[KT66]

 

[Danneq]

JHern - I didn't notice that you live in Tokyo. If you take the Odakyu line from Shinjuku down to Machida and then change to the Yokohama line towards Yokohama and get off in Naruse, you can find Audio Technica's main office. I used to live in Machida in 2010 and ATH's main office was just a 20 minute walk from my apartment. I never dared to go there for a tour, since I wasn't that fluent in Japanese at the time and also because my Japanese wife didn't have time to come with me because of work.

 

[JHern]

  Just pre-ordered the Fostex HP-A4 few weeks ago. Should be arriving in a week or so. Hope it pairs well with the ES10.
Also thinking of purchasing the new A900XLTD. Tried it and the sounded quite good. The price itself here is very very tempting.
 

 
Please do post your impressions when you get the HP-A4. I've been using the HP-A3 as my primary desktop amp, USB source from Audirvana Plus/MBP Retina. The A3 has been a wonderful pairing with the ES10, super rich and juicy in the mids and somewhat mitigating and enriching the V-shape frequency response of the ES10. The 32-bit DAC is probably overkill for dynamic range but seems to polish the shine in high frequencies (the ES10 reveal some trouble at high FR in my source without the DAC). The A4 uses a different DAC chip than the A3, so very curious to hear the results.
 
Quote:

  JHern - I didn't notice that you live in Tokyo. If you take the Odakyu line from Shinjuku down to Machida and then change to the Yokohama line towards Yokohama and get off in Naruse, you can find Audio Technica's main office. I used to live in Machida in 2010 and ATH's main office was just a 20 minute walk from my apartment. I never dared to go there for a tour, since I wasn't that fluent in Japanese at the time and also because my Japanese wife didn't have time to come with me because of work.

 
Naruse is off the beaten path for me, but maybe one day I could pay a visit, especially if there are any sort of pre-arranged visitor attractions. I'm definitely a fan of AT...

 

[Maxx134]

If they do upgrade the es10 with an "es12" , I know for a fact it would destroy any competition as the newer driver in the esw11 I have produces a really realistic and suppleness to the sound.
The es10 I had from memory was a fun impressive type sound to me while these esw11 have a more "palpable" sound.
Edit: the only prob with the esw11 to me is the woody sound is more noticeable so when they produce a next non-wood can, watch out the clarity will astonish(!)
The "earsuit" line definitely has better sound than any other portable line in Audio Technica.

 

[lbbef]

Just did a pads swapping test again.
 
My personal verdict:
1) The ES10 sounds best with the ESW11LTD lamskin earpads.
2) The ESW11LTD sounds best with the ES10 earpads.
 
I'm loving my A900XLTD more now though. :X
But I'm without an amp now. Will try again when my amp arrives.
 

 

[lbbef]

If they do upgrade the es10 with an "es12" , I know for a fact it would destroy any competition as the newer driver in the esw11 I have produces a really realistic and suppleness to the sound.
The es10 I had from memory was a fun impressive type sound to me while these esw11 have a more "palpable" sound.
Edit: the only prob with the esw11 to me is the woody sound is more noticeable so when they produce a next non-wood can, watch out the clarity will astonish(!)
The "earsuit" line definitely has better sound than any other portable line in Audio Technica.

Yup. Agree!
When I first tested the two cans, I couldn't really tell much difference.
It was only after having both of them for a while and doing some pad swapping that I realised that both cans have their own distinct character and personality.
 
I just realised last week that the permendur magnet is present on the ESW11LTD but not on the ES10. If I'm not wrong the permendur magnet has been used in other Audio Technica high end full sized headphones.

 

[Maxx134]

Just did a pads swapping test again.

My personal verdict:
1) The ES10 sounds best with the ESW11LTD lamskin earpads.
2) The ESW11LTD sounds best with the ES10 earpads.

I'm loving my A900XLTD more now though. :X
But I'm without an amp now. Will try again when my amp arrives.

This was my exact same impression untill I modded my esw11 with more dampening material behind the yellow to reduce the woodiness & now its my absolute best portable can as the clarity just amazes

 

[lbbef]

  Please do post your impressions when you get the HP-A4. I've been using the HP-A3 as my primary desktop amp, USB source from Audirvana Plus/MBP Retina. The A3 has been a wonderful pairing with the ES10, super rich and juicy in the mids and somewhat mitigating and enriching the V-shape frequency response of the ES10. The 32-bit DAC is probably overkill for dynamic range but seems to polish the shine in high frequencies (the ES10 reveal some trouble at high FR in my source without the DAC). The A4 uses a different DAC chip than the A3, so very curious to hear the results.

