First of all, msjjr, I'm not sure how often you come around here, but, even if only for a little while, you've probably figured out that Vertigo-1 is very quick to tell us how the R10s
smoke,
blow away, and
slaughter everything else. But even he initially felt the much less expensive Sony MDR-CD3000s were solidly competitive with the R10s. And he also recently said:
Quote:
....after using speakers strictly for two weeks, headphones sound like crap to me. |
So I'm not quite sure what to think.
Let me first say I haven't heard the R10s.
At first, I wasn't going to respond to your post except to say that you might be asking about two totally different sounding headphones, and so may be asking some to compare apples to oranges. Again, I can't say for sure because I haven't heard the R10s. But, for example, I'd have a hard time giving an answer about my Etymotic ER-4S earphones versus my Sennheiser HD-600s
in general. If you asked me which was more "sweet" to my ears, I'd answer the HD-600s. If you asked which was more resolving, I'd say the Etymotics. But the broad question about which comes close to which, in general, would, again, be very difficult to answer (for me at least), because I can't say which is ahead of the other, in general, given that they're so different.
Also keep in mind that there are only a couple/few people that own Sony MDR-R10s around here. And the answer from them will probably be that nothing compares at all to those headphones.
You said the following:
Quote:
I'd really like to know how close the Senns can get to the Sonys. |
Being more specific might get you more useful answers. The very broad nature of your question (which I think is an interesting question) will likely only get you general "team" responses. For example, those who generally defend the HD-600s vigorously will sell you a prettier picture of the HD-600s than Vertigo or kelly might likely do.
As it's currently stated, it might be sort of like asking, "How close do the Linn Klimax Solo amplifiers come to the Cary V-12 monoblocks?" When someone else might ask, "How close do the Cary V-12 monoblocks come to the Linn Klimax Solos?" Someone willing to spend the kind of money needed to buy either pair of these amps will likely make a clear choice of one over the other, and so stand by that choice. Ask about which one has deeper, more controlled bass, and the answers you receive from both sides might be more consistent. Ask which one has a
smoother presentation, and you might receive more consistent answers.
Again, I haven't heard the Sony R10s. But I have heard a lot of headphones by now, and many headphone amps, not to mention a lot of hi-fi in general. To my ears, the HD-600s are some of the finest hi-fi transducers in the world; and so far, there are only a couple of setups I've heard that I'd choose over my current Max/HD-600 combination for my general headphone listening pleasure -- one is the Orpheus, and the other is the BlockHead/HD-600 combination. The Stax Omega 2 is nice, but I honestly can't say I'd take it over even my Max/HD-600 combination, as I found it quite analytical when I listened to it, but I'd like to give it another shot, and this time in my rig. I have heard the Sony MDR-CD3000s, and, to my ears they were shrill in the highs, and had what sounded to me like a hollow cavity resonance that put them out of the running for me -- and I tried them with most of the top amps HeadRoom brought along on their road show last year. Would MDR-CD3000 owners/fans disagree with me? You bet. But this is a pair of headphones that Vertigo-1 felt initially competitive with his R10s. And now even his R10 headphones sound like "crap" to him compared to his Triangle bookshelf speakers (which, in the last photo I saw of them, didn't appear ideally set up).
By the way, the Cardas cable, in my experience (with a prototype -- my production model should be here any day) takes the HD-600s to an even higher level. So if you find you like the way the HD-600s sound, I feel very confident that you'll like them even more with the Cardas cable.
As CRESCENDOPOWER mentioned, you'll have to listen for yourself to get the only real answer (your answer). These two products you're asking about exist at vastly different ends of the price continuum.
Again, the broad question will be one likely riddled with the "team" answers. And, in a way, you just got one from me.