[Skylab]

Shouldn't this auction be even more clear about the fact that these are really not MDR-R10's?  The CD3000 drivers were not the same driver, were they???
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/350504843802

 

[Sundance]

This is why I'm afraid to buy a R10 nowadays. You never know if one has been serviced or opened by an amateur.

 

[DaveBSC]

I love that little line at the end about how the "exact matches" are "nearly identical". Just because it says bio-cellulose on the tin does not make it an R10 driver. The differences between the Denon D7000 and D5000 drivers are probably much smaller than the CD3000 and R10, and yet you could not claim that you just stuck in a D5000 driver to fix a D7000 because it's basically the same thing. What you'd actually have is a D7000 with D5000 drivers in it.
 
That's what this should've been advertised as - R-10 with CD3000 drivers. At least it was mentioned at all. Unless the buyer was very familiar with the R10 sound, who'd have any way of knowing the drivers were replaced? Even then you'd probably need a second pair on hand to discover that something was up.
 

 

[subtle]

This has been discussed a few times over the years and they are definitely NOT the same driver.

 

[cantsleep]

thats why i have no interest in r10s.
once it goes bad, its pretty much done.
 
i called sony and they suggested me maybe i should goto radioshack or something to get a replacement drivers

 

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

This has been discussed a few times over the years and they are definitely NOT the same driver.

That was always my impression, which is why I was surprised by the cavalier way in which the ad was positioning that. 
 
Uneducated buyers really can get duped.  OTOH, if the price is right, it might be tempting to buy them just for the housing, although I have a feeling the final selling price will prohibit that.  We shall see.

 

[brat]

I feel sad about the buyer. What a speculation with the ignorance of the newborn audiophiles.

 

[n3rdling]

I believe somebody here has actually implanted CD3000 drivers in the R10 before and said it didn't sound anything like the R10 is supposed to sound.

 

[gjkphd]

Quote:

I feel sad about the buyer. What a speculation with the ignorance of the newborn audiophiles.

Well, thanks for the post and replies.  I didn't bid on it but I was thinking about it. I knew there was a reason I'm doing this now instead of working!

 

[seacard]

If somebody is willing to spend thousands of dollars of a headphone without even reading a one-page description fully and thinking about what he is buying, I don't feel too sorry for the buyer.  Could the seller be more open? Sure. But he explains that the driver inside is that of what was a fairly cheap headphone, and it's up to the buyer to decide whether a couple pieces of wood and leather and a fancy box with a cheap driver inside is worth $1325 (and it will surely go for much more than that).

 

[charliex]

To quote WC Fields ..........................

 

[E3E]

The irony here is that the attention this thread has given that particular listing is most likely going to drive up the price of that auction a fair bit, so it's actually helping the buyer quite substantially. Despite the scoffing of most people in this thread at the seller's sacrilege of replacing the extravagant drivers from the R10 with the comparatively mundane drivers from the CD3000, and selling them that way, I'm sure there's more than a few head-fiers out there who'll still be drawn to this auction like moths to a flame, looking at the price with swooning eyes, when in the end, it's just going to inflate the price even more than in the first place.

In any case, it is an auction: people will pay what they feel is justified, regardless.

Just for reference, the seller did post here a while back (I forget the thread and his username

) with concern over options for his R10s as far as practical fixes and alternatives go for replacing one of his faulty drivers; looks like he ultimately decided to sell. He mentions that he bought them for a very cheap price, considering - wonder if he's going to make a profit or a loss with this one.

 

[warp08]

I'd like to see this DIY R10 undergo a full frequency response, etc., test instead of just measuring impedance and declaring the two drivers "nearly identical" based on that.  Perhaps Tyll would decide to play with it:  http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/headphone-measurment-proceedures-introduction-and-equipment.  The reason for why I no longer own either the R10s or the Qualias is the healthy paranoia that interfered with my enjoyment of these amazing headphones.  I was concerned should one of the drivers were to decide to quit, SONY would no longer sell a replacement at any cost.
 
At least Sennheiser does still stock HE60 and HE90 drivers, even though their cost is astronomical it's not a total loss should there be a malfunction.
 
Depending on how high the bid may go, someone who owns a fully functional, but cosmetically challenged pair of R10s may find this to be a worthwhile purchase and just swap out the CD300 drivers with the original R10s...

 

[Skylab]

I highly doubt this thread is going to serve to drive up the price.  It's already discouraged one person from bidding, as posted above.  But my intention in calling attention to it was definitely to for the latter reason - I didn't want to see head-fiers bidding on something that wasn't what they thought it was.  I think the seller should have been even more clear about what he is selling, but that's just my opinion.

 

[E3E]

I understand what you're saying, Skylab, and I understand your intentions. They are most certainly to help people from making the mistake of buying this pair while not being aware of what they're getting into. Although the seller does mention that the drivers are not the original R10 set, saying that the two are practically congruent of each other is pretty misleading for him to write in his description.

As far as buying them to have as a transplant housing for an existing, but worn pair: Aren't the cups already scuffed up pretty good on this pair? Has anyone ever bothered trying to refinish or restore the wood before, or would that completely defile the R10?