Are vintage headphones better? 

It is important to remember they made junk in every era, just like they made the good stuff. Until we evolve more sensitive ears much of the difference between boring new and exciting vintage will remain in the ears of the beholder.

That HD580 reference stung, because I bought my 580s for 80 dollars, installed a pair of broken in pads, and like a chump, I sold them because I already owned my 650s. I loved the treble and the cleaner bass on the 580s. The light clamp was the best part about the 580s.

Vintage audio is great. I have a pair of AKG K240s from about 1973 (known as the mid-production version) and they perform better than every other headphones I've used (inc. Grados, HD600 and so on). Do me a favour and tell everyone vintage is bad so I can continue to buy my stuff cheap ;)

Really enjoyed your take on a subject that is near & dear to me. I had been in retail audio from 1971 through 2010 before moving over to the wholesale side (no fun there). My first headphone was the 2000 ohm Sennheiser HD414. In 1978 I bought the then TOTL Stax SR-X mk3. At that time it was pretty much the accepted best headphone in that time frame. I now have 13 Stax headphones with only a few current models and a number of vintage ones. I still have my AKG K1000 and those funky Sony PFR-V1 along with the Stax SR-Sigma which all attempt to give you a soundstage in front of you. Right now I am torn about letting go of the K1000 since I really need to downsize. Plenty more vintage along with my current gear. When I get in the mood I just grab one of the oldies for a blast from the past. Thanks again, Joe G (ESL-1)

Let's take Sony MDR-R10 for example: Considered by many the peak performance from Sony around the early 1990s, and to this day, considered to be one the best sounding headphones on the planet. Problem is, with so little units produced, especially due to the problematic yield rate of the ever praised "Bio cellulose Driver system" it had, the R-10 has been like a unicorn in the audiophile market, with the ever lucky owners demanding no less that 5000$ US for a used unit. Over the last decade, many collectors have been kind enough to share their thorough reviews of the headphones, and have sung many praises for the; Saying stuff like it's definitely in the summit-fi, whilst also saying that it's not as impressive as the rumours had made it out to be, saying that a few headphones from today outclass these for less than 2000$ US. But, while a good performing vintage headphone is a plus, it's high price, in some cases, can be due to its historical significance. Again, the R-10, with the help of its legacy and the impact that it had on the audio industry, sparked a lot of new headphone designs and technologies in the coming years. The R-10 inspired many Japanese headphone makers, particularly Fostex, Denon, E-MU, Audio-Technica etc, to use wooden cups for aesthetics and sound tuning purposes. And so on. Even now, I'm super happy to say that for many of us who have always dreamed of owning a pair of R-10s, fret not. A company named "ES-Labs" has claimed that they have been collecting a few R-10s and have had studied them over the years to bring us " The ES-R10". A perfect replica of the said headphones, for roughly 1300$ US. Even though I might not be able to try it for a long time, I'm just glad it exists. www.eslabhk.com/product-page/es-r10-closed-back-dynamic-headphone Like DMS said, do enjoy the Vintage stuff, its historical significance is half the joy. As a timepiece, a good vintage will stand the test of time and help newcomers and the industry/consumers to take a look back, see how far the industry has came, and use those inspirations to shape the future industry Just remember to do your research, just enough to see through the hype...

Awesome to hear you mention the HE-500, it's one of my favorites. I also noticed after testing and reading online measurements, the phase was reversed on my HE-500 as well. But I opened it up and fixed that, plus an Audeze headband swap to improve comfort. It still holds up to modern headphones like the Focal Clear MG, impressive for a headphone from more than a decade ago especially now at the used prices of $350-$500.

love that I can tell who's video it is from the thumbnail alone

My specific HD-580 is better than my other 6 series headphones and yes I have all of them including the HD-580 Jubilee which is my second favorite behind my HD-580 . They are all great in their own way

Back in 1990 I was in audio Studio producer and had built my own recording studio in my apartment. I had purchased Optimus Nova 58 headphones for my studio. I still have those headphones today and I used them for my gaming in my PS4 Pro and they still work as good today as they did thirty years ago.

I love many newer HPs and IEMS like the Senn HD 800 S & the JVC HA-FDX1, but I can't imagine not having an AKG K240 Sextett in my collection. Six passive radiators around each driver, so seven diaphrams per earcup....no compromises and the best midrange tone I've heard.

I got a set of 1970s pro monitor studio headphones by numark made in japan from a family friends garage sale, and let me tell you honestly, they absolutely blow a lot of newer headphones out of the water when it comes to clarity and spatial accuracy.

