omega1990
100+ Head-Fier
Hello everyone! Since my eslabs es-r10 have arrived a day early, it only makes sense to make a new thread so as not to derail the hifiman r10 thread. I have already opened up the box and listened to these headphones. What do I have to say about it? Spoilers below.
Ok so the box is simple and easy to open. But here's the thing. While the hifiman he-r10d headphones themselves were a pain to pull out of the box, the es labs wooden box was difficult to remove from the cardboard outer box. I had to open the bottom and push it through the top. The box made me work for it lol. Contents include the headphones, an xlr cable and a blue cloth under the headphones within the palownia wooden box.
So how's the build? Substantially better than the hifiman one. Pads feel comfy, no screws coming loose, no odd sounds. It only feels a little heavier than the hifiman he-r10D. The headphones require no adjustment since it uses a suspension strap which reminds me of my stax 007. While I was a bit worried it might be a tight fit, it actually fits on my head just fine. Its clamp is also alot comfier than the hifiman one which presses on my temples. The eslabs r10 pads are not deep so they feel a bit like an on-ear headphone. The quality of its components while generally lightweight feels more substantial and of better quality. Feels less like a toy, more like product you'd expect costing over $1k as one should expect.
So the moment everyones been waiting for. How's it sound? I think that since I have never heard an original r10 and I see myself as not a fanboy of either sony or hifiman even though I have no issues with the sound of either brands products I feel that I might show some neutrality vs if a fan of either brand had these headphones in their possession.
With that said, the eslabs shows immediate potential. When comparing the hifiman he-r10d to my zmf atticus I had complained about how sounds resonate and appear lifeless. The he-r10d while trying to be transparent fails to control reverberations, showing a lack of refinement. Also the stage was not really wider than the Atticus. Another issue with the he-r10d was the lack of weight behind each sound. The reverberation of sounds reflecting off the cheap cups cause notes to expand too much and the sounds begin to smear or bloom too much, but at least its imaging was good enough to pick out each sound.
Right out the box, the es labs offering solved all of my issues vs the he-r10d.
What the eslabs does better:
-sound is a little wider.
-distant sounds do not shrink, they maintain similar or the same size as images appearing in the center.
-control of reverb is far superior and since the sounds are tighter and not echoing onto one another, there is a improvement in clarity which leads to a better appreciation of the details of the sound. Notes begin and end with superior decay, so a better sense of speed and rhythm. This leads to a more exciting and engaging/addicting sound reminding me a bit of my zmfs. Not similar in sound signature or presentation mind you, but in how it grabs my attention like my zmfs. In other words it makes me care about listening to the music.
-Presentation has a glass appearance to it just like the he-r10d, but the eslabs r10 presents sounds with more weight and emotion. It's still significantly thinner than my warmer Zmf Atticus but thicker than the hifiman he-r10d.
-since reverbs are under control, the bass has a noticeably pronounced punch, dare I say it has a feeling of speaker like tactility and a bit of a three dimensional snap to it.
-the sound is more forward and a hair brighter.
-sounds are more effortless due to the refinement and control of how sounds bounce about the cups.
So the zelkova wood on the eslabs r10 seems to be better than the cherry wood on the he-r10d. I read online that the he-r10d would use pinewood but the cups on my pair look more like the cherry cups on the he-r10p. The use of wood on the es labs headphone seems to work with its driver vs the he-r10d which sounded like its wooden cups were working against the efforts of its drivers. The wood on both headphones are light weight and glossy smooth to the touch.
If you look at my profile I have a number of wooden headphones to compare the es labs r10 to. Mostly zmfs, but I do have a fostex th900 pearl white limited, an audio techinca w11jpn and a klipsch hp-3. But first I'm going to finish burning in my he-r10d to 200hrs, then start burning in my es labs r10 to the same 200hrs. So every few weeks I'll try to compare the r10's to other woodies.
So far the es labs offering has proven to be of greater value on build and sound.
More to come, eventually...
Product page:
https://www.eslabhk.com/product-page/es-r10-closed-back-dynamic-headphone
Price varies because it's priced in Hong Kong dollars.
Quick link to comparisons
Es-r10 vs th900 mk2 limited pearl white
Es-r10 vs ZMF Atticus (also an explanation of the wood)
Es-r10 vs Verite Closed Leopardwood
Es-r10 vs Focal Stellia
Es-r10 vs Sony Z1r
Es-r10 and Z1R vs ZMF Eikon
Es-r10 vs Hifiman he-r10d round 2 (featuring the Sony z1r)
Es-r10 vs Abyss 1266 Phi TC by rsbrsvp
Es-r10 vs Sony mdr-r10 by protoss
Es-r10 vs ES-1 alpha by protoss
Es-r10 vs D8000 pro with a small mention comparing the es-r10 to the Denon D9200 by buffer
Es-r10 vs Sony mdr-r10 by rzy6cn
Es-r10 vs HD820 by Whitigir
Es-r10 vs Sony mdr-r10 by Mach3
Reviews by other users
arturo71
Other Comparisons found in thread for those interested
ES-1 alpha vs Stax SR-Omega by protoss
Ok so the box is simple and easy to open. But here's the thing. While the hifiman he-r10d headphones themselves were a pain to pull out of the box, the es labs wooden box was difficult to remove from the cardboard outer box. I had to open the bottom and push it through the top. The box made me work for it lol. Contents include the headphones, an xlr cable and a blue cloth under the headphones within the palownia wooden box.
