Hi all,
The R10s were released in 1989 and there was/is an optional "headphone amp" to go with them. This headphone-amp connects to a set of speaker terminals on your normal amp. Cost was/is Y50000.
In terms of bass response, I would re-iterate what I said to Vertigo-1 - that the bass on the R10 is very natural and forms an integral part of the music. The CD3000 on the other hand sounds as though the bass, midrange and treble are detached from one another.
An interesting observation is that, although the R10 always sounds very good and will go loud from a standard headphone-jack, the R10 does show up the differences between your components. I've had long auditions at home using the EarMax Pro, X-Cans V2, Sugden HeadMaster and the EAR HP4. Bass from the EarMax Pro is pure heaven on the R10 - but the EMP can sound "closed in". The EMP. Sugden and the X-Cans V2 although very good, cannot compete with the wonderful midrange of the X-Cans V1. Unfortunately, the X-Cans V1 doesn't really have much bass to speak of. The HP4 has something of the bass found on the EMP and still retains the liquid midrange of the X-Cans V1. The HP4 also sounds effortless.
I listen to all kinds of music - from Metallica to Miles Davis to Mozart, and I have a number of CDs where I believe the R10 has stronger and lower bass than my main system. I feel goosebumps down the back of my neck when I listen to it sometimes.
Nothing is ever going to be perfect and every component has its own "presentation style" - and I for one, don't feel as though the R10 lacks bass.
(A further note, I've used Lieder Waal and Siltech MC4/120 interconnects with the R10. Both are completely different but at the same time both are the same. The tonal balance and "amount" of bass/midrange/treble is the same, but the soundstaging and timing is very different. I ended up having the Siltech, but I'm sure that most people would have said that the Waal had "better bass".
Did the Waal have better (or stronger/deeper) bass? or was it just that the Waal swept you along with its timing and musicality especially at low frequencies?
I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this one.)