I bought a broken HD580 and a broken HD650 for $250 8 years ago. I put the HD650 drivers into the HD580 housing since the HD580 drivers were dead. I then sold the broken pieces and custom cable for $350 and made $10 after shipping and fees. Wouldn’t trade my pair for anything!

I love my Hifiman HE-500. It's one of my favorite headphones from my collection. Early in my audiophile quest, I wanted to hear and collect everything. This was before I really knew what I liked, and I owned over 150 sets. I'm down to about 50 or so after getting rid of duplicate sound signatures, and those I didn't really like. Now, I'm searching for appreciably better and for uniqueness, without spending too much.

Thank you, I greatly enjoyed the episode. I was in retail audio from 1971 through 2001 and got into headphones by late 70’s when I purchased the TOTL Stax of the day. I did not succumb to the addictive collecting for a good amount of time but when I did it was a fairly fast slide down (or up if you’re in the mood). I now have 13 Stax headphones and a wide assortment of interesting (to me) other vintage headphone gear. I do have quality current gear but certainly enjoy taking out one or more of the oldies and enjoying returning

I have hundreds of headphones (no thanks to you DMS ha ha!). I do have fun collecting some oldies now and then, and find them especially fun to do pad rolling with. Some my favorites include, the original "trio" of K240s (Sextett, DF--love the soundstage!, and Monitor), Fostex T40rp mk1 (better than mk2 or 3--great vocals), Fostex T20rp mk"O" (the one BEFORE mk1 with a very different flat design--pad rolled into sounding something like a over ear Porta Pro with soundstage), AKG K400 (like the 612 but with curved drivers, quite nice), AKG K145/S (this is the open-back, on-ear, half Ohm-ed cousin of the hybrid electrostat/dynamic K340--I pad rolled it into an over-ear--love the detail and imaging!), the ATH-6 electrostat (another open-back on-ear I pad rolled into an over-ear--good for its day, but still very "comfortable" clear sound for today.) Not sure if this counts, but I also got an Audeze EL-8 open-back used for less than the cost of my 6xx and I really love it. There's quite a few others, but that's some highlights. In general, I mostly buy used headphones, even though I primarily get more recent models--I find I almost have no depreciation in value that way--at least with good quality phones.

I occasionally shared some of my thoughts on the headphones subreddit about various vintage headphones I've acquired. I agree that I am guilty of sometimes being overly enthusiastic about a headphones, be it the honeymoon phase or having snatched something rare. To me, there is something charming or alluring about them - maybe because lack of information about them, the rarity, and most if not all being very experimental in design especially with vintage planars. As such, some are rather unreliable or fragile. I've had the original Fostex T50 from the 70s, Fostex T30, Yamaha YH-1000 and YH-1/HP-1, Aiwa HP-500, and Beyerdynamic ET1000 to name a few. The only noteworthy vintage headphones I currently have is a vintage planar called the Victor HP-D90. I am sorta on the lookout for my Fostex T50 that I've sold since I'm starting to miss them. I modded them to hell and back so that particular pair is most definitely recognizable. I believe Fostex would have some hard hitters in their planar lineup if they continued pushing the tech since the original T50 had a more sophisticated driver design (and also sounds a lot better) than the prosumer T50RP today. I do notice the increase in used prices in HE-6's nowadays. I sold mine right before prices really took off and the hype really came back strong. I saw them go for around a grand about 3-4 years ago but now listings on Head-Fi are asking like $1700+ which sucks since I want one again.

Hi, I dont know how people dont talk anymore about Bayerdynamic T1, first gen, which , for me , still competes with the new headphones, even more expensive . In fact, I intend to buy parts just to reconstruct mine .

My main monitors are a pair of Hedd Type 20s run through an Adi2Pro. They sound fantastic, deep extended fast bass that stops on a dime, a fantastic high end from it's AMT drivers. Couldn't be happier. Then I went and bought a pair of JBL 4311 studio monitors from 1974 and a Krell KAV 400xi integrated amp to drive them. Uff. I'm blown away by the setup. They are nowhere NEAR as detailed as the Hedds, but the sound coming out of the 4311s are raw and visceral. It's forcing me to listen to different genres of music than my usual techno/house etc. I have two favourite setups now.

