5 ms·

"How many decades have there been high-quality headphones " I have a quarter of century old Beyerdynamic cans that still sound fantastic. I am not seeing their

by fsloth 6y ago

"How many decades have there been high-quality headphones " I have a quarter of century old Beyerdynamic cans that still sound fantastic. I am not seeing their end-of-life any time soon, except the pads are probably going to need a change.

chrisseaton 6y ago
> quarter of century old 'Quarter of a century' sounds dramatic... but it's just two and a half decades and less than a third of one lifetime... not passing down generations.
- AstralStorm 6y ago
  The big problem is the materials used won't last, even presuming you will replace the earpads and maybe parts of headband. Closest we've come to this is old pairs of Sennheiser HD580. Very high quality plastics, still get scraped and loose over time. Full steel or aluminum construction holds up much better.
  - lmilcin 6y ago
    I have ones that are 19 years old (Beyerdynamic). The materials for the main part of headphones would last probably indefinitely if kept in dark, dry place, undisturbed. On the other hand the foam that is part of the pads lasts months to maybe couple of years depending on use. If you bought ones with leather it will last for many decades IF you know how to take care of leather. If you avoid throwing, dropping or otherwise banging headphones on things, don't come outside in them and don't stretch the headband more than is absolutely necessary to put on your head I estimate they can be maintained practically forever (definitely more than user's lifetime). Maintanence: - keep them clean with dry cloth, - use something to clean/protect leather from drying out, - replace pads maybe every year or two, - replace pads on headband maybe once every 10 years, - disassemble completely to remove hair and other detritus, probably every 5 years - fix the cable that tends to break after prolonged use, I am gentle so maybe once in 7 years. This is history of maintenance of my headphones which I use every day, entire day.
    - fsloth 6y ago
      To be honest I've not done any maintenance on my 25y oldish Beyerdynamics beyond jury rigging a fix to the support of the left earpiece which lost a critical small piece of plastic in a minor impact. Yes - the pads could use a replacement but it's not critical. Yes, they are a bit grimy. But work well :)
  - m463 6y ago
    I still have a pair of these (in need of that exact new padding)
- fsloth 6y ago
  Estimating their life expectancy using Lindy effect they will soon reach the age at which it becomes likely they will outlast me. Are headphones Lindy-estimatable? That I don't know.
- lmilcin 6y ago
  Just to remind you, quarter of century ago most people even if heard about the Internet they haven't had a chance to use it yet. From Wikipedia: January 3 – Motorola introduces the Motorola StarTAC Wearable Cellular Telephone, the first clamshell mobile phone. September 26 – Nintendo introduces in American market the new game console with the name Nintendo 64.
  - chrisseaton 6y ago
    A quarter of a century ago is... 1996. Not the 80s or whatever you're thinking. But what's that got to do with headphones?
    - lmilcin 6y ago
      > A quarter of a century ago is... 1996. Not the 80s or whatever you're thinking. Yes, that is Wikipedia page for 1996, not for "80s or whatever". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996
      - chrisseaton 6y ago
        I don't get your point then? People knew about the internet in 1996! AOL had been mass-market by half a decade at that point. I don't know what you think the mid-90s were like but people were using the internet. But what have the internet and clamshell telephones got to do with headphones?
        lmilcin 6y ago
        I see you are deeply confused about either timeline or logic or both. "In 1996, just 20 million American adults had access to the Internet," (https://slate.com/technology/2009/02/the-unrecognizable-internet-of-1996.html https://slate.com/technology/2009/02/the-unrecognizable-inte...) So... again... which of my statements is inaccurate? I wrote: "quarter of century ago most people even if heard about the Internet they haven't had a chance to use it yet". How does that conflict with AOL or the quoted above that at that time only 20 million, less than 10%, of Americans had access to the Internet (and access isn't the same as using it)? Also, this is for USA. The rest of the world did not have anywhere near that much access to the Internet.
- p1necone 6y ago
  A quarter of a century is certainly long enough to buy something, use it for a good long time and then pass it along to your now adult children. Maybe it was time for an upgrade, or they just don't use them any more? And in another 25 years maybe they will do the same. A generation is roughly 20-30 years - people don't tend to have kids at the end of their lives.

by fsloth 6y ago

chrisseaton 6y ago

> quarter of century old 'Quarter of a century' sounds dramatic... but it's just two and a half decades and less than a third of one lifetime... not passing down generations.

