[takato14]

  I got an SE-450 today but it's missing the inner headband. 
Does anyone know where I can get one of these cheaply? I've found a few of these extortionate 'spare part' online shops, where it's going for over $20 - which is usually more than the cost of the whole headphone 2nd hand.

Not sure where you can find a new headband, but here's my contribution to the thread.
 

 
Just got this SE-6 in what's pretty much NOS condition.
 

 
The detachable cups are really neat; reminds me of the Sony DR-Z line.
 

 
Lots of metal in the contstruction of these babies.
 

 
Just look at those pads... absolutely pristine. I'm sure all of you are well aware of just how rare that is with Pioneer's vintage gear. 
 
Definitely one of the prettiest headphones I own, but unfortunately that's about the only good thing I can say about them. It's not so much that they're bad, but they're rather heavily colored, and I've been spoiled by my Z7. Does anybody know how to open them? I don't see any screws and I desperately wanna try damping them to tame the bass hump. I sense these are capable of greatness; their soundstage is huge, transients are competent, dynamics are great and they're extremely comfy, but I can't get over the sound signature. They're basically a worse version of the Audio Technica ATH-6D I just received, and I wasn't satisfied with those either. 
 

 
My Monitor 10, however, which I got a couple weeks ago, sounds damn incredible. Kicks the asses of both aforementioned. I just wish it was in better shape, the left strut is really badly bent and there's nothing I can do about it without risking damage to the (plastic) yoke.
 

 
I added some breathable foam strips to the headband, really helps ease the dent they make in my head after a long session. They're still heavy bastards though.
 

 
I also have an SE-300 (!!!), SE-500, and SE-700. The SE-300 is practically unobtainium, I only know of two other pairs. After modding it's better than the 700 but not quite to the level of the modded SE-500, which still sees lots of eartime for me. I'm using it right now in fact. After all this time I still can't place my finger on what, but something about the modded SE-500 is very special.
 
Cheers!

 

[takato14]

Just got these: A Pioneer Monitor 10-II.
 

 
Early impressions:
 
Build: Irritating to say the very least. Great external design with dual suspension headbands, deep cups, and a very interesting self-locking headband adjustment system. Gorgeous. There is a healthy amount of metal in the construction though most of the headphone is plastic; overall they're very very light and comfortable. However, some parts are weak (the headband pieces have cracks in them) and 90% of the construction is held together with glue, including the drivers, which caused the metal cup pieces to break loose and rattle around, and the magnets to literally fall off of the driver capsule. Talk about a heart-attack moment when I first opened them. After a bit of very carefully placed superglue they're back to normal, but these are getting the velvet pillow treatment from now on. Probably part of the reason why they're so rare; these were intended as a studio monitor but they're incredibly breakable; bad combination, Pioneer.
 
Sound: Basically the original on steroids, and the <ONLY> vintage headphone I've ever heard that actually has treble, even including the electrets and stats I've heard. These go out to 20kHz with no problems whatsoever and do it very linearly and cleanly, unlike my TH600. They maintain the unique "sweentess" to the sound of the original Monitor 10 but actually have fast attack and decay. The soundstage is even more ridiculous than its predecessor despite being closed and they're very flat sounding. They are a little bit bright and are slightly bass-shy but it's done oh so well. I'd say they're at least up to par with my DR-Z7 overall, while being easier to power and far more comfortable. They complement each other well; the 10-II is better with recorded music while the Z7 can blast my ears to oblivion with electronica.
 
These are a keeper for sure. More pictures when I have the time. 

 

[GREQ]

@Takato12
You know the old saying "don't meet your heroes" ? 
Somehow I think this applies somewhat to headphones you've lusted for. That's so sad when you find out that a legendary headphone is partly so because most of them simply havn't lasted. 
Looking forward to your further impressions and the usual photos of guts etc... here's to hoping you've already done them already on the first tear-down. 

 

[ourfpshero]

thats too bad about the drivers coming loose. i have had mine for a while with no issues, it is actually the only vintage pioneer i have held onto!

 

[takato14]

  @Takato12
You know the old saying "don't meet your heroes" ? 
Somehow I think this applies somewhat to headphones you've lusted for. That's so sad when you find out that a legendary headphone is partly so because most of them simply havn't lasted. 

