Things STILL made today worth buying

[TPA]

A couple of months ago I started two similar threads on discontinued things which you wish you could still buy today:
In general: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/discontinued-things-you-still-wish-were-made-today.489886/
and flashlight specific: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/t...ashlights-do-you-wish-were-still-made.489884/

What items are still made today which are still worth buying and the en$h1tification private equity monster hasn't destroyed yet?

I'll start by posting about the Sony MDR-7506 and Sennheiser HD 600 headphones. They've been in production for 35 & 29 years respectively. I got my first pair of 7506 back in 1994 when I started broadcasting. At some point I ended up replacing them so I'm on my second pair during that 32 year time period. Still good, still performing. My HD 600s are 29 years old. Sure, I've replaced wires and cushions, but those are wear items to me. Still working, and they still bring a smile to my face when I use them.

 

[leukos]

There are a lot of mechanical items that could be listed in this thread, but I’ll just mention the Abu Garcia 5500/6500 series reels (made in Sweden versions). Been in production since the mid seventies and you can still get parts for the originals. Very satisfying to use and own something built as well as a fine Swiss watch. Still one of the best catfish reels available, IMO.

 

[desert.snake]

A couple of months ago I started two similar threads on discontinued things which you wish you could still buy today:
In general: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/discontinued-things-you-still-wish-were-made-today.489886/
and flashlight specific: https://www.candlepowerforums.com/t...ashlights-do-you-wish-were-still-made.489884/

What items are still made today which are still worth buying and the en$h1tification private equity monster hasn't destroyed yet?

I'll start by posting about the Sony MDR-7506 and Sennheiser HD 600 headphones. They've been in production for 35 & 29 years respectively. I got my first pair of 7506 back in 1994 when I started broadcasting. At some point I ended up replacing them so I'm on my second pair during that 32 year time period. Still good, still performing. My HD 600s are 29 years old. Sure, I've replaced wires and cushions, but those are wear items to me. Still working, and they still bring a smile to my face when I use them.

Sony 7506 has had several iterations, and as many say, the sound has changed somewhat, and not everyone likes the current version. The HD600, HD650 have they retained their properties in a more preserved way. It's best to buy extra ear pads, several pairs for future use. The sound will improve if you replace the cable with a higher quality one :) I replaced the cable with one that has thicker copper wires, each wire is insulated from the others (litz wire), and I immediately began to hear more information.

 

[orbital]

+

Got one when they first came out in the 80s'
..they are still made today

 

[TPA]

Sony 7506 has had several iterations, and as many say, the sound has changed somewhat, and not everyone likes the current version. The HD600, HD650 have they retained their properties in a more preserved way. It's best to buy extra ear pads, several pairs for future use. The sound will improve if you replace the cable with a higher quality one :) I replaced the cable with one that has thicker copper wires, each wire is insulated from the others (litz wire), and I immediately began to hear more information.

I did A/B test my original 7506 vs. second 7506 and they sounded very, very, very similar. I attributed any differences to break-in/years of abuse and the differences certainly not enough to change a mix. These are typically driven by a dedicated Crown D-45A or Crown D-75A amplifier. These have a headphone output...which is directly connected to the speaker output. No speakers attached. With that much "grunt" on the supply side, you could probably use wet dental floss and you're still going to hear every detail. That also means mishandling things could give hearing damage.

On the road I have a portable Solid State Logic DAC, although my current Lenovo X1 Carbon Gen 13 internal DAC paired with these headphones still brings (literal) tears of joy to my eyes each time I have a listen.

I've standardised on the 7506 because of how ubiquitous they are. I'm working on a production now where I'm working with crews all around the country. We're not coming together until a week before the event. So, make it sound good on the 7506s, we'll match the event system/room to mirror what we heard on the 7506.