Back in the early 80's, the old clunker type headphones were rapidly replaced by sleeker, lightweight models. As the technological push towards lighter, cheaper, and smaller grew, headphones turned into earphones, which turned into earbuds.
In the span of 30 years, we went from this:
 |
| $197 adjusted for inflation, wood panelling not included |
to this:
 |
| Better, smarter, sleeker at $9.99 |
with no perceptible decrease in performance. Chalk one up for the technology that made something better, smaller, and 95% cheaper.
It wasn't uncommon in the 70's to see some hipster grooving down the street tuned in to the awkward contraption in the photo on top, long hair flowing in the breeze. But by the time the mid 80's rolled around, you would have been hard pressed to find a pair and certainly anyone donning them then would have been considered an out-of-date loser and invited bullying.
In the last 5 years, however, the oversized headphones have made a comeback. Was it that kids today waxed nostagically after flipping through their parents' old photo albums? No, the throwbacks to a bygone era were simply rebranded and remarketed as "noise cancelling headphones" and became "must haves" for a new generation of audiophiles.
Of course, to ensure that the consumer made no mistake in concluding that the noise cancelling technology was the best of the best, manufacturers and distributors were wise enough to slap a hefty price tag on them, typically in the $200 - $300 range.
What's the point of all of this, you ask? Not to throw out your old flip phones and mp3 players, as they are sure to come back some day? Nope. The lesson here is that clever marketing will create a trend and trend will trump technology any day, regardless of the price.
Caveat emptor!
