[rsbrsvp]

Agreed. Every other TOTL closed back I've tried has some imperfection / disagreement that I can't ignore fully to enjoy my music with. The ES-R10 is the first to let me fully immerse in my music.

There are no comfort issues.
There are no weight issues.
There are no treble spikes / sibilance.
There are no strange unnatural tinges to the sound (such as metallic sheen).

Bass is wonderfully presented albeit not as weighty as today's standards seem to demand.
Soundstage is wider than you'd expect out of closed backs. There is width, there is height and there is depth. Imaging is holographic.
I love the chamber effect / wood timbre.
They scale well, and play well with gear. Looking forward to listening to them out of a full tube amp and not just the WA8.

If I could nitpick, I'd say the mids could have been a tad more forward.

This is after close to 120hrs of burn in with no EQ. I will update impressions again when I hit at 250hrs.

AGREED 100%

 

[Whitigir]

Old head-fier / audiophile here and I never cared too much about closed backs because I don't require isolation. Tried a number of them over the years and even really liked a couple but there is always some significant coloration or imposing footprint on overall presentation, presumably from those closed chambers. Sometimes I wonder if designers might be using strong-handed voicings to help cover up more disagreeable aberrations from cup issues. E.g. the Stellia being so bright, or the JVC DX1000 and Sony Z1R being so thick and bass heavy. The OG R10 and ES R10 coloration, if you can call it that, is by far (by FAR!) the most natural and agreeable of all closed cans. The tuning is so perfect, it doesn't need to be qualified with "for a closed can". And since it' so natural, I actually find myself enjoying the modest isolation and reduced ambient noise from closed chambers. Also I can enjoy these at lower volumes than normal. And when I do crank it up, they don't cause discomfort. With Grados, I have to crank them to experience the "fun", and they WILL make you pay for it (some models more than others - PS2000e and PS500e being the best sound and lower fatigue).

You should focus on upstream! These are easily good enough to benefit. And gear pairings are always so important. But the nice thing is that these also sound quite excellent out of anything decent. Very easy to amp.

Every closed back has trade off, and the wonderful thing about the R10 from @purk as a friend is that it doesn’t sound closed in at all… however it was just recommended for classical only, while I listen to a variety, So chasing down a closed back that sound opened and can play well with all genres were always on my list. From his recommendations to your impression… I took the bait…Oh ghost !!! This hobby

 

[purk]

Old head-fier / audiophile here and I never cared too much about closed backs because I don't require isolation. Tried a number of them over the years and even really liked a couple but there is always some significant coloration or imposing footprint on overall presentation, presumably from those closed chambers. Sometimes I wonder if designers might be using strong-handed voicings to help cover up more disagreeable aberrations from cup issues. E.g. the Stellia being so bright, or the JVC DX1000 and Sony Z1R being so thick and bass heavy. The OG R10 and ES R10 coloration, if you can call it that, is by far (by FAR!) the most natural and agreeable of all closed cans. The tuning is so perfect, it doesn't need to be qualified with "for a closed can". And since it' so natural, I actually find myself enjoying the modest isolation and reduced ambient noise from closed chambers. Also I can enjoy these at lower volumes than normal. And when I do crank it up, they don't cause discomfort. With Grados, I have to crank them to experience the "fun", and they WILL make you pay for it (some models more than others - PS2000e and PS500e being the best sound and lower fatigue).

You should focus on upstream! These are easily good enough to benefit. And gear pairings are always so important. But the nice thing is that these also sound quite excellent out of anything decent. Very easy to amp.

Agreed!

 

[rsbrsvp]

For those wanting to use the ES-R10 for rock and roll please try this one simple EQ setting: Low Shelf 40hz Q:1.00 2.7db

This is a minor but meaningful adjustment IMHO.

I know EQ is always system and ear dependent- but this does work great for me. Hope it does for you.

 

[mulveling]

For those wanting to use the ES-R10 for rock and roll please try this one simple EQ setting: Low Shelf 40hz Q:1.00 2.7db

This is a minor but meaningful adjustment IMHO.

I know EQ is always system and ear dependent- but this does work great for me. Hope it does for you.

