CanJam SoCal 2015 Impressions Thread

[mikemercer]

  Hi guys!  

 
Still much to do here, but I wanted to thank a few people sooner rather than later.
 
To our volunteers and staff - who helped far more than anyone will ever know in making CanJam SoCal 2015 the awesome time that it was - thank you guys.  Seriously, on behalf of all of us in Team CanJam, thank you so very much!  We are both grateful and glad for all that you've done.  

 
To my teammates in Team CanJam - Ethan, Joe and Jude - thank you for absolutely rocking it!  I'm proud to be a part of our team, and I'm totally looking forward to much, much more in the years to come.  

 

---

 
And of course, to everyone that came - both attendees and exhibitors alike - thanks for coming and making the event a celebration of so many things we love about this hobby.

 
I hope that all of you had a fun time.  And if you have any specific suggestions, please consider our PM boxes as suggestion boxes.  

 

---

Regarding the outstanding SHaG prizes, I will be contacting all of you shortly to arrange for claiming/shipping of your prizes.  

 

You guys did a GREAT job all-around!!!!
Maseltov!!
 
What's up with London?
I got CRAZY connects over there - Canjam should throw a dance party (maybe make it a Silent Rave even) and I got friends w/ residencies at all the top-flight clubs,
lets do it!!
 
Mr. C said he'd be IN  - we could get my other boy Damian Lazarus from Crosstown Rebels to throw down...
Think bout it...
 
  and I had a terrific time!
Workin' on full-Impressions - then its all about the Audio360 Canjam SoCal Report!
 
 
AND:
I forgot to add: Not ONLY got my Audeze EL-8 Roadcase back  - but it came with my AK240 and ALL DHC cables, + a note (left on my windshield)!!!!
I think some cats took it when we were posting-up after Alex Cavalli called me for help w/ the thievery goin' on - and then talked to somebody - WHO KNOWS!!!
  
This got me TRIIPPIN' this morning! @soundmanmike had to drive home - I just got emotionally drained immediately after we took off..
 
However - rockin' the nu ALO RX headphone amp (batt-powered) - which is for IEMs - but Mike Johnson (my buddy - MJ - @soundmanmike - NOT Michael Johnson from PENDULUMIC  - who's also a friend) told me it drove my new Audeze EL-8 closed-backs beautifully - and it DOES:

This combo is SO articulate, and smooth - with no hazing over the mids, lower-mids, or highs. Terrific separation!
 
The ALO Continental Dual-Mono really got me LOST init'!
The music was the STAR - from my low-res to redbook CD, to hi-rez - Everything from the new Flako to Pearson Sound and Ani DiFranco sounded so present, so lively. The dynamics were so natural, the voice (DiFrancos) was as holographic as I've heard in amps like this - BIG thumbs up:
 

 
 
 
- and THANX MICHAEL for all the kinds words!!

 

[Sound Eq]

  Best in show for me was n3rdling's Sony MDR-R10... when he finally completed the last tuning at around 4:40PM, which was teardown time, so only 3 people aside from n3rdling himself got to hear it.
 
I thought it sounded fantastic. I never understood the whole cult behind the R10, because I could not believe that there exists a closed headphone that could perform to that extent.
 
But now I am a believer. To me, the Sony MDR-R10 is easily the best headphone I have ever heard. Without a doubt. Soundstage is beyond just "expansive". It sounded realistic. There was not a single headphone that I listened to up to that point that managed to create that illusion for me, which was why I took up modifying headphones in the first place. That Sony MDR-R10 simply makes everything else I have ever heard sound like... headphones, while that R10 in itself sounds like reality, presented without the visual contents. And just in case, all of that was achieved with a portable tube amp and a smartphone as the source. The R10 didn't need a crazy Yggdrasil system to shine.

See... the thing with high-end headphones costing more than $1500, as I look at them now, is that they are just about 5-10% better than the stuffs that can be gotten at around $1000 or lower. Some arguments can be made that maybe 10% is an underestimation, but... honestly, I think the R10 with its presentation is 1000% better than anything that even tries to compete with it. Open-back or not. It simply sounded like... "real life", and not like "headphone listening" or "speaker listening". It was not just an audition for me, it was an experience.
 
Second best in show for me was purrin's system. The Yggdrasil 1.0 > Eddie Current 2A3 > JPS Labs Abyss modified by Purrin himself was among the most tonally correct headphones I have heard. That tonal accuracy makes it sound very speaker-like when the right fit is achieved for the Abyss. Simply amazing. Although the R10 does better than that to me. The Abyss has the bass, and the weight necessary to convey certain types of music, though.
 