I've transplanted vintage Yamaha planars into more modern Sony enclosures (angled drivers), pad rolled a bunch among other modifications, and the product I came up with is in my humble opinion better than a HD650/HD6xx depending on your tuning preferences with inarguably better projected center image of the soundstage and better bass extension (and slam?), all for about the same price or less. That's no small feat considering the HD6x0 is considered a huge staple in the audiophile market... I think if you know what you are doing with vintage planars (i.e. modding ala Ortho Roundup thread on Head-Fi: know what makes a difference, when to make a difference and when all hope is lost, and also what models to look for) they can be a very compelling resource of amazingly good sound for the price; even better than modern options in and around their respective price points. Are my Hifiman Arya's audibly cleaner throughout the spectrum and more detailed? Yes. Do Arya's have soundstage layering and imaging that the vintage kit lacks? Yes, strides have been made towards "better sound" to some degree. But for what you pay -- again, if you know what you're doing -- you can get 80% of the performance for less than 20% of an Arya investment, and without the 6kHz ringing, i.e. stuff that sounds good FLAT, possibly with better bass impact depending on what drivers you choose to start with. Also ask me if I care that Arya's sound "better." Not always. Vintage kit can hit a "mid-fi threshold" that makes them perfectly enjoyable regardless of what price point you're accustomed to listening to, imho, and if you're the right kind of person. The sonic performance to cost ratio can be incredibly valuable to some, plus there's nostalgia and sense of accomplishment when you're done modding. Sad part is nobody who is just getting into headphones will ever try any of these vintage offerings, they will go to forums and seek out the currently spouted common opinion by another member who is 4 months into their audio journey... It's basically the blind leading the blind. I've been in this hobby for almost two decades and still don't claim to truly "see" because I've taken vacations from the hobby and also gotten "stuck" with a sound I liked where I had no inclination of upgrading or trying out new things be them vintage or modern. Have I heard everything? No. So I can't possibly claim to "know" what is the best value in the hobby. But then again, aren't most of us just chasing some mid-fi threshold of what we consider to be "good" considering things like Susvara's and AB1266's exist? In that light, vintage kit definitely competes if you ask me, if you're the right person...

I have some Sennheiser HD 480 from the 80s and they're still really good. I just ordered some HD 520 though so they will be my new favourite set.

I'd love to know DMS' thoughts on using EQ with vintage headphones...

we love dms

Vintage gear has that one feature that simultaneously new technology can not recreate and is beloved by our brains - nostalgia.

I remember blowing up two pair of Burwen Research PMB-40 headphones. They were on-ear. Kieth Moon can be seen wearing them in-studio at his drum kit. I think he taped them to his head. Anyway, they had really good sound. Those are long gone. Ive had those odd looking Koss and the Sony MDR 7506. Both of those were around, back in the day, and are still available today. Not high-end by a mile, but going back there really wasn’t much “high-end” except maybe electrostatics. Modern stuff, even moderately priced is out classing older stuff and that’s awesome.

Great video from DMS. For me I use my vintage headphones along side my modern ones. As long as they suit my taste then it doesn't matter which era it came from. And yes I do like vintage headphones, stax anyone? Stax, beyerdynamic, Sennheiser, Sony, AKG, etc. Models like the dt48 from Beyer or stax sr-5, those are headphones I use today ( with some eq ), and they sound amazing in technicalities.

And these days you can buy a replica of the unobtanium MDR R10. ES Labs made them prob limited to 100-120 pieces does to the wood material scarcity, named ES-R10.

Loving my LCD-2.1 still a bunch. They get pretty much 50-50 playtime alongside my Clears.

I’m still using my Stax Sr-5’s with SRD-7 energiser every day, that I got in 1982, yes 40 years ago and still loving how they sound. I have changed power amplifiers and DA‘Cs over the years. That’s the desktop system and on the main system I’m using my newer Stax SR-L300 Limited Editions running from a Vintage SRM-1/MK2 Professional Amplifier which sound even better or with lots more bass. I also hav SR-X mk3’s, Lamda pro’s, you could say I’m hooked on Stax headphones which suit my ageing ears and limiting hearing range. I have listened to 009’s and ,L700’s but don’t think they sound better to my ears.

I found the HE6 is up with Utopia and Hd800S in techicalities and in a realy impactfull matter. I had new arya and the He6 is way better in every aspect.

Which equipment did you mention was vintage... 8 yrs ago? Vintage to myself would be 70s 80s 90s equipment

Vintage headphones are just overhyped garbage. OK, now that the filthy casuals are gone... Trying out vintage headphones really gives you an appreciation of just how far 'consumer' sound has gone, and how little the high-end market has improved. 5:20 - "I think there was a time period where people were tyring a lot more interesting things" - this pretty much nailed it

In speakers and speaker amps, I can’t imagine myself ever getting new over vintage unless I win the lottery. Scored some Infinity qb’s (speakers from the 70’s) and they are amazing and outperform modern things over 4 times more expensive.

