother passed , I was clearing out her house and in my old bedroom , amongst my things I found my original HD424s , so now I have two pairs .

The HD424s , while being comfortable to wear are an open back design , so there is leakage in both directions . For monitoring sound , or listening on public transport , closed ear headphones are often preferred , and although there are many other excellent manufacturers, I stuck with Sennheiser and have a few pairs of HD25s , which are something of an ‘industry standard’ . They sound good to me , are comfortable , compact , and both keep external noise out as well as keeping my music in if , for example , I’m on a train .

The great thing about the Sennheisers , both pairs , is that parts availability is still good ; you can still get new foam ear pads and cables from Sennheiser for the 424s , although replacement earspeaker capsules have long dried up ( but you often see a pair of headphones with one dead earspeaker going cheap on eBay , and these are fine if you only need one to fix another set ) . With the HD 25s , which remain in production, just about every component part is available , plus there are so many used sets on the bay .

There are of course far more expensive headphones out there , and I’ve had a couple of sets of Stax electrostatics, my current pair have a broken cable which I shall need to mend , but the audio quality is on another level , and they remind me very much of the openness , neutrality and transparency of my Quad ESL 63 electrostatic loudspeakers , which remain my favourites after over 30 years .

These are just my preferences , and I both acknowledge and respect that there are many other equally valid choices out there .

[Andrew Smith]

Interesting!

Manufacturing can change over the years. Have you noticed any difference between the 'newer' version and the old original version of your headphones?

Just curious.

Andrew

[Derek Heeps]

Hi Andrew , no perceived difference , other than the quality of the cable , which was thinner and seemed less robust , but there are so many aftermarket cables around for these that it may not have been original.

The second pair I bought were used , so no idea of their age …