Third best in show for me was Frank Cooter's SR-009 setup. Simply amazing. Very musical, very relaxed, very easy to listen to, but without sacrificing the SR-009's technical capabilities. Frank did an amazing job with this setup, I think, and it looks stunning to boot!
 
More impressions on other gears to come...

man I am really curious what the statement you made about n3rdling's Sony MDR-R10
 
is that something I can buy and from where
 
how do you compare it to audeze lcd2

 

[bowtung]

man I am really curious what the statement you made about n3rdling's Sony MDR-R10
 
is that something I can buy and from where
 
how do you compare it to audeze lcd2

 


A headphone first introduced in 1988/1989 and discontinued production in 2003/2004

 

[Sound Eq]

  You guys did a GREAT job all-around!!!!
Maseltov!!
 
What's up with London?
I got CRAZY connects over there - Canjam should throw a dance party (maybe make it a Silent Rave even) and I got friends w/ residencies at all the top-flight clubs,
lets do it!!
 
Mr. C said he'd be IN  - we could get my other boy Damian Lazarus from Crosstown Rebels to throw down...
Think bout it...
 
  and I had a terrific time!
Workin' on full-Impressions - then its all about the Audio360 Canjam SoCal Report!
 
 
AND:
I forgot to add: Not ONLY got my Audeze EL-8 Roadcase back  - but it came with my AK240 and ALL DHC cables, + a note (left on my windshield)!!!!
I think some cats took it when we were posting-up after Alex Cavalli called me for help w/ the thievery goin' on - and then talked to somebody - WHO KNOWS!!!
  
This got me TRIIPPIN' this morning!  had to drive home - I just got emotionally drained immediately after we took off..
 
However - rockin' the nu ALO RX headphone amp (batt-powered) - which is for IEMs - but Mike Johnson (my buddy - MJ - NOT Michael Johnson from PENDULUMIC  - who's also a friend) told me it drove my new Audeze EL-8 closed-backs beautifully - and it DOES:

This combo is SO articulate, and smooth - with no hazing over the mids, lower-mids, or highs. Terrific separation!
 
 
- and THANX MICHAEL for all the kinds words!!

are still holding up to your el8 review despite so many unimpressed feedback about el8
 
it makes me think seriously how one should carefully read reviews from now on, even from highly recommended reviewers , don't get me wrong but I learned one thing only, there is so much hype about initial releases that fades so fast. Like when I bought the chord hugo, and everyone was so so so praising it so when I got it and bought it, I honestly did not see much difference between it and the ifi micro dsd that costs 1/3 of the hugo

 

[estreeter]

Anyone else think one of the Mike's other personalities wrote that note and left it on his windshield ? Mike's not crazy, but some of those other guys - whoa ...... 
 

 
Ignore the voices, Mike, and step back into the light my friend. We've, er, got your back ! 

 

[mikemercer]

 
are still holding up to your el8 review despite so many unimpressed feedback about el8
 
it makes me think seriously how one should carefully read reviews from now on, even from highly recommended reviewers , don't get me wrong but I learned one thing only, there is so much hype about initial releases that fades so fast. Like when I bought the chord hugo, and everyone was so so so praising it so when I got it and bought it, I honestly did not see much difference between it and the ifi micro dsd that costs 1/3 of the hugo

oh, yeah man
 
I've been in audio and the music biz 20+ years.
Hype doesn't affect me.
and, if a bunch of people don't like what I like - that's totally OK!
 
We're ALL different!
 
Besides - put it this way: One of my best friends: - @soundmanmike - he's a speaker builder (has been for over 25 years) he's built speaker systems for popular bands, and he loved my EL-8 open-backs! And I dig the closed-backs as they're burning in. I'm cool with that. I go out and see live music at least 3 times a month, and I mix in the studio often. I'm grateful for what I do - and have a dedicated readership - so its all good.
 
So - yeah, Harry Pearson taught me at a young age:
You have to express yourself fully - and lead from your heart. I'm secure if others don't dig the EL-8.
 
It's like the Abyss for me: KILLER bass, not much else for me. I've had other mix engineers try em - same thing.
But if YOU dig it - GREAT!!
 
Also:
I NEVER offer absolutes (like the word "best" or "better") - and I would NEVER cancel an order for a headphone when ANYBODY bashes it - before I hear it!!
 
