I've seen teenagers on the street wear bulky headphones (presumably as a
display of serious sound reproduction) but I've never seen any headphones
as large as these.

Does anyone recognise the model?

https://i.postimg.cc/fk41wxMF/John-Pienaar-Times-Radio.png

Considering they're being used by a professional broadcaster, does the
sheer size of this model mean they have been chosen for their high
quality?

On 13/01/2023 09:15, Pamela wrote:
> I've seen teenagers on the street wear bulky headphones (presumably as a
> display of serious sound reproduction) but I've never seen any headphones
> as large as these.
>
> Does anyone recognise the model?
>
> https://i.postimg.cc/fk41wxMF/John-Pienaar-Times-Radio.png
>
> Considering they're being used by a professional broadcaster, does the
> sheer size of this model mean they have been chosen for their high
> quality?
>
>
About the same size as my Beyer DT-100 headset, which used to be pretty
standard in any studio.

Good quality, excellent isolation so they can't he heard by the
microphone, and all parts are available for when they break. They are
also comfortable, as they don't need much pressure to seal the cushions
against your head.

For the application in the picture, decent isolation and comfort are
more important than sound quality, as all the broadcaster is listening
to is a phone line feed, and there is probably an engineer next door
listening on some very good speakers to make sure it sounds good when it
leaves the studio.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

On Fri 13/01/2023 09:30, John Williamson wrote:
> On 13/01/2023 09:15, Pamela wrote:
>> I've seen teenagers on the street wear bulky headphones (presumably as a
>> display of serious sound reproduction) but I've never seen any headphones
>> as large as these.
>>
>> Does anyone recognise the model?
>>
>> https://i.postimg.cc/fk41wxMF/John-Pienaar-Times-Radio.png
>>
>> Considering they're being used by a professional broadcaster, does the
>> sheer size of this model mean they have been chosen for their high
>> quality?
>>
>>
> About the same size as my Beyer DT-100 headset, which used to be pretty
> standard in any studio.
>
> Good quality, excellent isolation so they can't he heard by the
> microphone, and all parts are available for when they break. They are
> also comfortable, as they don't need much pressure to seal the cushions
> against your head.
>
> For the application in the picture, decent isolation and comfort are
> more important than sound quality, as all the broadcaster is listening
> to is a phone line feed, and there is probably an engineer next door
> listening on some very good speakers to make sure it sounds good when it
> leaves the studio.
>

I was going to say that. Another version was (still is) the DT109 which
was almost always a cream body but black pads and had a pretty
substantial boom mike on one side.
I've had a pair of DT220 of the same type in black for maybe 30 years
and they are as good now as they were when I bought them (from a hifi
shop in Barrow in Furness as I remember.)

For the record I think JP may be wearing his the wrong way round -
didn't the cable enter on the right ear?

> For the record I think JP may be wearing his the
> wrong way round - didn't the cable enter on the
> right ear?

Yes. And there was a BBC/Canford version with
built-in level limiting driven from the audio signal.

I have several sets, including 109s and level
limiting. One great aspect is that you can swap
cables easily, so I have leads that fit mini-jacks
as well ones for gauge A and B. Various impedances
also used to be available, too, and the 108, which
was single earpad + mic for cameramen, etc..

They aren't the most faithful-sounding (I prefer
Sennheiser 424s), but they are good enough and
very practical.

The ones Piennar is wearing seem to have thicker
earpads than usual in times past, so are probably
an updated model.

On 13/01/2023 09:15, Pamela wrote:
> I've seen teenagers on the street wear bulky headphones (presumably as a
> display of serious sound reproduction) but I've never seen any headphones
> as large as these.
>
> Does anyone recognise the model?
>
> https://i.postimg.cc/fk41wxMF/John-Pienaar-Times-Radio.png
>
> Considering they're being used by a professional broadcaster, does the
> sheer size of this model mean they have been chosen for their high
> quality?

Seem to be about the same size as my 50-years old Koss PRO4AA headphones.

They are chosen, I assume, for high quality and sound isolation. The
fluid-filled cups of my headphones are still filled and conform well to
any contours on my head.

