I'm currently in the market for the old "king" of dynamics and the leatherheads. Can anyone tell me the current market value of these two headphones? Not sure how much they have changed since I have just recently re-entered this hobby.
R10 - $6000-6500 (You're overpaying if you pay more)
L3000 - Haven't seen one pop up in a while, so I can only speculate. I would guesstimate at $3600-3900 based on where trends were going a year or so ago. Green L3000's are obviously a whole different story.
Buy R10's at your own risk - there have been some recent horror stories of damaged drivers, degrading foam, broken adjustement rods, etc - and sony doesn't have replacement parts for them anymore.
Yes I read up on that subject. Apparently a while back there was an person who replaced his R10 drivers with CD3000 drivers... at least he was honest about it.
Well, thanks for the response. I hope the seller in question responds to me. Also if anyone is willing to part with theirs PM me
you may be better off looking for a nice set of cd3000s, which could be had for roughly $500 or so. they're kind of like a set of baby r10s, with that sort of sound and feel to them, and if anything happened to them at ~8% of the cost of r10s it wouldn't be nearly such a bitter pill to swallow.
my 2 cents on the leatherheads is that they're one of the most overpriced and overrated phones out there. the jvc dx1000 is less expensive and both a better phone as well as a much more enjoyable listen than the audio technica, imo. neither phone is neutral but the l3k does less for more. the jvc is also a luxurious little jewel, but it does more for less. it really is a special device.
you may be better off looking for a nice set of cd3000s, which could be had for roughly $500 or so. they're kind of like a set of baby r10s, with that sort of sound and feel to them, and if anything happened to them at ~8% of the cost of r10s it wouldn't be nearly such a bitter pill to swallow.
my 2 cents on the leatherheads is that they're one of the most overpriced and overrated phones out there. the jvc dx1000 is less expensive and both a better phone as well as a much more enjoyable listen than the audio technica, imo. neither phone is neutral but the l3k does less for more. the jvc is also a luxurious little jewel, but it does more for less. it really is a special device.
Actually i think it's the opposite, the DX1000 is in my list of headphone i highly regretted buying, it's coloration was just weird and i usually have no problem adapting to pretty much anything. Also the fit left alot to be desired. The L3000 was easily the best bargain for me at 120.000 Yen (800 Euro at that time) which is what they go for outside the head-fi hype in japanese hifi shops. The DX1000 is far away from the L3000 and no substitute at all. However i personally wouldnt pay more than 1500$ for an L3000. I can see people paying more out of curiosity but for what it delivers, ~1500$ is where it's at in my opinion.
I wouldn't pay more than €2500 for the L3000, give or take 500 depending on the condition.
Although looking back now, it seems ridiculous paying multi thousand Euro for a headphone, but I can't say I regret buying mine.
The L3k just does everything right for me; even though they're not really known for it, the vocals are extremely clear, which was something I looked for in the multiple Grado headphones I owned in the past, but I find the L3k does it better than any of those.
The L3000 is the only flagship headphone I owned that I felt was severely overrated. It's a beautiful headphone held in your hands, and it has that amazing scent from the leather, but the sound quality it puts out is nowhere close to the price they command on the used market, and I formed this opinion when they were selling in the $2500 range used. If they are really commanding close to $4k used now that leaves me just shaking me head in amazement and confusion. They can't even begin to touch the LCD2, so other than their being a limited edition I don't see how they continue to maintain their value.
The R10 I can not comment on having never heard them, but I have owned the CD3000. If the CD3000 sounds anything like the R10 then I would personally avoid them.
Audio Technica has a coloration which a lot of people dislike. They're generally quite mid forward with a seductive/spiritual(?) feeling to their vocals. Not many people like that, but I do. I never heard the L3000 unfortunately..
Audio Technica has a coloration which a lot of people dislike. They're generally quite mid forward with a seductive/spiritual(?) feeling to their vocals. Not many people like that, but I do. I never heard the L3000 unfortunately..
True. I noted earlier in this thread that I used to have the W5000s and sold them quickly as they made me nervous, so maybe it was the forward mids.
I think the W3000anvs are in another league (I actually bought a backup pair I like them so much. The vocals beat out Stax 009s, TH900s, HD800s, and the R10s from memory I used to own,
where the vocals were thinner and sharper edged. The W3000 vocals have better texture and substance. Really a joy for me sonically.)
True. I noted earlier in this thread that I used to have the W5000s and sold them quickly as they made me nervous, so maybe it was the forward mids.
I think the W3000anvs are in another league (I actually bought a backup pair I like them so much. The vocals beat out Stax 009s, TH900s, HD800s, and the R10s from memory I used to own,
where the vocals were thinner and sharper edged. The W3000 vocals have better texture and substance. Really a joy for me sonically.
The W3000ANV is a musical sounding cans but its refinement are not up to the HD800, let alone the R10 & SR009's stardards. The vocal is overall good but a big step down from the SR009, and R10. I also find the HD800 to provide a really good midrange. Still it is the second best AT headphones out there following the L3000 IMO. If you already have a good amplification, I take the HD800 over the W3000ANV any day of the week. Just my 2 cents.
I bought the HD800 right after it's release, probably one of the headphones i sold again almost immediately. I wouldnt call the HD800 "refined" but more like gimmicky uberdetailed. It's an acoustic magnifier that has way too much detail to listen to anything besides classical music or better jazz recordings. Lot's of todays Pop/Rock mixes which were done ITB (without analog gear involved, besides microphones and mic pre-amps) sound very dry and boring on the HD800. Has anyone ever been in a mastering studio? Even the midfields that are used there going anywhere from 5000-20000€ per piece dont show nearly the crap in recordings that the HD800 does. For my tastes they just overdid it completely. The W3000 kind of doesnt excell on anything (not even mids) but it strikes a nice balance between hifi and musicality. However i like the L3000 mids and bass more, the W5000 soundstaging more, the AD2000 airiness more etc..
I bought the HD800 right after it's release, probably one of the headphones i sold again almost immediately. I wouldnt call the HD800 "refined" but more like gimmicky uberdetailed. It's an acoustic magnifier that has way too much detail to listen to anything besides classical music or better jazz recordings. Lot's of todays Pop/Rock mixes which were done ITB (without analog gear involved, besides microphones and mic pre-amps) sound very dry and boring on the HD800. Has anyone ever been in a mastering studio? Even the midfields that are used there going anywhere from 5000-20000€ per piece dont show nearly the crap in recordings that the HD800 does. For my tastes they just overdid it completely. The W3000 kind of doesnt excell on anything (not even mids) but it strikes a nice balance between hifi and musicality. However i like the L3000 mids and bass more, the W5000 soundstaging more, the AD2000 airiness more etc..
You brought up a good point on the mainstream stuff. Yeah the HD800 won't sound good on those. It is depending on what we are listening to, hence, the 2 cents statement at the end. I don't follow today's mainstream all that much and pretty much careless about them. If you re-read my statement, I did mention that the W3000 is a musical headphones though. On the same token, the W3000 shouldn't be able to render complex arrangement the way the HD800 is capable off though.
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