ES Lab ES-R10 Closed Back Dynamic Headphones

Opening​

• Today I’m going to talk about R10. Neither Sony nor Hifiman. What I review in this post is ESLab’s R10 (link).
• Disclaimer: The demo R10 pair was loaned to me by ESLab’s Benson for the evaluation. He did not ask for anything but an honest opinion. I have zero financial affiliation with eslab, too. Nonetheless, I highly recommend readers to take a grain of salt in taking any of my assessments in this review.
• Benson intended to replicate Sony’s legendary product. His approach was a lot different from Hifiman’s (aside: I don’t think HE-R10s were fitting names at all). He thoroughly analyzed the original pair’s geometry and structure through 3D scanning. And he carefully chose and built parts that could be compatible with the OG R10.
• See this document if you want more details about the replication process: https://ba102bfa-10a1-432d-8159-527...d/ba102b_04379d6d58334dc381da14180b24b249.pdf

Associated Gears​

• Dac: SMSL M500 Mk3
• Amp: SMSL HO200
• Headphones, Ollo S4R (v1.1), Sennheiser HD650 (modded), Hifiman Susvara (modded), Dan Clark Audio Stealth

Appearance, Comfort, Build Quality​

• The ES-R10 uses pretty much the same design languages as OG. Build quality is almost as good, although the replica feels slightly less luxurious. Like the OG, the replica used Japanese Zelkova in its housing, whose Janka hardness rating is around 1040 (close to cherry or walnut).
• While their ear pads' outer diameter is fairly large, the inner dimension was small and shallow. Auto-adjustable suspension headstrap was as good as OG. The same went to the earpad cushion. To me overall comfort was quite good for shorter uses. Slight annoyance developed after roughly 1 hour because my ears constantly touched either leather or the inner cloth screen.
• Detachable cable is a very welcome improvement over OG, but the connector on headphones’ end is a bit unusual for today’s standard. I suspect it might be legacy HFM's but I might be wrong.

Listening​

• Midrange: In my very faint memory, “the midrange to die for” was the best descriptor I can give to the OG R10. I’m almost inspired to say ES replicated the same level of midrange magic in their replica. ES-R10 starts from well balanced tonality, then it adds mild cup reverb and biocellulose coloration into the mix. Creating a great synergy, the result is lush, sweet, and romantic presentation, which make vocal works and midrange instruments sound extremely pleasing to me.
• Soundstage: I’m also impressed with their soundstaging ability. The structure of R10, at face value, doesn’t seem good for a great headstage. Drivers are placed relatively close to human ears. Ear pads’ small inner-dimension doesn’t ensure physical spaciousness around outer ears, too. Nevertheless, the replica as well as the OG reproduce very good stages. Nicely spacious in all directions and well-layered.
• Modernity: As described above, ES’s replica is mostly capable of doing many things OG did well three decades ago. In addition, the replica exhibits some modern hifi elements. Bass as well as top end is more extended and tonal balance is more neutral (particularly in highs). These changes make ES-R10 friendlier to modern electronic music. Perhaps at the cost of a little lost OG’s magic. But I might be wrong as all my R10 assessment is based on auditions done long ago and without my preferred upstream. I should hear R10 again to fully make this sure.
• Shortcomings: During my time with ES-R10, I had a hard time nitpicking not only because they were really good for intended areas but also because Benson successfully modernized them. That said, my main complaints include: (1) They were not great at preventing sound leakage and isolating against environmental noise; (2) While lower bass was reasonably extended, notes in the lowest registers (<60hz) sound attenuated or muted sometimes. I’d say their bass is on par with HD600; (3) Soundstages were occasionally diffusing to my ears.
• Below are some of the albums I highly enjoyed with the R10 replica. Please click images to redirect to respective short impression posts.

Spoiler: Albums I heard with the ES-R10

Comparison​

• Here are some comparisons to what I am owning at the moment. I double checked all the comparative claims with level-matched conditions.
• Vs Ollo S4R version 1.1: While S4R is tighter and more extended in bass, R10 has a better balance between mids and highs. Moreover, R10 is doubtlessly lusher in mids and more resolving in highs. S4R seals and isolates better though.
• Vs Sennheiser HD650: R10 isn’t as veiled in highs as HD650. R10 has better detail retrievals between upper mids and highs. Sweeter upper midranges, too. HD650’s bass sounds thicker and muddier by comparison.
• Vs Hifiman Susvara: Not a fair comparison because of the huge price difference. ES-R10 still holds its own in lush and sweet midrange expression, but Susvara is better at anything else in technical performance, including much larger and spacious stages, livelier sounds, and edgier transients.
• Vs Dan Clark Audio Stealth: Another unfair comparison. Stealth and R10 have similar soundstage widths. But I found things were less diffusing and better separated/layered with Stealth. Both also exhibit superb midrange expressions. Stealth is more vivid, life-like, and accurate to me in vocals while R10 replica is more colorful, relaxing, and romantic.

Measurements​

• ES-R10 was measured with MiniDSP EARS. I also included MDR-R10 (OG)’s raw measurements by Gras 45CA copied from the review posted in the 0DB forum (full article link).
  • Please note that both sets of measurements are different in various measurement factors (system, compensation, etc). To give readers a better idea, I also attached HD600 measurements with my system and 0DB’s system for a reference point.
  • 0DB’s unit seems to have channel imbalance (either from aging, defectiveness, or suboptimal seals/positioning). The average was taken before comparison.
  • I normalized HD600 and R10 results at 300hz then made comparative claims based on the difference-in-difference approach instead of reading nominal values.
• 0DB’s R10 OG (very likely ‘bass-light’ version) is leaner in bass than ES-R10. ES-R10 has mid-bass hump around 100hz and is largely similar in levels compared to HD600 down to 20hz. On the contrary, OG R10 is roughly 10db more attenuated than HD600 at 20hz.
• OG is 3-5db louder than HD600 around 1-2khz while ES is more or less similar to HD600 in the same frequency range.
• Around the ear gain region (3-4khz), OG is 10db more attenuated than HD600. ES is attenuated only by 1-2db (over hd600). I bet this is probably associated with my observation that the R10 replica sounds more modern. I also faintly recall R10 OG was more romantic and less aggressive in attacks.

Spoiler: MDR-R10 (GRAS 45CA) and ES-R10 (MiniDSP EARS)

Spoiler: HD600 (GRAS 45CA) and HD600 (MiniDSP EARS)

Conclusion​

• I can’t agree more that Benson and ES Lab successfully replicated the legendary and unobtanium audio piece for way much affordable price. I can wholeheartedly recommend ES-R10 to those who desire to own and hear R10 but are not willing to pay the hyper premium (well-used r10 is traded between 5k and 8k usd AFAIK). For this purpose, I can take the ES-R10 over the Sony MDR-CD3000 (owned years ago) any day.
• I also believe ES-R10 can appeal to a wider range of audiophiles because their sonic performance is just right up there with the current frontline contenders in the 1-2k price bracket. ES-R10 can rival any of the well-received products I’ve heard in this price range. And none of the competitors fully outperforms this R10 replica in the midrange game.
• Is the ES-R10 perfect? Of course not. I did have my own sets of complaints in ergonomics and sonics. Nonetheless, as I found in my audition, when R10 replica’s voicing matches what you’re after, it can indeed sing. If you value midrange and lushness in vocal works, ES-R10 should be on your shortlist.