I like the Max Balanced with crossfeed and filter1 engaged. It gives the bass a little bloom without taking it things far away from flat, overall. My Singlepower SDS tube amp was definitely designed and reworked over the years to boost bass specifically for the MDR-R10. Though in both cases, the effect goes much higher than 40Hz too.

What do you guys do for headphone stands with the R10? I don’t want to stress the headband elasticity over time. Here’s my temporary solution: a tube box!

 

[BournePerfect]

I've got a ROOMs stand, and a Woo stand. I've just been handing it by the top headband though, vs the suspension...if that matters.

 

[rsbrsvp]

I like the Max Balanced with crossfeed and filter1 engaged. It gives the bass a little bloom without taking it things far away from flat, overall. My Singlepower SDS tube amp was definitely designed and reworked over the years to boost bass specifically for the MDR-R10. Though in both cases, the effect goes much higher than 40Hz too.

What do you guys do for headphone stands with the R10? I don’t want to stress the headband elasticity over time. Here’s my temporary solution: a tube box!

I used to own a Singlepower SDS XLR tuned for the R10. I know many people say his stuff was junk- but the combo of his amp with the MDR-R10 was like nothing ever heard before...

 

[mulveling]

I used to own a Singlepower SDS XLR tuned for the R10. I know many people say his stuff was junk- but the combo of his amp with the MDR-R10 was like nothing ever heard before...

I heard a SDS-XLR with R10 once, yeah it was still bass light overall but it was amazing, sublime. This SDS is only single ended but was heavily tuned towards a lot of warmth and bass and dynamics (more than most).

I remember the old 6SN7 drivers were pretty weak, so we moved to 5687 w/ adapters and those had amazing bass slam and were capable of driving the R10 but gave up a lot of soundstage to get it, then we moved to 6BL7GTA / 6BX7GT at higher plate voltages which gave the best of both worlds. Then we went to a 2C51 / 396A in the input slot, more all-around improvements there. If I had that latest tube set back when I had my OG R10, I might well have kept them.

Sure people give the Singlepower amps crap and a lot of it is deserved, but some of them just sound glorious like NOTHING else with their intended headphone pairing, and many have proven "reliable enough". I've also heard plenty of impeccably designed, engineered, and built amps that sounded bright and sterile. Some of them from one of the most famous detractors of Singlepower amps

 

[rsbrsvp]

I don't have tube equipment today but I imagine that some of the better tube headphone amplifiers made today would be as good as the the SDS XLR.

 

[mulveling]

I don't have tube equipment today but I imagine that some of the better tube headphone amplifiers made today would be as good as the the SDS XLR.

I don't have modern/current tube headphone amps either; I do have modern tube gear for 2ch. But I dunno - not like there's any novel tube circuitry. An OTL tube amp heavily tuned 20 years ago with top quality parts and an absurdly overpowered PSU for a specific headphone will still be extremely hard to match or beat, for a "one size fits all" amp design. There are some better premium parts now, 6H30 are excellent but give a different kind of sound, and hybrids can be much much better than they used to be (but also just a different kind of sounds vs. all tube). A classic pure tube amp, voiced well, is always hard to beat.

 

[purk]

I used to own a Singlepower SDS XLR tuned for the R10. I know many people say his stuff was junk- but the combo of his amp with the MDR-R10 was like nothing ever heard before...

Just contact Doug at ECP Audio and order his L3 and you will get similar performance as the R10 out of the SDS-XLR with non of the issues and much smaller footprint. I sold my SDS-XLR after ECP L3 arrived. Another strong recommendation (not cheap) is the Audio-Technica HA5050H.

 

[Whitigir]

What about that Fostex Ha-8 ?

 

[javertim]

Just purchased! I'll have to wait until May for it to ship, but to say I'm excited would be a massive understatement.

 

[Whitigir]

Just purchased! I'll have to wait until May for it to ship, but to say I'm excited would be a massive understatement.

In the mean time, get an amplifier

 

[javertim]

In the mean time, get an amplifier

I've had the iFi Pro iCan for years and haven't had the desire to get a new amp since acquiring it. It's incredibly versatile. I'm counting myself lucky that amp-lust hasn't hit me. I'm a humble public school teacher.