I also LOVED Dans ETHER - really a stunner all-around.

 

[mikemercer]

  Anyone else think one of the Mike's other personalities wrote that note and left it on his windshield ? Mike's not crazy, but some of those other guys - whoa ...... 
 

 
Ignore the voices, Mike, and step back into the light my friend. We've, er, got your back ! 

HA!
yeah - I put myself thru all that misery Sun. night - and played a BIG hoax.
After-all:
 
It wasn't like I felt humiliated enough - having almost lost my LCD-XCs at CES!!!!
 
Now those - I forgot - for SURE
 
but its ALL GOOD!
 
I'm SO psyched to try the ALO Rx w/ my JH Audio Roxannes tonight!!

 
Plus: @warrenpchi told me and @soundmanmike that we could "do whatever we wanted" to the guys stealing sh__!
and we popped into action, posting-up and checking peeps in the Cavalli room and by JH Audio, etc...
I'm proud of my boy MJ for helping me there.
 
I was just reacting to Alex Cavalli who ran to ask me for help - and I handed my case to one of his workers to hold - 
I NEVER blamed anybody - was just really MAD... And Alex was SO cool about all of it - 

 

[mikemercer]

 
are still holding up to your el8 review despite so many unimpressed feedback about el8
 
it makes me think seriously how one should carefully read reviews from now on, even from highly recommended reviewers , don't get me wrong but I learned one thing only, there is so much hype about initial releases that fades so fast. Like when I bought the chord hugo, and everyone was so so so praising it so when I got it and bought it, I honestly did not see much difference between it and the ifi micro dsd that costs 1/3 of the hugo

I also dig the iFi Micro DSD!
Brought it w/ me to our suite at the Hilton!!

 
AND: Having a private sesh with the Cavalli portables at my boys place on Sat. night was AWESOME!!
 
 
I thought the combo w/ my friends LCD-2 was my favorite synergistically - when I played the new D'Angelo record - Black Messiah  - Everything had a terrific leading-edge attack. There was TONS of air/dimensionality - the midband and lower mids were crysal clear. The voices were chesty and the whole sway of the record was sublime - the pacing... 
 
 
Besides - perhaps what I posted on Twitter today says it better than I can right now (JUST got home - time to be with my wifey SOON):
 
I LUV MUSIC Gear is the vehicle: Digital Analog WHATEVER.
Telling somebody whats better is like saying painting is "better" than drawing
 
and a special thanks to @Stillhart for his amazing words on my EL-8 Impressions Sessions and other articles.
It meant Everything to me bro...
 
Plus the two younger cats at the MIT table with me!!!!
Their "Bass Dongle" really worked! I've been diggin the Vero on my Audezes - but, it honestly didn't have enough bass,
NO MORE!!

 

[moedawg140]

CanJam SoCal 2015 Show Impressions​

 ​

 
 
I would like to first give thanks to the entire CanJam staff for organizing the event and making sure everything went as smoothly as possible.
 
It was great to meet with members and Head-Fi staff in person for the very first time, and it was also awesome to meet members that I have met at other larger and smaller mini-meets.  I spoke with a lot of people, but I’d like to give a shout out to those where I was able to get their Head-Fi names (members could choose to write their Head-Fi name on their badges [member’s real names on the badges were default]):
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@jude[/color][/u]:  Contact me when you are ready and/or in my area, my friend.  Should be really fun!  And what an awesome backpack you own, I’ve got to get one for sure.  Completely functional and it has a techy look to it as well.  Double win!
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@warrenpchi[/color][/u]:  Always nice to see you again, fun hanging out with you and shooting the breeze!  Thanks for putting the UE Tour together - it was great to check out the factory in-depth.
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@third_eye[/color][/u]:  Nice to see you again as well, awesome family, and you know, I’m always there to help! 
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@Currawong[/color][/u]: It was nice to finally meet you in person.  It was great discussing Head-Fi with you, and also Aikido.  A lot of the same concepts and ideologies you mentioned regarding Aikido works the exact same way with regards to freestyle/Greco/collegiate wrestling as well.  Hope to see you in London!
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@joe[/color][/u]: It was nice to see you in person for the first time as well.  I didn’t know that we would have so much in common, and you have some pretty snazzy dance moves!
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@immtbiker[/color][/u]: Nice to meet you and it was nice to talk watches for a little while.  Really like your G-Shock aviator watch, definitely an end-game G-Shock watch for sure!  Glad you won the Sony player - that was epic!  And I hope that you made some friends in So Cal and hope you enjoyed your stay!
 
