[wink]

Quote:Mupps

Their biggest flaw is a lack of bass presence

Apparently the bass response of the R10 varies as much as the AKG K1000 does.
You buy the model, and take your chances.

 

[Mimouille]

I forgot just how amazing the Sony R10 sounds with strings and piano.

More than just about any other headphone I've heard over the years, the R10 just conveys this simultaneous sense of delicacy and harmonic richness. Somehow it allows a depth of emotion to come through that nothing else quite manages. Must be the biocellulose? The earcup shape also gives their sound this lovely spatial quality despite their being a closed cup.

Their biggest flaw is a lack of bass presence, which is slightly less than what I'd consider a neutral response. They're not particularly adept and conveying hard hitting or overly complex passages. The Abyss in these respects kicks its arse six ways to Sunday. In comparison, the Abyss is like a supervillain's laser weapon whereas the R10 is like a brush in the trembling hands of an artist.

Also, personally, I still think the R10 is one of the most attractive headphones ever made. Both it and the original SR-Omega.

Isn't it almost impossible to procure nowadays?

 

[a_recording]

Do you take any special steps to stop your R10 from growing fungus Mupps?

 

[MuppetFace]

  Apparently the bass response of the R10 varies as much as the AKG K1000 does.
You buy the model, and take your chances.

 
The R10 pretty much epitomizes "taking your chances" since Sony doesn't service them anymore, and replacement parts are like hen's teeth. Still, I can't help but love them (and never claimed to be remotely sane or reasonable).
 
AFAIK Sony did several runs of the drivers throughout the 90s, but one of the biggest factors affecting their bass response has to do with the foam surrounding the drivers. On the older sets the foam has deteriorated more, leading to a diminished bass, so people tend to assume all lower serial numbers are "bass light" when it's actually a bit harder to delineate it seems. I've heard some "bass heavy" pairs, but I tend to agree with the assessments that say their timbre just isn't quite as magical sounding as the less bassy ones.
 
Sony made some rather silly choices in the R10's design. The earpads using adhesive backing to attach to the cups is one, and over time it can ooze and get stuck to the foam so that it pulls on it when removed. Especially when the foam gets older, it dries out and cracks and crumbles, so the insides of the R10's cups can sometimes be a mess. Which is a shame, because the engineering that went into those cups is amazing. They aren't just hollow shells like what you find on, say, Denon's older lineup. Instead they have a kind of honeycomb inside them that acts like a diffuser.
 
I also find the biocellulose imparts a special tonal quality to the highs of the R10, giving them a certain warmth or sweetness. Some folks tend to associate warmth with bassy or darker tonal balance, so this might sound weird, but the R10 is actually on the bright side. It's classic Sony in that regard. Bright but smooth, warm, and sweet unlike the Qualia (and most headphones, really). Sometimes they can get a bit "glassy" however. Synergistically speaking, the highs of the R10 are the most difficult area in my experience to get right when it comes to amps or sources. Thinking the DNA Stratus might be a nice match.

 

[driver 8]

If anyone was curious, the emphasis on bass attack I was hearing the other day was actually my tube choice and not necessarily the Vega.  Switching to CBS/Hytrons makes that aspect of the bass sound more like what I'd consider normal.
 
Re: R10's:  I never knew about the honeycomb thing.  That's pretty sweet.  What amp are you using for them now, MF?

 

[Makiah S]

  I was driving along , after being at a picnic in the bush, when a LARGE huntsman dropped from the sun visor in the car into my lap.
 
Interesting... I pulled over and set it free in the grass on the side of the road.
 
I used to let them run up my arms when I was young.
 
 
When I used to have a fishtank with tropicals, my prize fish was a Severum.  Big fish with a small mouth    I thought.
 
It's record was swallowing 26 blowflies in an hour one summer.
 
One day a large huntsman was running along the wall alongside the tank which had the covers off.
The huntsman took a leap and landed in the tank and shot to the bootom to work out what happened.
The severum went over to see what the deal was, took one look at the spider and swallowed  it from the back.
It hung in the middle of the tank for about 2 hours with the spider's legs sticking out it's mouth and gills working furiously.
Finally, it managed to swallow it and it was content for the next day and a half.
 
I wonder if it tasted like cheese or pineapple?

Ofc it was cheesy, and lol. Nice one with the big fish eating the big spider xD Wish you had a picture of it's legs coming out the fishes mouth 
 

   
The R10 pretty much epitomizes "taking your chances" since Sony doesn't service them anymore, and replacement parts are like hen's teeth. Still, I can't help but love them (and never claimed to be remotely sane or reasonable).

I wish I could hear one! I do love wooden closed headphones 

 

[blueangel2323]

  If you guys don't like spiders, get yourself a few tarantula hawks.
 

 
They also have the most painful bite of any insect in the world. Great idea.

 

[Mimouille]

They also have the most painful bite of any insect in the world. Great idea.

So someone got bitten by every insect in the world and testified? What a generous soul...all in the name of science.

 

[blueangel2323]

So someone got bitten by every insect in the world and testified? What a generous soul...all in the name of science.

I'm sure there are more efficient ways of finding out 

 like knowing which substances tend to be most painful and chemically analyzing the venom?

 

[MuppetFace]

  Re: R10's:  I never knew about the honeycomb thing.  That's pretty sweet.  What amp are you using for them now, MF?

 
Liquid Glass. They really benefit synergistically from being able to play around with tubes.

 

[Coq de Combat]

They also have the most painful bite of any insect in the world. Great idea.

True, but they take care of spiders.

 

[lee730]

True, but they take care of spiders.

 
Looks like they'd take care of a whole lot more than that . Time for WD40 and a lighter.

 

[DigitalFreak]

Liquid Glass. They really benefit synergistically from being able to play around with tubes.

As a rule of thumb are there any tubes the R10 is known to sound great with and vice versa?

 

[Makiah S]

   
Looks like they'd take care of a whole lot more than that . Time for WD40 and a lighter.

 
Awww yea, go for some Axe though, get that nice char'd Jock smell in your house!
 
Also the NFB 10ES2 is in... color wise it's sounds a lot like my Matrix

 

[lee730]

I remember we use to use WD40 and a lighter to kill the wasps in the clothesline poles. Basically block one end with toilet paper. Sucks the life right out of them .