AstralStorm 6y ago
The big problem is the materials used won't last, even presuming you will replace the earpads and maybe parts of headband. Closest we've come to this is old pairs of Sennheiser HD580. Very high quality plastics, still get scraped and loose over time. Full steel or aluminum construction holds up much better.
- lmilcin 6y ago
  I have ones that are 19 years old (Beyerdynamic). The materials for the main part of headphones would last probably indefinitely if kept in dark, dry place, undisturbed. On the other hand the foam that is part of the pads lasts months to maybe couple of years depending on use. If you bought ones with leather it will last for many decades IF you know how to take care of leather. If you avoid throwing, dropping or otherwise banging headphones on things, don't come outside in them and don't stretch the headband more than is absolutely necessary to put on your head I estimate they can be maintained practically forever (definitely more than user's lifetime). Maintanence: - keep them clean with dry cloth, - use something to clean/protect leather from drying out, - replace pads maybe every year or two, - replace pads on headband maybe once every 10 years, - disassemble completely to remove hair and other detritus, probably every 5 years - fix the cable that tends to break after prolonged use, I am gentle so maybe once in 7 years. This is history of maintenance of my headphones which I use every day, entire day.
  - fsloth 6y ago
    To be honest I've not done any maintenance on my 25y oldish Beyerdynamics beyond jury rigging a fix to the support of the left earpiece which lost a critical small piece of plastic in a minor impact. Yes - the pads could use a replacement but it's not critical. Yes, they are a bit grimy. But work well :)
- m463 6y ago
  I still have a pair of these (in need of that exact new padding)
fsloth 6y ago
Estimating their life expectancy using Lindy effect they will soon reach the age at which it becomes likely they will outlast me. Are headphones Lindy-estimatable? That I don't know.
lmilcin 6y ago
Just to remind you, quarter of century ago most people even if heard about the Internet they haven't had a chance to use it yet. From Wikipedia: January 3 – Motorola introduces the Motorola StarTAC Wearable Cellular Telephone, the first clamshell mobile phone. September 26 – Nintendo introduces in American market the new game console with the name Nintendo 64.
- chrisseaton 6y ago
  A quarter of a century ago is... 1996. Not the 80s or whatever you're thinking. But what's that got to do with headphones?
  - lmilcin 6y ago
    > A quarter of a century ago is... 1996. Not the 80s or whatever you're thinking. Yes, that is Wikipedia page for 1996, not for "80s or whatever". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996
    - chrisseaton 6y ago
      I don't get your point then? People knew about the internet in 1996! AOL had been mass-market by half a decade at that point. I don't know what you think the mid-90s were like but people were using the internet. But what have the internet and clamshell telephones got to do with headphones?
      - lmilcin 6y ago
        I see you are deeply confused about either timeline or logic or both. "In 1996, just 20 million American adults had access to the Internet," (https://slate.com/technology/2009/02/the-unrecognizable-internet-of-1996.html https://slate.com/technology/2009/02/the-unrecognizable-inte...) So... again... which of my statements is inaccurate? I wrote: "quarter of century ago most people even if heard about the Internet they haven't had a chance to use it yet". How does that conflict with AOL or the quoted above that at that time only 20 million, less than 10%, of Americans had access to the Internet (and access isn't the same as using it)? Also, this is for USA. The rest of the world did not have anywhere near that much access to the Internet.
p1necone 6y ago
A quarter of a century is certainly long enough to buy something, use it for a good long time and then pass it along to your now adult children. Maybe it was time for an upgrade, or they just don't use them any more? And in another 25 years maybe they will do the same. A generation is roughly 20-30 years - people don't tend to have kids at the end of their lives.