[Blackmore]

Lucky me, cos my wallet already hates me

THX

Quote:

Originally Posted by razer /img/forum/go_quote.gif I personally feel that the ESW9's aren't really that suitable for T, C, A or POP coz' the mids are a tad laid back and when I listen to T,C, A or POP, I'll prefer a more forward sounding mid and faster kinda sound....Something like the SA5000's . ESW9's have a really nice bass that goes deep and displays quality in it, not the boomy kind but definitly not punchy enough to get that vibe outta music genres like trance club and ambient where bass impact I feel, is pretty important..

 

[redwires]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zumaro /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yodobashi price was 29800 Yen - I haven't seen any cheap priced ones yet available in a retail outlet, but this was Osaka, so may not be quite as cheap as Tokyo.

Did you try to find a place on Kakaku.com? The prices are slightly higher than Tokyo but not by much (at least when I was there in 2003). Did you try the shops near Denden-Town?

Actually just looked on Kakaku and this shop in Osaka has it in stock. Lowest price listed on Kakaku as well, 22995 yen.
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[razer]

Anyway, how much are you guys getting your ESW9's for? I got mine for $240 at where I live...

 

[razer]

Guess its like $30 more expensive than getting them straight from kakaku....including shipping and all...

 

[AnGeLiCbOrIs]

Are there any websites on Kakaku that ship to the US?

 

[milkpowder]

Or could some of our Japanese friends help us out?

I can't justify spending money on portable 'phones just now. Maybe one of you can help me acquire one in the future

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnGeLiCbOrIs /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are there any websites on Kakaku that ship to the US?

Pricejapan does that sometimes when Kakatu has the best price.

 

[redwires]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnGeLiCbOrIs /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are there any websites on Kakaku that ship to the US?

I doubt there are, most of the stores listed don't have staff that can communicate well enough in english plus they don't want to deal with CC fraud that comes with accepting international CC orders.

 

[boomana]

I've been listening to mine for about two hours now, and for an impulse buy, which it was, I'm very pleased I went for it. I've needed a pair of decent closed, portable headphones, mostly to take to work at back, but not used while walking around, and I've found them.

First impressions right out the the box:

1. Can used unamped, but better with an amp. So far, I've only used the Diablo, which is a fairly bright amp. I'll mess around with other choices later.

2. The bass plus lower mids to mids are impressive. Solid, tight, nice extension, good texture, no sloppiness. Presence is felt but in no way takes over. Male vocals are rich. I'm extremely happy.

3. Upper mids: a bit recessed and question mark re tone (some female vocals...er...sounding a little off right now, but I can't place my finger on what I'm hearing or not hearing yet). I need to break out my reference cd's, but don't really care much right now as I'm just listening to music, messing around, and enjoying myself. If there's a problem area with this headphone, this is it for me, but again, these are only two hours old, and I'm going to defer judgment until I get some more listening time in.

4. Treble. This is usually my trouble area as I am oversensitive to highs, and what many people consider good, I can consider harsh, shrill and even painful (DT880s, Zu cable on 650s, Proline 2500). Not so here, thank goodness. There's nice extension (again, I haven't broken out my reference discs so I may change my mind), but no shrillness, no sibilance. Very clean, nice sound. Again, a little question re tone, but I'm using a bright amp, and need to mess around with other. For the most part, I'm very happy here.

5. Headstage: really nice. Seriously nice. Not K1000s or K701s by any stretch, but who cares. Nice imaging, good separation and placement. Perfectly adequate and pleasing.

I don't like to rush to judgment on any kind of gear, and plan on posting a full review in a few weeks, while maybe comparing how they sound with a selection of portable amps. Maybe I'll change my mind on these brief first thoughts here, but I was excited enough to want to share. We'll see what happens.

All I say for now is that I'm very pleased I got them. I have an ample selection of wonderful home headphones, on-the-go choices (iems and earbuds), but had found nothing that pleased me for the let's take to work and listen in semi-isolation, blah blah, etc. For this, I'm very satisfied. Also, they're beautiful and very comfy (those with a large head may have some problems).

btw, for the above, I was using the headphone out of a 5.5g imod for unamped, and then amped with a LaRocco Diablo. All music in lossless, and a nice range as I had it on shuffle.