 
Sure will do! I'll see if I can find a HP-A3 demo set to compare with the HP-A4. Quite curious how the HP-A3 will sound too.
Personally I was poisoned by the smooth sound of the HP-A8. #.#

 

[lbbef]

   
Much agreed, the ES10 are certainly in a higher league than the Momentum, etc.. And while they are ostensibly twice the price (i.e., MSRP $600 as opposed to $300 for the Momentum, etc.), the ES10 can be found at hugely marked down prices these days, similar in cost to the Momentums, but still you see many going for the Sennheisers instead of the higher grade Earsuits.

 
Personally I listen to mostly Asian music (Japanese, Korean and Chinese) and some electro. Which explains why I kind of like AT's house sound. I especially love the poisonous forwards mids and sparking treble. AT really has this love hate relationship with everyone. I had a friend who tried my ESW11LTD but didn’t like it. However, he said it sounded pretty good on one of his Japanese song.
 
I’m pretty lucky as I reside in Singapore, and AT’s South East Asia’s head office is here. I do see quite a number of AT’s lower end headphones and in ears being used on the go. But the reception to AT’s higher end headphones are not as good compared to brands like Sennheiser. Still, AT is the top headphone brand in Japan.
 
As for the ES10, like you said, doesn’t really carry AT’s house sound. But I feel that it’s really a great all rounded high end portable. I too, have some comfort issues with the ES10 during long hours. The clamp isn’t as much as the ES7 but there’s still a little clamp. The comfort is a lot better on the lambskin earpads. Another issue I have is that the earpads tend to get pretty flat after a while, altering both the sound and comfort.
 
A complete makeover of the ES10 will probably spawn a new headphone series by itself. I don’t think that AT would implement these types of upgrades. It’s like a ramen speciality shop which only has a few choices for customers to pick.
 
1) All along real leather has been used on only AT’s woodies. Even the A2000X gets comfortable but not real leather (Clarino leather)
 
2) Possible for a portable headphone with a bigger pad. Personally I feel that the beauty of the ES10 is that this type of high end sound can be heard in such a small, compact sized package. It really makes the design very elegant and exquisite. But I’m also pretty curious how bigger pads would change the sound too.
 
3) This would mean a rather big change for them. All their headphones have no removable cable except maybe the PRO700MK2. The cable does look flimsy, but it’s surprisingly quite sturdy. Just that it may not appeal much to consumers. Maybe AT wanted the look to be consistent with the design?
 
4) Accessories would be good. Personally not a fan of these, but it’ll appeal to consumers.
 
If AT really reads our threads, I really do hope that they know that they have a big and loyal fan base here. Really hope for them to expand their marketing efforts. These awesome headphones deserve better attention!
 
One thing I really like about Japan is that it’s pretty cheap to get a very decent audio setup. HP-A8/HA5000 + W5000 would probably cost you less than an HD800 setup.

 

[lbbef]

This was my exact same impression untill I modded my esw11 with more dampening material behind the yellow to reduce the woodiness & now its my absolute best portable can as the clarity just amazes

Now I can't really decide which pads are better. #.#
Some songs sound better on the ES10 pads, some on the lambskin pads.
I think I should really wait for my amp to come before testing #.#
 
I'll consider modding my ESW11LTD
 
As they say: Ignorance is bliss. How I wish I took that advice. #.#

 

[Maxx134]

Now I can't really decide which pads are better. #.#
Some songs sound better on the ES10 pads, some on the lambskin pads...

This is quite normal as you become a more critical listener..
Thats when you realize no "one-can" can do every genre type music perfectly and you need more than one can.

 

[lbbef]

This is quite normal as you become a more critical listener..
Thats when you realize no "one-can" can do every genre type music perfectly and you need more than one can.

Yup!
 
Since we know the drivers of the ESW11LTD are different from the ES10. I wonder what would happen if we switch the titanium housing over to the ESW11LTD?

 

[Maxx134]

I performed a similar scenario with the esw9 & the es700.
The es700 did great in the esw9 more open housing...
While the esw9 did poorly in the es700 housing, but extra damping material helped.
So I am most positive that the es10 benifits from larger housing as it is a tight can like the es700 and also checking the es10 thread back you will see the most beautiful moded es10 with wood cups by member Bill-P.
And so also I believe the esw11 would suffer like the esw9 as those drivers are used to having SPACE lol

 

[lbbef]

Just got informed that my Alo Continental V3 couldn't be repaired and it's out of production.
Do you guys have any amplifier and DAC to recommend to pair with the ES10 and ESW11LTD?

 

[ExpatinJapan]

I love my ESW11 with my Hifi-M8.
I also have owned ES10.