Isn’t the HD600, or the HD650 “vintage” already?

TBH, while it's true that headphones have vastly changed, speakers haven't. Digital and micro technology advanced, making smaller things function far better, but since speakers are a very physical form of medium, demanding size rather than being stuck to one's head, they've stayed relatively the same.

So which model do you see being ultra comparable to your LCD-2?

idk I've been lusting for a pair of sony ma900 for ages but I can't tell if it's worth dealing with importing a used pair over just getting a more modern hp of the price...

I enjoy the tone of vintage guitars and amps but I bought new versions that replicate the sound. So I got a blues Jr amp for tube tone, and a silver sky for classic strat tone. Much more affordable option than buying the hard to find vintage gear. But ya, it's different not better. I go back and forth on stuff. Fun to have both.

Was vintage stuff better? No. Is it as good? Well, I'd say it depends on how far back you go. The top performing headphones from the 90s - like Sennheiser's electrostatics (HE60 and HE90), or the Stax Omega and Omega 2 - are pretty much as good as anything made today, and some consider these to be the best headphones ever made. HD600s came out in 1998 too let's not forget. I would say that the state of the art in sound quality peaked in the 90s, and any progress since has been very incremental. If you go back further than that, in 1979 you have things like the normal-bias Stax SR-Lambda. Is it as good as the top performing stuff today? No, but it's reasonably close. It doesn't have the bass tightness, the resolution, or the staging, but it's not that far off to be honest, and the tuning is pretty good for the day, and I'd say it's about 90% of the way there. Also in the late 70s you had the Sony ECR series electrostatics (I don't know if any sets are left alive today) which were supposedly pretty good, and in the 80s you had various Yamaha orthos that had drivers which were pretty much as advanced as what you'd see today (word 'round the campfire is that the Final D8000 was designed by retired Yamaha engineers). So there has been some progress since the 80s definitely, but the top performing stuff from the era is still pretty good, though not as good as stuff from today. Go back even further, and you have things like the Stax SR-1 from the early 60s. There you'll have basically no bass extension below 100hz and the technicalities are nowhere near today's level... but the mids and highs still sound (and measure) surprisingly decent. Meaning, even as early as 1961 or so you could get a decent pair of headphones. Of course, you needed to run them through a transformer box off a speaker amp, but hey we're not looking at convenience here. Still, there's been unquestionably a ton of progress since then, and most gear from the period is understandably horrible sounding and looks like something you'd pry off the side of Leia's head. As far as prices go... blame a few collectors and flippers who have been buying up and reselling anything that gets any sort of hype on headphone forums. People were doing this since the early 2000s. I would say that if places like Audiogon or ebay or various headphone forums did a better job of kicking out flippers prices would be a bit more reasonable, but certainly hype and market forces, as well as scarcity, would drive them up over time. This stuff is collectible, and it also actually performs quite well, so of course there's going to be demand. TL;DR I agree with DMS that going overboard with vintage audio doesn't make sense unless you're a collector. And this is from someone who has multiple vintage Stax, K1000s, K340s, you name it. Not only is there a ton of good modern stuff to choose from, but we also have tools like digital EQ that let us extract far more performance out of whatever we have than we ever could back in the day. So going overboard on vintage audio is generally more for fun or for collectors, and if you're budget conscious, just get some good modern headphones, drive them sufficiently, and EQ them to a flat response, and you'd already be way ahead of the game on sound quality. On the other hand, whenever something new comes out and the industry is pissing itself over how much better it is, I tend to take these claims with a healthy dose of skepticism. To paraphrase DankPods: good headphones stay good, and don't become bad just because they're old. Progress in sound quality has been moving very slowly since the 90s.

Have the Pioneer SE-L40, sound very warm but are pleasant at the same time.

i find the vintage speaker scene to be much more wild. people seem to justify even higher resale prices for those. and even considering that, lots of speaker companies are going back and just bringing old speakers back into production for a special edition model. but still people will go pay more for the actual vintage model because sometimes there’s subtle differences from the remake model.

