REVIEW: 20 Headphones Compared
Dec 21, 2010 at 5:46 AM Post #241 of 368
5555 redbull they are in the same class,but the midrange  of the three are different. so don't worry.
 
about the R10, before I heard them that day,I didn't believe too, that the R10 are this good.I think they are not much better than the Headphones today,but I was wrong.They are really better.
 
I hope,Sony will produce something like this again.The price can be set about 1000$ and the sq about 85% of this R10.
 
Funnily of all of the headphones I heard that day I like R10,K1000 and Stax sigma pro the most and they are all the Headphones from yesterday.
 
Dec 21, 2010 at 11:20 AM Post #242 of 368
About Sennhaeiser HD600 the review says I appreciate that almost all the parts are user replaceable. Years ago I tripped on the cable resulting in the female connectors loosing their tightness, causing permanent bad connection. Have hardly used them since unfortunately. Are those connectors replaceable too?
 
Dec 21, 2010 at 11:58 AM Post #243 of 368


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R10 has bio cellulose driver, DENON AH-D1001 that I just fell in love with also has bio cellulose driver made by Fostex btw. AH-D1001 may be far from R10 when it comes to sound. But it is exactly what I was looking for, its has very fast, precise and not fatiguing, soft and pleasant delicate paper sound :) This is the thing with many other headphones Grado, Ultrasone etc they may sound great, they may be accurate but because of the materials they use they are fatiguing with highs peircing your ears. 


The Creative Aurvana Live also has a bio cellulose driver.  Many say it is an OEM of the Denon 1001.  In fact, I would describe it exactly as you did (not fatiguing, soft, pleasant, delicate).
 
Are there any other phones with bio cellulose drivers?  
 
[]s
Walfredo
 
Dec 21, 2010 at 12:33 PM Post #244 of 368

 
Quote:
About Sennhaeiser HD600 the review says I appreciate that almost all the parts are user replaceable. Years ago I tripped on the cable resulting in the female connectors loosing their tightness, causing permanent bad connection. Have hardly used them since unfortunately. Are those connectors replaceable too?


Pop off the outer grills and you can see the female connection point at the bottom (there might be another layer to remove... I don't remember). If you look closely at the female connector, it's really just a spring laid on its side, and when you insert the cables the prongs touch on the edges of the spring. Over time or after an accident, the spring becomes uneven and bunches up. To fix this, take a small flat screwdriver (the kind you would fix glasses with) and insert it into the clumped areas and very gently twist back and forth until the spring opens up a bit and evens out. If you don't have a screwdriver, you could make do one side of a hair pin (break the plastic bulb off first).
 
Dec 21, 2010 at 3:30 PM Post #245 of 368
Thanks for the write-up.
 
It's nice to see an affordable headphone like the HD650s in your #12 position. I've heard some of the headphones you mentioned in the list and as far as any I've heard goes, I agree with the R10's place at #1 (though I haven't heard the Orpheus yet either).
I use balanced HD650s and wouldn't trade them for many on the list...... I feel especially for long listening sessions they are hard to beat (but then I really don't like bright cans).
 
Dec 21, 2010 at 4:45 PM Post #246 of 368


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It is difficult for me to imagine that, after all of this time and technological progress, the R-10 is still the King of Headphones. This is a testament to Sony's past but obviously not to any headphone manufacturers present state-of-the-art. Then again, sometimes when I study cars on the highway, I am stupified as to why they still have 4 rubber tires. Call me a romantic or ignorant, but I feel that cars should fly and that headphones should sound like live music. Well, at least Santa is real... 

 
Speaking of cars, if you consider the R10 to be the McLaren F1 of headphones, look at how many flagship supercars came much later and couldn't keep up with it. Enzo? Slower than the F1. Murcielago? Slower. Same with the SLR and Porsche GT. The regular production Zondas can't catch it either. This is a car from 1992, and nothing from a decade later could get close to its 240+mph top speed. There are now a select few hyper cars that can go faster than 240, but still none can do it without forced induction engines, as the F1 can. 
 
When you have something that is a true statement product, it takes more than just the march of time and progress to beat it.

