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.