M Rael
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2001
- Posts
- 675
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- 10
First off: this is just the first of what I hope are at least a couple of listening evaluations of these two headphones together. What I have at the moment are impressions gathered in haste, in an uncontrolled listening environment, and through an unsophisticated source component. In fact, we listened though a Sony 'sports' pcdp. Theres no good reason for this, its just that the owner of the R10's is a firm believer (apparently) in inexpensive CD players feeding top of the line gear. He uses another Sony pcdp to feed a Bryston preamp into a Krell 300 power amp into Dunlavey (400 lbs each) loudspeakers. Go figure.
So I'm obviously hoping to have the R10's and their owner over to my house sometime soon, and do some proper listening.
DEPT. OF LOOKS
The manager of Santa Fe's high end stereo shop and the owner of the R10's each both said the same thing when they saw the W2002's for the first time. 'My those are beautiful!' I thought that was amusing. For my part, this was the first time I'd layed eyes on the R10. The case the R10 comes in is an impressively sized black leather affair which opens up to a nice, though not particularly padded, red interior.
The R10 itself doesnt look particularly expensive, which was a little shock. The headband assembly is identical to the CD3000 from what I remember of it. The enclosures finish sheen is satin or semi-gloss (as opposed to gloss) and have no markings on them. They look very understated; and my initial thought was that they looked in fact rather plain and undistinguished. The R10's are lighter than the W2002's even though they are bigger. The earpads of the R10's are much more pillowy and enveloping, and the earpad opening of the R10 resembles the general shape of an ear.
For his part, the R10's owner took a long look at the W2002's and half admired/half scoffed at audio-technica for using features like lambskin for the earpads and silk for the cord sheath and the angle that the drivers sit at- he felt this was a direct copy off the R10. I'm sure he's mostly right!
DEPT. OF SOUND Pt. 1
This is going to be tricky! I really think the R10's owner needs to wake up and smell the coffee- its right next to the headphone amp he doesnt have!
Still, for all the limitations of the Sony sports pcdp, we did listen to both cans out of them, so in that sense its somewhat equal. But the Sony is a hair less sensitive, so in some cases this meant maxing out the poor little op-amps volume control to acheive a loud volume. I'm half tempted to abandon this review altogether until I can arrange for the R10's owner to get his butt over to my house.. its just not right to think straight about a listening impression when this little pcdp's volume control is pegged, and you know dynamics are certainly being compromised.
So thats the plan.
But since you read this far I'll offer what I did hear:
DEPT. OF SOUND Pt. 2
Oliver had a few audiophile recordings ready, and they were all orchestrations with dynamics and low frequencies both. First I listened through the W2002's and then the R10's. The R10 is extremely comfortable! Those earpads swallow your ears like the Blob swallowed those people in that horror movie from the 60's.
Compared to the W2002, the R10 is more laid back in the upper midrange and treble. The W2002's sound forward and more sparkling off the transients. The R10 does not lack detail however. In that way it reminds me of the high end Grados; they dont need to sound bright while at the same time giving you all kinds of detail.. its a neat trick, and one that tends to let you relax. The W2002's sound has more sheen, though they are not unpleasantly bright or harsh at all. Even at lower volumes though, the R10 had a more relaxed upper mid and treble presentation. When the W2002's were cranked up loud they might also cause a red flag to be raised in your thinking, because midrange and treble transients were not softened, and hard cresendos in the music reminded you to take care with volume!
We tried a few things for low frequencies and the results were good for both cans. Its hard to say for sure considering the source we were using, but the R10 and the W2002 are both capable of generous bass. The W2002 seemed to vibrate the skull a little bit more, while because the midrange of the R10 is more laid back it also gave a nice seamless sense to the lower midrange and bass. I dont think the R10 is bass shy at all. My own opinion on bass is that we are usually able to withstand lots of it because of its non-piercing nature, and I for one like a healthy bass response if the quality is also there. The R10 played the heartbeat sounds off the first track of Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon (gold ultradisc CD) with conviction. Its not a bass heavy headphone, but the R10 is no featherweight either. It comes down to the recording, in the end.
DEPT. OF FINAL THOUGHTS
(for now)
Its a shame the source wasnt better. The owner of the R10's is really an eccentric person in some ways, and he's clearly not giving his headphones their full due. Some things were heard that will surely remain the same however, and so I wanted to at least spend a little time describing those: that the R10 is more laid back in its presentation than the W2002 though it gives the full measure of detail. And that the W2002 is more forward than the R10 while not sounding harsh or bright.
........................
Beagle posted before about the joys of hearing songs when we were kids, and how willing we were to be transported by music.
Even AM radio. Today on the way home I thought hard about how it is we value certain objects or experiences, and how if we really let ourselves value something then thats the majority of the battle right there. The last thing I would do would be to dramatize the sound of either the W2002's or the R10's in a manner that merely makes non-owners gnash their teeth with the desire for the money to buy them. You know yourself that there is only so much 'liquid and palpable midrange' and 'well defined but incredibly extended bass' we can read before our wallets want to throw up the white flag. The phrases themselves make sport of our insatiable craving for stereo bliss.
