Era

Headphones from the 1970s

In the 1970s the headphone became a hi-fi component of its own. Koss launched the Pro/4AA in 1970, Sennheiser followed the HD 414 with the bigger HD 424, Beyerdynamic added the closed DT 220, and AKG's K 240 Sextett put six passive radiators around each driver. Stax refined its electrostatics with the SR-X, the forward-firing SR-Sigma and, in 1979, the first SR-Lambda, all Normal bias with a 6-pin plug. German models still came with DIN plugs. Pads, elastic headband straps and foam screens are the parts that age.

7 models we cover.