[nioh]

I've heard conflicting opinions about the Sony Z1R, but never once have I heard it outperformed the top-of-the-line headphones. Even one Z1R owner wrote on Audivina page that the Sony's are inferior to Audivina. So I'm not expecting much from their reincarnation.

MDR-Z1R is in no way inferior to any headphones or IEMs I’ve heard, even ones costing 3 times more. It’s capable of a response of 4hz - 120khz. Given the right pairing or EQ if you prefer, it’s hard to beat. Not everyone might like the stock tuning. That’s the same for Audivina for many people.

 

[nioh]

look, if you do not mind, i got one idea. since you got both HE-R10P and Audivina, i wanted to suggest a few songs/compositions from some albums for testing both headphones and you then would share your impressions with me here? i am very curious to see how these two compare )))

Why would you still wanna try the HE-R10P when Hifiman is offering them on a clearance sale and they’ve already announced new models ? Like I said, the new Isvarna is a hybrid with Planar+ Dynamic and a lot of new tech from Hifiman. Looks more promising to me.

 

[nioh]

look, if you do not mind, i got one idea. since you got both HE-R10P and Audivina, i wanted to suggest a few songs/compositions from some albums for testing both headphones and you then would share your impressions with me here? i am very curious to see how these two compare )))

I could help you. However like I already said, they are both tuned quite differently. HE-R10P is tuned more for the mainstream and so it sounds like every other high-end headphone out there. I doubt you’d be wowed. Audivina is tuned for monitoring and has a unique signature.

 

[Gintaras]

I could help you. However like I already said, they are both tuned quite differently. HE-R10P is tuned more for the mainstream and so it sounds like every other high-end headphone out there. I doubt you’d be wowed. Audivina is tuned for monitoring and has a unique signature.

Regardless, I'd be curious to hear your impressions after you play my list of tracks that I use to torture the test speakers. This is not a standard list, no Diana Krall or Pawn shop jazz on there. If you want to do that, I'll send you the list.

To give you an idea, one of the tracks is Joy of This Longing by Chris Spheeris, quite a demanding composition for any speaker, the complex polyphony and fast transients are quite difficult to reproduce on an average quality audio system.

 

[Spawn300Z]

If you have the HE-R10P Stealths you owe it to yourself to listen to Marcus Miller’s Don’t Lose Your Mind.

 

[nioh]

Regardless, I'd be curious to hear your impressions after you play my list of tracks that I use to torture the test speakers. This is not a standard list, no Diana Krall or Pawn shop jazz on there. If you want to do that, I'll send you the list.

To give you an idea, one of the tracks is Joy of This Longing by Chris Spheeris, quite a demanding composition for any speaker, the complex polyphony and fast transients are quite difficult to reproduce on an average quality audio system.

Sure, send me the list and hope you don't mind waiting till early next week as tomorrow I'm not home.

I hope it's not some 70s jazz because I must warn you that I'm one of those rare "modern audiophiles"

Joy of This Longing by Chris Spheeris <- I liked this one, it's in my favorites now !

 

[nioh]

If you have the HE-R10P Stealths you owe it to yourself to listen to Marcus Miller’s Don’t Lose Your Mind.

Umm I heard this and it's not my type. But thanks for the suggestion nevertheless.

 

[Spawn300Z]

Umm I heard this and it's not my type. But thanks for the suggestion nevertheless.

I know Jazz isn’t for everyone. But it gives and idea of what these headphones are cable of.

 

[Gintaras]

I know Jazz isn’t for everyone. But it gives and idea of what these headphones are cable of.

Yes and no, depends very much on type of jazz, many audiophes crave for smooth jazz and similar, why true gems are often overlooked, take Mahavishnu Orhcestra or Jean Luc Ponty or Gino Vannelli, how often you hear them on audiophile summits? Oh no, and to make it worse, you come to listen to endless Malia, Diana Krall and kind of sounds of nature in most audiophile shops. (((
Many audiophiles have little idea about jazz, confusing styles and craving for simplified modern jazz incarnations.

 

[Gintaras]

Sure, send me the list and hope you don't mind waiting till early next week as tomorrow I'm not home.

I hope it's not some 70s jazz because I must warn you that I'm one of those rare "modern audiophiles"

Joy of This Longing by Chris Spheeris <- I liked this one, it's in my favorites now !

No hurry up...plenty of time.
Yep, no 70s Jazz though Shakatak or Gino Vannelli are a few good ones, but do not worry, i got more interesting stuff. In the meantime you can spin Moody Blues, the entire album "Days of Future Passed" to get an idea what all the fuzz about progressive rock is about, a brilliant album to test any music gear. )))
And I will send you the list later today or early next week.

 

[carbonF1]

This is not surprising since Susvara have become the benchmark for high-end headphones. And which version are you getting, the old or the unveiled?

As for the HE-R10P, I don't understand your comments. Similar to the Audivina, these headphones have a relaxed sound signature. Moreover, a huge soundstage comes at the expense of channel balance (you feel sometimes missing a sweet spot, but not that much imo), which some people like, others don't. I bought the Audivina's and fell in love with them despite my D8000 Pro, which is a highly regarded open-back that competes directly with the older version Susvara.

