[VandyMan]

My pair arrived yesterday. Took about two weeks by EMS. I'm in California on a business trip, so I won't get to hear them for a few more days.

 

[sssssam]

Cant believe I've never heard about this replica project ! Will definitely read most of this thread. Never heard the original R10 but it's one of my favorite looking HPs of all time.

 

[protoss]

favorite looking HPs of all time

 

[BournePerfect]

Those are beautiful.

 

[protoss]

Everyone here is beautiful.
This hobby in a strange way is beautiful too. There's something about it.

 

[Mufti]

Waiting for ES HE90

 

[justanut]

Best birthday I've ever spent... with The Beatles right here with me via the R10~ Absolute beast of a headphone.

 

[violinjoel]

Golden Slumbers has never sounded so good!

 

[mulveling]

Best birthday I've ever spent... with The Beatles right here with me via the R10~ Absolute beast of a headphone.

Happy birthday!! Agree, they’ve pulled me completely into the music many times now.

 

[rsbrsvp]

Has anyone tried these with a portable DAP or an i-phone streaming bit perfect data?

If so- how does it sound?

 

[buffer]

I received 2 headphones today. I opened and listened to the Denon ah-d9200 for a couple of hours. This weekend, I will begin listening to the ES R10. That should make for an interesting comparison. My gold standard , and you may call it unfair because it is an open headphone and considerably more expensive, is the D8000 Pro from Final Audio.

I recognize it will be too soon for a true review, but I hope to provide some initial impressions of the ES R10, if not a brief comparison. here is hoping the ES R10 is as good as everybody says

In case folks are wondering, I have never heard the OG R10 so that's one opinion I cannot provide.

Audio chain will be amps (GS-X MK2 amp, Woo Audio WA5LE, Apex Teton), Oppo HA-1 DAC, and a laptop streaming Quboz, Tidal, and Youtube.

Some are interested in cables so I will also compare the stock to my Toxic Widow silver cable.

Okay. So I have been listening to the ES R10 and have some initial impressions.

Ergonomics
A little awkward. No one ever mentions this and it isn't the biggest deal, but the shape of the ear cups makes it a little awkward to pickup and place on the head. I also feel, rightly or wrongly, that the cups feel fragile as though they could easily be scratched or marred if not handled carefully. I recognize these same issues were probably the same with the OG R10.

The earpads are also a bit strange. I am use to more firm and structured ear pads. Also, my ear pads do not appear perfectly alike but this could change after some time to decompress? This is not a huge deal, but I wonder if it contributes to a slight perceived channel imbalance. I am somewhat sensitive to such things but channel balance is good enough that I do not feel compelled to request corrective action.

Headband system with super soft ear pads that with openings a touch small is okay. Could be more comfortable. I have other headphones with similar system but they seem to hold at the correct height to my ears and this unit isn't quite as good about sitting properly over my ears but the ear pads do a relatively good job at holding the headphone in place at the right place on my head.

Earpads also have a slightly chalky appearance. I am trying to be detailed about my experience and impression, but overall these issues are minor and of little concern.

My preferences
Neutrality, transparency, clarity, impactful/dynamic, and rich without bloat. I like technical excellence through driver tech vs. trickery of tonal frequencies. If choosing between warm and bright, I choose bright. If choosing between recessed midrange or slightly forward, I prefer forward. Again, neutral with hint of musicality is my ultimate preference. I also like my headphone to present based upon recording, and not display coloration.

ES R10 Sound - In a word, fantastic. Never heard OG R10 but if these are only 80 to 90% as good as I think some have suggested then the original was one special headphone. These have a remarkable open sound and good soundstage for being a closed headphone.

Out-of-the-box sound
Upon initial listening, I did detect a bit of grain or hashiness, and maybe a bit of siblance and bleachness in upper midrange but that quickly resolved in the first few hours of listening. One thing I really liked was a fairly natural sound, even with an apparent slight emphasis in the midrange, and specifically the vocals. I especially like that the lower midrange is not congesting vocals and there is great overall clarity. Midbass is very present but not excessive and not overly bloomy either. I do get the feeling that bass may not go down to the utmost depth, but the bass is more than adequate for most songs. In fact, I would say these headphones are good for most genres. I listened to classical, orchestral, classic rock, symphonic metal, pop, jazz, and easy listening. Tonal balance is very important to me and these headphones are balanced to my liking across the frequencies. I acknowledge they may not be completely neutral as upper midrange may be slightly bright, but very much to my liking. Treble is very present but not excessive. Overall sound is coherent and timbre and realism of instruments seem very good.