--

Jeff

I can't see the picture, but I have some Lenco phones that are big, comfy
and sound reasonable and apart from having to repair the cable a few times
they have been reliable and none of that pvc cracking or foam shedding you
can get on so called closed ear phones.
Yes I liked the ones mentioned, but beyond my price limit at the time. I
did have another German named set of phones, but they started to shed
little bits of black foam coming through the fabric on the ear cups, like
black dandruff after a year or so, so never went back to those. Anyone
remember the Koss ones, they were good for their time, but you did start to
get head clamping syndrome with those. Sony do some good ones but at an eye
watering price, but not as expensive as the Apple ones.
Brian

--

--:
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
briang1@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"John Williamson" <johnwilliamson@btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:k2cmktFhocuU1@mid.individual.net...
> On 13/01/2023 09:15, Pamela wrote:
>> I've seen teenagers on the street wear bulky headphones (presumably as a
>> display of serious sound reproduction) but I've never seen any headphones
>> as large as these.
>>
>> Does anyone recognise the model?
>>
>> https://i.postimg.cc/fk41wxMF/John-Pienaar-Times-Radio.png
>>
>> Considering they're being used by a professional broadcaster, does the
>> sheer size of this model mean they have been chosen for their high
>> quality?
>>
>>
> About the same size as my Beyer DT-100 headset, which used to be pretty
> standard in any studio.
>
> Good quality, excellent isolation so they can't he heard by the
> microphone, and all parts are available for when they break. They are also
> comfortable, as they don't need much pressure to seal the cushions against
> your head.
>
> For the application in the picture, decent isolation and comfort are more
> important than sound quality, as all the broadcaster is listening to is a
> phone line feed, and there is probably an engineer next door listening on
> some very good speakers to make sure it sounds good when it leaves the
> studio.
>
> --
> Tciao for Now!
>
> John.

Koss used to also do quadraphonic headphones but the weight and unwieldiness
was annoying and the quad was not very realistic.

Brian

--

--:
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
briang1@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Jeff Layman" <Jeff@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:tprc8u$1i97a$1@dont-email.me...
> On 13/01/2023 09:15, Pamela wrote:
>> I've seen teenagers on the street wear bulky headphones (presumably as a
>> display of serious sound reproduction) but I've never seen any headphones
>> as large as these.
>>
>> Does anyone recognise the model?
>>
>> https://i.postimg.cc/fk41wxMF/John-Pienaar-Times-Radio.png
>>
>> Considering they're being used by a professional broadcaster, does the
>> sheer size of this model mean they have been chosen for their high
>> quality?
>
> Seem to be about the same size as my 50-years old Koss PRO4AA headphones.
>
> They are chosen, I assume, for high quality and sound isolation. The
> fluid-filled cups of my headphones are still filled and conform well to
> any contours on my head.
>
> --
>
> Jeff
>

On 09:30 13 Jan 2023, John Williamson said:

> On 13/01/2023 09:15, Pamela wrote:
>> I've seen teenagers on the street wear bulky headphones (presumably
>> as a display of serious sound reproduction) but I've never seen any
>> headphones as large as these.
>>
>> Does anyone recognise the model?
>>
>> https://i.postimg.cc/fk41wxMF/John-Pienaar-Times-Radio.png
>>
>> Considering they're being used by a professional broadcaster, does
>> the sheer size of this model mean they have been chosen for their
>> high quality?
>>
>>
> About the same size as my Beyer DT-100 headset, which used to be
> pretty standard in any studio.
>
> Good quality, excellent isolation so they can't he heard by the
> microphone, and all parts are available for when they break. They are
> also comfortable, as they don't need much pressure to seal the
> cushions against your head.
>
> For the application in the picture, decent isolation and comfort are
> more important than sound quality, as all the broadcaster is
> listening to is a phone line feed, and there is probably an engineer
> next door listening on some very good speakers to make sure it sounds
> good when it leaves the studio.

Compared to pictures I found of the Beyer DT-100, those in the Pienaar
photo have thicker foam pads (which SimonM here also observes).

However other pictures of the Beyer DT-100 do have these thicker ear pads.

Perhaps there were optional replacement parts.

