While they aren't my preferred method of listening to music, headphones have always played a big part in my musical enjoyment. I would not describe myself as a headphone geek in any sense of the word, but I do admit I have a great affinity for the buggers. Always have.
My love of headphones unsurprisingly began in the 70s, concurrent with my first tentative steps into HiFi with the Pioneer SE-205, a Christmas gift from my parents that had been on my holiday wish list. I don't remember much about these cans except they were big, heavy, and tended to put me to sleep when using them. But they afforded me the luxury of listening to my music loud long after my folks had gone to bed. (My bedroom was directly beneath theirs.) I do have two musical memories that stand out with these Pioneers, however: Elton John's Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy and Chicago's Chicago IX Greatest Hits. For some reason those two records are indelibly imprinted as being heard through these Pioneers—initially at least.
As my hi-fi journey continued, at one point not too many years later I encountered a pair of Stax electrostatic headphones at the local LaBelle's showroom. I was smitten. But at $450 ($1950 in 2024 dollars) they were way out of reach of my meager income. Stax did, however, offer a much cheaper, electret design at $150 ($650 in 2024 dollars) that sounded nearly as good and was actually something I could afford. Their only drawback was their need to be connected to my amp via an adapter box that attached to the speaker outputs on the amp. But the sound…oh my…these stayed with me for more than a decade. The weak point in their design however was the junction of the headphone cord with the earspeakers where the strain relief failed and the wiring broke. I can't tell you how many times over the years I had to disassemble them, trim off a bit of the cord past the break, and resolder the wires in place. I finally got tired of doing this and tossed them in the trunk of my car where they were eventually stolen. I purchased a "new" set a couple years ago after using many other brands and types since I originally owned them, and was frankly kind of disappointed. I still own them, but they're on a shelf and not even attached to my amp any more.
During the 1990s and early 2000s my hi-fi headphone listening via my main stereo amplifier took a break as I was distracted by my increasing use of portable music players of one kind or another and their supplied headphones/earbuds.
After I'd completed my radiation treatments in 2003, I decided I wanted to treat myself to something nice in celebration and I picked up a pair of Sony V-500s from Fry's Electronics. Damn, I loved those things. They weren't the most comfortable things in the world, but they sounded good and I kept them until the pads disintegrated and I threw them out prior to our move to Denver (I didn't know I could get replacement pads at the time, otherwise I'd probably still have them.)
With the acquisition of my first iPod and later iPhones of various iterations, all my headphone listening was on-the go, and I went through dozens of earbuds, (mostly Skullcandy), but my favorites were Apple's "Professional" earbuds—at least until they got rid of the headphone jack…
My first foray into Bluetooth headphones was prompted by Ben's purchase of a pair of Jaybird's Freedom earbuds. I tried them on, listened, and was immediately blown away by how much better they sounded than even Apple's Pro wired variety. I bought a pair. A year later, I upgraded them to Jaybird's Bluebuds X.
The Bluebuds X stayed with me until the first generation AirPods came on the scene. I remember scoffing at how earbuds without a cord were ripe targets for ending up in the washing machine, but looking back now I realize how ridiculous that was. By this time the batteries were precariously close to being shot on the Bluebuds, and while the batteries might've been able to be replaced, the lure of the new and shiny outweighed any thought of doing that.
I was surprised at the freedom the AirPods afforded, and while there was nothing wrong with them, when the AirPods Pro were released, it was a no-brainer to upgrade. For everything iPhone and Mac related my AirPods Pro remain my go-to listening device.
Last fall, I did want a more user-friendly listening experience for my main stereo system than the Stax electrets. I just wanted to be able to plug something into the headphone jack on the amp and listen away.
Based on recommendations from Dank Pods, I picked up a pair of Grado SR-60X from Amazon without even listening to them first, knowing full well if I hated them I could return them no questions asked.
Well, I didn't return them. Even though the SR-60X is considered the "entry level" of this line, these are seriously good-sounding cans. Grado is known for having a very distinctive sound, and that sound is very much to my liking. The SR-60X (and in fact, the entire Grado line) is also very customizable with different earpads, headbands, and even (if you're handy with a soldering iron) cables. My biggest complaints over the past few months have been one, the cable, and two, the earpads. The cable is braided. It's very heavy and not very pliant. It also tends to twist between the earspeakers and the Y-split. Untangling it is a pain. I've tried the three different varieties of OEM earpads that are available. The ones that initially came with the headset are fine for brief listening sessions, but they press too hard against my ears. While sounding better than the original pads, the over-the-ear design pads are ridiculously large and uncomfortable. The third variety that match the size of the original pads, but are of a donut design, sound great. What I found, however, is that the relatively rough foam they're made out of became so uncomfortable that I couldn't even stand to put them on any more. The open-back design also doesn't exactly lend itself to loud listening when you're in a room with someone else.
So this leads us to my latest set of headphones: the Sony MDR-7506. These have supposedly been made continuously since the 80s; they're Sony's professional workhorses. Again, I bought them from Amazon, thinking that if I didn't like them I could return them. At the time I couldn't remember the model number of my previous Sony headphones, so this was kind of a crap shoot to be honest.
At first I didn't like them. In fact, I went ahead and initiated a return. But as I wore them more and more they really came to grow on me. They fit snugly on my head without crushing my ears. The soft, coiled cord is a joy compared to the has-a-mind-of-its-own cord on the Grados. Unlike the Grados, these are closed-back cans, and they do a very good job of isolating your listening experience from the outside world. The sound is different from the Grados, but I like it just as much—if not, perhaps more. Upon recommendation I went ahead and ordered the optional YAXI L-R color-coded ear pads, and I have to say they are beyond comfortable.* I can easily see myself wearing these for an entire workday without any fatigue whatsoever. And I like the punch of color too.
So that's where I am at the moment. This post went on way longer than I originally envisioned, but if I'm passionate about something I do tend to ramble on.
*But they do—somehow—affect the sound (which has been documented) in a way I don't like, so for now I've gone back to the OEM pads.