Compared to my new Denon D9200
I much prefer the ES R10. By comparison, the vocals and midrange on the Denon are recessed and less clear. Bass is more present on the Denon. With Denon, bass is not present when it shouldn't be but when bass is called for it's a bit emphasized. ES R10 bass, by comparison, is thinner, but rich sounding and present, but not excessive in quantity. I would not call it bass light, however.

Comparison to my D8000 Pro
This comparison was interesting to me. I love the D8000 pro. I prefer it to Susvara, Abyss, Utopia, and Stax 007 MK2/009, Audeze LCD-5 and XC (2021) and pretty much everything else. Over time, I do feel the D8000 Pro benefited from burn-in, but I also think it has actually become slightly warmer and less clear than it once was over a period of years. That said, it is still the very best example and as resolute and clear as anything else. The D8000 Pro is sensational at everything making it a good all-rounder. I feel it is extremely resolute, transparent, and is a bit of a chameleon, reflecting whatever the source sounds like. The headphone is, to my ears, almost perfectly neutral and possesses technical excellence from the driver technology standpoint. So how does the ES R10 compare? Surprisingly well. I do think the D8K Pro is more resolute and has a number of traits that are technically better, but only slightly. One area I feel theD8K pro 'suffers' ever so slightly is a very little more lower midrange than I would like. I would prefer more midrange proper and slightly more elevated upper midrange. That said, I think this may be more about preference than deficiency of the D8K Pro which is largely neutral. The ES-R10, out of the box, did not have a warm lower midrange and it did have slightly elevated midrange. Again, I think the D8K Pro is more neutral and technically proficient, but my preference is the sound of the ES R10. That said, with additional listening I do feel the ES R10 has actually inched towards the sound signature of the D8K Pro. That's a little unfortunate from my perspective as I want the compliment to and not a clone of the D8K Pro. Nonetheless, there is still a subtle difference and I really like the ES R10. Is it better than the D8K Pro? No. It is different. Initially I thought the ES R10 made the sound of the D8K Pro a bit soft, round, and mellow, with less dynamics. The ES R10 sounded sharper, and clearer in the vocals, overall. But upon further listening and possibly some burn-in (as well as my eventual matching of SPL with a meter) I would say this is no longer the case. The D8K Pro competes or beats the R10 in most audiophile parameters (refinement, tonal neutrality, ability to decipher complex passages, timbre, tightness and linearity of bass, resolution, timbre, 'air', image precision*, and soundstaging). But it's close on all accounts and I might still regard the ES R10 as slightly more musical and equal or more to my liking. But again the sound signature is similar and the fact that the ES R10 is closed and competes with a headphone that is significantly more expensive is absolutely amazing, especially since the D8K Pro is near perfection to me.

Soundstage/Imaging
*I did want to add a word on soundstage and imaging. Soundstage is wide and immersive for a closed headphone, and good even by open headphone standards. To me the ES R10 has a slight emphasis towards the right channel. As such, the imaging is a touch skewed and not as accurately reflective of the actual stage as the D8K Pro or other headphones that are perfectly left-right balanced. However, the imaging does feel precise and well defined.

Cables
Also, I tried the ES R10 with stock cable and with my Silver Toxic Widow. I didn't notice a big benefit from the Silver Widow, but when I went back to the stock, I may have noticed slightly less clarity, but still quite excellent.

Initial Conclusion/Summary
I wasn't expecting such a competitive product, but to me this ES R10 competes with any flagship. The ES R10 is still relatively new with not so many hours on it. I hope it does not get any warmer and I hope it retains some difference between itself and the D8000 Pro. Specifically, where the D8K Pro may have SLIGHT emphasis in lower midrange the ES R10 by contrast does have a slight emphasis in upper midrange (almost to point of bleached but it no longer goes over that edge). I have noticed with burn-in lower midrange of D8K Pro and ES R10 are almost identical now. Again, these are initial impressions and not meant to be a review.

 

[justanut]

Okay. So I have been listening to the ES R10 and have some initial impressions.

