mstark
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2012
- Posts
- 35
- Likes
- 11
Hi all,
Firsly, a bit of background story, as I'm pretty much just a lurker around here:
I've owned a pair of ESW10's pretty much since they were released, imported from Japan via a friend. They've been trough their paces, and I must say that rather than treating them as a collectible piece of art, I've used them as my main portable headphones. I use them almost daily, and I lead a fairly busy lifestyle & travel a lot. They're now scratched, and far from mint condition, but having amazing sound on the go has been worth a lot more to me. I ruined the cord completely at one point, and sent them for a repair trip to A-T UK. It took a full 6 months before I got them back (because of the time it took they did the repair for free, rather than charge me the quoted £50! Kudos to them). I bought a pair of HD-25's during this period, since I'd heard much good about them, coming from the ESW10 I couldn't help but be disappointed by the difference in sound, and how much more "muddled" the HD-25 are. Getting the ESW10's back was a very nearly tangible experience, as if my hearing suddenly improved tenfold. (Don't get me wrong, the HD-25's are great for their price range - and have better noise cancelling properties - they just don't compare, as is to be expected.)
ESW9 / ESW10 have been out for a few years now, but there's not been a even whisper about something like the ESW11. I've tried to find out more information about what's happening, but not been able to find anything! Does anyone here know if AT is continuing their lines of ultra premium portable headphones? I've seen the ES10 and am very curious about them, but it sounds (pun unintended) like a downgrade from ESW10?
The only other headphone that I've seen that looks like they're in a similar class are the Grado SR325iS, could anyone comment on how they compare? I can imagine them being quite different. I've never liked the sound of Grado's, but then, I've never had a chance to listen to their top range of portable headphones.
I'm asking all this mostly out of curiosity, I'm not really in the market for another pair of headphones - unless the ESW11 would suddenly magically happen.
Thanks in advance for any information/tips!
Firsly, a bit of background story, as I'm pretty much just a lurker around here:
I've owned a pair of ESW10's pretty much since they were released, imported from Japan via a friend. They've been trough their paces, and I must say that rather than treating them as a collectible piece of art, I've used them as my main portable headphones. I use them almost daily, and I lead a fairly busy lifestyle & travel a lot. They're now scratched, and far from mint condition, but having amazing sound on the go has been worth a lot more to me. I ruined the cord completely at one point, and sent them for a repair trip to A-T UK. It took a full 6 months before I got them back (because of the time it took they did the repair for free, rather than charge me the quoted £50! Kudos to them). I bought a pair of HD-25's during this period, since I'd heard much good about them, coming from the ESW10 I couldn't help but be disappointed by the difference in sound, and how much more "muddled" the HD-25 are. Getting the ESW10's back was a very nearly tangible experience, as if my hearing suddenly improved tenfold. (Don't get me wrong, the HD-25's are great for their price range - and have better noise cancelling properties - they just don't compare, as is to be expected.)
ESW9 / ESW10 have been out for a few years now, but there's not been a even whisper about something like the ESW11. I've tried to find out more information about what's happening, but not been able to find anything! Does anyone here know if AT is continuing their lines of ultra premium portable headphones? I've seen the ES10 and am very curious about them, but it sounds (pun unintended) like a downgrade from ESW10?
The only other headphone that I've seen that looks like they're in a similar class are the Grado SR325iS, could anyone comment on how they compare? I can imagine them being quite different. I've never liked the sound of Grado's, but then, I've never had a chance to listen to their top range of portable headphones.
I'm asking all this mostly out of curiosity, I'm not really in the market for another pair of headphones - unless the ESW11 would suddenly magically happen.
Thanks in advance for any information/tips!
