Modern headphones have everything that a lover of high-quality sound may need. But there is no one - the soul. Many audiophiles will agree that a warm analog sound is much better than a modern digital sound. But such a sound is made not only by the corresponding amplifier, but also by authentic headphones. Some music lovers believe that there is nothing better than Soviet headphones (and indeed, audio equipment) in the world. Oddly enough, but there are quite a few such people. And all of them still enjoy using Vega amplifiers (or Amphiton), Radiotehnika speakers, and TDS-3 headphones. By the way, it is worth telling about the latter separately. For they symbolize a whole era. Let's start with a general description of the model and a little touch on its history.
General description of headphones
Headphones TDS-3 were first released in 1984 by the legendary Soviet concern Electronics. At that time, they were a breakthrough in the field of the Soviet sound industry. And this is not surprising, since the technical specifications (and the design itself) were brazenly copied from similar head phones manufactured by Yamaha. In principle, in the USSR this was a common practice. And no one hid it. Nevertheless, the TDS-3 sold well (probably due to the complete lack of an alternative) and had good sound. Today, headphones of this kind do not look very attractive. But not for those who love vintage. It is worth noting that TDS-3 is the best-selling lot on modern domestic flea markets. Audiophiles believe that with their help they can achieve that very “legendary” sound. It is possible. But only if you use an old vinyl player and pretty scratched records. However, we were carried away. We turn to the review of vintage 1984 headphones.
Appearance and design
Soviet TDS-3 headphones have an outstanding design. At least he was at the time of their release. Oblong cups, thick plastic, no hint of an open design. The ear pads are made of soft and resilient material coated with artificial leather (or something similar to it). The color of the head phones could be very different: from pale green to red. There were also black models. But most of all were yellow. The phone holder was made of metal, but was covered with artificial leather. Inside this very skin was a semicircular perforated material that gave softness. Thanks to this, you could wear headphones for a long time and not be afraid that your head would hurt. And now you can move on to the technical characteristics of the TDS-3 headphones. They are quite interesting, as they can give an idea of the quality sound of the past.
Key Specifications
The Soviet TDS-3 headphones, the characteristics of which we are now considering, once belonged to Hi-Fi discharge audio equipment. And that means they should have decent parameters. And it is almost so. With one small exception: in the TDS-3 of the original design, simple paper speakers were installed that a priori could not create high-quality sound. Nevertheless, somehow these head phones managed to sound decent. Probably the thing is in the characteristics. The range of reproducible frequencies is 20 - 20 000 Hz. This is an excellent result. Not all modern headphones can boast of such. The nominal resistance is only 8 ohms. This suggests that even a laptop can swing these headphones. Without any amplifier. True, there will be no sound from the integrated video card. The rated power of both speakers is 1 mW. This is unrealistic for headphones. These are the main technical characteristics of the TDS-3 headphones. Now you can go on to describe the sound quality.
Sound quality
So, let's move on to the most interesting - the sound quality that these headphones provide. Not to say that everything was gorgeous. Paper speakers are expected to spoil the whole picture. When playing any genres of music, an acute lack of low and high frequencies is noticeable. Only the middle ones stand out well. All this makes the sound flat and inanimate. The only thing you can listen to with these headphones is audio books. Although there they will not master the full sound coloring of the reader’s voice. In general, the sound is of poor quality. However, this is only the beginning. After opening the headphones, it was noticed that the factory wires (thin and extremely low-quality) almost completely decayed. It was decided to replace them with new ones. High-quality modern wires were installed. And then the headphones sounded! There was a depth, the required bass and excellent high frequencies. All that was required was to change the wiring. In general, TDS-3, the characteristics of which were disassembled a little higher, were not so simple and were able to produce high-quality sound.
Positive feedback from owners
Now consider the comments of the owners of the TDS-3 headphones. Reviews about this device are pretty controversial. Those who spent some time finalizing them and know how to handle a soldering iron are quite happy with these head phones. They note that the TDS-3 sound even bypasses modern mid-range headphones. True, I had to replace the wires and solder a good Jack connector. Then the headphones really sounded. Especially with an external sound card when playing formats FLAC, APE, WV and others from the class lossless. It is easy to agree with this statement, since the potential of these headphones is already known. They easily outplay most of today's Chinese tweeters. And this is an indisputable fact. However, not everyone is happy with such a rarity. There are those who are not satisfied with these headphones.
Negative owner reviews
Stereo headphones TDS-3 have almost the same number of negative reviews as positive ones. They are left by those who are not satisfied with the sound quality, the shape of the headphones and their color. If you can agree with the first statement (and only if no procedures have been carried out to modify them), then the remaining reasons for dissatisfaction look insignificant. As for comfort, the TDS-3s sit better than the lion's share of modern headphones. Even with prolonged wear, there is no discomfort. The design of the device does not meet modern standards, but it is worth considering that they were released more than 30 years ago. Small external flaws are more than compensated by excellent technical characteristics, high-quality assembly and high ergonomics of stereo headphones.
Conclusion
So, we reviewed the TDS-3 vintage headphones. They were released back in 1984, but still can provide high-quality sound. Especially, after appropriate revision. In any case, they are an order of magnitude higher in class than the vast majority of modern counterparts. And that says a lot.