[Hirsch]

Another way to understand the differences I've been hearing is to listen to the companies themselves. These headphones had very different goals, as evidenced by the intro statements of their manuals:

R10:

HD800:

 

[The Monkey]

Sony sure used a lot of words to say that the R10 would render words unnecessary.

 

[Donald North]

This is a fascinating contrast. I like this approach by Sony - it reminds me of Mr. Kondo of Audio Note Japan and his Ongaku amplifier creation.

 

[4N6]

Just got my headphone set-up working two days ago. Listened for the past two days to the HD800 via the TTVJ 307A. Wow! I will hopefully have some time over the week to do some head-to-head with the R10, but even now I know that the HD800 is at least the 2nd best dynamic headphone on the planet. Will it come close to the vaunted R10? Surpass it?!? Oh, the suspense is killing me!

 

[leberserkfury]

4N6, is your HD800 balanced? your R10? if so, which cable are you using.

Thanks,
David

 

[atothex]

Heh, Hirsch let the cat out of the bag.

BTW, to technical cats: how similar are the R10 and HD800 loads? Does the inductance thing mean that HD800s are better current-driven?

You would kinda want to have a Woo5/ZDT/Balancing Act/Millett 307A or Beta22/Dynamight for a fair comparison, right?

 

[purk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by atothex /img/forum/go_quote.gif Heh, Hirsch let the cat out of the bag. BTW, to technical cats: how similar are the R10 and HD800 loads? Does the inductance thing mean that HD800s are better current-driven? You would kinda want to have a Woo5/ZDT/Balancing Act/Millett 307A or Beta22/Dynamight for a fair comparison, right?

Hirsch has the SDS & SDS-XLR tuned for his R10s. I know Single Power is pretty bad right now but I heavily prefer the sound of my R10 out of my SDS over both the Woo5 and Zana Deux in the direct comoparsion.

 

[tako_tsubo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by purk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hirsch has the SDS & SDS-XLR tuned for his R10s.

I think that this is a very important factor in these comparisons....with many of the top end tube amps, tube rolling can be used to "tune" either HP to very satisfactory results. Haven't heard the R10 but the 800 does sound good with the EC HD300 an OTL amp btw.

 

[4N6]

Quote:

Originally Posted by leberserkfury /img/forum/go_quote.gif 4N6, is your HD800 balanced? your R10? if so, which cable are you using.

They are both single ended as of now. I don't think I will balance the R10's as I want to leave them in as pristine condition as possible. The HD800's are another matter. Due to the ease of removing the detachable cable, I may eventually try some aftermarket cables. We'll see as I am pretty happy with the way they sound right now.

 

[veloaudio]

Anyone want to loan/sell me an R10 so I could do my own comparison with my HD800/Zana Deux?

[Back to reality]

Looking forward to hearing some more impressions/comparisons of the HD800/R10

 

[4N6]

My HD800's are more forward, with bigger images and more powerful bass. The bass is very tight and tuneful. The midrange of the R10's seems a little more delicate, as does the treble. Vocal sibilants on the R10 are a tad smoother and female vocals have a touch more, well "beauty" for lack of a better descriptor.

If you understand Confucianism, IMHO the R10's are the Yin, while the HD800's are the Yang. Both outstanding. Both the best I have heard. Both will satisfy but you will have to decide which type of sound is more to your liking.

 

[boomana]

Well, I just sold my HD800s to another head-fier, and I'm a little sad. The good news is that I get to keep them for a couple weeks. There's nothing I can't add that others haven't said better about R10s vs HD800s. I think the 800s are some of the best headphones I've heard, one of the the best all-rounders, and maybe one of the best articulators of music I've come across, if that makes any sense to anyone else. I continue to be impressed with them every time I put them on, but they're not R10s. And if the R10s are my yin, the O2 MK1s are my yang, and the 800s aren't O2s. I still surprised that I'm not keeping them, since I like them as much as I do, but then I sold my K1000s for a volume pot, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised after all. I'm listening to Zoe Keating's One Cello x 16: Natoma with the 800s right now: beautiful!

 

[Donald North]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boomana /img/forum/go_quote.gif but then I sold my K1000s for a volume pot

Which volume pot?

 

[Icarium]

Balanced RK50 for her Headamp BHSE

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donald North /img/forum/go_quote.gif Which volume pot?