 

[milkpowder]

It's nice to know that they sound acceptable unamped. How detailed are these, relative to the K1000, HD650 and K701 (I'm not even going to say R10

).

They look expensive, but do they feel the same way? What is the frame made out of? Are the earpads leather?

Looking forward to your review. Thanks.

 

[boomana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's nice to know that they sound acceptable unamped. How detailed are these, relative to the K1000, HD650 and K701 (I'm not even going to say R10 ). They look expensive, but do they feel the same way? What is the frame made out of? Are the earpads leather? Looking forward to your review. Thanks.

The detail is pretty decent. I have no complaints in that department at all. The K1000s and K701s, not to mention R10s are the best dynamic headphones for detail around, so that's not a fair comparison, and besides, those aren't exactly headphones to walk around town in, so a little give and take is due. Both my Senns have been vacationing with another head-fier for the past month, and I'm real interested in comparing them (they are actually in my mailbox now, but my key broke off in the lock

). They sound nothing like Senns (more forward for one), but if we're talking detail only, and only from a portable amp and source (not home amp/source), I'm pretty sure the 6X0s will have the edge, but they might be closer than I'd expect. I hopefully will know tomorrow.

They look and feel like quality headphones, especially as they are portable. I believe the pads and headband are lambskin (or so I read). What's interested is that Audiocubes states that wood is African Paduak, but other sites state Hokkaido cherrywood. I sure don't know the difference, but would like to find out. The frame is black plastic, but looks good. The only thing that looks a bit cheap is the silverish metal headband that is uncovered at varying lengths when you adjust the headphones to fit. They should have used black or at least something not as shiny.

I have to add that Sasaki was right. The SR-71 is a really nice amp with the ESW9s, my fav so far. I'm slightly adjusting my earlier impressions as I go along (the upper mids still being the problem point for me, but better than I was afraid of). I'll leave off saying any more about the sound until I've given them more time.

 

[PenDragon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zumaro /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yodobashi price was 29800 Yen - I haven't seen any cheap priced ones yet available in a retail outlet, but this was Osaka, so may not be quite as cheap as Tokyo. Isolation is OK - nowhere near as good as the Senn HD25s, and there is some leakage as well. Still I am thoughtless enough to use Senn PX100s on the train, so I guess anything is an improvement for the people around me over those.

Thanks for the response!

Quote:

Originally Posted by razer /img/forum/go_quote.gif I personally feel that the ESW9's aren't really that suitable for T, C, A or POP coz' the mids are a tad laid back and when I listen to T,C, A or POP, I'll prefer a more forward sounding mid and faster kinda sound....Something like the SA5000's . ESW9's have a really nice bass that goes deep and displays quality in it, not the boomy kind but definitly not punchy enough to get that vibe outta music genres like trance club and ambient where bass impact I feel, is pretty important..

Could you tell me how you experience the leakage compared to the ES7? Since I'm currently using the latter ones.

 

[boomana]

Audio-Technica's site says that [size=x-small]the wooden cup housing is "made from Japan's finest Hokkaido cherry tree." It looks like Audiocubes has some wrong information on their site.
[/size]

 

[wsilvio]

Mine showed up today, and the box says African Paduak.

So far I'm really enjoying these phones. I only have about three hours on them, but I can already tell these are keepers. They even sound good unamped from my ipod headphone out. I've tried them with my gilmore lite and micro dac, my 5.5g imod with vcap portable and millett hybrid portable. Sound good in every situation.

These might be a bad choice for the office as I may never get anymore work done listening to these!

 

[boomana]

That's weird. Where on the box does it say that? Mine only says "premium-textured wood housing" in one place and "wood housing" in another. Other than the specs in English on the back of the box, the rest is in Japanese, so I have no idea what it says. Did you get yours from audiocubes?

I tested these out the doctor's office today, and though the woman sitting next to me couldn't hear my music (I asked), I could sure hear everything around me, so don't expect to shut out noisy co-workers.