Great stuff, thanks dude.

the new lighting is SO prettyyyy. srsly, the set up + lighting is neat. Will we see mood depending colour changes?^^

I like it . Nice and great insight

I deeply regret selling my hd580 but I sold for exact reason you stated it wasn’t that much different than a 6xx. I was however smart enough not to sell my beat up he500 in fact I doubled down and had it modded with mini xlr jacks. I went through the hedonistic tread mill around the 1k mark and it took a lot of time to find something that gave me the joy of the he500. Finally found it with the Boreallis but not listing my he500 anytime soon unless of course someone offers stupid money. Still haven’t found a close back that I love like that but I decided to listen to my wallet and enjoy the music. But like you said I daily drive the hd560s so that tells you something about vintage audio.

Unrelated but do anyone know what watch is dms wearing?

Did you compare your vintage LCD-2s to a newer revision? Many people swear by the old pre fazor models and I'd love to know how much difference there actually is. If the headband digs into the top of your skull you can try placing a few deconi nuggets on it. Or maybe a lohb strap. You can also replace the old headband with a newer one. But if you have a pointy head like me it won't help you that much because the suspension strap is very short and your head will touch the metal.

Vintage hifi gear often has an interesting birth & story-heritage. Not to mention it looks cooler than some modern alternatives. Hifi for me is art as much as it is science

he DOES read all the comments!

I have been buying older Japanese IEMs recently, I find them more interesting and they have really great bass. From how some people talk you might think that the market is awash with overly bassy earphones, it really isn't, manufacturers are churning out one very safely neutral or Harman tuned model after another, there has probably never been as many models available but, not much choice in sound.

I didn’t expect to like tubes, having dipped my toe in the water, now I’m in love. I want to buy some vinyl now having literally never owned or even heard a record, but the financial barrier to entry is so much higher :(

for 1600 u could buy 3 geo metros and impress the maidens by saying u own 3 cars

Talking about Vintage, Why not review the ES-R10? Someone made a replica of the MDR R10 now that it's patent expired. Yeah not the blatant dissing of Sony Fang Bian did, honest to goodness Replica.

are there affiliate links for old vintage headphones?

Great video

Couldn’t find a mic stand or shotgun? 😅

I bought a HD580 for cheap in an auction , as the price of second hand hd600 in our area is absurd even more is the new ones. I would say vintage-fi is worth it if the deal is better than buying used modern headphones

The only vintage headphone I have listened to is a Stax SR-5. While it does sound very good, I do think my lcd-xc is better overall. The SR-5 did cost considerably less though.

Vintage gear can provide great value for the money and/or unique aesthetics; however, trendy and expensive vintage pieces are rarely if ever worth it. At least from a price versus performance perspective. If nostalgia, a unique look, or the rarity and historic significance of the piece are worth the price for you, then go for it. My vintage speaker amp sounds great, but the gorgeous VU meters are the main reason I got it over equal or better good modern gear.

My hand got tired of holding that mic, just watching, haha

Are Koss porta pro vintage headphones? One of the best headphones for the price especially if you use a bit of EQ.

Nice video, thanks! I know this comment is a bit bland but I don't know what else to say, it was very nice.

Two of the best vintage headphones ever no question are the STAX 007mk1 and Stax sigma. The 007mk1 competes with everything today and beats most of it and the sigma is just a unique experience

If anything the fact that vintage stuff don't have lower noise floor or better frequency response but sound better it should give the impression that there is more to audio than those meaningless factors and not that we are just all hearing things wrong. I hate how people in this hobby love to over simplify things to the least relevant things because they don't want to believe they don't understand everything from their non professional opinions.

Love my pfr v1 ,I have a spair pair, just incase I need them.

the entire audiophile world is about overhyping and nonsense....

depends on model

imo the headphone scene did not really kick off till 10 years ago after HD800...... so there're not many vintage items around... maybe a Sony MDR R10 and AKG K1000

I love vintage audio headphones personally. It's cheaper if you can find them and they are special. There's no top 10 list of them cause they don't have affiliate links. Headphones these days all have either planar or dynamic drivers and are all afraid to try and refine new strategies

Well but the OG HE-6 is indeed better than the Arya. I have both in front of me now but that's just me. Otherwise, I wholeheartedly agree with everything you said.

Ah yes. A swamp of vintage lambdas enjoyer.

Definitely better than Abyss headphones which is basically a robbery when you consider the distortion and tuning for the price you pay.

