HE500 or LCD2 or both? (please share your impressions) Mini Review and POLL (please vote) - Page 23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank I 

^^^^^^^

Rust nice write up and I tend to agree with your assessment. Both excellent headphones and the hd800 soundstage is the best of any headphone and for classical music there is none I have heard betterIMO. I also like the lcd 2.2 especially for female recordings. I do not find my hd800 sibilant at all but the LCD2.2 is more like what I hear in small jazz clubs especially with female jazz or folk vocalist. Excellent assessment

Yes, vocals in general... and especially female vocals... are significantly more natural with LCD-2.2... But I am simply amazed by the spatial rendering I am getting with HD800. It's unbelievable how good it works. I don't need TB Isone or crossfeed anymore!

Quote:

Originally Posted by oblique63 

My thoughts exactly .  Glad you liked them.

Also, since I wouldn't really consider myself as sensitive to treble at all, I'm a bit surprised your pair didn't bother you straight out of the box. But hey, that's certainly a good thing! Definitely look into the mod that's coming out for it soon either way; should make it more 'natural'/neutral and possibly put its FR on par with the LCD-2's for you.

I expected the worst scenario and was ready to return them back... But, they are incredible out-of-the-box. Don't know, I haven't experience any burn-in thing with my headphones so far.

Quote:

Originally Posted by preproman 

 

 

Great write up RustA.  I agree with most.  I also find my "new" pair of HD800s with a better bass response than my old.

 

What serial number is your HD800?  Mine is  #19547

Mine is #19008 so you have even newer one (not sure if Sennheiser serialise them by date or not but most probably yes)! But yeah, I feel like the bass is surprisingly strong... I have no hesitation to compare it directly with LCD-2's bass which really means something.

I wish someone could provide a graph of the frequency response for the older and newer models. Would be cool to see if they differ there.

Keep them both!  I can't think of a better pairing of cans to keep for different types of music and presentations.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fortitude 

Keep them both!  I can't think of a better pairing of cans to keep for different types of music and presentations.

Not enough money... And since HD800 (at least mine and Preproman's) have plenty of bass, I cannot justify having both.

LCD-2 rev2 still have better vocals and overal tonality (my opinion remains - I haven't heard headphone with more neutral FR than LCD-2 rev2 so far) but HD800 are overally more natural with their perfect soundstage, imaging, separation, reasonably neutral FR (and very nice level of comfort as a bonus).

Quote:

Originally Posted by LugBug1 

Brilliant review RustA, pleased your enjoying them!

 

I think some peeps tend to think of the HD800 as an implement of torture and so expect the worse in regards to "razer sharpness" and 'fatigue' etc but this is clearly not the case. Especially with you coming from the LCD2's!

 

Good stuff and keep us updated. Looks like your Audeze may be popping up on the sales forum soon!

Yes, I am going to sell them... They're in perfect shape and I hope someone could enjoy them at least as much as I did.

I thought HD800 will be very thin, cold and harsh... But somehow it's not true at all o_O

Will add another post in several hours to clarify my opinion, after more extensive listening...

UPDATE of my HD800 vs LCD-2 rev2 comparison:

(http://www.head-fi.org/t/639785/he500-or-lcd2-or-both-please-share-your-impressions-mini-review-and-poll-please-vote/315#post_9161669)

1) Centering - I have seen somewhere stated that HD800 have perfect centering and LCD-2 do not... In my experience, it's very easy to position HD800 on your head in order to get perfect center. It's possible to do so with rev2 as well but it's actually a lot more difficult. HD800 are ergonomically miles ahead LCD-2... But still, I find LCD-2 very good in terms of comfort, no need to worry.

2) Detail - After spending more time HD800, I realised that these headphones are better capable to deal with difficult passages and microlayers within recording. It's partially due to more pronounced highs and partially due to better technical perfection, I guess. The most important thing is the ease with which HD800 handles quick parts with a lot of elements... I LOVE IT!

3) Low-volume listening - It's easier to enjoy HD800 with low volumes... However, I do think LCD-2 are very enjoyable with reasonable loudness as well.

