[judgeschreber]

I lucked into a pair of Sony R10's for an amazing price, but of course there was a reason - one of the drivers is totally shot (completely beyond repair - it looks like the previous owner tried to have it repaired or repaired it himself, and the diaphragm's torn, the coil leads are gone, etc). 
 
So, what would you do? Money's tight right now, so try to take that into consideration. 
 
1. Wait patiently for a driver to show up in the marketplace, which could take years, and which could cost a very pretty penny.
2. Put a pair of CD3k/CD1k drivers in there, (and maybe sell the one working R10 driver to pay for the CD3K's).
3. Same thing as above, except use SA5000/SA3000 drivers instead.
4. Give up, sell the R10's as they are, and use the money to buy something else.
5. Something else I haven't thought of?
 
If it makes a difference, these are bass-heavy versions.
 
And one last question: the yellow foam rings inside the cups are disintegrated - if I decide to stick with these headphones, is there a replacement foam material I could use instead?
 

 

[MrJohnny]

Personally i would experiment with drivers and see if you can get a interim solution. Just don't ruin the wood. 

 

[cswann1]

If you don't want to do whatever it takes to do a proper repair,  then I'd say go head and recover your funds and pass them along to someone who will.
Too nice and rare a headphone to do a "duct tape" fix.
 
Best of luck to you whatever you decide.
 

 

[judgeschreber]

Quote:

If you don't want to do whatever it takes to do a proper repair,  then I'd say go head and recover your funds and pass them along to someone who will.
Too nice and rare a headphone to do a "duct tape" fix.

 
I want to get them repaired, but as far as I know there's nothing I can do other than keep my eye out, and hope a driver shows up someday. If you know differently, I'd love to be enlightened (that's why I asked the question, after all...)
 
 
And I'm not talking about duct tape. I'm talking about replacing the drivers with the closest match possible (the CD3K), or with more recent technology (the SA5000). This seems like a reasonable next-best solution, considering that original drivers are not available.

 

[jesusio]

Have you emailed Sony and asked them about replacing the driver and refurbing the unit?

 

[TwoEars]

5. --> Try contacting Sony Japan directly. Maybe this form: https://web-form.sony.co.jp/web-form/en/SimpleForm?ActionType=Input&QD=8909d4dfd453d5e0c993847aaf059dcd&RID=Input1
 
The Japanese are manic about detail, and often take it as a personal defeat if they're unable to help you, I bet that if there's an unused R10 unit laying around somewhere inside the Sony corp they will be able to find it. But you should probably ask for two.... one new and one old driver might not be so good.

 

[warubozu]

Worth a shot to try and contact them to see what they can do. Keep us post if any come about if you do go this route.

 

[ford2]

 
Sell them,their are plenty of people looking for spare parts.
 
The chances of getting another driver are remote.
 
Why bother putting CD3000 drivers in them,do you think they will sound better.
 
Finally with the state of the foam etc it sounds like they need a full restoration,not a cheap job if done properly.

 

[blubliss]

There are no R10 parts anymore at Sony.  Many have tried.

 

[leeperry]

and there are 3 different SONY part numbers for R10 drivers, so your chances are slim:

 

[FrankWong]

I'm surprised that Sony doesn't keep spare drivers for situations like this. 

 

[Blasto_Brandino]

I just sent in a pair of CD2000's to sony No drivers, no CD3000 drivers available either WHY!?!?

 

[kiertijai]

There are no R10 parts anymore at Sony.  Many have tried
 
Do they also have the earpads?  Mine is quite old and would like to change

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

and there are 3 different SONY part numbers for R10 drivers, so your chances are slim:

Does this mean there are more than 2 versions of the R10, i.e. what people refer to as bass light and bass heavy?
 

 

[IPodPJ]

judgeschreber, you can get drivers for them.  Partstore.com is always your friend and the first place you should look.  You better jump on it before it's gone.
 
http://www.partstore.com/SearchResults.aspx?q=MDRR10&x=0&y=0
 
They have the driver for Part # 1-505-100-21 and it's $401.52.  They might have several but you won't know until you call them.  They definitely have at least one though or it wouldn't be listed.  If this isn't the driver that's currently in your pair, ask some of the R10 owners if the other two drivers that were made for the R10 will fit.
They might also have the other piece you are looking for but without the part # it will be hard to tell.
 
Unfortunately about a year ago I passed on a brand new pair of CD3000 Partstore.com had for $503 because I had bought the HD800 and felt I wouldn't use the CD3000.  Having loved the CD1000 and CD3000 back in the '90s, I should have jumped on it but I told a few others about it and eventually it was gone.  Actually, they had several pairs which I found out about by calling them.