Ergonomics
A little awkward. No one ever mentions this and it isn't the biggest deal, but the shape of the ear cups makes it a little awkward to pickup and place on the head. I also feel, rightly or wrongly, that the cups feel fragile as though they could easily be scratched or marred if not handled carefully. I recognize these same issues were probably the same with the OG R10.

The earpads are also a bit strange. I am use to more firm and structured ear pads. Also, my ear pads do not appear perfectly alike but this could change after some time to decompress? This is not a huge deal, but I wonder if it contributes to a slight perceived channel imbalance. I am somewhat sensitive to such things but channel balance is good enough that I do not feel compelled to request corrective action.

Headband system with super soft ear pads that with openings a touch small is okay. Could be more comfortable. I have other headphones with similar system but they seem to hold at the correct height to my ears and this unit isn't quite as good about sitting properly over my ears but the ear pads do a relatively good job at holding the headphone in place at the right place on my head.

Earpads also have a slightly chalky appearance. I am trying to be detailed about my experience and impression, but overall these issues are minor and of little concern.

Sound - In a word, fantastic. Never heard OG R10 but if these are only 80 to 90% as good as I think some have suggested then the original was one special headphone. These have a remarkable open sound and good soundstage for being a closed headphone.

Out-of-the-box sound
Upon initial listening, I did detect a bit of grain or hashiness, and maybe a bit of siblance and bleachness in upper midrange but that quickly resolved in the first few hours of listening. One thing I really liked was a fairly natural sound, even with an apparent slight emphasis in the midrange, and specifically the vocals. I especially like that the lower midrange is not congesting vocals and there is great overall clarity. Midbass is very present but not excessive and not overly bloomy either. I do get the feeling that bass may not go down to the utmost depth, but the bass is more than adequate for most songs. In fact, I would say these headphones are good for most genres. I listened to classical, orchestral, classic rock, symphonic metal, pop, jazz, and easy listening. Tonal balance is very important to me and these headphones are balanced to my liking across the frequencies. I acknowledge they may not be completely neutral as upper midrange may be slightly bright, but very much to my liking. Treble is very present but not excessive. Overall sound is coherent and timbre and realism of instruments seem very good.

Compared to my new Denon D9200
I much prefer the ES R10. By comparison, the vocals and midrange on the Denon are recessed and less clear. Bass is more present on the Denon. With Denon, bass is not present when it shouldn't be but when bass is called for it's a bit emphasized. ES R10 bass, by comparison, is thinner, but rich sounding and present, but not excessive in quantity. I would not call it bass light, however.

Comparison to my D8000 Pro
This comparison was interesting to me. I love the D8000 pro. I refer it to Susvara, Abyss, Utopia, and Stax 007 MK2/009, Audeze LCD-5 and XC (2021) and pretty much everything else. Over time, I do feel the D8000 Pro benefited from burn-in, but I also think it has actually become slightly warmer and less clear than it once was over a period of years. That said, it is still the very best example and as resolute and clear as anything else. The D8000 Pro is sensational at everything making it a good all-rounder. I feel it is extremely resolute, transparent, and is a bit of a chameleon, reflecting whatever the source sounds like. The headphone is, to my ears, almost perfectly neutral and possesses technical excellence from the driver technology standpoint. So how does the ES R10 compare? Surprisingly well. I do think the D8K Pro is more resolute and has a number of traits that are technically better, but only slightly. One area I feel theD8K pro 'suffers' ever so slightly is a very little more lower midrange than I would like. I would prefer more midrange proper and slightly more elevated upper midrange. That said, I think this may be more about preference than deficiency of the D8K Pro which is largely neutral. The ES-R10, out of the box, did not have a warm lower midrange and it did have slightly elevated midrange. Again, I think the D8K Pro is more neutral and technically proficient, but my preference is the sound of the ES R10. That said, with additional listening I do feel the ES R10 has actually inched towards the sound signature of the D8K Pro. That's a little unfortunate from my perspective as I want the compliment to and not a clone of the D8K Pro. Nonetheless, there is still a subtle difference and I really like the ES R10. Is it better than the D8K Pro? No. It is different. Initially I thought the ES R10 made the sound of the D8K Pro a bit soft, round, and mellow, with less dynamics. The ES R10 sounded sharper, and clearer in the vocals, overall. But upon further listening and possibly some burn-in (as well as my eventual matching of SPL with a meter) I would say this is no longer the case. The D8K Pro competes or beats the R10 in most audiophile parameters (refinement, tonal neutrality, ability to decipher complex passages, timbre, tightness and linearity of bass, resolution, timbre, 'air', image precision*, and soundstaging). But it's close on all accounts and I might still regard the ES R10 as slightly more musical and equal or more to my liking. But again the sound signature is similar and the fact that the ES R10 is closed and competes with a headphone that is significantly more expensive is absolutely amazing, especially since the D8K Pro is near perfection to me.

