Best headphone under 10k$

jatindersangha

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2020
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Best headphone for me, under $10K is the Sony R10 - it still brings music to life like no other headphones.
 

tobiasrankin

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Mar 7, 2020
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It may work well with tube amp like Audio Research 160m which has enough power to drive Sr1a.

But you never know until you try yourself.

Do you find sr1a is lacking in bass? Would it be viable for EDM, house, techno etc? It seems this is the biggest downside.
 

thomask

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Dec 9, 2018
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Do you find sr1a is lacking in bass? Would it be viable for EDM, house, techno etc? It seems this is the biggest downside.
It depends on personal taste.

Sr1a does not go below 30hz. Thus some people complain about lack of sub bass.

But its bass is fast and tight and not bad until 30 hz.

You have to try yourself to find out whether it is up to your taste.

They give 15 days' return.

i pulled the trigger after trying it out at my pal's house.

Some dealer like Bloom Audio in New Jersey let you try that in their shop.
 

moby2004

Well-Known Member
Jan 21, 2018
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It depends on personal taste.

Sr1a does not go below 30hz. Thus some people complain about lack of sub bass.

But its bass is fast and tight and not bad until 30 hz.

You have to try yourself to find out whether it is up to your taste.

They give 15 days' return.

i pulled the trigger after trying it out at my pal's house.

Some dealer like Bloom Audio in New Jersey let you try that in their shop.

I totally agree with this. SR1A is giving you tight and fast bass but compared to the Susvara for instance you don’t get the same impact. It’s a different sensation.
I did not have the chance to listen to it yet but seems the Abyss TC is one of the best for the bass giving you the perfect trio : tight,fast + deep impact.

Alex
 

nirvanana

New Member
Mar 12, 2021
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I would like to recommend to you the naenka tws headset I am using now. It has Qualcomm 3040 chip and Bluetooth 5.0 technology. It can be used for 7 hours on a single charge and the total battery life of the charging compartment exceeds 28 hours. It can meet the music needs of travel and business trips. .
 

thomask

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Dec 9, 2018
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I totally agree with this. SR1A is giving you tight and fast bass but compared to the Susvara for instance you don’t get the same impact. It’s a different sensation.
I did not have the chance to listen to it yet but seems the Abyss TC is one of the best for the bass giving you the perfect trio : tight,fast + deep impact.

Alex
i auditioned Abyss CC with Sr1a.

Thus i understand the potentila of Abyss TC.

For the time being, I may be happy with trio of SR1a, Stax 009s and HD 800s.

If I want powerful bass, then I will use my 2 channel system.

009s also give enough bass if driven by Kgsshv amp.
 

jtinn

Industry Expert
Apr 20, 2010
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I am really surprised at some of the favorites. Some of those mentioned were barley listenable to me. I am sure the RAAL would be high on my list, due to my loving the AKG 1000, but I have not had them in yet. My favorite is the HiFiMan Susvara. Needs real power, but really special.
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
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been many years since i did any comparing. so i cannot comment on relative ranking.

however, i did acquire the MSB Select Electrostatic Headphone amplifier, and a pair of Stax SR-009S headphones, and it's an outstanding performing combination. the best i have heard from headphones.
 
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thomask

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I am really surprised at some of the favorites. Some of those mentioned were barley listenable to me. I am sure the RAAL would be high on my list, due to my loving the AKG 1000, but I have not had them in yet. My favorite is the HiFiMan Susvara. Needs real power, but really special.
Some people have high opinion on Susvara. Sr1a sounds like Apogee speakers with same ribbon technology.

It sounds fast and transparent.
 

thomask

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Dec 9, 2018
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been many years since i did any comparing. so i cannot comment on relative ranking.

however, i did acquire the MSB Electrostatic Headphone amplifier, and a pair of Stax SR-009S headphones, and it's an outstanding performing combination. the best i have heard from headphones.

I will get my second Covid vaccination next week.

After being back from Korea to attend wedding of my daughter late May, I may visit your home if you give me chance to try it.

Enjoy it.
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
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I will get my second Covid vaccination next week.

After being back from Korea to attend wedding of my daughter late May, I may visit your home if you give me chance to try it.

Enjoy it.

you are welcome any time. i get my first shot on Wednesday. but i'm good for a visit on my end whenever you are.
 
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Mikem53

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Oct 1, 2020
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Some people have high opinion on Susvara. Sr1a sounds like Apogee speakers with same ribbon technology.

It sounds fast and transparent.
I’m auditioning a pair of Susvara, they are described as planar magnetic headphones.. They sound great, best I’ve heard, but I need a better headphone amp to drive them.. quite impressive.
 

Mikem53

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Oct 1, 2020
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I have been auditioning the Audeze LCD XC and the Susvara headphones. I currently own a pair of Senn HD650’s which I listen to occasionally. I don’t listen to headphones enough to justify the expense for these headphones , but my friend brought them over for me to check out.
The Audeze was very impressive for the price. Great resolution, wonderful extended bass. Clear and natural sounding, never fatiguing, soundwise.. but they are heavy and I found them uncomfortable after a short time. I did like the closed headphone style for a more intimate listening session.
The Susvara was more comfortable and presented the music in a easy going way.. Never standing out in one area.. overall smoothness with good non distracting detail. My headphone setup was not quite Up to the standard of these two headphones. I was surprised at how well it did. My friend advised me to hook them up directly to my SIT3 amp, but I didn’t have the proper cables to do so. I was able to hear most of what these headphones deliver, they were both excellent, best I’ve ever heard, and I do headphone shows.
The audeze would be my choice value wise and a very close second to the Susvara sonically, IMO. But the comfort level due to the weight would be an issue to me for the audeze.
my .02

F1CD059D-208D-4AE9-A15B-B1ED84CE33AD.jpeg
 

fbhifi

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Dec 20, 2013
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What amp are you driving the Susvaras with? They need ALOT of power, not high headphone amp power but speaker amp power. I’m driving mine with 200WPC off the speaker taps. They Love it!!
More importantly, they need it to sound their best.
 
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Mikem53

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Oct 1, 2020
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I was using my Audiotailor headmonitor 1 amp and the Schiit mani. I had plenty of volume, but lacking current, it was apparent, like using regular fuel in a race car. Going to hear them hooked up to an amp this weekend.
 

jtinn

Industry Expert
Apr 20, 2010
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I was using my Audiotailor headmonitor 1 amp and the Schiit mani. I had plenty of volume, but lacking current, it was apparent, like using regular fuel in a race car. Going to hear them hooked up to an amp this weekend.
I agree with FBHIFI, it would be a travesty for someone to listen to these with a low powered headphone amp.

Please let us know how it goes this weekend.
 

Addicted to hifi

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I am listening to above music through Sr1a after listening to same one through my Lansche 4.1 speaker.

It appears that Sr1a driven by Crown XLS2502 has more speed than my 2 channel speaker system.

Thus it is fun to listen to Sr1a.

No more purchase of headphone after Sr1a.

This is my endgame headphone.

Although, I also enjoy nuanced details out of Stax 009s driven by Kgsshv Carbon amp, Sr1a give fast and exciting sound.

I will spend my time on getting good sound out of Scaena 3.2 speaker with ribbon drivers.
Great recording for testing.
 
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