Zulkr9
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2012
- Posts
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- 130
I now bought the lcd 2f its a no contest really. The sigs are similar but the lcd 2.2 is much better.
Anyone listen to the open back EL-8 through a WA7? How does the sub bass sound? Does the tube warmth smooth out the highs? How about perhaps with the upgrade Electro Harmonix tubes installed?
I personally find the Gold Pin to be more open in the treble than the Sovteks. The WA7 dac is sometimes said to be bright, but I have not done a comparison with the WA7 dac alone.
Just received my pair of open EL-8s, so far I'm finding them a lot more enjoyable when angling the ear cups away from my cheeks rather than having the pads sit flush against the sides of my skull. It opens up the sound a lot more, making it sound airy and allowing the treble to shine through, while maintaining bass presence. These headphones are really susceptible to positional changes, sounding very different whenever moved around the head, unlike my TH900s and HD800s.
When the pads are flush to my face, they sound quite closed in & missing a lot of treble information, like Tyll's measurements show, might be good for hard rock and and genres where aggressive treble is present and sound stage space is not a paramount requirement.
Since there is enough movement in the ear cup pivots for them to fold flat against a table at 90 degrees to their original orientation, there is a lot of room to tweak the sound of these depending on how you wear them.
While I think this is all cool, nifty, and so forth. I still think Audeze need to broaden their selection.
This is a good move towards people who'd like to buy more of their items, but still a bad move in the fact that there's a lot of others out there who wanna try Audeze.
I think they really need to find an appropriate compromise and put out some products in the ranges of $80 to the max of $200 area.
So, Audeze! If you ever see this, get to work on it.
We need netter cans at this range.
Audeze is a small company that primarily hand-builds fantastic headphones in America. What you're asking for is mass manufacturing at very low price points, which is antithetical to what Audeze is and to their philosophy of building products of quality. That's not going to happen.
I basically agree with you but there are other companies which have gone on to add low-cost mass-produced items to their range of high quality hand-crafted models. The first that comes to mind is the German camera maker Leica, which traditionally had a reputation for the ultimate craftsmanship and quality lenses, etc. Then they sold cheap point and shoot cameras e.g. Leica D-Lux 6 (with the help of Panasonic).
Audeze is a small company that primarily hand-builds fantastic headphones in America. What you're asking for is mass manufacturing at very low price points, which is antithetical to what Audeze is and to their philosophy of building products of quality. That's not going to happen.
That said, with the EL-8, Audeze is aiming for a much broader market by entering the hotly-contested mid-fi space. The problem I have found with this approach is not the price point, but that the phones deliver too little. The design is unquestionably sleek and the build is solid, but the sound signature is lacking balance and cohesion and, when compared to its Audeze predecessors, it just doesn't stand up IMO.
So, look for low-cost offerings from large manufacturers, not from Audeze. Wrong business model, wrong company.
Audeze is a small company that primarily hand-builds fantastic headphones in America. What you're asking for is mass manufacturing at very low price points, which is antithetical to what Audeze is and to their philosophy of building products of quality. That's not going to happen.
I basically agree with you but there are other companies which have gone on to add low-cost mass-produced items to their range of high quality hand-crafted models. The first that comes to mind is the German camera maker Leica, which traditionally had a reputation for the ultimate craftsmanship and quality lenses, etc. Then they sold cheap point and shoot cameras e.g. Leica D-Lux 6 (with the help of Panasonic).
Actually, those were Panasonic cameras, built in Japan, that incorporated some Leica technology designs. I own a Panasonic video camera that has a Leica-desiged lens, but it is mass-produced. It's a good camera for the price, but it can't compare to an authentic Leica-built camera/lens.
Leica cameras and lenses are meticulously built in Germany and, as such, are very exclusive and supremely expensive. Much like Audeze flagship-level headphones.
You seem to be missing the point. Leica still sells cheap point and shoot cameras, with Leica badges, through the Leica network. It doesn't matter what happened behind the scenes to achieve that cost saving. (Heck, Apple doesn't make their own iPhones, and even car makers share car models with only a few cosmetic differences).
So conceivably yes, Audeze could partner with a larger company to produce "budget" Audezes. But I hope they don't
Actually, those were Panasonic cameras, built in Japan, that incorporated some Leica technology designs. I own a Panasonic video camera that has a Leica-desiged lens, but it is mass-produced. It's a good camera for the price, but it can't compare to an authentic Leica-built camera/lens.
Leica cameras and lenses are meticulously built in Germany and, as such, are very exclusive and supremely expensive. Much like Audeze flagship-level headphones.
You seem to be missing the point. Leica still sells cheap point and shoot cameras, with Leica badges, through the Leica network. It doesn't matter what happened behind the scenes to achieve that cost saving. (Heck, Apple doesn't make their own iPhones, and even car makers share car models with only a few cosmetic differences).
So conceivably yes, Audeze could partner with a larger company to produce "budget" Audezes. But I hope they don't
Mike said in his review that open-back EL-8 pair well with WA7. If you have WA7tp, you can try some tube rolling that match your preference. I agree with Harley that gold pin has a little open in treble.
You can get more treble and bass slam when use Sylvania 12AU7 or make it more balance using GE 12AU7 long plate on WA7tp