Limited, wooden portable ATH-ESW10JPN arrives! (with pics) - Page 61

They aren't foldable that I know of. I "fold" the ear pieces in and use the case I bought the is nice and flat and great for transport that is sold by audio-technica for these and I assume the ESW9's.

That's the folding. You rotate the earcups so they're flat.

Even when they're foldable like the PX100, I won't do that.

they are quite forward sounding with not only vocals but just forward in general. compared to my RS1, the RS1 has a much larger soundstage. imagine that, grado having a larger soundstage compared to an audio technica. ok, granted the RS1 has a larger soundstage compared to every other lower level grado.

It may be dependent upon source and amp also. I get a very nice soundstage with the Lisa III and without question on my modified Woo 6. On the Lisa or Woo it sounds like I am 20 feet or more from the stage and the audience is really out there.

Ok I did some more comparison, yes the Ed. 9 throws a much larger stage than the ESW10 but a different one. They are both fun but the Ed. 9 . . . whew. . .

you may be right. i'm using a woo3 right now that not modded.

Well the tiny stock cable has to have a high resistance. I am somewhat surprised that they didn't go to greater lengths to make a better cable for what is not an expensive phone. It doesn't cost that much more at time of manufacture.

Anyone tried to take off the pads? I tried that it looks like there is some glue I couldn't pull the pads out
Just got a very good wire ready to recable but dismantling the phones is a trouble now.

They're held in with a lip, like all the ath headphones. Slide your finger underneath the pad, and push towards the outside. Run it around in a circle, and it will come out. Reverse that to get it back on.

Silly question perhaps, as they're not quite in the same arena even though both are closed woodies, but how would the EWS10 compare with the Denon D5000? I have the 5000 and am a huge fan of their sound signature, and would like to know if the 10 resemble them in some ways, or if they are a totally different animal sonically.

Totally different. (and if the D2000 is similar to D5000, the ESW10s are much better IMHO)

Thanks Padam. What would be the obvious differences in a nutshell? I've read the thread but I think no one did a direct comparison...

It has a relatively small soundstage but the imaging is great, everything is well separated and has its place. And the bass is much tighter and not boomy unlike the Denons, I like that as well. It just sounds very-very nice (I especially like it with classical and piano music).
But the fit took me some time to get used to. Now after more than one month it seems to be fine, if still not perfect. But because it is so small I can listen to it in bed as well. I think it's rather a transportable home headphone rather than a full portable one(too fragile and expensive for that). After a week I will be able to try it with the Gilmore Lite, I think it will be even better with an amp.

Agreed, although a modded Denon can surpass the ESW10 once the Denon bass is controlled and the mids are brought out a bit. But the ESW10 are a good compliment to those of us with modded Denon or Edition 9 who want a full and lush detailed sound out of a portable closed supra-aural can. I like the ESW10 as much or more than my RS-1 which I had re-cabled by APS for mobile use last year, and they are more comfortable and leak less sound too.