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bumblingbooby said:

Are you on the Audeze payroll? 
 
To the OP, the LCD-2 is a fine headphone but it is large and heavy. It also requires dedicated amplification in order to sound anywhere near its best. The HD800 is also an excellent headphone, but it too requires a good quality source and amplification to approach its potential.
 
There are other premium headphones on offer that you could consider as a gift for your boyfriend, such as the Ultrasone Edition 8, Ultrasone Edition 8 Palladium, audio-technica ATH-W1000X, and the Grado RS1i, GS1000i and the PS1000, which I see you are already considering. They look and sound great, don't require dedicated amplification in order to sound good, and perform very well sraight from an ipod. I'd be stoked to receive any one of them. 
 
Good luck! 

 
 

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You're just randomly recommending your favorite headphones.   I sold my LCD-2.    I try to recommend what the OP would most likely enjoy in these threads.  The RS1/GS1000/PS1000 have a very specific sound that a small fraction of people love and many hate.  Yes, he might like them, but chances are against it.  And GS/PS1000 out of an ipod is ridiculous.  The Edition 8 might be worth considering but I don't know how easy they are to drive nor have I heard them. 
 
The LCD-2 does not need "dedicated amplification in order to sound anywhere near its best".  It scales nicely, but it's been said since the beginning by many people that it is easy to drive WELL even by ipods which was my experience as well.  In fact, a big part of the design was about maintaining efficiency so it wouldn't wind up like the HE6.  It's about as easy to drive as any portable headphone.  It's just a lot more revealing than most phones, so you can hear it improve substantially with better equipment. 
 

Of course the HD800 would be nice. Nevertheless the T1 would also be as good as the T1 IMO. But at the end there would be nothing done wrong with them including the other mentioned brands..
 
Without reading the whole thread there are also possibilities in closed cans or even custom IEM's.. and not to forget there has to be sth behind them all to drive them or i terms of Ferrari and Pagani, good petrol

     Quote:

schalliol said:

brad1, did you get what you need to make a decision about what to get for your boyfriend?  If so, what did you decide, and if not, what else do you think you need?

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Hey no problem (sorry I didn't post sooner)
 
Anyways I ended up getting the Audeze LCD-2 directly from their site (what's weird is they weren't on Amazon, which is where I like to buy these sorts of things). Doesn't matter though I have to give the guys at Audeze credit, the headphones (from what I saw through Google) look really nice, even the box it comes in has that gift-like view to it. The only thing I have to buy now is a converter so he plug it into his mp3.
 
 

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n3rdling said:

The only problem is that the RS1 sounds like donkey crap compared to the LCD2
 
The LCD2 really isn't that hard to drive, I think it's a great choice here.

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I had that impression comparing HE-500 & RS-1.  It was no contest.  Comparing LCD-2 and RS-1, the latter hold up surprisingly well.    So I'd consider those & HE-500 to be a very good buys for their price.
 

Hope uses high quality files or he's going to think it's the phones... haha "...this makes my 128 mp3's sound terrible... can we exchange it? "
Maybe get him to play a decent CD with them first.
Good purchase.
Post back with his reactions .

 
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eucariote said:

I had that impression comparing HE-500 & RS-1.  It was no contest.  Comparing LCD-2 and RS-1, the latter hold up surprisingly well. 

  So I'd consider those & HE-500 to be a very good buys for their price.
 

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Nice review eucariote. The more I read about the HE500, the more I want one. Actually, I recall even the Ultrasone ED8 having a bit of emphasized treble so the HE500 might have really accurate treble response. I'm not too sure though.
 

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brad1 said:

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Hey no problem (sorry I didn't post sooner)
 
Anyways I ended up getting the Audeze LCD-2 directly from their site (what's weird is they weren't on Amazon, which is where I like to buy these sorts of things). Doesn't matter though I have to give the guys at Audeze credit, the headphones (from what I saw through Google) look really nice, even the box it comes in has that gift-like view to it. The only thing I have to buy now is a converter so he plug it into his mp3.
 
 

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You should check out the adapters that Grado and Sennheiser make.  They have a cable attached so the plug doesn't become too long.  Here's a link to the Grado one, which is probably better quality than the other but it's hard to say for sure, I own both and they both work great.  http://www.ttvjaudio.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=124
 
If he doesn't like the LCD-2 it will be a great reference for finding him a replacement he likes better. 

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brad1 said:

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Anyways I ended up getting the Audeze LCD-2 directly from their site (what's weird is they weren't on Amazon, which is where I like to buy these sorts of things). Doesn't matter though I have to give the guys at Audeze credit, the headphones (from what I saw through Google) look really nice, even the box it comes in has that gift-like view to it. The only thing I have to buy now is a converter so he plug it into his mp3.
 
