[fatman711]

I have never heard one before and was just curious as to why the R10s were so awesome. Was it the driver that it used or was it how the chambers were constructed? There has to be a reason why these babies deserve a 4k price point.

 

[Cool_Torpedo]

I think it's the compendium of all those factors. Sony designed and produced a very good transducer, quite sensitive, fast, not too low impedance, and with good tone in the midrange, so they went as far as they could to design the "perfect" housing to let the driver come to life.
By tuning the enclosure choosing carefully the wood, the shape, the inner chamber, the driver's placement/angle, the way to decouple the driver-housing unit from the headband and chassis, and also making the whole thing very comfortable, they came out with a very special headphone.
Perfect? Probably not, I don't think so nevertheless, but there are very few pieces of audio gear which can draw you into the music with the R10's intensity.

 

[obobskivich]

another reason that pushes their price, rarity

simply put, they've got this mantra around them as "the best" in audiophile circles, and because they're "rare and elusive" (the packaging doesn't hurt this image), the price reacts accordingly

same reason K1000's are approaching $1500, and AT W5000's are only ~$700 (look up the list MSRPs for both of these, respectively

)

 

[Canman]

The R10 was cheaper before it went out of production in 2004. Today the prices are insane. But the R10 is a special headphone and nothing else sounds like it. It's one of the best.


Quote:

Originally Posted by obobskivich /img/forum/go_quote.gif another reason that pushes their price, rarity simply put, they've got this mantra around them as "the best" in audiophile circles, and because they're "rare and elusive" (the packaging doesn't hurt this image), the price reacts accordingly same reason K1000's are approaching $1500, and AT W5000's are only ~$700 (look up the list MSRPs for both of these, respectively )

 

[obobskivich]

I'm not saying its not good, I'm saying its over-valued due to rarity, $4000-$5500 just because its "rare" and has this allure around it as "the best", I'd wager its at best a 10% improvement (if we could even objectively declare this) over any current flagship/top range product at 1/5th the price, law of diminishing returns/over-hyped/over-zealous beliefs/whatever you wanna call it, it is what it is

 

[Nocturnal310]

The R10 are in singapore...gonna audition them hopefully.


really curious to know too whats so special about them..like some legendary headphone

 

[obobskivich]

nocturnal:

would love to hear your thoughts (i.e: after you hear them, do you feel they're worth roughly $5000, do they live up to their hype, what did you like, what did you dislike, etc)

 

[Cool_Torpedo]

obobskivich, have you listened/owned the R10s? If not, your evaluations about their supposed improvements over others and their sound are moot. Of course you're entitled to your opinion, but dismissing something just based on its price, which I can agree is excessive nowadays, isn't very realistic.

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cool_Torpedo /img/forum/go_quote.gif obobskivich, have you listened/owned the R10s? If not, your evaluations about their supposed improvements over others and their sound are moot. Of course you're entitled to your opinion, but dismissing something just based on its price, which I can agree is excessive nowadays, isn't very realistic.

I love how nobody is reading my posts as anything but "blah blah R10's suck because they're expensive and screw you you challenged our religion!"

 

[QQQ]

obobskivich, don't bark at Torpedo, he's one of few guys here who's always on point and not talking just for the safe of talking(or the safe of looking sarcastic, etc..)

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by QQQ /img/forum/go_quote.gif obobskivich, don't bark at Torpedo, he's one of few guys here who's always on point and not talking just for the safe of talking(or the safe of looking sarcastic, etc..)

and now I'm "ethically wrong" for taking offense to being barked at because nobody has actually gotten my point

so lets give the "right" post:

yeah R10's are just AWESOME and are best ever, price is totally justified and they're a complete steal at $5000, you should buy them, if you ever question this opinion you're just a moron and don't know


and ignore that my original point was uh:
[size=x-large]THEY COST AS MUCH AS A USED CAR PURELY DUE TO THEIR RARITY AND THE LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURNS[/size]

you CAN NOT convince me that these are 8x better than ATH W5000's, or 2-3x better than O2's, or 5-6x better than K1000's, giving them 10% is QUITE A LOT wrt law of diminishing returns

and nowhere did I say they're "bad" or that anyone who likes them is "wrong", I simply said they're quite expensive due to their rarity, hype, and the law of diminishing returns (which actually supports them being "better" than cheaper things, just not in a linear fashion)

 

[vkvedam]

Due to the production that has gone into extinction. And the associated SQ and signature as well.

 

[leeperry]

the R10 is utterly bright and bass shy...but the SS is apparently even better than on the cd3k and the big wood enclosures kill most inner up resonances...plus they're rare and elite stuff!

 

[mark2410]

i thnk what obobskivichis trying to say is that he thinks most of that price is being paid for their rarity status rather than their acoustic yummyness

ie yes they prob super good but not 4k more than the HD800 good

 

[obobskivich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif i thnk what obobskivichis trying to say is that he thinks most of that price is being paid for their rarity status rather than their acoustic yummyness ie yes they prob super good but not 4k more than the HD800 good

that is EXACTLY what i'm trying to say, thank you for reading

I have no doubt the HD800's will be equals, or perhaps even "lesser" (but nobody really knows right now), but not "25% or less" as good, nor would I be surprised if the HD800 was felt as "better" by some

the R10's, just like older AT woodies (and the L3k to some degree, although from what I've found, it was quite expensive new (leather does that to things)), K1000's, and many other "vintage" products, have the price inflated due to rarity, perceived quality, etc (look up vintage muscle cars in "mint" shape, tell me that price is not influenced by the allure of the vehicle paired with its rarity, tell me a Dodge Charger is a $50,000+ vehicle by design)