[Mediahound]

Are you kidding me? They look like cheap laminate
Check out the original R10 in the background, completely different
And I’m sorry but the headband is garbage

LOL. Ear cups looks more like wood then the original and Headband is better than the original

 

[Guidostrunk]

How can anyone trash an item never having had it in their hands? I can understand that some are pissed with what hifiman has done, but to trash something by looking at a picture is crazy.

 

[trellus]

Are you kidding me? They look like cheap laminate
Check out the original R10 in the background, completely different
And I’m sorry but the headband is garbage

if those are the Sonys in the background, they look even uglier to me.

 

[GREQ]

I think the 'plastic' looking wood comments come from the fact that it doesn't look like other woods we are used to.

One of my theories is that it's just a cultural difference.
If you have a little experience with Chinese wooden furniture, there are some traditional styles of finishing the wood that can give a very different look to what we normally see in wood finishes in the west; ranging from high glosses that look almost artificial to these extremely 'simple' finishes that almost subdue the aesthetic quality of the wood grain.

So this kind of finish might give a very different emotional response or nostaligic feeling from people in China... (???)
Would be interested to get some feedback on this, especially since it seems to be quite a sore point.

I think it's fair to trash the aesthetic look of something from a photo, and we've seen enough now to make a fairly accurate idea of what it looks like in real life.

 

[Roderick]

Fellow hobbyist in China have also noted the plastic like look on the cups. Also the reception has been equally(or even more) negative there regarding the choice of materials and the whole plagiarism thing. Word "copyman" is in common use. There are some actual listening impression and like 50 threads about he-r10 on erji.net.

Just type "erji.net *headphone name*" in google see what pops up. It's a big forum with a lot of information. Most of the time google translate works well enough.

Here are some impressions by someone who had Sony R10 to compare with Hifiman.
http://www.erji.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=2197780&extra=&page=1

 

[GREQ]

Seems like they also feel the wood grain and finish looks cheap.
Good to know.

Just in case anyone is wondering why most people think it looks cheap:
Fast growing softwood trees are cheap and have much bigger rings/grain.
The grain is more random and may contain blemishes.

Slow growing hardwood tress are expensive, more difficult to work with and have much smaller rings/grain.
Just look at the spectacular rings on the Sony R10. So many thin and orderly rings.
The Sony has a very unusually geometric and beautiful 'regular' pattern.

 

[Mink]

Word "copyman" is in common use

Hahaha. Copyman! The word play is so obvious, but still hilarious

 

[saudio7]

LOL. Ear cups looks more like wood then the original and Headband is better than the original

Lets have a look in 20 years on them and compere.

 

[elvergun]

How can anyone trash an item never having had it in their hands? I can understand that some are pissed with what hifiman has done, but to trash something by looking at a picture is crazy.

How can anyone defend an item never having had it in their hands?

Without having it in their hands, people are comparing it (what they can...price, looks, build...sound will follow) to the Sony original. Hifiman set themselves up by copying the design and the name. No one trashed ZMF for the Atticus.

 

[boozcool]

Fellow hobbyist in China have also noted the plastic like look on the cups. Also the reception has been equally(or even more) negative there regarding the choice of materials and the whole plagiarism thing. Word "copyman" is in common use. There are some actual listening impression and like 50 threads about he-r10 on erji.net.

Just type "erji.net *headphone name*" in google see what pops up. It's a big forum with a lot of information. Most of the time google translate works well enough.

Here are some impressions by someone who had Sony R10 to compare with Hifiman.
http://www.erji.net/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=2197780&extra=&page=1

Well there you go, I’m clearly not the only one that feels like the wood looks cheap

 

[Guidostrunk]

I suppose if I used the logic of the US justice system. You're innocent until proven guilty.

Argument 1 :
"Oh god, those look like plastic cups. And the headband screams cheap cheap cheap"

Argument 2:
"Are you kidding me? They look like cheap laminate
Check out the original R10 in the background, completely different
And I’m sorry but the headband is garbage"

Based on all of this evidence ,we're dealing with multiple assumptions and opinions here.
There's no exculpatory documentation that says otherwise.

With that said. I don't have to prove that the item is innocent of the charges. Guilt rests with the prosecution. And the jury is still out!

How can anyone defend an item never having had it in their hands?

Without having it in their hands, people are comparing it (what they can...price, looks, build...sound will follow) to the Sony original. Hifiman set themselves up by copying the design and the name. No one trashed ZMF for the Atticus.

 

[elvergun]

Based on all of this evidence ,we're dealing with multiple assumptions and opinions here.

Yes, the poster said that the cups look like plastic. That is his opinion. He never claimed that they were made out of plastic (he would need evidence to make that assertion).

The current headband is pleather. Most pleather is garbage that will disintegrate in a few years. That is not an assumption and not an opinion. Even Hifiman posted in this thread to inform us that the final product will ship with suede headbands when people criticized them for using pleather. But lets just say that pleather being garbage is just an opinion...it is still a valid opinion. I think that pleather pads and headbands are garbage (specially on expensive headphones). If you think that pleather on an expensive headphone is great, well, that is also a valid opinion.

I followed the T1 and T5p version 3 threads. People commented (without having those models in their hands) on the look of those headphones before they were released. Yes, based on all the evidence in those threads (some pre-release pictures), we were dealing with assumptions (how much bass the new models would have) and opinions (the new models looked better than the old models). Isn't 90% of what is written in this site just people sharing opinions?

 

[sennfan83261]

Well, for those who are hard up for the real McCoy, here's one that can be yours for $10,000: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/the-king-of-vintage-headphones-sony-mdr-r10-bass-heavy.944232/

 

[Beagle]

How can anyone trash an item never having had it in their hands? I can understand that some are pissed with what hifiman has done, but to trash something by looking at a picture is crazy.

If it sounds just like a Sony R10 then fine. The use of the R10 name is justified. But I'm so done with all this headphone promotional hype crap when there's nothing out there to buy.

 

[franci2105]

When it will be available?