Also, I tried the albums you mentioned, sorry, the ones you didn't like on the HE-R10P are actually, in my humble opinion, low-fi albums. Some metal thrash and Wham? You're kidding, Wham sounds dull and dreary even on my 20k front-end, I call it great music, poorly recorded. I see you also got the HE6SE v2's, which I had too before the right driver died, and all I can say is that Audivina are better headphones overall, my daughter (young ears hear better) told me my HE6SE v2's were lean and thin sounding in comparison. Mind this, HE6SE v2 are damn the fastest sounding headphones I heard, the pace & rhytm are only second to Susvara. Anyway, assuming the HE-R10P's are better than the Audivina's, I don't see how they can be inferior to the HE6SE v2's or be so bad generally?

PS: Susvara is a completely different league, so I would not compare it to anything. Still, Susvara isn't as versatile (in terms of genres) as some others, so I settled on the D8000 Pro, which does 85% of what Susvara does, but is overall a more versatile headphone. That being said I love Susvara a lot and to-date I did not hear another headphone which could beat Susvara.
So, if you like the Susvara sound, just buy it, because there is no other headphone like Susvara imo.

I bought the original, and yep the more I listen to Susvara the more I am realizing it's in a league of its own. Adding to that it was mentioned earlier that there's inherent value in the R10P being a closed back h/p so rather than try to compare to other open back h/p in terms of value I wouldn't want to try to "judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree". Going off memory, the R10P is warmer and fuller than HE6seV2 but personally I'd pick HE6 assuming I did not need a closed back. It's not better than R10P across the board, just a better fit for me.

I agree with you re Cannibal Corpse and Protest the Hero, they are pretty lo-fi recordings but it was more of an observation as I was listening to the albums. Did you try the specific masters listed for Wham and Rage by any chance? Normally most of the available masters are not very good, but the DSD/SACD authorings for these two albums are unique. They go from 'meh' to excellent, out of my 150+ SACDs these are top 5. The Make it Big SACD in particular I would not call dull, it is very detailed but runs a little bright.

 

[Gintaras]

I bought the original, and yep the more I listen to Susvara the more I am realizing it's in a league of its own. Adding to that it was mentioned earlier that there's inherent value in the R10P being a closed back h/p so rather than try to compare to other open back h/p in terms of value I wouldn't want to try to "judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree". Going off memory, the R10P is warmer and fuller than HE6seV2 but personally I'd pick HE6 assuming I did not need a closed back. It's not better than R10P across the board, just a better fit for me.

I agree with you re Cannibal Corpse and Protest the Hero, they are pretty lo-fi recordings but it was more of an observation as I was listening to the albums. Did you try the specific masters listed for Wham and Rage by any chance? Normally most of the available masters are not very good, but the DSD/SACD authorings for these two albums are unique. They go from 'meh' to excellent, out of my 150+ SACDs these are top 5. The Make it Big SACD in particular I would not call dull, it is very detailed but runs a little bright.

agree with you.
as regards masters, no SACD, just normal remastering, but i got pretty revealing system that can play well anything if recording is good. as for SACD i cannot stand something "artificial" in it, so my Oppo is used mostly for video.

 

[Ruffra51]

OK I've had time to listen to the R10P, unfortunately its a bit of a curates egg, Good in Parts . Let me explain. Transient attack in the Bass is good and following the bass line as good as anything I have heard on a closed back. Mid Range is fair but a bit etch towards forward and treble is fairly forward for my Taste . I Have the Audiavina and the the R10D as well. As a simple comparison the Audiavina does not quite have the bass attack but is less aggressive and a bit easier to listen to in the Mids and Highs . The R10D is fun but a bit slow and not quite in the same league as the Planars ,I find it better with my FIIO M17. I will keep all of them as I do like HIFIMAN products since my early days with the 400i's.
Sorry but my Audio explaining skills are not as good as most of you contributors but I have been in the Headphone hobby since the mid 70's so had my fair share of the experience.

I do have to agree with a previous contributor. It would seem all the closed back Headphones in my collection which also include Meze Liric and Sennheiser Hd820 have some form of limitation in parts of the frequency response compared to Open Backs. It is what it is. Just enjoy your Journey.
Just in case your interested My main Listening is on Meze Elite with a aftermarket Hybrid cable, Hifiman 1000 SE with aftermarket Occ cable and Stax SR007 with a SRM 717 energiser.
Probably my Expectations on closed backs are never going to be satisfied.

 

[Gintaras]

OK I've had time to listen to the R10P, unfortunately its a bit of a curates egg, Good in Parts . Let me explain. Transient attack in the Bass is good and following the bass line as good as anything I have heard on a closed back. Mid Range is fair but a bit etch towards forward and treble is fairly forward for my Taste . I Have the Audiavina and the the R10D as well. As a simple comparison the Audiavina does not quite have the bass attack but is less aggressive and a bit easier to listen to in the Mids and Highs . The R10D is fun but a bit slow and not quite in the same league as the Planars ,I find it better with my FIIO M17. I will keep all of them as I do like HIFIMAN products since my early days with the 400i's.
Sorry but my Audio explaining skills are not as good as most of you contributors but I have been in the Headphone hobby since the mid 70's so had my fair share of the experience.

I do have to agree with a previous contributor. It would seem all the closed back Headphones in my collection which also include Meze Liric and Sennheiser Hd820 have some form of limitation in parts of the frequency response compared to Open Backs. It is what it is. Just enjoy your Journey.
Just in case your interested My main Listening is on Meze Elite with a aftermarket Hybrid cable, Hifiman 1000 SE with aftermarket Occ cable and Stax SR007 with a SRM 717 energiser.
Probably my Expectations on closed backs are never going to be satisfied.

what about the Audivina vs the R10P? which one you would keep or skip? tia

 

[nioh]

what about the Audivina vs the R10P? which one you would keep or skip? tia

I bet his answer will be - keeping both