February 25, 200917 yr Got the ESW9s today straight off the lappy soundcard. These should not sound this good off a shitty soundcard. no cj-ing allowed.
February 26, 200917 yr ESW10's > VTG sound quality wise ...straight outta the iPod. Form factor (closed, around the ear), VTG's are still > ESW10's. :\ Also, the VTG's don't suck unamped. Edited February 26, 200917 yr by Dusty Chalk
February 26, 200917 yr hey, with the esw9's I'm allowed to cj! They sound awesome with the ipod unamped or just off the lappy soundcard.
February 28, 200917 yr The ESW10JPN kill my old ATH-W11R, and I like them better than the W5000 I tried although they don't have the soundstage of the W5000. I thought the W5000 sounded a little peaky in the upper mids (strange tonality) with a lack of bass, like the CD3000. (not heard all of these together at the same time though)
March 5, 200917 yr So -- which ones seem to have variance from one to the next, that's the ESW9's, right, not these? Yes, it was the ESW9's. I've had both versions of ESW9's. The first I bought from warehouse123 (online shop based in Hong Kong). They certainly did have an upper mid/treble bite so I ended up selling them. Examined the built quality very carefully just to make sure they were authentic - 99.9% certain they were Wanting to see if I could find the version with the smoother sound, I ordered another pair direct from an eBay seller in Japan. I lucked out this time and have been enjoying them in the office ever since! There were a few variables I noticed between the two different pairs, but difficult to say which was most important: - The pair from Hong Kong were meant for the Chinese/HK market....DUH! - The pair from Hong Kong had a later manufacturing date - The pair from Hong Kong had a lighter, slightly redder finish ....all of this went down in Q2 2008. BTW, I like the ESW9's much better amped fairly budget desktop rig at work but the amp tightens up the bass a good amount.
March 10, 200917 yr The ESW10JPN kill my old ATH-W11R, and I like them better than the W5000 I tried although they don't have the soundstage of the W5000. I thought the W5000 sounded a little peaky in the upper mids (strange tonality) with a lack of bass, like the CD3000. (not heard all of these together at the same time though) If your W11R's were the same pair that went to Blutarsky, I've been enjoying them for about a year now in the UK... I liked them so much I sold my W5000's, and while I'm not beyond the idea of an upgrade, I have no idea where to go from here... On the ESW9 front mine have just gone back to AT after a sudden and catastrophic left hand driver failure.
March 11, 200917 yr If your W11R's were the same pair that went to Blutarsky, I've been enjoying them for about a year now in the UK... I liked them so much I sold my W5000's, and while I'm not beyond the idea of an upgrade, I have no idea where to go from here... On the ESW9 front mine have just gone back to AT after a sudden and catastrophic left hand driver failure. Yes - that is them. I had the W11R for about a week, and traded them back to Blutarsky for an iBasso D1 with about $100 worth of opamps and $150 cash to me. Then traded the D1 and opamps for an SRD-7 Pro and kept the cash, so I think I did well on the deal. The upper mids had an echoey nasal quality that made them picky about the particular amp being used to drive them, and the bass was a little less than I preferred. I still liked them better than the W5000 Naaman brought over to play with last year (around the same time). I was planning to have APureSound re-cable the W11R but decided NOT to ruin their collector value. I also liked the W11R better than my old bloodwood Darth Beyer or Bultarsky's Rosewood Darths, which I had for a week before I traded them back to him for the W11R. That was all around the time I got my HE60 and I couldn't listen to other phones easily, as the HE60 made the others sound too colored. I do think the ESW10 have a more natural tone to them as well as good transparency for a closed can, and in some cases it makes them better than my woodied re-cabled partially markl modded D2000 or APS V3 Edition 9. The main fault is the smaller more intimate soundstage, which is more like that of a Grado. Once the new APS V3 portable cable is ready for sale, I may end up seeing how much better the ESW10 could be with a re-cable. Or, I could just keep enjoying them the way they are... (edit - the W11R were probably around March 2008, since that is when I bought my APS V3 RS-1, and put APS V3 cable on my Edition 9. I still have the RS-1 and Ed 9, but I now don't listen to them as much as my electrostatics or ATH-ESW10, or Westone ES3X.
March 12, 200917 yr just pulled the trigger on the ESW10JPN, hoping to replace my E4c, MS2i and ES7 with a single can noticed they're selling out fast everywhere (totally sold out at bluetin, missed a really sweet deal there argghh) and pricejapan just dropped the price a little today so i jumped on it has anyone tried it straight out of the Duet HP out? oh and hi btw, think this is my first post.. long time lurker here (and that other place)
March 12, 200917 yr They really don't require an amp imo. I'm sure the duet will be fine, considering an ipod is great with them.
March 12, 200917 yr just pulled the trigger on the ESW10JPN, hoping to replace my E4c, MS2i and ES7 with a single can noticed they're selling out fast everywhere (totally sold out at bluetin, missed a really sweet deal there argghh) and pricejapan just dropped the price a little today so i jumped on it has anyone tried it straight out of the Duet HP out? oh and hi btw, think this is my first post.. long time lurker here (and that other place) Apogee Duet? I should be able to try it shortly. But yes, I agree with Nate -- easily the best headphone I've ever heard with the built-in amps in most gear. And welcome to head-case, don your thick skin at the door.
March 12, 200917 yr I borrowed a Duet for two weeks after the Feb CO head-fi meet, and the Duet is a good match for the ESW10, better than with HD600.
March 13, 200917 yr Apogee Duet? I should be able to try it shortly. But yes, I agree with Nate -- easily the best headphone I've ever heard with the built-in amps in most gear. And welcome to head-case, don your thick skin at the door. Thanks and no worries, I come here to escape the bs at the 'Fi after all I borrowed a Duet for two weeks after the Feb CO head-fi meet, and the Duet is a good match for the ESW10, better than with HD600. That's good to hear Btw I'm seriously considering re-cabling the ESW10s in the near future. Are the APS V3s a worthwhile upgrade from the current APS portable? Do you reckon re-cabling will seriously impact the collector's value (if any) of the ESW10s? Also on the lookout for a Duet cable, anyone tried the APS version? Not aware of any alternatives (unless n_maher is still making them) but $160 is kinda steep :/
March 13, 200917 yr Author Highly doubtful the cable will do anything worth losing the portability (and value) of stock.
March 13, 200917 yr Highly doubtful the cable will do anything worth losing the portability (and value) of stock. I agree!
March 13, 200917 yr No, duet cable, not esw10 cable. Duet cable is a big help, if for nothing more than decluttering. Blue Jeans Cables makes a duet cable, too I believe.
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