[immtbiker]

#1129

Paid $3600 for them in 2004. Still my favorite phones, evah!

 

[vcoheda]

i would like to get a pair, but they are as had been mentioned quite expensive and it seems that the drivers are not available anymore, so if a problem arises with the headphone, that may be the end of it.

 

[TheGhostWhoWalks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4N6 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Right now, the best bang-for-the-buck headphones I have are the recabled (balanced Moon Audio Black Dragon) Sony MDR-SA5000's. Better bass punch than the R10's (yes, I have the "bass light" version); a smoother treble than the MD5000's; better clarity and less coloration than the HD650's; and more bass weight than the K1000's. Also not perfect, but for the money, these are pretty kick-ass headphones.

That's interesting as I have the exact same phone (also w/MA Black Dragon Balanced). I've never been crazy about the SA5Ks, but it's a very unique headphone and I've always thought it was a dynamic that resembled an electrostat more; it's so fast, transparent, clear and has such precise imaging and attack. However, I don't think the bass is better than the R10s at all - though admittedly I have a later R10 model. In fact, I found the bass on the SA5Ks as weak, if not weaker than the R10s. I think the R10s have a bit more volume, a lot more fullness, but around the same weight and punch. However, the R10s kill the SA5K in terms of bass tone... in fact, it kills it in terms of bass, mids, and highs tone. The SA5Ks tend to sound so unnatural after listening to the R10s for a long period of time, and it's very picky on what tubes I give it. It needs those that will give it more weight, soundstage, and musicality.

The only music I've found that I really love the SA5Ks on is very complex music like prog metal and electronic music which doesn't rely on too much bass.

 

[4N6]

I wish I had a pair of "bass heavy" R10's to compare the SA5000's to. That may indeed flip the scales. One of the "weaknesses" of the bass light R10 (at least my pair of bass light R10's) is the amount of punch in the bass register. Tight bass? Very. Tuneful bass? You bet. Great bass dynamic impact? Falling a little short of the balanced SA5000 and especially the balanced MD5000's. I am not saying they are without bass punch, but when I really want to rock out, they are not the first headphone I reach for. You could say that the bass light R10's accentuate the tonality and detail of the bass, yet the other two mentioned are a little better at articulating the leading edge dynamic attacks.

 

[Dreadhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4N6 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wish I had a pair of "bass heavy" R10's to compare the SA5000's to. That may indeed flip the scales. One of the "weaknesses" of the bass light R10 (at least my pair of bass light R10's) is the amount of punch in the bass register. Tight bass? Very. Tuneful bass? You bet. Great bass dynamic impact? Falling a little short of the balanced SA5000 and especially the balanced MD5000's. I am not saying they are without bass punch, but when I really want to rock out, they are not the first headphone I reach for. You could say that the bass light R10's accentuate the tonality and detail of the bass, yet the other two mentioned are a little better at articulating the leading edge dynamic attacks.

Try them with an EQ. It took a lot of tuning (with an SPL meter) but I equalized them (mostly below 50Hz) and now they have more impact than you'd ever believe and are still tight and clear. I can honestly say I'd take my equalized and balanced SA5000s over R-10s even if I had a pair of R-10s (Qualia 010 on the other hand....). I only had a short (20 min, in a quiet room) listen with Hirsch's R-10s and to be honest they seemed too "part of the music" for me.

 

[TheGhostWhoWalks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4N6 /img/forum/go_quote.gif One of the "weaknesses" of the bass light R10 is the amount of punch in the bass register. Tight bass? Very. Tuneful bass? You bet. Great bass dynamic impact? Falling a little short of the balanced SA5000 and especially the balanced MD5000's.

And I'd agree with you, even on the bassier R10s like my later model. That's why I was eyeing an L3K and now strongly considering some Ultrasone Edition 9s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4N6 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am not saying they are without bass punch, but when I really want to rock out, they are not the first headphone I reach for.

And this is true no matter what setup you have for it. Though I've been told that Mikhail can tune an SDS-XLR to give the R10s incredible bass and dynamic punch - I haven't heard it though. The R10s are simply voiced for classical, jazz, and vocals. They aren't rocker phones, and that's why I've been looking at the Edition 9s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4N6 /img/forum/go_quote.gif You could say that the bass light R10's accentuate the tonality and detail of the bass, yet the other two mentioned are a little better at articulating the leading edge dynamic attacks.

Precisely.

 

[omendelovitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elephas /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Elephas, I think it fair to declare that you are a definite Sony person!

; Personally, I used to be a Grado Whore, but now I'm just a Japanese headphone Jezebel (Stax person and DX1000 Denizen as soon as I can afford it!)

 

[Audio-Fi]

Wow I paid less compare to all of you. Maybe because I got it with bulk offers.

 

[leberserkfury]

quick questions for all you rich SDS-XLR owners out there. How much is SDS-XLR fully maxed out? only with stock configuration? Bass improvement of R10 on either stock unit or fully maxed out unit? Thanks for your time.

 

[yuchengxx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leberserkfury /img/forum/go_quote.gif quick questions for all you rich SDS-XLR owners out there. How much is SDS-XLR fully maxed out? only with stock configuration? Bass improvement of R10 on either stock unit or fully maxed out unit? Thanks for your time.

For the pricing information, I think you should contact Mikhail directly because there is really no truly maxed out version for singlepower amp. You can always add new stuffs...just tell him your budget..

The stock version of sds-xlr should be around $9500, i believe..

wondering if anyone has compared stock version with maxed out one

 

[davidhunternyc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif i would like to get a pair, but they are as had been mentioned quite expensive and it seems that the drivers are not available anymore, so if a problem arises with the headphone, that may be the end of it.

I know this is crazy, but I am afraid that 30 years from now, very few of these headphones will still be working. I recently restored an antique electric fan from 1918 so it is now 90 years old. I can't see this ever happening with the R-10's however, unless Sony starts to make replacement drivers again. I am afraid like the PCDP's, their shelf life will be limited, no matter how carefully people treat them.

 

[blubliss]

No worries, thirty years from now I'll either be dead or deaf.

 

[didwlgh]

#1092...though I hardly ever listen nowadays..

 

[meme]

At the risk of lowering the tone, I can't be the only one who finds that the R-10s laid flat resemble a pair of motherly breasts? I'm sure Freud would find this very interesting!

 

[riceboy]

#457 here. I am a happy owner as well