It's kind of like Video games. Sure everyone gets nostalgic over the older consoles and games... but most prefer to look forward to the newest games and technology in the newest consoles. Then again... you could say older good headphones are kind of like older Vintage Guitars that are very rare and what collectors are always trying to hunt down

Vintage is something 40+ years old and considered the greatest for it's time, one word STAX, originally made by the Japanese for the German car company Mercedes- Benz, for testing their cars, still have people gobsmacked when i tell them these are from1979, Lambda SR and pros still sound better than 95% of headphones around.....

Some of the vintage Sony's are great

Check prices, Focal Clear even 3 years ago cost 1500$, no its the same or more becouse they discontunued and only "fake pro" exist that cost even more. He6 can be driven by any power amp with headphone selector or just any vintage amp in medium or higher lines. Any high Ohm almost anyway better than lower Ohm that nowdays are crowded the markets, becouse people choose "chi-fi" portable devices, players or modern amps, that cant compete in price/quality to vintage that costed in their time 5x more than nowdays. At least at amp section. Dacs is debatable, but never heard anything bad about old dacs as good/top line cd players. The only thing is weird and loosy construction. I prefer higher Ohm headphones in most cases, becouse the bass will be better, but there is a lot of opposite nowdays.

Nothing's perfect mate. Analog, digital, vinyl, tape, cassettes, cds, streaming - nothing. We don't even know what perfect is. We just define it based on a best point of reference, a given standard or a set of parameters. Perfect is infinite and a personal subjective opinion at that. Imperfection is what drives us to strive to do better - to evolve, to advance and progress and move forward. I rue the day we get to perfect - there'll be nowhere to go from there on.

So 'burn in' is...

I recently got a 580 so I felt like this video was targeted at me Lol. I ended up getting it because I thought the (modern) 600 made certain songs sound too dark. And turns out I was right, the 580 is less dark, it’s brighter and lets me enjoy some songs I couldn’t on the 600. But, it also exchanged which textures it emphasized and that lack of warmth changed how I enjoyed certain songs. I got the 580 to replace my modern 600s, but now I just end up fascinated about what changes took the 580 to the modern 600. Why did the engineers decide on a warmer tilt? Is that what’s preferred for a better audio experience? I just ended up back where I originally was, trying to understand what makes good audio.

Simply put, no. But that doesn't mean they sound bad per-se.

Здесь говорится о флагманских наушниках. О дорогих. Мне нравятся старые вкладыши сони, сейчас они не делают вкладыши. Только плохие mdr e9lp . И с плеерами похожи на e804. Всё же китайские бренды делают лучше и дешевле. Хотя я привык с старым hpm 64.

*insert Zeos and his obsession with japanese vintage amps*

580 IS better than 600 😜 650 is preference

HPHQ memes have made it to RU-vid!

heeey, big hug from Brazil, love HEADPHONE Show, love DMS, you guys combined are absolutely WIN WIN! I have exactly this LCD 2 Bamboo ed, but with the lamb pads, and it is for me just the most incredible headphones that I've ever heard, never gonna stop use it! It is my favorite for ever! I use an Audio GD Compass as my amp, and love the power of it too, it is something vintage I think kk.

Need a black silk 650 in here. Better than a Susvara.

Still prefer 70s speaker with Huge bass drivers

Reel to reel > all other Formats

It's like cars. Enthusiasts buy them for far more than getting from point a to b. Certain quirks and/or features gather cult-like followings, even if said features make the car objectively worse to drive. Tubes are the carbeurators of audio tech, fight me.

I have both HD580 and HD6XX... and IMHO the 580 sounds better (I listen classic and jazz)

is it always better? no but did some of them become standards that is not replaced yet by modern releases? Yes Looks like there's this unspoken niche competition in the older days for achieving the most accurate sound (Actual Hi-Fi definiton in the dictionary), whereas nowadays, there's not a clear roadmap where audio goes to except for "artistic tuning" which is subjectivist bullshit that's designed to always sell new stuffs every month.

The original Grado SR60 are still the most neutral and less ear-piercing SR Grado made, and that is more sad than anything. You will not read this comment.

I’m gonna go with nooooooo

Waiting for current Flagships to stop production and people start paying insane prices for them ... need my money back ;)

"hd580 isn't the greatest" rip my hd580 resale stonks

It only got a short passing mention, but I'd actually love to hear someone on the Headphone Show give the full review treatment to the MYSPHERE. I bought a used 3.1 and it's honestly my favorite headphone. (I haven't heard the 3.2, but also most of my amps are tubes, so I don't really own a great pairing for the 3.2 anyway.)

People always want to believe things were better in the “ old days” mostly that’s wrong

Joshua Valour

a

DMS is cringe 🤣