I will hopefully be spending more time listening to the R10 and the W2002 toghether, and I'm sure I havent heard everything the R10 has to offer. But dont forget to value what you have right now, whatever it is.
p.s. the R10's owner also played his main floor stereo for me, and the imaging was indeed impressive. but there is no way in hell it wiped the floor with those two headphones in my book. it was different and it was good, but headphones are great too.
MORE TO FOLLOW!
So I'm obviously hoping to have the R10's and their owner over to my house sometime soon, and do some proper listening.
DEPT. OF LOOKS
The manager of Santa Fe's high end stereo shop and the owner of the R10's each both said the same thing when they saw the W2002's for the first time. 'My those are beautiful!' I thought that was amusing. For my part, this was the first time I'd layed eyes on the R10. The case the R10 comes in is an impressively sized black leather affair which opens up to a nice, though not particularly padded, red interior.
The R10 itself doesnt look particularly expensive, which was a little shock. The headband assembly is identical to the CD3000 from what I remember of it. The enclosures finish sheen is satin or semi-gloss (as opposed to gloss) and have no markings on them. They look very understated; and my initial thought was that they looked in fact rather plain and undistinguished. The R10's are lighter than the W2002's even though they are bigger. The earpads of the R10's are much more pillowy and enveloping, and the earpad opening of the R10 resembles the general shape of an ear.
For his part, the R10's owner took a long look at the W2002's and half admired/half scoffed at audio-technica for using features like lambskin for the earpads and silk for the cord sheath and the angle that the drivers sit at- he felt this was a direct copy off the R10. I'm sure he's mostly right!
DEPT. OF SOUND Pt. 1
This is going to be tricky! I really think the R10's owner needs to wake up and smell the coffee- its right next to the headphone amp he doesnt have!
Still, for all the limitations of the Sony sports pcdp, we did listen to both cans out of them, so in that sense its somewhat equal. But the Sony is a hair less sensitive, so in some cases this meant maxing out the poor little op-amps volume control to acheive a loud volume. I'm half tempted to abandon this review altogether until I can arrange for the R10's owner to get his butt over to my house.. its just not right to think straight about a listening impression when this little pcdp's volume control is pegged, and you know dynamics are certainly being compromised.
So thats the plan.
But since you read this far I'll offer what I did hear:
DEPT. OF SOUND Pt. 2
Oliver had a few audiophile recordings ready, and they were all orchestrations with dynamics and low frequencies both. First I listened through the W2002's and then the R10's. The R10 is extremely comfortable! Those earpads swallow your ears like the Blob swallowed those people in that horror movie from the 60's.
Compared to the W2002, the R10 is more laid back in the upper midrange and treble. The W2002's sound forward and more sparkling off the transients. The R10 does not lack detail however. In that way it reminds me of the high end Grados; they dont need to sound bright while at the same time giving you all kinds of detail.. its a neat trick, and one that tends to let you relax. The W2002's sound has more sheen, though they are not unpleasantly bright or harsh at all. Even at lower volumes though, the R10 had a more relaxed upper mid and treble presentation. When the W2002's were cranked up loud they might also cause a red flag to be raised in your thinking, because midrange and treble transients were not softened, and hard cresendos in the music reminded you to take care with volume!
We tried a few things for low frequencies and the results were good for both cans. Its hard to say for sure considering the source we were using, but the R10 and the W2002 are both capable of generous bass. The W2002 seemed to vibrate the skull a little bit more, while because the midrange of the R10 is more laid back it also gave a nice seamless sense to the lower midrange and bass. I dont think the R10 is bass shy at all. My own opinion on bass is that we are usually able to withstand lots of it because of its non-piercing nature, and I for one like a healthy bass response if the quality is also there. The R10 played the heartbeat sounds off the first track of Pink Floyds Dark Side of the Moon (gold ultradisc CD) with conviction. Its not a bass heavy headphone, but the R10 is no featherweight either. It comes down to the recording, in the end.
DEPT. OF FINAL THOUGHTS
(for now)
Its a shame the source wasnt better. The owner of the R10's is really an eccentric person in some ways, and he's clearly not giving his headphones their full due. Some things were heard that will surely remain the same however, and so I wanted to at least spend a little time describing those: that the R10 is more laid back in its presentation than the W2002 though it gives the full measure of detail. And that the W2002 is more forward than the R10 while not sounding harsh or bright.
........................
Beagle posted before about the joys of hearing songs when we were kids, and how willing we were to be transported by music.
Even AM radio. Today on the way home I thought hard about how it is we value certain objects or experiences, and how if we really let ourselves value something then thats the majority of the battle right there. The last thing I would do would be to dramatize the sound of either the W2002's or the R10's in a manner that merely makes non-owners gnash their teeth with the desire for the money to buy them. You know yourself that there is only so much 'liquid and palpable midrange' and 'well defined but incredibly extended bass' we can read before our wallets want to throw up the white flag. The phrases themselves make sport of our insatiable craving for stereo bliss.
I will hopefully be spending more time listening to the R10 and the W2002 toghether, and I'm sure I havent heard everything the R10 has to offer. But dont forget to value what you have right now, whatever it is.
p.s. the R10's owner also played his main floor stereo for me, and the imaging was indeed impressive. but there is no way in hell it wiped the floor with those two headphones in my book. it was different and it was good, but headphones are great too.
MORE TO FOLLOW!