So how's the build? Substantially better than the hifiman one. Pads feel comfy, no screws coming loose, no odd sounds. It only feels a little heavier than the hifiman he-r10D. The headphones require no adjustment since it uses a suspension strap which reminds me of my stax 007. While I was a bit worried it might be a tight fit, it actually fits on my head just fine. Its clamp is also alot comfier than the hifiman one which presses on my temples. The eslabs r10 pads are not deep so they feel a bit like an on-ear headphone. The quality of its components while generally lightweight feels more substantial and of better quality. Feels less like a toy, more like product you'd expect costing over $1k as one should expect.
So the moment everyones been waiting for. How's it sound? I think that since I have never heard an original r10 and I see myself as not a fanboy of either sony or hifiman even though I have no issues with the sound of either brands products I feel that I might show some neutrality vs if a fan of either brand had these headphones in their possession.
With that said, the eslabs shows immediate potential. When comparing the hifiman he-r10d to my zmf atticus I had complained about how sounds resonate and appear lifeless. The he-r10d while trying to be transparent fails to control reverberations, showing a lack of refinement. Also the stage was not really wider than the Atticus. Another issue with the he-r10d was the lack of weight behind each sound. The reverberation of sounds reflecting off the cheap cups cause notes to expand too much and the sounds begin to smear or bloom too much, but at least its imaging was good enough to pick out each sound.
Right out the box, the es labs offering solved all of my issues vs the he-r10d.
What the eslabs does better:
-sound is a little wider.
-distant sounds do not shrink, they maintain similar or the same size as images appearing in the center.
-control of reverb is far superior and since the sounds are tighter and not echoing onto one another, there is a improvement in clarity which leads to a better appreciation of the details of the sound. Notes begin and end with superior decay, so a better sense of speed and rhythm. This leads to a more exciting and engaging/addicting sound reminding me a bit of my zmfs. Not similar in sound signature or presentation mind you, but in how it grabs my attention like my zmfs. In other words it makes me care about listening to the music.
-Presentation has a glass appearance to it just like the he-r10d, but the eslabs r10 presents sounds with more weight and emotion. It's still significantly thinner than my warmer Zmf Atticus but thicker than the hifiman he-r10d.
-since reverbs are under control, the bass has a noticeably pronounced punch, dare I say it has a feeling of speaker like tactility and a bit of a three dimensional snap to it.
-the sound is more forward and a hair brighter.
-sounds are more effortless due to the refinement and control of how sounds bounce about the cups.
So the zelkova wood on the eslabs r10 seems to be better than the cherry wood on the he-r10d. I read online that the he-r10d would use pinewood but the cups on my pair look more like the cherry cups on the he-r10p. The use of wood on the es labs headphone seems to work with its driver vs the he-r10d which sounded like its wooden cups were working against the efforts of its drivers. The wood on both headphones are light weight and glossy smooth to the touch.
If you look at my profile I have a number of wooden headphones to compare the es labs r10 to. Mostly zmfs, but I do have a fostex th900 pearl white limited, an audio techinca w11jpn and a klipsch hp-3. But first I'm going to finish burning in my he-r10d to 200hrs, then start burning in my es labs r10 to the same 200hrs. So every few weeks I'll try to compare the r10's to other woodies.
So far the es labs offering has proven to be of greater value on build and sound.
More to come, eventually...
Product page:
https://www.eslabhk.com/product-page/es-r10-closed-back-dynamic-headphone
Price varies because it's priced in Hong Kong dollars.
Quick link to comparisons
Es-r10 vs th900 mk2 limited pearl white
Es-r10 vs ZMF Atticus (also an explanation of the wood)
Es-r10 vs Verite Closed Leopardwood
Es-r10 vs Focal Stellia
Es-r10 vs Sony Z1r
Es-r10 and Z1R vs ZMF Eikon
Es-r10 vs Hifiman he-r10d round 2 (featuring the Sony z1r)
Es-r10 vs Abyss 1266 Phi TC by rsbrsvp
Es-r10 vs Sony mdr-r10 by protoss
Es-r10 vs ES-1 alpha by protoss
Es-r10 vs D8000 pro with a small mention comparing the es-r10 to the Denon D9200 by buffer
Es-r10 vs Sony mdr-r10 by rzy6cn
Es-r10 vs HD820 by Whitigir
Es-r10 vs Sony mdr-r10 by Mach3
Reviews by other users
arturo71
Other Comparisons found in thread for those interested
ES-1 alpha vs Stax SR-Omega by protoss
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