Audeze LCD-3, Poor Man's Stax SR 009 ? - Page 2

Loser buys dinner

 

You're on.

Great! Free dinner for me!

 

Don't count your chickens...

GO LEAFS !!

 

 

 

 

I have to admire a Leaf fan these days for their fortitude.

I dunno...

Even though I have 009s I luv luv luv my LCD3s and would never give them up.

The Audezes are unique and are just the best on some thinner music that needs pumping up but in a good non-bloated big-speaker like way.

Some cheaper phones try this but get hot & heavy and pumped up trying ( JVC DX1000s especially, but also PS1000s, and even Denon D7000s and Beyer T1s [sold all of these after LCD3s proved themselves] ).

 

The LCD3 bass is just really nice to hear somehow, somehow different from all other headphone bass, big and beautiful and real.

And the rest of the sound is very fine too, refined, not in your face. It's not a super live sound, maybe like you are sitting a little further back from the stage, but still a very believable sound.

 

I like my HD800s a lot, but I find myself choosing the LCD3s now over them most of the time, even thought the HD800s are more thrilling (not fatiguing, just more precise, more analytical).

 

LCD3s have no grain, no glassy-sounding mids, and nice texture.

The 009s have more texture and more detail, but will expose a  touch of grain sometimes in extracting that fine detail (just a touch, and it depends on the recording).

 

The Audezes are slightly colored to make things nice and pure and smooth, but it is done so well I don't notice unless I hear more expressive phones, so it sounds natural.

I don't mean they are blunted (like I think Harbeth speakers are, having owned them once, and maybe HD600s too), they are just not hyper detailed analytical tools, but still sound good to me, very good and extremely musical (an overused word, I know, but it seems to apply here).

 

They seem to remember they are a few mm from your ears (thank goodness).

 

My LCD3s are balanced with Moon Black Dragon cable w/ Furutech Rhodium XLR connectors.

Edited by rgs9200m - 6/14/12 at 7:04pm

LoL, turned 40 this past month and I'm still waiting.

I have own many high end Headphone like T 1 , HD 800 and LCD 2 rev 2 and LCD 3
Last month I bought Stax Sr 007 mk 2 and electrostatic amplifier Stax Srm 727 Mk2

My DAC : April music eximus dp 1

Cd player : April music CDA 500

For dynamic driver I use : T+A pre amp V 10.2 from Germany.

Coax cable : Nanotec neuron 99 digital silencer
RCA cable : home grown silver lace

With my Stax set up above the Sound Quality is already the best I ever heard to date
All my headphone collection from dynamic driver and orthos can not produce
The Sound Quality from my Stax set up

Now I bought Stax Sr 009 , it is refinement from my Stax Sr 007 mk 2
More detail, wider soundstage , better bass impact and bass transient very fast.
You feel like you sit in concert hall.

I feel from my dynamic driver and ortho the sound stage only from front to the site from my head.
With the Stax Sr 007 mk2 set up , I feel from front to the back from my head , like you sit
In mitten from the room in Home theatre audio.

From the same music CD , what from my dynamic and ortho can not hear the detail and ambient
I can hear from my Stax St 007 mk2 and Stax Sr 009

After heard the comparison between LCD 3 with Stax sr007 mk2 , 4 of my friends bought sr 007 mk2


we use the same set up above :

For LCD 3 : cd player Stello cda 500 and DAC eximus dp 1

For Stax sr 007 mk2 : cd player Stello cda 500 and DAC eximus dp 1 plus Stax amp srm737 mk2

Sound quality :

With this set up above : my LCD 3 can not compete my Stax sr 007 mk2

High : sr 007 mk2 very smooth high and more extended high than LCD 3

Mid : very sweet and lush and clear and clean , LCD 3 doesn t have so kind of clear and clean
Sounding mid

Bass : Stax sr 007 mk2 has better speed and transient and more detail and better impact compare
To LCD 3

Soundstaging : LCD 3 we feel only from front to my ears
Stax sr 007 mk2 we feel surround our head , like you feel in concert hall.

