Sennheiser MS-100 (c. 1983)
Not much is documented about the Sennheiser MS-100, and the archive has no full manual or specification sheet for it. What the period record shows: it was an "Inside-Out" headphone using Sennheiser's Open-Aire design, introduced around 1983 and aimed at the then-new portable personal stereo market.
Sennheiser's own advertising ran in High Fidelity (March 1983, p.22) and HiFI-Stereo (March 1983, p.21). The pitch was that you could get lifelike musical reproduction from a portable player "like you get from the finest home equipment," thanks to the Open-Aire design and ultra-lightweight comfort. That was a bold claim, and it was aimed at early Walkman-era buyers rather than the high-end home listener.
A brief test report in HiFI-Stereo (November 1983, p.46) was largely complimentary. It found the overall smoothness of the MS-100's acoustic response surpassed that of many full-size circumaural headphones - with only a few expensive electret or electrostatic models as exceptions. The same review measured 100 Hz distortion rising from 1.6 percent at 90 dB to 17.8 percent at 120 dB, which the reviewer attributed to the large diaphragm excursions expected in this type of design. The phones were also noted for a feeling of immediacy and contact with the sound source.
Beyond that, surviving information is thin. Confirmed facts are few:
- Open-Aire (open-back) headphone, "Inside-Out" design
- Marketed for use with portable audio equipment
- Sold around 1983; no original price documented in the archive
- 100 Hz distortion measured at 1.6% (90 dB) and 17.8% (120 dB) by HiFI-Stereo
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