I’ve been listening to the HE-R10P’s exclusively for the past few days. I’m ready to share some impressions of these great headphones. Straight out the box you get the sense that these headphones will be special. The build quality to me is impeccable. The headband is leather, but the earpads are not. The earcups are made of cherry wood and the wood grain on the earcups looks gorgeous. The only thing plastic on the HE-R10P's are the pivot blocks at the end of the headband. The choice of aluminum would've been a nice touch here, but everything seems to blend nicely together aesthetically. So no complaints on my end.
The HE-R10P's feel very light in hand and on your head. Switching from the HEDD HEDDphone's to these you really get a sense of how lightweight these are. The supplied cables are nice and better than Hifiman's previous offerings. You get three of them at varying lengths; a 6.3mm (3m), 3.5mm (1m), and a 4-Pin XLR (3m) cable. The decision to make the HE-R10P's a single entry headphone instead of a dual entry is a interesting one. I get why they did it and it's mainly to make use of the BlueMini Bluetooth adapter, which I'll talk a little bit about later.
Clamp force is just about perfect. As long as you don't do any serious head banging you don't have to worry about them falling off your head. Just putting them on without music playing you can hear outside noise levels drop by a few dB's. I can't really comment on sound leakage as I live alone. So I can blast away without any recourse
Gear used in my review is an iPad feeding the HMS, HMS to the OPTO-DX to the Chord Dave. Most of my listening was done straight out of the Dave. You'll also find some mentions of the iFi Zen stack, which consists of the Zen Can and Zen DAC V2. At the time of this review, my Formula S is headed back to me from Abyss after PCB board swap and is not available this review.
The HE-R10P's are very to easy to drive and sound good out of everything I've tried them on. Out of the Dave the sound is clear, clean, dynamic, resolving with a good amount detail and punch. Music is free flowing and uncolored with tons of clarity and focus. Out of the Zen Stack, the sound is a slightly warmer and more musical. The details and clarity is there, but the sound is not as resolving and crisp as it is out of the Dave. Transients are a tad slower and you lose a bit of P.R.A.T. You do however gain a more fun listen, especially with xBass engaged. Bass becomes more impactful with tremendous amounts of slam but never muddy. The HE-R10P's resolving ability lets you distinctly hear the character and performance difference between the two headphone outputs. I would've been disappointed if this wasn't the case at this price level.
Now lets dive a little deeper into the sound. The use of the old Sony design might not be pleasing to everyone, but it works very well in this instance. The earcups allows the drivers to just breathe and move an unconventional amount of air. Add Hifiman's driver tech and other acoustical treatments inside the earcups and this translates into exceptional sound quality. Not quite Susvara level good, but remarkable for a closed back design.
I'll start with the bass. There is copious amount of it. The bass is deep, fast, taunt, textured, layered and well defined. Unlike the linear bass on the Susvara’s, the HE-R10P’s bass is bumped up, but is beautifully implemented. This is the kind of quality bass that is typically reserved for open back headphones. The slight sub bass emphasis really adds body to the music. I don't hear any of the reverb or reflections that is normally associated with wooden cup headphone designs. This is a very good thing as I have a real dislike from sound bouncing around in the earcups creating this sort of hollow, cathedral like sound. The HE-R10P's don't exhibit any of this behavior and sound really natural, which is a big win for closed backs.
If you want to add EQ, the HE-R10p's can handle it. I used the Xbass feature on my iFi Zen Can and I've never heard a headphone provide so much ear tickling, face massaging, physical bass as the HE-R10P's greeted me with. It's insane the amount of air that was being moved in this headphone while still being able to sound controlled. This is where the decision to use the Sony designed earcups really comes into play and benefits the HE-R10P's bass response. What's great about the HE-R10P's bass is it doesn't overpower the rest of the frequency response. It remains balanced and true especially out of the Dave.
Moving on to the midrange. This is where I think Hifiman really excels in general. The midrange on the Susvara's is the best I've heard. The midrange on the HE-R10p's is no exception and follows suit. It's clean and nuanced. The level of micro-detail and resolution I am hearing is top notch. The midrange is expressive with a good sense of space. There is a slight emphasis on the upper midrange, so the mids aren't as full-bodied as it can be. That doesn't make the midrange any less lively or fun. Rock and metal sound as energetic as ever. There's a good amount of bite and attack to the guitars. Vocals, acoustic music, and anything music with a midrange focus sound superb on the HE-R10P's. There's a nice sense of openness, agility, instrument separation, and detail. Soundstage width and depth is incredible. You're just surrounded by music, very Susvara like.
The treble, although not as ethereal and airy as the Susvara's is very detailed and clear. It's not rolled off by any means but the overall sound of the HE-R10P's do sound somewhat restrained or "closed" in. This is just the nature of closed back designs and there is no tricking physics. So don't expect the excellent treble extension or open sound like what you hear from the Susvara's. It simply is not there. There is however a good amount energy and sparkle in the treble region. It's just not as lively and voluminous as the best open back headphones.
I'm not sure what Hifiman could've done to give the HE-R10p's a bit more of an open sound, but the HE-R10P's sound like closed headphones, albeit very, very good ones. With that said, this is by far the most open I've heard a closed back headphone. It rivals and exceeds that of the Sony MDR-Z1R's, which to me held the title for being the most open sounding closed backs the until now. So kudos to Hifiman for this accomplishment, even though the basic design is not their own.
Listening directly from the Chord Dave does help add a better sense of space. Maybe a cable change will also help elevate and add some air to the treble region. From what I'm hearing, the HE-R10P's will pair the best with neutral to brighter sources. I would avoid warmer sounding sources as they would probably rob you of some treble detail and openness.
In the pursuit to make the HE-R10P's more versatile, Hifiman decided to make them Bluetooth capable. The inclusion of the BlueMini Bluetooth adapter adds this functionality. The BlueMini, like the cables, is inserted in the left earcup. After listening to HE-R10P's in Bluetooth mode I'll say that the sound still lags behind the sound of a good wired headphone. The sound quality is decent, but it just lacks the volume needed to make the HE-R10P's a truly enjoyable listening experience. This is my issue with most Bluetooth devices and the BlueMini is no exception
Let me just say it right now. The HE-R10P's are the best closed back headphone I've heard to date. The overall tonality of the HE-R10P's is denser and fuller sounding than the Susvara's. Imaging is immersive and the sound is very spacious and open for closed back headphone. The HE-R10P's sound balanced, articulate and resolving with a warmish, rich tone. Notes have good weight to them and P.R.A.T. is outstanding. Music is beautifully rendered and delivered with level of precision you would expect at this price point. It sounds every bit the part of a flagship headphone, closed or open. I only expect them to get better as I log more hours on them.