Separation : Stax sr 007 mk2 has better separation than my LCD 3
You can feel better instrument placement with Stax sr 097 mk 2 than LCD 3

Overall Stax sr 007 mk2 with my set up above is the best compare to all my headphone collection
Like LCD 2 rev 2, LCD 3 , hd 800 , T 1

Stax sr 009 is refinement from Stax sr 007 mk2, you can get more detail and better and wider
Soundstage and better bass impact and quality compare to sr 007 mk2


I have own T+A pre amp V10.2 , I can combine with my Stax electrostatic Sr 727 mk2 plus Sr 007 mk2 As active speaker , all the volume control is from my pre amp T + A .
That s why I choose Stax sr 727 mk2 as my electrostatic amp, because I have home audio pre amp from T+A V10.2

From all my headphone collection : hd 800 is the closest to my Stax sr 007 mk 2 with my set up above .

In term of soundstage , hd 800 minus only grainy mid ,

This is my personal impression

^^

 

I wouldn't consider your setup (amp in particular) "ideal" for the LCD-3s. Most likely why you had less than stellar imaging issues with the LCD-3s. Both the LCD-2 and LCD-3s really benefited from good clean power. With my LF, the LCD-3s have imaging similar to the HE-6 and T1s (that's to say fantastic). But thanks for your impressions. I personally have never liked the SR007s enough (mkI was better than the mkII) to buy them. They (like all electro-stats....headphones and speakers that I've heard through the years) seemed to be really quick and light and precise, but over time the lack of tonal weight really got to me and I felt that I was listening to something that was (while uber-clear), not what I heard in real life. I prefer both the HD800s and LCD-3s to them.

 

That said, I haven't heard the SR009s and hope to soon. They do seem to be really interesting headphones.

I know exactly what you mean about the tonal weight of dynamics vs. SR007s (I used to own them) (like a 2-dimensional sound, like a bit of a paper cutout). But the SR009s are a significant improvement in just this area, and while still not as full-imaged as good dynamics,

it's pretty close, so give the 009s a listen if you can.

Edited by rgs9200m - 6/14/12 at 7:13pm

I hear you, I've been a Lions fan for the past 45 years.    Atleast all the other Detroit teams have won a championship during my lifetime.

 

Being a Canadian, hockey is #1, 2 and 3 and really tough being a Leafs fan. I'm the third generation Leaf fan. Hopefully my 4 year old son (fourth generation Leaf fan...if he wants to continue to live under my roof ) will get to see them raise Lord Stanley's Cup. Sometimes I wonder why guys like us continue to suffer along with our teams (Leaf and Lions)?

 

You've been lucky with the Illitch family (of Macedonian descent by the way), they've been phenomenal ownership for the Red Wings. Colour me jealous!

Hi Peter

If you have the chance in Canada please try to hear the T+A tube pre amp P.10.2
I have compare with many branded head amp , for me T+A P10.2 is the best sounding for Headphone amp .
Maybe in USA and Canada is not so popular T + A ?
You can visit the T+A website For more information :

http://www.taelektroakustik.de/


For my dynamic and Ortho Best sounding with my pre amp T+A P.10.2 + eximus dp 1 + Stello
Cda 500 as transport :

LCD 3 > hd 800 > T 1 > LCD 2 rev 2 > ultrasone Ed 8 ruthenium

For comparison with electrostatic Stax vs Dyanmic driver vs ortho with Stax amp Srm 727 as
Stator for my pre amp T+ A P 10.2 plus eximus dp 1 as DAC plus Stello cda 500 as transport
As follow :

Stax sr 009 > sr 007 mk 2.5 > LCD 3 > hd 800 > T 1 > Ed 8 Ruthenium

If you have the correct amp / synergies in your set up , Stax sr 007 mk2.5 is better than all my
Ortho and dynamic driver .

I have heard sr 007 mk 2 vs sr 007 mk 2.5 with series number sz , the sound quality a bit different

Sr 007 mk 2 more open and clean and better soundstage and more detail , sr 007 mk2 is warm sound .

This is what I heard the comparison here between sr 007 mk2 vs sr 007 mk 2.5

This is my personal ranked sound quality
Edited by rudi0504 - 6/14/12 at 9:07pm