WW2 Headphones

[Hammelby]

Hello to yall in the cockpits and turrets!

I was wondering if anyone have atempted to convert a pair of
vintage headphones into modern standard (Discman etc.)?
I have been looking on the german eBay, but im no electrician
so i really dont know if its possible

If its too much hassle i tought of looking up retro-like headphones,
anyone that can recomend a pair?

Cheers!

 

[Spitfire]

Don't know about the hazzel - but I believe the sound is awfull.
Just imagine how it sounds: sccccececcc Bandits, sccererccrkks 3 oclockxvssccre high...scrrr....not a nice way to listen to Mozart.

 

[Smithy]

I think Spitfire's pretty much hit the nail on the head. It's no doubt possible but probably not worth the effort. Sound quality I would say would be iffy at best.

 

[Hammelby]

Ha ha lol thats so true, i havent thought of that spitfire!
Well, ill take that idea and flush it. What else.. anyone who
has a pair of nice retrolooking headphones?

I just googled these, not too bad looking actually..but wold have been nicer if they had leather cover on the sides.

Grado Labs SR60

 

[Spitfire]

Hi Hammelby. Found some with light brown leather on www.akibalive.com some day ago. For some strange reason I can not open photobucket now. otherwise I would have posted a photo. But they have this vintage thing...

 

[Hammelby]

Thanks spitfire. couldnt find em?.. Only those bladrunner ones, wich by the way wold be awesome contrast if one went for a retrofututristic/steampunk look!

 

[Spitfire]

Strange. Try searching for HEADPHONES and the scroll down to a headline saying something about "Connolly Leather....."
Almost at the bottom.

 

[Spitfire]

Here they are...my photobucket's working again.

 

[Speedster]

There are also these from Panasonic - Panasonic RP-HTX7 Retro Piano Painted Headphones:

 

[CharlieH.]

I too have been considering using vintage headphones for a portable CD player, but now that you mentioned the sound quality, I had another thought - Would it be a good idea to buy a pair of non-working vintage headphones, and replace the innards with those things that you plug into your ears?

 

[Spitfire]

I too have been considering using vintage headphones for a portable CD player, but now that you mentioned the sound quality, I had another thought - Would it be a good idea to buy a pair of non-working vintage headphones, and replace the innards with those things that you plug into your ears?

I am no sound engineer, Charlie - and no expert either, but I believe that the earplugs sounds so good, because they are plugged into you ears. (Using your skull as a sounding board!)
If they simply rattled around in a pair of old bakelite headphones, I believe it would sound...well, like some very small loudspeakers ratteling around in a a big emty bakelite room...if you read me

 

[Fletch]

Maybe some of that dense acoustical foam padding inside the cans would damp the rattle?

Then again, you might not want to use ear buds. They don't work nearly as well ON the ear as IN it. The thing to do might be to rework a pair of modern day on-ear phones.

 

[The Wingnut]

The BEST sound I've ever experienced has been the combination of these two items:

I simply took the headphones and pushed them inside the enclosures into the foam util they stayed put.

It's not so much the quality of the speakers or even the size, but the isolation of outside noise and bass response. Ever notice that cheap headphones sound much better when you press them down onto your ear with your hands cupped over them instead of simply letting them sit on your head? Same principle. The ear defenders completely isolate white background noise and their double-wall shell form a bass enclosure. A halfway decent speaker will sound great.

That said, you might be able to easily retrofit something old that no longer works with something new, just be careful with the selection of your items.

The Panasonics posted above are very similar to telephone operator headsets produced in the mid 20th century. Realisic / Optimus also made a less expensive version of these that I had for many years until the plastic finally gave in to fatigue.

 

[52Styleline]

Typical impedance of WW2 vintage phones are from 500 to 3000 Ohms. Modern headphones typically range from 32 to 600 ohms. Most modern amplifiers are set up to match lower impedance headphones meaning that it would take more power to drive the old high impedance phones at a given volume level. This could create distortion and funky audio response from the phones.

Old headphones (especially those used by the military) were designed with an optimum frequency range around the human voice. If you were able to get the old tin cans working, you would not hear much in the way of highs or lows.

 

[Hammelby]

Nice 52Styleline! Thanks for that breakdown on that. "Another nail in the coffin", but its nice to get the facts straight before spending money on rebuilding something that would be useless.

 

[acoustics]

Mahogany Headphones

Check out the article on vintage-looking Denon headphones at nytimes.com
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/technology/15headphones.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
It may be of help.
I personally own a pair of Grados SR60 and they are to me the best pair of headphones in town in that price range.

 

[birddog]

I have several sets of Air Corps HS-18 headsets I use for static display in my 1942 Piper L4-B airplane. They work on a vibrating carbon disk principle & are practically indistructable. (The Dutch found a pair that had lived underwater for 60 yrs., in a bomber hulk. When cleaned & dried they worked perfectly!)Unfortunately, the sound is functional but flat & tinney. I would not recommend useing these type headsets for several reasons, the first being the quality of the sound & the second would be getting the impedance to match. Electronically it may work but most likely the sound may develop humming & buzzing, becoming more of a nucence to wear than not. Also, you have 60 yr. old wiring whose insulation will be prone to cracking & falling apart, especially when exposed to sun (UV) & movement.

Now if you're listening to some good Glenn Miller or swing.....!