Telefunken TH-700

[Stoffie]

Hi guys,

found my way here through another thread in another subforum. Have been drooling for years over a Sony MDR-R10 (bit of a Sony vintage gear fan), but there is no way I could afford it back in the '90, and still can't at the prices these go for nowadays.

But anyway, as a kid I used to listen a lot through my dad's headphones, a pair of Telefunken TH-700 orthodynamic headphones, which I've always liked a lot. They were pretty expensive and Telefunken's TOTL offering in the late 70's.

Unfortunately, through the years, the leather cushionpads have deteriorated badly, so they are not at all comfortable anymore to wear.

I recently rediscovered these in a box up in the attic (I guess moving is good for at least something!), so took them out. Haven't tested them yet, because I need to attach a new plug (instead of the DIN plug).

Any thoughts on this ?

Here's some specs from the brochure (yes I even have that one still)

- Orthodynamic

- 2000mW

- Frequency: 16-20000 Hz

- Impedance: 120 Ohm

- Max SPL: 94 dB

[faust3d]

Here is linky for you Telefunken TH-700

[Stoffie]

Oki doki, that was clear. Utter crap then

I guess my recollections as a kid were romantic enough to do this thing justice.

Thanks for the link.

[Anders]

Most headphones from the 1970s sound like crap by contemporary standards. What is astonishing is how sublime experiences one can have with crappy equipment, at least when being innocent.

[faust3d]

Oki doki, that was clear. Utter crap then

I guess my recollections as a kid were romantic enough to do this thing justice.

Thanks for the link.

I would not say they are "Utter crap". Juts not a very good example of orthodynamic headphones. I am sure you can play with some mods and make them sound OK. But don't expect something spectacular.

[wualta]

F3D's advice is apt. Don't toss the 700, since you might find its other virtues (smoothness, coherence, good transient response) useful for some types of music. If you read the wiki entry carefully, you'll see the 700's despised not because it's utter crap but because it refuses to respond to any of the usual simple isodynamic-headphone mods and because like other PMB isos it utterly lacks bass. So plug 'em into a speaker amp with a LOUDNESS switch, crank up the bass and enjoy.

By the way, if you're into a bit of DIY, you can use a thin string of blu-tack to make a proper gasket to seal the driver airtight to the baffle. PMB used foam, which was inadequate then and has certainly deteriorated by now. This easy mod will at least assure that whatever bass the 'phone makes wil be maximized.

[Stoffie]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Definitely wasn't going to toss them, if only for the sentimental value.

As I remember them, they were pretty good on bass, but then again that's a 18 year old memory, at least, so...

I'll see if I can put some new leathery stuff around the earpads, solder on a new jack, and see how they sound after all those years.

I'm not much of a headphone listener anyway, but I can enjoy doing so every now and then.