Yeah, it's unfortunate. My guess is the 10-II developed issues shortly after being purchased and Pioneer discontinued it due to repeated critical failure.
 
However, the magnets somehow didn't damage the solenoid or diaphragm at all from bouncing around in there, all that happened was horrible out-of-phase bass that changed as the headphone was moved around. Either I got lucky, or there's a warehouse full of returned Monitor 10-IIs somewhere, just waiting for a little drop of glue...
 
Quote:

Originally Posted by GREQ /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
Looking forward to your further impressions and the usual photos of guts etc... here's to hoping you've already done them already on the first tear-down. 

Shet. There's actually not much to these internally, but I'll oblige anyways.

 

[takato14]

More impressions...
 
Just... 
 
Wow.
 
Legendary, without a doubt. What I loved my Z7 for was its insane decay, neutral tone, bass slam and lack of bass bloom. However, it has a squashed soundstage, poor THD, and actually aren't super fast in their attack. This leads to them sounding confused on occasion. The Monitor 10-II however is faster and doesn't have any of these issues. Its soundstage is sublime, its attack is lighting fast, its decay is very clean, and they have very low THD. They're extremely flat sounding with perfect treble and simply amazing overall sound. The amount of sheer detail is simply ridiculous. The Z7 has more potent bass with less bloom, better decay and better impact, but the 10-II isn't far behind in any of these aspects. And it's a lot easier to power; these sound great out of anything. The Z7 is still enjoyable but damn the 10-II is impressive; this is one hell of a headphone and I can't believe I took a chance on it slipping away from me. 
 
Fit is a bit of an issue if you have glasses, otherwise it's very comfy and very stable. With my glasses on I don't have much bass and the arms dig into my skull. Interestingly though, they still sound extremely good like this. They're lighter than the original but are still rather heavy (~300g) so neck pain is pretty rampant after a few hours. Neck pain typically gets to me more than clamp pain, but I'd strap bricks to my skull with rope for sound like this.
 
These are a very very different beast from the typical vintage fare, I can't even use the original Monitor 10 after these. They take everything that made it special and quadruple it. These are staying with me for a very long time.

 

[Oregonian]

Not a headphone but the title says Pioneer Vintage Appreciation thread so figured why not.............
 
Added this Pioneer S50 turntable to my Spec system this morning................had a Yamaha P-520 table before and wanted all Pioneer.  Mission accomplished - sounds great playing One of These Nights from the Eagles.
 

 

[cmarti]

Got the SE-405 for $4 in the Flea Market, they are in great condition. Got home and rewire them and replaced the 6.3mm plug with a 3.5mm one.
 
Love how they sound, like so much that I bought the SE-305 on eBay for $25.00 
 
These ones smell like new, I am pretty sure they were still in their box and the seller removed them to make the shipping cheaper.
 
Rewired them too, and I am listening to Led Zeppellin on my 7th gen iPod connected to my FiiO E17 amp and God these are so good.
 
Love the sound signature.

 

[kuantings]

Been a vintage pioneer headphone lover for awhile now, currently I have:
 
SE-6 
SE-7 (2014/8 )
SE-700
SE-500
MONITOR 10
SE-L20A
MASTER 1S (2014/9)
 
 
All those power hungry headphone gear are feeded with my vintage pioneer receiver SA-9800, enjoy every one of them!
you can check out the pictures here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kuantings/14803656505

 

[ourfpshero]

Monitor 8 on the way!!

 

[nick n]

Wondering if Monitor 10R and Monitor II are the same just different marketing. Yes i did look around but nothing definitive.
 
Those "8"'s sure look nice. Congratulations!

 

[ourfpshero]

  Wondering if Monitor 10R and Monitor II are the same just different marketing. Yes i did look around but nothing definitive.
 
Those "8"'s sure look nice. Congratulations!

The 10r are the modern version (10 years ago!). They sound similar, but the 10r is a little more refined, mostly in tighter bass

 

[JoeDoe]

If anyone is interested, I recently came into a Monitor 10 in excellent shape that I don't plan to keep. PM me!

PS: very impressed with its sound nonetheless!

 

[ourfpshero]

Monitor 8 is in, photos soon. It is like the 10r with more plastic, range not quite the same but close. Damn thing is a fingerprint magnet too!

 

[nick n]

classy looking item they are.