This is an awesome analogy. I love cars, and this is absolutely true. Maybe a manufacturer could make a car better than the F1 that is naturally aspirated and has a unique  package like the F1, but nobody has yet. It is a true classic and still quite amazing. Now I just ned to hear an R10...
 
Dec 21, 2010 at 5:25 PM Post #247 of 368


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This is an awesome analogy. I love cars, and this is absolutely true. Maybe a manufacturer could make a car better than the F1 that is naturally aspirated and has a unique  package like the F1, but nobody has yet. It is a true classic and still quite amazing. Now I just ned to hear an R10...


It takes the will to do it. That's another thing that separates headphones from speakers. While there are some long out of production statement level speakers like the Infinity IRS that still command a lot of respect, no one is saying "oh, if only they still made speakers like that", because they do still make them. Infinity is no longer even close to a high-end company, but the IRS led to the Genesis 1 series which is still in production, and there are a bunch of other companies like Tidal, Marten, MBL, Nola, etc. that are still more than happy to sell you a four-tower mega speaker system.
 
If you want a new dynamic headphone on the level of the R10 though, you're out of luck.
 
Dec 21, 2010 at 5:29 PM Post #248 of 368


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When you have something that is a true statement product, it takes more than just the march of time and progress to beat it ...


... especially - as Sony well knows - "progress" can go backward.  Betamax was beaten by VHS, and so on.  In general, we're at the end of a long period where quality tended to be abandoned for convenience.  In many areas we reached a peak and then retreated.  Corporations like Sony in particular must be well aware of that and consequently disinclined to develop for development's sake.
 
Dec 21, 2010 at 7:37 PM Post #249 of 368
Quote:
5555 redbull they are in the same class,but the midrange  of the three are different. so don't worry.
 
about the R10, before I heard them that day,I didn't believe too, that the R10 are this good.I think they are not much better than the Headphones today,but I was wrong.They are really better.
 
I hope,Sony will produce something like this again.The price can be set about 1000$ and the sq about 85% of this R10.
 
Funnily of all of the headphones I heard that day I like R10,K1000 and Stax sigma pro the most and they are all the Headphones from yesterday.


Agree, R10, K1000 midrange is to-die-for, never heard Sigma Pro tho, have to try once one day, if any :)
 
Dec 22, 2010 at 11:16 AM Post #250 of 368


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When you have something that is a true statement product, it takes more than just the march of time and progress to beat it ...


... especially - as Sony well knows - "progress" can go backward.  Betamax was beaten by VHS, and so on.  In general, we're at the end of a long period where quality tended to be abandoned for convenience.  In many areas we reached a peak and then retreated.  Corporations like Sony in particular must be well aware of that and consequently disinclined to develop for development's sake.

MP3s, fast food, late night workout thing a mig jigs, the list could go on. Getting back to topic, David should listen to some Thunderpants. I have damped T50RPs, the phone they are based on, and they really good. The naturalness of the sound is great.
 
Dec 22, 2010 at 1:00 PM Post #251 of 368
Wow, the K1000 gets a lot of love in this forum.  I had one for a few months...it had the best soundstage in the headphone world, no doubt.  Everything else, however, was very mediocre and extremely dissapointing, considering the hype.  I guess some people ignore the fundamental flaw of a headphone driver baffle dangling by a single pivot point with no vibration damping due to non existent earpads found in all headphones...the vibration wreaked havoc on the bass lite version, it could only get worse on the bass heavy version.  Better amping exacerbated this mechanical compromise and I wouldn't categorise them with yesterdays flagships...to compare them to todays flagship is nothing short of wishful thinking IMO.  Unless soundstage is the only factor that weighs in on such comparisons.
 
Dec 27, 2010 at 9:34 AM Post #253 of 368
Same - I didn't like the K1000 either any of the times I have heard them.  Never had any interest in trying to buy a pair.
 
Dec 29, 2010 at 4:51 PM Post #254 of 368
thanks a lot Dave! This is a perfect overview. Just today I have bought a pair of Sennheiser IE8, using the large foam tips as you mentioned last night.
Compared to the CX-300 II which I used sofar, it's a huge step forward......more pleasant time to come and to spend with this new toy in combination with my Cowon iAudio X5!  
smily_headphones1.gif

 
-Geert-
 

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