are we becoming a headphone society?

[rockstar_not]

In response to the original question - we became a headphone society when Sony introduced the walkman 25 years ago. That was when the devices; headphones that is; became typical outside of the home and/or recording studio.

We've never looked back since. Usage did drop off, I believe, when CD's started to overcome cassettes here in the US, but now with portable digital players; iPods and wannabees, their use is endemic to society.

But I believe the change happened 25 years ago, not just with the iPod generation.

BTW, the military use of noise beams was implemented just recently on some pirates off the coast of Africa not too long ago. Here's an article:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techi ... last_x.htm

There are also some speaker manufacturers that use sound transmitted on ultrasonic carrier waves, to set up acoustic holograms. I believe that Monsoon audio marketed these a couple years back. Here's an article on that topic.
http://www.acoustics.org/press/133rd/2pea.html
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technol ... page=2&c=y

-Scott

[Hink]

In response to the original question - we became a headphone society when Sony introduced the walkman 25 years ago. That was when the devices; headphones that is; became typical outside of the home and/or recording studio.

We've never looked back since. Usage did drop off, I believe, when CD's started to overcome cassettes here in the US, but now with portable digital players; iPods and wannabees, their use is endemic to society.

But I believe the change happened 25 years ago, not just with the iPod generation.

BTW, the military use of noise beams was implemented just recently on some pirates off the coast of Africa not too long ago. Here's an article:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techi ... last_x.htm

There are also some speaker manufacturers that use sound transmitted on ultrasonic carrier waves, to set up acoustic holograms. I believe that Monsoon audio marketed these a couple years back. Here's an article on that topic.
http://www.acoustics.org/press/133rd/2pea.html
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technol ... page=2&c=y

-Scott

do you remember quadraphonic headphones back in the 70's? You're right though, early 80's every jogger started wearing headphones, you could get headphone radios...you could get rockman's, chain them together and everyone could hear each other....when the technology broke through and they could make a player just a bit larger then a tape things changed quite a bit...I remember a guy got busted here in the mid 80's for a huge quantity of coke, the reason the cop stopped him was because he was wearing headphones...

[robogone]

does anyone remember the bonefone?

Sounds like on of those phone sex lines...

[androidlove]

we became a headphone society when Sony introduced the walkman 25 years ago.

WOW!!!! CAN YOU HEAR THIS?!?! THIS IS REALLY LOUD!!!! YOU CAN'T HEAR THIS?!?!

[speccyteccy]

The amount of users on the tubes is quite frightening - I reckon about 1 in 10!

I'm lucky that my phone i use to play mp3s is very quiet in comparison to some players I've heard.

[androidlove]

is it my imagination, or did walkmans go downhill after the 1st 2 models?

[BONES]

If everyone is mostly listening to their music on headphones through ipods and whatnot, maybe we should be using headphones a bit more in our mixing decisions.

Or maybe we should just be producing good mixes that will work wherever?

Personally, I like in-ear headphones, small and unless your a nutta who likes to annoy people/damage ur ears, quiet to those around you. Also, the sound quality is good IMO

Well, you're wrong. i saw a recent test and, whilst its all subjective of course, the audiophiles involved decided that a cheap pair of Au$15 normal headphones had better reproduction than the most expensive ear-buds. I've never heard a pair of ear-buds that I thought sounded even half-decent.

I expect my MA-10A's to arrive via UPS sometime this week

You won't be disappointed.

I have little choice but to use phones for listening, mixing, etc. as my apartment is a very noisy environment (4 fish tanks, 2 air filters) and short of having speakers up to window-shattering volume, I'd not hear all the nuances of the music.

If you are using near-field monitors you should be able to exclude all that extraneous stuff without turning them up too loud. i.e. They should be close enough to your head to overcome all the ambient sound.

is it my imagination, or did walkmans go downhill after the 1st 2 models?

Nah, tehy got better and better until Discmans started to take over.

are people getting good headphones and not bothering with, that new stereo..
will headphones ultimately change the music we make

No, the problem is people are using krappy ear-bud headphones. I too am surprised at the number of people I see walking around with those white cords running up to their ears. Its certainly way more prevalent than Walkmans ever were. I have never enjoyed listening to music on headphones, even my really good AKG's. I need the experience to be far more visceral.