4) Impact - it's somewhat strange but I find my HD800 do have a SIGNIFICANT impact... Hard rock or metal sounds very good, it has drive that it needs! Bass is there, drums are there... You feel it, really! These are not passive at all.

5) Analytical? - I find these Sennheiser headphones as a perfect mix of analytical and impactful/enjoyable sound. I would call them "serious audiophile headphones", or something like that...

6) 3D space - I wanted to experience 3D sound with headphones... Some told me tu purchase LCD-3, some that HD800 is what I need. There were suggestions that T1 offer better soundstage for modern music. I was dreaming about deeeeeeeep soundstage... And I got it with HD800. As I said in the first post, rendering of space is incredible... It's not artificial, it's not unnatural, it's not overemphasised... It's just so natural and real. I cannot stress this enough...

7) Vocals - Male vocals sound great with HD800, very authentic and detailed. However, female vocals are too pronounced... In general, I must confirm that singing parts are better (more real and consistent) with LCD-2.

8) Treble - Acoustic instruments sound very good, exciting... Electric instruments as well. I do feel HD800's treble is quite balanced, not painful or unnatural... However, it's a bit too much present. It does not distract you from enjoying these headphones at all, and you do not have to worry about highs distracting the overall picture of your favourite music. It's just not as natural as with LCD-2 rev2. At least IMHO.

If you feel I do not write accurately all the time, having every sentence in a perfect context of both headphones, it's because I do not always feel the need to stress the difference since it's not always important to my ears... There are areas where you just get two a bit different interpretations and both work very good so no need to talk about it.

i spent some time with baka1969 today and we measured both drivers,. The LCD2 were very closely matched and the he500 was not as closely match but still well within  specs. The amazing thing is we used the V200 and then I used the csp2 and the csp2 drovw the lCD2 well and in fact Ross preferred them with the Decware tube amp. He liked the he500 overall better because of the sound stage and air which the LCD2 has less of. The bass on the LCD2 is better. I feel the LCD2 is also more comfortable but the he500 has its strength as well. The more open HE500 is excellent and I am having a hard time as to which one I will keep. But one has to go back and I wont sell the hd800 or the at3000. Will be interesting to see which one I choose. More listening required.

What's the latest word on changes to the HD800? I've heard various rumblings about Senn changing the design slightly but nothing confirmed. However, the latest user reviews do seem to show a  fewer complaints about high end peaks or lack of bass. Given that Senn made changes to the HD650, probably based on user comments, I'm just wondering if the HD800 really is more user friendly these days.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by pp312 

What's the latest word on changes to the HD800? I've heard various rumblings about Senn changing the design slightly but nothing confirmed. However, the latest user reviews do seem to show a  fewer complaints about high end peaks or lack of bass. Given that Senn made changes to the HD650, probably based on user comments, I'm just wondering if the HD800 really is more user friendly these days.  

Not sure but they really HAVE plenty of bass, serious amount of impact or even slam and no painful peaks in the treble region... I am really sensitive to treble and find current HD800 to be very consistent across the treble frequencies. The only imperfection is that it is a bit more emphasised (as a whole) than ideal, that's all.

They are not passive headphones at all... Pretty neutral but with enjoyable impact. And they are not cold either...

You do not need a tube amp in order to enjoy them even with the worst-recorded music... I love whatever music I throw on them :-)

I am going to sell my LCD-2 rev2 even though I loved them so much for their bass and neutral FR - that must say something about current HD800...

Quote:

Originally Posted by LugBug1 

Any closer to making a decision? I know one thing, you'd be hard to find a better Jazz can than the LCD2's :) The way they render the double bass is just sooo satisfying. Also there's not many hp's where you can listen to Miles or Wynton's trumpet for hours without fatigue!

Yes I am confident I will be keeping the lcd2.2. It has matured and since i have the hd800 it will fit better for me than the he500.  If i dd not own the HD800 I would keep both. I like the he500 tremendously but since I cant keep all these headphones I have decided to keep the lcd 2.2 .