Audeze LCD2 vs Sennheiser HD800?? - Page 2  

Are the cups even larger than the HD800 and the Audio Technica AD1000/2000? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by SP Wild 

 I was about to fork out for a HD800 or T1 - but it looks like these things are the closest to the holy grail. 

You do realize that this type of excitement happens with the arrival of every new 'high end' headphone, right? If you don't audition and just accept the opinions of others as fact, that is a dangerous policy. A quick way to end up broke and unhappy.

Yep, audition if possible. Like everything else, a big pinch of salt is needed with opinions. However, some of us are instantly smitten with these.

the lcd-2 is "harder to drive" - it literally takes 4-5x as much power to reach the same volume as the hd800

because of the low impedance it takes ~7-8x more current and more than 1/2 the V as the hd600 to drive the lcd-2

in fact few of the "usual suspect" amps can supply enough current for the lcd-2  - definitely no "cmoy" clone portable

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beagle 

You do realize that this type of excitement happens with the arrival of every new 'high end' headphone, right? If you don't audition and just accept the opinions of others as fact, that is a dangerous policy. A quick way to end up broke and unhappy.

Yesireee, indeed.  I've been reading the comparisons.  I'm using the HD800's now and am having a grand time.  The LCD-2's had better enjoy their time of glory while they can.

So far, from the comments I've gathered (both online and in person) of probably 15-20 well-respected Head-fiers, maybe all of 3 of them have stated a preference to HD800 or T1 over LCD-2. And it's always more a matter of their personal preference to the dynamics' sound sig or soundstage. IOW, the LCD-2 was too neutral for them.

FOTM happens when you have just a few very vocal cheerleaders who aren't even familiar with what else is out there. They get a couple dozen beginners on board, and it snowballs simply due to the quantity of (mostly) low-quality posts. In earphones (where I spend most of my time), it's an ongoing (and frustrating) issue.

But I wonder how many of the LCD-2 fans are lacking in perspective, that you've noticed?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew H 

So far, from the comments I've gathered (both online and in person) of probably 15-20 well-respected Head-fiers, maybe all of 3 of them have stated a preference to HD800 or T1 over LCD-2. And it's always more a matter of their personal preference to the dynamics' sound sig or soundstage. IOW, the LCD-2 was too neutral for them.

 

FOTM happens when you have just a few very vocal cheerleaders who aren't even familiar with what else is out there. They get a couple dozen beginners on board, and it snowballs simply due to the quantity of (mostly) low-quality posts. In earphones (where I spend most of my time), it's an ongoing (and frustrating) issue.

 

But I wonder how many of the LCD-2 fans are lacking in perspective, that you've noticed?

Great question indeed...  How many of the new LCD-2 "fanboys" are lacking in perspective or experience?
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew H 

So far, from the comments I've gathered (both online and in person) of probably 15-20 well-respected Head-fiers, maybe all of 3 of them have stated a preference to HD800 or T1 over LCD-2. And it's always more a matter of their personal preference to the dynamics' sound sig or soundstage. IOW, the LCD-2 was too neutral for them.

 

 

That is the exact opposite of what I have gathered from the ears I trust.  IOW, the experienced ears I trust stated a preference for the LCD-2 over the HD800 and/or T1.  Of course, like a moron, I missed the LCD-2 at CJ.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Monkey 

That is the exact opposite of what I have gathered from the ears I trust.  IOW, the experienced ears I trust stated a preference for the LCD-2 over the HD800 and/or T1.  Of course, like a moron, I missed the LCD-2 at CJ.

I think you and Andrew are saying the same thing.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by kwkarth 

I think you and Andrew are saying the same thing.  

I don't think so, but I'm sure Andrew will set us straight.
 

I'm saying all of 3 (out of 15-20) seem to prefer the dynamics over the LCD-2, not all but 3. And that even for those 3, they aren't denying the absolute performance, accuracy, and detail from the LCD-2, just more that the dynamics' sound suits their taste better.

Which is pretty astounding if you think about it, to get a good 75+% of agreement on anything. Sure it's perhaps too small of a test group to be statistically significant, but these aren't exactly rookies either (which was my other point).

Does the LCD-2 by chance use the same type of connectors as the HD800....a pipe dream for my cables....

I have a lot of phones and quite a bit of experience with others and a lot of headphone time under my belt (35 years). The ears I trust told me the LCD was 'the' can. They were right, for me. A lot of us have a few common phones of reference to go from, and with that, a decent gauge of what we each might like. It's not a FOTM, it's well guided word spreading amongst a group with similar prefs. We're not generally n00bs, not generally inexperienced and not generally swayed by FOTM. The same happened with the JHA IEMs, not FOTM but a fundamental change to many in how an IEM can perform.

Take from that what you will.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew H 

 

Which is pretty astounding if you think about it, to get a good 75+% of agreement on anything.  

 

 

75% usually agree on something for the first month. Then it gradually falls apart after that, when the endorphin rush wears off and/or something "better" comes along.

I think what happens (and it has happened to me) is that we are initally so excited about the positive aspects of a new headphone ( and how they "fix" the problems of the previous one) that we overlook the negative ones. They catch up to us later on. Then we long for something "better". Thank God our spouse/partner is not a pair of headphones.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beagle 

I think what happens (and it has happened to me) is that we are initally so excited about the positive aspects of a new headphone ( and how they "fix" the problems of the previous one) that we overlook the negative ones. They catch up to us later on. Then we long for something "better". Thank God our spouse/partner is not a pair of headphones.

The only difference is that we don't exchange vows with our cans, and for all of us, we do have the option to change cans at a whim and also, to have a number of them at a given time to enjoy.