On 13/01/2023 15:18, Pamela wrote:

> Compared to pictures I found of the Beyer DT-100, those in the Pienaar
> photo have thicker foam pads (which SimonM here also observes).
>
> However other pictures of the Beyer DT-100 do have these thicker ear pads.
>
> Perhaps there were optional replacement parts.
>
>
There are... Vinyl or velour, your choice.

All parts as well as the DT-100 series complete units are available here.

I was only saying that the ones in the picture are about the same size
as my favourite headset here.

There are quite a few of that size in use and on the market.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.

On 13/01/2023 12:03, Brian Gaff wrote:

> Koss used to also do quadraphonic headphones but the weight and unwieldiness
> was annoying and the quad was not very realistic.

You tried them? I don't see how they could work as I thought that you
had to move your head from side to side to tell whether sound was coming
from the front or the back.

--
Max Demian

Yes that is why they sounded more annoying than real. Apple do a system that
makes changes to the sound as you move your head. Not tried it though.
The most realistic multi track sound I ever heard was when I went to an
exhibition at the Design Centre in Haymarket. They had a pod there, and you
got inside and shut the door and laid back. It was very comfy and the sound
did sound like you were wherever the piece was coming from. But who would
spend nearly 10,000 quid on one for their home that only one person could
use at a time?
I'm not surprised it was not successful. I have no idea of the tech behind
it but it was back in the 80s, so was probably analogue rather than digital.
Brian

--

--:
This newsgroup posting comes to you directly from...
The Sofa of Brian Gaff...
briang1@blueyonder.co.uk
Blind user, so no pictures please
Note this Signature is meaningless.!
"Max Demian" <max_demian@bigfoot.com> wrote in message
news:tps519$1lk5g$2@dont-email.me...
> On 13/01/2023 12:03, Brian Gaff wrote:
>
>> Koss used to also do quadraphonic headphones but the weight and
>> unwieldiness
>> was annoying and the quad was not very realistic.
>
> You tried them? I don't see how they could work as I thought that you had
> to move your head from side to side to tell whether sound was coming from
> the front or the back.
>
> --
> Max Demian
>

On 14/01/2023 11:32, Brian Gaff wrote:

> Yes that is why they sounded more annoying than real. Apple do a system that
> makes changes to the sound as you move your head. Not tried it though.
> The most realistic multi track sound I ever heard was when I went to an
> exhibition at the Design Centre in Haymarket. They had a pod there, and you
> got inside and shut the door and laid back. It was very comfy and the sound
> did sound like you were wherever the piece was coming from. But who would
> spend nearly 10,000 quid on one for their home that only one person could
> use at a time?

> I'm not surprised it was not successful. I have no idea of the tech behind
> it but it was back in the 80s, so was probably analogue rather than digital.

The quad phones I saw at an electronics show just had front and back
transducers inside the phone shells.

--
Max Demian

On 15:59 13 Jan 2023, John Williamson said:

> On 13/01/2023 15:18, Pamela wrote:
>
>> Compared to pictures I found of the Beyer DT-100, those in the
>> Pienaar photo have thicker foam pads (which SimonM here also
>> observes).
>>
>> However other pictures of the Beyer DT-100 do have these thicker ear
>> pads.
>>
>> Perhaps there were optional replacement parts.
>>
>>
> There are... Vinyl or velour, your choice.
>
> All parts as well as the DT-100 series complete units are available
> here.
>
> I was only saying that the ones in the picture are about the same
> size as my favourite headset here.
>
> There are quite a few of that size in use and on the market.

Headphones that big are almost a comic parody. A bit like those enormous
pepper mills brandished by waiters in Italian restaurants.

On 19/01/2023 11:56, Pamela wrote:
There are quite a few of that size in use and on the market.
>
> Headphones that big are almost a comic parody. A bit like those enormous
> pepper mills brandished by waiters in Italian restaurants.
>

They can't be made any smaller, as they have to enclose the complete ear
to give enough isolation between the ear and the environment.

They are the smallest and lightest way to do the job at a reasonable
cost, and sound pretty much the same for anyone that puts them on. I can
buy an acceptable pair of those for a couple of hundred pounds, while an
in ear monitor of equivalent quality would cost about a thousand, and
each one has to be custom moulded and set up to suit the user, so they
can not be shared in a studio environment.

--
Tciao for Now!

John.