Soundstage/Imaging
*I did want to add a word on soundstage and imaging. To me the ES R10 has a slight emphasis towards the right channel. As such, the imaging is a touch skewed and not as accurately reflective of the actual stage as the D8K Pro or other headphones that are perfectly left-right balanced. However, the imaging does feel precise and well defined.

Cables
Also, I tried the ES R10 with stock cable and with my Silver Toxic Widow. I didn't notice a big benefit from the Silver Widow, but when I went back to the stock, I may have noticed slightly less clarity, but still quite excellent.

Initial Conclusion
I wasn't expecting such a competitive product, but to me this ES R10 competes with any flagship. The ES R10 is still relatively new with not so many hours on it. I hope it des not get any warmer and I hope it retains some difference between itself and the D8000 Pro. Again, these are initial impressions and not meant to be a review.

Thanks for your sharing!

You might want to check for proper fit if there's any imbalance since this is the first that anyone's mentioned this. No such issue with mine. I rest the back of my ears against the "hole" in the pads and let the entire cushion just engulf my ears. My wife happily proclaimed that there's zero sound leakage when I'm listening to the R10.

I'm reaching 200hrs of burn-in soon... stopped doing back to back playback after hitting 150hrs, just using them normally now. They are perfect, and I'm also now considering a second pair, maybe if they have a slight revision on the headband material... That grey is looking more and more yellow by the day I swear...

 

[mulveling]

Has anyone tried these with a portable DAP or an i-phone streaming bit perfect data?

If so- how does it sound?

Sound fantastic direct out of a Sony WM1Z! Keeps a lot of the magic of a full desktop rig. In fact it was so good I had to fix the gear pairings on my desktop to make sure it came out ahead of the 1Z alone. My ECP DAC was simply too warm and smooth to get the most out of the ES R10. So I had to swap that out. The ECP does a great job taming Grados, though!

Now the desktop comes out ahead again, but the 1Z alone isn't THAT far behind. Really impressed how much sound quality I can get "on the go" like this. Though I'm paranoid about accidentally bumping those wood cups against door frames, etc.

Current desktop rig also uses the 1Z's USB out as its source:
Sony NW-WM1Z > USB Dock > AQ Coffee USB cable > Audiophilleo 2 w/ PurePower (coax) > Questyle CAS1921 (IIR Apodising, Upsample) > AQ Sky XLR cables > Headroom Max Balanced > Silver Dragon cable > ES R10

I also have the SDS OTL Tube amp and a balanced Dynalo+ amp to play with. But that Max is killing it! Great combination of clarity and warmth; amazing soundstage. The Dynalo+ beats it on clarity and detail, but loses out on soundstage - net result is I usually prefer the Max. The SDS is amazing with great soundstage too, but voiced warmer & thicker, and on most material the ES-R10 appreciates the boost in clarity from the SS amps - so again, I find myself gravitating to the Max.

I need to hook up to my 2ch turntable again; I loved it last week with ES R10 and SDS. You'd think warm + warm + warm would be a mess, but the trick with the turntable is that is yields better warmth / body AND clarity / detail versus my digital sources.

 

[rsbrsvp]

I have been doing some investigating of portable DAP's and I was wondering if anyone has tried the ES-R10 on on ibasso or Walkman, or fiio?

How are the results and is a desktop system much better than a DAP? Considering how high the sensitivity on these headphones are it may not male a huge difference to use a portable source?

 

[Whitigir]

I have been doing some investigating of portable DAP's and I was wondering if anyone has tried the ES-R10 on on ibasso or Walkman, or fiio?

How are the results and is a desktop system much better than a DAP? Considering how high the sensitivity on these headphones are it may not male a huge difference to use a portable source?

Both @mulveling and @purk are using it with Walkman , they are legit. If these 2 guys told me to skin a cat for the sake of my better sound performances, I would skin the cat alive and a dog too! just kidding