@HuddlerSteph (Head-Fi data guru): It was nice to meet you and learn more about the front and back end of Head-Fi.  Very interesting, and sincere thanks for all that you and your dev team do!
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@shiorisekine[/color][/u]: Nice to see you again and hang out with you before and during the UE Tour and also around CanJam.
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@Stillhart[/color][/u] aka Echohart:  Nice to meet you and hang out with you.  You know your stuff with regards to headphones, amps, etc. and have some great ideas that will help out other companies in the future.  I’d say make it yourself though!
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@AxelCloris[/color][/u]: It was nice meeting and hanging out with you around South Coast Plaza and at CanJam.  Great chatting it up as well, and hope your enjoyed your stay in So Cal!
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@Netforce[/color][/u]: Nice seeing you again talking it up with regards to IEMs.  We gotta get you into some CIEMs soon!
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@tsujigiri[/color][/u]: It was nice meeting you and your friend and having you and her audition the Shure SE846 (with Silver Litz attached) and the EarWerkz Supra as well.  Any questions or if you are ever in the area, send me a PM and we can meet up!
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@Headtrip[/color][/u]: It was nice to meet you and your wife, I wish that my fiancée and I will be like both of you in the future.  I can tell you both really love each other and both love audio as well!  Glad you were able to check out my Sensaphonics Custom Sleeves (SCS) and it was great to see your clear SCS also!  You looked pretty impressed with the Legend R demo that I had with me, so that was nice to see.
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@mscott58[/color][/u]: It was nice to meet the person that I see post very positively on the products he owns and in general as well!
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@Mr Practical[/color][/u]: I should seriously call you Mr Lucky or Mr Lottery or Mr Came Up, because you came up (got some awesome free stuff, etc.) at CanJam!  The fact that this is your very first meet makes the stellar gear you received that much sweeter!  Nice meeting you and chatting it up with regards to the Head-Fi experience.  We will talk more about this, for sure!
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@Pazz[/color][/u]: It was nice meeting you as well, and great job winning the Roxanne!
 
[u][color=rgb(5, 99, 193)]@mikemercer[/color][/u]: It was nice meeting you and putting a face to the name.  Remember when I said to you “At least you have your health?” - Well it’s great that you also have your audio equipment returned to you as well!
 
Thanks to Creative Technology for having a drawing at the end of each day for a Bluetooth DAC/Amp in addition to the Bluetooth portable speakers (Woof 2) that were given to attendees who answered product specification questions correctly - in addition to participating in the SHaG that many exhibitors were raffling off - many thanks to all of the exhibitors for graciously donating your various audio equipment!
 
Everyone else who I spoke to whom I wasn’t able to get their Head-Fi names and all of the exhibitors as well, appreciate the comradery!
 
 
 
 
My favorite standouts of the show:
 
Amp: Aurender Flow – nice, smooth and thoroughly engaging sound.
 
Bluetooth DAC/Amp: Creative E5 – feature-rich, offers more and better options, software and integrated processor than the other portable headphone Bluetooth DAC/Amps I auditioned at CanJam.
 
Bluetooth Speaker: RIVA Turbo X – Feature-rich, smartphone compatible speaker system that sounds absolutely amazing.  Its Turbo setting offers very similar settings/capabilities as my vehicle’s Class D amplifier – wow!
 
Headphone: HiFiMAN HE-1000 – Simply awe-inspiring.  If you haven’t heard it yet, I suggest you at least give it a listen.
 
Mid-priced IEM: Atomic Floyd SuperDarts Titanium – For the price, and for those who love deep visceral bass with a coherent sound signature, these are hard to beat.
 
High-priced IEM: JH Audio Layla – There is no other IEM on the market currently that is as true-to-life and… (I hope I will be able to write more in the future).
 
 
Here are some pictures from CanJam SoCal:
 
UE Tour Pictures (Friday):
 
Philippe Depallens - UE General Manager, explaining the history of Ultimate Ears

 
Explaining the optimal UE customer experience

 
Impression molding process

 
The essence of CIEM life

 
Another view of the essence

 
Showing the process of milling user's impressions

 
Demonstrating the acrylic molding process

 
Faceplate colors galore

 
A plethora of shell colors

 
Acrylic colors with specific UV lighting times 

 
The bare necessities - drivers, wiring, crossover, connector

 
A real customer's CIEM!  Mustn't make any sudden moves...

