Realistic Nova 40 Headphones

Do you have a picture? I don't know anything about them but I have a vintage Realistic bookshelf system and would like to have a pair of headphones to match. How do they sound? Are they comfortable?
Thanks a lot,
Gene
 
Not to sure of my memory, but I seem to recall taking a pair of them apart many years ago - or possibly a similar model - and finding the same paper-cone alnico-magnet junk that you'd see in a five-dollar transistor radio. Way down at the extreme bottom of the food chain.upload_2018-12-28_20-58-13.png
 
I was given a pair sometime back. Mint,extremely clean,look like they were never used. They don't sound bad,but they were never intended to be high-end.
Modern designs easily outperform them,but you won't get those for under a tenner.If ya like 'em,use 'em:)
 
I have a pair at the bottom of a box somewhere. I never thought they were great but some people do. There was a guy at a TV studio I used to go to who always carried around his Nova's for mixing live sound and studio work for broadcast.
 
If they were the same model I bought new back in the day, then they are a circumaural, closed-back design with restricted HF response, and a very closed-in SQ. At the time I liked their bass, but came to realize I greatly preferred the sound of AKG open-backs (K141? maybe) I sampled and bought a few months later. IIRC, on the timeline. They still proved somewhat useful at times when the greater isolation mattered - like when listening to music while someone else in the room watched TV, or yacked with her friends.
 
I picked up the Realistic Nova 40 head phone along with a JVC XL-V161 CD Player for $5 at a thrift store in Asheville, NC back in 2011. Certainly not "High End" but still a great sounding, 70ish analog headphone which I listen to through the JVC's headphone jack (and yes, the CD Player has a volume control). Definely a warm sounding headphone, which I enjoy for late-night listening. No doubt, the best $5 I've ever spent.
 
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I liked them in the 70's. They certainly sounded better than anything else I had.
Mom and Dad never tried them but did love them.
 
This thread helped sway me last night in favor of snagging a pair of NOVA 40s for $15 on craigslist. I figured, what the heck - if they're awful it was $15 to learn it. But I'm surprised. Now I don't have very expensive headphones but I LOVE my Sennheiser Momentums (the originals, not the noise cancelling/wireless ones). I don't have a wide basis of comparison - just these Sennhisers, a pair of Harmon Kardon Sohos that are a real disappointment, and then I grew up getting to sit with my dad while listening to his Koss headphones and lord knows what the model number was on those. Aside - an earlier post in this thread talked about the weight of these NOVA 40s...lemmie tell 'ya about a 1980's pair of Koss monsters! Anyway, my Sennheisers these are NOT. But at $15 I'm having a ball listening to old blues and bluegrass records. At first they have this almost "am radio" tone to them that's just a hoot when I was playing Uncle Charlie and His Dog Teddy by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Then I put on David Grisman's Dawg Jazz and they must've warmed up (plus I punched up the bass a bit on my receiver) because while they still lack some detail and are slim on the mids they really filled out and even got punchy dare I say with the double bass. Are they the cans you should have if you only have one set, almost certainly not. But they're fun and a nice throw back to times before my time. I'll probably dedicate them to blues and bluegrass and are a welcome addition to my (very modest) headphones lineup. Call me a +1 to "if you like them, then they're 'good'!" Thanks for the encouragement in the thread to give them a whirl!
 
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