 

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Congrats on you're purchase! You've chosen the number 1 phone from head-fi at the mo. We got there in the end after the usual squabbling and catfights! though we'll probably just carry on squabbling now if thats ok
 
(incidently if he doesn't like them, I'll take them off him for a good price
 

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Originally Posted by LugBug1 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
We got there in the end after the usual squabbling and catfights! though we'll probably just carry on squabbling now if thats ok

 

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You wanna fight?  My bicepts will kill you. 

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rhythmdevils said:

You wanna fight?  My bicepts will kill you. 

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They'll have to catch me first!
 
My headphones are better than yours .. right I'm off!
 

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brad1 said:

     Quote:

Hey no problem (sorry I didn't post sooner)
 
Anyways I ended up getting the Audeze LCD-2 directly from their site (what's weird is they weren't on Amazon, which is where I like to buy these sorts of things). Doesn't matter though I have to give the guys at Audeze credit, the headphones (from what I saw through Google) look really nice, even the box it comes in has that gift-like view to it. The only thing I have to buy now is a converter so he plug it into his mp3.
 
 

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Congrats Brad I'm glad you were able to find something you were comfortable buying as a gift for your boyfriend. Keep in touch and let us know how he likes them. Considering the LCD-2 is the king headphone on head-fi your boyfriend just got into high end audio starting on the top end. I greatly envy him right now
 

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immtbiker said:

While I agree with these 2 choices, it's Head-Fi's belief that you should never recommend a component that you, yourself, have not spent intimate time with. You're recommending $1000 headphones that you've never auditioned 

. There have been multiple threads on this subject.
 

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This was probably addressed in following pages, but people! Get some perspective! This is not a recommendation, it's a f-ing gift! What kind of asshole would receive a gift of a $1,000 pair of headphones and not like it? I might be more interested in an LCD-2 or Tesla T1, but if someone gave me a Grado, I would enjoy and cherish it. Because it was a freaking generous gift! I didn't have to pay for it!
 
There is definitely a point where audiophiles can lose the plot.
 

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fastnbulbous said:

This was probably addressed in following pages, but people! Get some perspective! This is not a recommendation, it's a f-ing gift! What kind of asshole would receive a gift of a $1,000 pair of headphones and not like it? I might be more interested in an LCD-2 or Tesla T1, but if someone gave me a Grado, I would enjoy and cherish it. Because it was a freaking generous gift! I didn't have to pay for it!
 
There is definitely a point where audiophiles can lose the plot.
 

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I'm afraid it's not always as simple as that.....I'm a TN fan, my wife is a Tide fan.  If she bought me an autographed *insert random Tide player* jersey the only amount of cherishing I would get out of it would be watching it burn after I soaked it in lighter fluid and lit it.  So if you absolutely hated the Grado sound signature it could be his "Tide jersey".  Good thing is, the LCD-2's don't seem to devalue much for the time being since they are so popular at the moment, so they could be sold for almost full purchase price, more than likely, and something else purchased.  Same can't be said for the PS1000's, or it would take a lot longer to sell them at least.
 

Gift or no gift, recommending something that you, yourself have never heard, is just plain wrong. 
 
The Porsche 930 Ruf Twin Turbo is probably one of the nicest vintage sports cars ever made, but if you can't shift, present or no present, it is a man's car and would be worthless to most feminine women who 
want a recommendation, for a cool fast Porsche. It is a beast to shift and clutch, and needs to be tried by the person who is recommending it without ever driving it. Capiche?
 
If you're going to recommend, then you have to have some miles under your belt. A Cadillac CTS-V would be a better recommendation. Lots of wow factor for men and women alike.
A $1000 doesn't mean crap if it doesn't meet your needs.

Congratulations, Brad--great choice, and I hope your boyfriend enjoys his gift!
 
I just wanted to throw in my recommendation for an adapter...
 
http://www.amazon.com/Grado-Mini-Adaptor-Cable-Inch/dp/B001DK1ZVO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308951801&sr=8-1
 
I purchased it after getting some recommendations here on Head-Fi.  They were right--it's very well made, comes with a carrying pouch, and since it's not a straight adapter, won't put any extra strain on the plug.

 
Quote:

brad1 said:

     Quote:

Hey no problem (sorry I didn't post sooner)
 
Anyways I ended up getting the Audeze LCD-2 directly from their site (what's weird is they weren't on Amazon, which is where I like to buy these sorts of things). Doesn't matter though I have to give the guys at Audeze credit, the headphones (from what I saw through Google) look really nice, even the box it comes in has that gift-like view to it. The only thing I have to buy now is a converter so he plug it into his mp3.
 
 

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