Battle Of The Flagships (57 Headphones Compared) UPDATE: Ultimate Ears UERM added (4/14/13) - Page 86

Quote:

Originally Posted by MHOE 

Quote:

Originally Posted by silversurfer616 

Have the LCD2Rev2 and HE500;also had at the same time Audio GD Phoenix and O2 amp and I sold the O2.

Now why is that,you might ask MHOE?

Because the O2 couldn't tickle out as much as the the Phoenix is able to do.

Which means the LCD2 sounded so much richer on everything/better out of the Phoenix

 

Amp is supposed to amplify the signal and/or decrease the output impedance only... I use it also because of ODAC unit installed inside so no need to use any analog cable except for the one of LCD2s. I do not want any colorations, hiss or harmonic distortion. I love the option to easily switch gain resistors whenever I want in order to get the safest and clearest amplification.

 

Do you still recommend Audio GD Phoenix to me?

I recommend it, as I'm using one right now. It was designed to be completely colourless and perform in a completely linear manner. It has been superseded by the Reference 8 however. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by MHOE 

Does the amp pass all my requirements mentioned above (including DAC  section  that is better than ODAC,and SIPs for  switching  gain  resistors? And how much does it cost? 

It is around 1100 :D And it might be discontinued, I dunno.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMahler 

 

Thanks! btw that's funny.... It seems I need to put the Rev 2 in here.

Yes, please. I am highly interested.

The problem is, you're entering that requirement with a personal bias.  Tyll's already gone and measured a couple amps, and for the most part they all measure extremely well.  Almost all will have noise floor, ruler flat frequency response and distortion numbers well below the audible threshold, yet those well measuring ones will sound different.  There's more to the sound of an amp than just the measurements.  It is likely you might be entering with the idea that any amp that sounds different from the O2 is inherently colored and flawed as well.  Instead, you should just use your ears for once, and determine which amp sounds better for you, and how it relates with the other amps you've compared.  There are no absolutes in this hobby, only relative statements.

There are headphones which measure better than the LCD-2.  The HD800 itself is the king of technicalities.  HE-6 is another technical powerhouse, as well as many electrostatics.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MHOE 

 

Do any of those cost less than O2 and include better DAC than ODAC (and pass all the other requirements I have)? If yes, post reference for your claim please...

 

HD800 measure better than both rev2 and HE-6... HE-6 is nowhere near HD800 in terms of technical excellence. Rev2 is closer than HE-6, rev1 is not.

HD800 do not have desirable FR graph to justify their price of 1500USD. HE-6 do not have desirable graph as well + is too difficult to drive to consider it as a valuable phone for me.

 

Electrostatic phones do not interest me enough... Not desirable FR graph (excluding extremely expensive SR009).

 

Any other suggestion?

Did you not read Currawong's post to you earlier?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Currawong 

 

Trashing headphones and other products you have no experience with is strongly frowned-upon here. Maybe if you wished to take a scientific approach -- that is, actually investigating for yourself with a number of amps and learning how they work and even building your own and experimenting and seeing how they perform with various headphones, it will generate a lot of interesting discussion and will be a good experience for you. Pointing to graphs and saying "This is right and that is wrong" will not. If you think it is possible to do so, you should read the thread about this year's AES paper if you want to get an idea how complex the subject of headphone measurements really are.

 

That all being said, I'm going to suggest your own thread to discuss this if you wish to continue, from your very next post, in fact. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by MHOE 

 

Tell the others to stop telling things without giving any clues to find out the truth... Yes, read it.

I guess you haven't read it then. 

I'm starting to think this is some kind of trolling

Amplifiers/DACS do make a big difference. 

I had the HD650 paired with the Meyers' Corda Cantate2. It was way better than on Asus Essence ST. Then I paired it with the Burson HA-160ds. Before the Burson i liked the hd650. With the burson I loved them.

Then I "betrayed" the Hd650 and got the LCD2 rev3 which I paired with the HA-160DS.

I had both the HD800 and the LCD2 rev 2 each for a week to test before I decided to go with the LCD2 rev3.

I have liked the HD800 very much. I have felt the technical masterpiece, but i liked much more listening to music with the LCD2.

Very little time afterwards, Darku gave me the chance to listen to both cans paired with Bursons' new product : The Conductor (which has a better and powerful amplifier and better dac).

The differences were huge. I always felt that the LCD2 can do better. On the Conductor i felt they gave their best. It felt like I truly listened to the cans for the first time.

The interesting thing is that I also loved the HD800 with the Conductor. I changed my opinion of it . It was much more musical. It had a wider soundstage, a better bass impact, the brightness was gone. I started liking listening to rock for the first time on HD800. 

So the amplifier/dac makes a huge difference!

Quote:

Originally Posted by haquocdung 

Yes, please. I am highly interested.

 

I subscribe. I am very interested in your opinion about it too, David . :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by MHOE 

 

Do any of those cost less than O2 and include better DAC than ODAC (and pass all the other requirements I have)? If yes, post reference for your claim please...

 

HD800 measure better than both rev2 and HE-6... HE-6 is nowhere near HD800 in terms of technical excellence. Rev2 is closer than HE-6, rev1 is not.

HD800 do not have desirable FR graph to justify their price of 1500USD. HE-6 do not have desirable graph as well + is too difficult to drive to consider it as a valuable phone for me.

 

Electrostatic phones do not interest me enough... Not desirable FR graph (excluding extremely expensive SR009).

 

Any other suggestion?

I'm not trying to sway you away from the LCD-2, I'm just merely giving examples of other headphones that do extremely well on paper.  If YOU already thoroughly enjoy the LCD2, there's no reason to not keep enjoying it.