[Rabid]

I hate ear buds. A $15 pair of clip over the ear headphones work much better and sound much better. I use them when riding bike and can still hear the traffic.

I also tend to mix with headphones because I live in an apartment and have no choice. My speakers get turned on maybe once a month. If you mix with headphones, use good headphones.

As for when we turned into a headphone community, I'm not really sure. The walkman may have come out 25 years ago, but kids preferred boom boxes. Any school trip someone always had a boom box to rock the bus. Only in the last 3 years has every kid decided that they HAVE to have their own mp3 player.

Robert

[Gargoyle]

[edited because it was a duplicate comment... stereophonic]

[nuffink]

is it my imagination, or did walkmans go downhill after the 1st 2 models?

No. That's quite typical. Have a look at a mk1 iPod. They're beautifully made and the wheel moves.
Same thing with cd's. High end manufacturers where ordering original drives from Phillips OEM years after they were dropped from anything with a Phillips lable on it.
Sony are notorious for it. However they did make the mighty walkman pro for many years. As good a cassette deck as anything short of a Nakamichi.

[vurt]

there are even "discos" where you take your own tunes,that way everybody hears what they want to hear, it makes the socialising side of clubbing more than just the odd sign for "fancy a beer" and "im off to the bog"
i went to one a few years back,kinda wierd watchin people dancing to all different stuff in their own little world

[nuffink]

i went to one a few years back,kinda wierd watchin people dancing to all different stuff in their own little world

Tarnce night, was it?

[vurt]

not on my phones it wasnt

[G-Ro124]

In response to the original question - we became a headphone society when Sony introduced the walkman 25 years ago. That was when the devices; headphones that is; became typical outside of the home and/or recording studio.

We've never looked back since. Usage did drop off, I believe, when CD's started to overcome cassettes here in the US, but now with portable digital players; iPods and wannabees, their use is endemic to society.

But I believe the change happened 25 years ago, not just with the iPod generation.

BTW, the military use of noise beams was implemented just recently on some pirates off the coast of Africa not too long ago. Here's an article:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techi ... last_x.htm

There are also some speaker manufacturers that use sound transmitted on ultrasonic carrier waves, to set up acoustic holograms. I believe that Monsoon audio marketed these a couple years back. Here's an article on that topic.
http://www.acoustics.org/press/133rd/2pea.html
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technol ... page=2&c=y

-Scott

do you remember quadraphonic headphones back in the 70's? You're right though, early 80's every jogger started wearing headphones, you could get headphone radios...you could get rockman's, chain them together and everyone could hear each other....when the technology broke through and they could make a player just a bit larger then a tape things changed quite a bit...I remember a guy got busted here in the mid 80's for a huge quantity of coke, the reason the cop stopped him was because he was wearing headphones...

That would be a denial of the right against search & seizure... he musta sued

[Hink]

In response to the original question - we became a headphone society when Sony introduced the walkman 25 years ago. That was when the devices; headphones that is; became typical outside of the home and/or recording studio.

We've never looked back since. Usage did drop off, I believe, when CD's started to overcome cassettes here in the US, but now with portable digital players; iPods and wannabees, their use is endemic to society.

But I believe the change happened 25 years ago, not just with the iPod generation.

BTW, the military use of noise beams was implemented just recently on some pirates off the coast of Africa not too long ago. Here's an article:
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techi ... last_x.htm

There are also some speaker manufacturers that use sound transmitted on ultrasonic carrier waves, to set up acoustic holograms. I believe that Monsoon audio marketed these a couple years back. Here's an article on that topic.
http://www.acoustics.org/press/133rd/2pea.html
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technol ... page=2&c=y

-Scott

do you remember quadraphonic headphones back in the 70's? You're right though, early 80's every jogger started wearing headphones, you could get headphone radios...you could get rockman's, chain them together and everyone could hear each other....when the technology broke through and they could make a player just a bit larger then a tape things changed quite a bit...I remember a guy got busted here in the mid 80's for a huge quantity of coke, the reason the cop stopped him was because he was wearing headphones...

That would be a denial of the right against search & seizure... he musta sued

No, actually I remember the whole thing because he starting dumping bags out the window....he wasn't smart enough to know it was illegal to drive with headphones on....he thoughr he was getting stopped because they knew he had the coke....what are the odds that he might of sampled the product first?...