 
Driver installation

 
Working fast and efficiently

 
The UE "Vault" - over 60,000 customers' impressions are housed here

 
UE portable IEM selection kiosks

 
UE PRM tunable box

 
Faceplate custom colors

 
Checking out the UE PRM

 
The winner of the raffled UE PRM

 
Pre-CanJam UE gear - shirt, carabiner and remote 2-pin cable

 
The UE remote 2-pin cable (after September 1, 2010) does not fit my EarWerkz Legend R's recessed sockets

 
 
CanJam SoCal 2015 Pictures:
 
 
Friday:
 
The view of Costa Mesa and Santa Ana via Stillhart's Westin hotel room

 
Another gorgeous dusk view

 
Bird's eye view of the South Coast Repertory

 
 
Saturday:
 
Breakfast - Jamba Juice - Açaí smoothie with oatmeal

 
1964 Ears

 
Schiit Audio poster

 
Schiit Audio - Mjolnir and Gungnir

 
Schiit Audio poster

 
Schiit Audio - Lyr 2 and Bifrost

 
MrSpeakers - ETHER 

 
Schiit Audio - Ragnarok and Yggdrasil

 
Final Audio Design

 
Final Audio Design - Piano Forte X-G - inside ear

 
HiFiMAN - EF 1000

 
HiFiMAN - HE1000

 
HiFiMAN - HM901s

 
JH Audio - Angie

 
JH Audio - Angie

 
JH Audio - Layla - front view

 
JH Audio - Layla - side view

 
JH Audio - Layla - another view

 
JH Audio - Layla - inside ear

 
JH Audio - Layla - inside ear, another view

 
Noble Audio - K10U

 
Final Audio Design - Heaven VIII

 
Final Audio Design - Heaven VIII - another view

 
Final Audio Design - Heaven VIII - inside ear

 
Quick pictures intermission - I found out something that would be beneficial to Shure owners and any IEMs that use around the same width bore.
 
Jaben (currently the only distributor of SpinFit tips) flew in from Singapore to CanJam and had a SpinFit booth with a couple of DAPs, IEMs, and sold SpinFit tips for $5 USD each, which is the lowest I've found for SpinFit tips.  I wound up purchasing 2 pairs of yellow tips so it could match the color of my EarWerkz Supra.
 
The original pair of SpinFit tips would fit wider than Shure IEMs and would require some Frankenstein-esque slicing and dicing to get them to fit on the SE846 kind of sufficiently.  I am happy to report that there are new, updated SpinFit tips that have a smaller diameter bore which means it will fit all of the Shure, Westone, etc. models!  They will not be available for purchase for around another month or so.  I showed the exhibitor my love for SpinFit tips by showing him mine, and some pictures of them stacked in my Supra review, and he gave me his only pair of Shure-sized SpinFit tips!  Needless to say I was thoroughly humbled.  I like these SpinFit at least as much as my Westone STAR tips (green/small size), and it is another recommendation as a possible top sizes-fit-all tip.
 
Here are the production Shure-sized SpinFit tips:
 
Westone - UM 1

 
Shure-sized SpinFit tips

 
Shure-sized SpinFit tips on Shure SE846 and Silver Litz cable

 
 
Back to the epically scheduled program:
 
Huge exhibitor's tent

 
aurender FLOW

 
RHA - T10

 
RHA lineup

 
Custom Art - Music One

 
Custom Art - Harmony 8 Pro

 
AKG - K7XX

 
audio-technica - ATH-MSR7

 
Pendulumic - Stance S1+

 
UE portable IEM selection kiosk

 
I am getting ear impressions via electronic ear scanning

 
Noble Audio - Noble One

 
Noble Audio - BTS

 
Noble Audio - CIEMs

 
Noble Audio - CIEM close-up shot

 
Noble Audio - CIEM close-up shot

 
Noble Audio - CIEM close-up shot

 
Noble Audio - CIEM close-up shot

 
Noble Audio - CIEM close-up shot

 
Creative Technology - Sound Blaster E5

 
Sony - XBA-Z5

 
 
Sunday:
 
Questyle - Premium Speaker System

 
Questyle - Premium Speaker System - left side

 
Questyle - Premium Speaker System - closer view

 
ENIGMAcoustics table - inside the amp

 
ENIGMAcoustics - Dharma D1000

 
1964 Ears faceplate offerings

 
I hope that this was a glimpse into the sheer and absolute greatness that CanJam SoCal 2015 was for those that were not able to attend.  I can't wait for next year's CanJam SoCal, look forward to attending CanJam London, and happy listening, everyone!

