I agree. =)  But for that huge amount of cash, we should always consider the whole picture.
 

 

What's your setup with the LCD-2s? The LCD-2s can have a very wide soundstage in my experience, little depth at times but I easily accept that sacrifice for their reproduction of sound.

Agreed...sound stage is from the recordings themselves. What do you have upstream (amp/dac/source)?

I heard a LCD 2 through a Menace and the soundstage was very small for an open headphone.

 

Well, I have listened to 3 different setup with different sources on each. The boxed in feeling is there. Maybe I shouldn't say soundstage, where the LCD-2 can image pretty OK, but the lack of out of head effect really annoyed me. If not the lack of openess/airiness, it would have been my one and for all phone.

Are the LCD-2 good? Yes.
Are the LCD-2 perfect? No, far from it.
Are the LCD-2 over hyped? Yes, to be honest.
Edited by Ra97oR - 4/26/11 at 7:33pm

Just wondering, how long did you own the LCD-2 before you sold them?

I was on them around an hour at a meet. The initial impression was very impressive, but once I listen to it for longer and on quieter songs, it just lacks the airiness. I proceed to switch source and amps to see if it was their fault, but the base lack of airiness was never going away. I think it is one of the design limitation of the headphone itself.

I'm using the AD2000s for rock and i love them with it! 

I can understand how some might think next to other expansive sounding headphones, the LCD-2s can come off a bit too stuffy. But my experience shows that the LCD-2s were simply revealing what I had upstream. First thing I did was change out my PS Audio DLIII DAC for my Cary XCiter DAC....treble opened up and in turn more air presented itself. Secondly, I swapped out the stock cable for the Moon Audio Silver Dragon...noticeable improvement in that area.

Finally, I purchased a Schiit Lyr to power my HE-6s, but I noticed a drastic improvement in treble response, sound stage expansiveness. One of the biggest drivers that I found was MOAR POWER. Orthos really need a lot of power to really show you what they can really do. Power that most current headphone amps can't really supply. But let's not forget the source as well.

x2 on good source for the LCD-2, especially for scope of the soundstage and placement of instruments.

 

I spent years looking for a system that could keep up with the wide bandwidth and speed of metal, I owned SR325is and DT880, then upped my financial commitment and auditioned lower-end Stax, Ed8, GS1000i and Beyer T1. 

 

Then I got LCD-2 (first with a Musical Fidelity M1 HPA and more recently with Schiit Lyr, both great) and for me at least, the search is over, they are superb for metal. I'd actually give second place to the SR325is for metal (the brightness gave me a headache sadly) and third to the Ed8, which I thought did everything very well, but nothing amazingly well.

Hi all. I, as well as the topicstarter, looking for headphones to listen to rock and metal. But I do have budget constraints - $ 200 - $ 300. What would you advise the best for the money. And yet, what would you say about Fostex T50RP for this music?

I listen to more Rock than metal, but I like the LCD-2 very much.  For a reasonable price the Schiit Lyr seems to be a an awesome amp, I don't own one myself but I have heard my friends Lyr for a few hours at my house.

I listen a lot of varieties of heavy metal (mostly traditional and 80s style though) and
own several pairs of headphones. Here is my opinion on how each of these models
has peformed for me.

Grado SR-225:
Perfect headphones for a portable setup like an mp3 player because they do not require much amping. Quick snappy bass and smooth liquidy guitars. Vocals are very good and prominent but can be a little raw/harsh sounding on top. These lack a little bit in bringing out the full atmosphere and ambience a good metal recording has to offer but everything is presented in a coherent and competent fashion. I love having these around but I usually have had my fill of them after listening to an album or two and they don't scale up that well to my vinyl system and full sized amps.

Sennheiser HD-580:
Some say Sennheiser's are too laid back for metal but I disagree. The 580s have nice tight bass that can go very low without overwhelming the rest of the music. Vocals are pretty open and natural plus the headphone always seems to have enough headroom for powerful dynamic changes. Guitars have a great warm detail and can really soar and reverberate naturally with a good music source. You get far more of the ambience and atmosphere of the recording environment with these headphones vs a lot of others on the market. (particularly important for 1980's era metal) These headphones also excel in providing a good sense of rythmn that can get your head moving and bring you into the music on an emotional level. These can seem slightly recessed straight out of portable gear but if you have any reasonable amp they will become far better. I have found that hd580s respond well to even the smallest changes/upgrades to my system. These are great all-arounders for all types of heavy metal. I love these on my main vinyl system and Pioneer SX-737 receiver or tube headphone amps.

Stax SR-Lambda:
Another good pair of headphones. These excel in there ability to provide an exceptionally clear and transparent sound. Things can sound a little lean on these headphones and they may not be "hard driving" enough for all types of heavy metal. The treble is a little forward which can reveal a bit of sibilance on some recordings. However they do suit some kinds of heavy metal pretty well because they present a lot of clarity, speed and detailed warmth. I like these quite a bit on King Diamond for instance or other metal that has a lot of layers and complexity in the music. Great headphones but perhaps not ideal for all kinds of metal since they do not have big "impact" and bass is a little lean.

Fostex T50rp: (basic felt/foam mods)
Un-modded these sounded a bit dull to me and I wouldn't neccesarily recommend them for metal. With mods they have some good qualities. These are very fast responding, retrieve a lot of detail and have great imaging. Very good for double bass or lighting fast guitar soloing. Vocals are pretty decent and treble detail and texture is superb. However I do find that the bass can be a little hollow/echo'ish and guitars can sound slightly sickly in tone. I sense that they are slightly "claustrophobic" and have some oddities in the midrange that I find a little fatiguing. Not bad but not perfect.

BeyerDynamic DT-880 Pro:
These babies are very neutral sounding in general. Like the Sennheisers these capture most of a recording's natural ambience and atmosphere and layout a good soundstage. The treble is nicely textured and these tend to keep hard sibilant ssss sounds well tamed. Guitars are quite smooth and pleasing but not quite as wild and dynamic as the others in some respects. Bass isn't quite as tight as the Sennheisers or Grados but compares well to the Fostex except not so hollow. Vocals are slightly recessed but detailed. I find them a little too tame and analytical at times which isn't always wanted with metal. Not bad but I don't like them too much on more rock'ish metal like some Judas Priest's or Accept's albums because they don't really let the intensity of those bands go all the way. Good neutral all around headphone but again don't suit every kind of metal well.

So basically I recommend getting an upper Sennheiser (HD580 or HD600). Grado SR-225 is also a good choice for MP3 and portable gear in particular. You can't go wrong with anything by Stax either. These headphones all have their own strengths and weaknesses so it's tough to say which is overall winner.
Edited by realstar - 8/20/11 at 3:18pm