 

[estreeter]

Mike, you've definitely got the right attitude to good-better-best, but I believe you also suffer from something I think is an occupational hazard with your gig - exposure to way too many toys. Many here are in the unfortunate position of not being able to hear even a fraction of the gear you have, and my own attempts at auditioning gear in the few remaining audio stores I can find have been a joke : people around you just dont seem to give a flying **** that you're trying to decide whether to buy something that costs thousands of dollars. If nothing else, reviewer recommendations help us shortlist the number of components we're prepared to chase - otherwise you could literally spend a week in some of the bigger brick-and-mortar stores still operating in Asia. Anyway, enjoy your downtime. 

 

[mikemercer]

  Mike, you've definitely got the right attitude to good-better-best, but I believe you also suffer from something I think is an occupational hazard with your gig - exposure to way too many toys. Many here are in the unfortunate position of not being able to hear even a fraction of the gear you have, and my own attempts at auditioning gear in the few remaining audio stores I can find have been a joke : people around you just dont seem to give a flying **** that you're trying to decide whether to buy something that costs thousands of dollars. If nothing else, reviewer recommendations help us shortlist the number of components we're prepared to chase - otherwise you could literally spend a week in some of the bigger brick-and-mortar stores still operating in Asia. Anyway, enjoy your downtime. 

OH - you have a GREAT point!
 
Which is why I used to ONLY review affordable gear at The Daily Swarm (we hop to be back online SOON) - 
 
and I still do (like the PENDULUMIC Stance S1+ - loved em/love em) or the Geek-Out 1000 (will have their new one SOON)
and others - like the Master & Dynamic MH40s, etc. -  so believe me I totally get what you're saying.
 
I built the second listening in my house for this reason!
 
So I appreciate what you're saying - and, I've been meaning to do a few columns on affordable gear!
 
and HEY! I forgot to mention that I'm really digging the new Music Hall De-Be cans (shoulda been called just straight-up "dB" I told me, but...)
and they're 199 bucks!

 
If you read ANY of my What is the Future of the High End series or OCCUPY HIFI you'll see I do my very best to keep the average users in-mind.
hence - my upcoming review of the Oppo PM-3, Sennheiser Urbanite wireless, and something NEW!!!

 

[Sound Eq]

 

 
man I am really curious what the statement you made about n3rdling's Sony MDR-R10
 
is that something I can buy and from where
 
how do you compare it to audeze lcd2

 


A headphone first introduced in 1988/1989 and discontinued production in 2003/2004

is that good really

 

[estreeter]

 
is that good really

 
I seem to recall a reference to someone listing an in-the-box mint R10 on E-Bay for 10K USD back in 2009 or thereabouts. Always wary of anyone who claims to have bought a pair of statement headhones and never opened the box but I guess some have an eye for collectables - and the $$$ they can generate. Amusingly, Amazon still have a listing for them and particularly amusing that our 3-star reviewer considered them 'wildly overpriced' at 2.5K back in '03. 
 
http://www.cnet.com/news/sony-mdr-r10-the-worlds-best-headphone/
 
They rarely come up for sale - I was a little surprised to see this listing from 2013:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/674289/sony-mdr-r10-bass-heavy
 
I also recall that the R10 was part of a statement range released by Sony in happier times, before the beancounters stepped in and started talking about hiving off different divisions. I argued with another Head-Fier a few years back that all the major Japanese corporations with a history in audio would have the engineering talent to produce world class electronics, headphones and speakers if they decided to get back into 2-channel audio in a big way and it would appear that Sony and Yamaha definitely got that memo. Whether they will ever have the balls to release another R10 is a much tougher question, but at FWIR they are still making world-class speakers and a transducer is a transducer. I would be very surprised if someone in Tokyo hadnt noticed what Head-Fiers are prepared to pay for statement gear in 2015 - the question is what those 2500 1989 dollars would translate to now and I fear we are talking Abyss money at the very least. 

 

[mulder01]

Hard to believe that nobody in the world for the last 25 years has been able to better or even improve on that original design...  
 
Surely the unobtainable quality of these is somewhat contributing to people's high opinion of them.

 

[billybob_jcv]

An item is "worth" what someone is willing to pay. No where is this more true than with an out of production item like the R10 or the Orpheus. Some will buy them because they are rare. Some will buy them because of the way they sound. Some will buy them because they think it is an investment with a possible future profit. Some won't buy them at all...