[nikongod]

HiFiMAN HE-5, HiFiMAN HE-6, and Audeez LCD-2 – three headphones that have taken the headphone world by storm. Thanks to a happy coincidence I have a bit of time with all 3 in my home rig. I was lucky enough to win the HE-6 prototypes in the NYC meet auction. The Audeez LCD-2 and HE-5 are on loan from other head-fiers.
 
I have had these all together for about an hour now (I just picked up the HE-5) and have some very initial impressions.
 
They are all GREAT! WOW. Their respective MFR's Should all be proud. The tonal balance of the 3 are actually quite similar and I think Im going to have a tough time picking them apart but I'l try. I will compare these to a couple of the other recent (and timeless) flagship headphones in my collection if I get a moment.
 
My system goes something like this:
Digital transport
Behringer SRC2496 upsampling to 2496
Behringer DEQ2496 as DAC. I normally use this to EQ as well, but do not EQ for a review.
The 2X4, a highly modified DIY push-pull stereo amp that is discussed in this thread
 
link to old-school thread
 
Its pretty much guaranteed to have enough power for anything! It runs K1000, Speakers, electrostatic headphones, and IEMs.
 
Amp pron:

 
From the top:
The amp!
SRC-2496
DEQ2496
 
Headphones:
 

 
From the left:
HiFiMan HE-6 Prototypes
HiFiMan HE-5
Audeez LCD-2
 
Anyways on to the sound of the headphones.
 
Layla off of the Clapton unplugged album.
This song has a nice cymbal hanging out in the back slightly right of eric clapton.
The LCD-2 put the cymbal just a touch forwards of the vocals.
The HE-6 also have the cymbals just a touch forwards of the vocals, but the vocals are a hair closer to me.
The HE-5 have the cymbals a little further forwards still.
The vocals and guitars on both songs are sweet (nice and smooth, no grain or “tubbyness”) on all 3 headphones.
 
For some chest thumping bass Its onto Prodigy “Smack my b***h up”
This song starts off with a guitar and supporting drum and then breaks into a DEEEP 50-60hz bass note which launches the song into madness.
The HE-5 play it well. The bass note is somewhat dry, but still has a little head-shaking impact. You can clearly hear the modulations in it. By that I mean that the bass note is not a single frequency and level of fart cannon filth. Ooh no, it changes and the volume increases as the note goes on pulling you through the song.
The LCD-2 play this bit of music well, but the impact that the HE-5 has isnt here. To their credit they have a little more detail & texture in the bass.
The HE-6 takes the bass impact up a notch. Still not quite head-shikingly bassy, but the impact is better. The bass seems a hair deeper, but they still have good bass detail similar to the HE-5
 
Next on the agenda is Talking heads Life in wartime off of the record fear of music.
Perhaps its just my generally casual attitude towards listening to music, but I dont usually latch on to how plasticy this whole song sounds from start to finish. Its like the whole thing was recorded using plastic instruments and plastic microphones... you get the point. All 3 headphones lay this piece flat. Its still quite enjoyable but very different from a live piece. In a somewhat perverse way they throw the vocalist forwards (not forwards in the darth-nut picture reference, but they put a focus on the only natural sounding thing in the whole song) and he stands out nicely against the background.
 
Aftrer a few hours with these Im amazed at how similar they sound despite being built so differently. There are subtle differences, but I was really hoping for one to clearly stand apart from the others. I guess its like they say: high end gear all sounds pretty much the same.
 
I hope I can find some time to post some comparisons between the HE-6, LCD-2, HD800, and T1 in a couple days.

 

[tvrboy]

I owned the original HE-5 for a long time, and I have the other two right now. I have to say the tonal balance of the HE-5 and HE-6 is somewhat similar, but the LCD-2 is much different than either of the HiFiMANs. Its overall tone is much darker and the mids are less prominent. There are also many other differences in tonality, balance, and soundstaging. They are all planars but I don't see how you can say the HE-6 and LCD-2 sound "pretty much the same." Well to each his own I guess, thanks for bringing back good memories of my wood HE-5!

 

[Region2]

Nice!  I've been really going nuts between the LCD2 and the HE6 and having it compare to some other top tier headphones would be nice.  I never got a chance to give the HE6 a proper listen.
From the few minutes I had I didn't find the LCD2 and the HE6 all that similar, but I didn't have the same tracks so I could be completely off.
 
Looking forward to what you have to report.

 

[Sophonax]

Thanks for the impressions on these outstanding new orthos!
 
Now what would really be interesting to me is to hear how they stack up against something like the R10....

 

[matthewh133]

Thanks for the impressions, the HD800/T1/HE-6/LCD-2 will be interesting if you get the chance.

 

[Frank I]

Ari I like the mad scientist approach in your picture. You should start designing gear my friend. I think you will notice differences when you have listened for a few weeks. I still love the sound of the LCD2 planar because its tone is the same as the Maggie planars. I did not cadre for the proto HE6 and have neard the 5 but for me I listen to the LCD2 about 85 percent of the time and then use my T1 the other and find both well suited to my taste. But IMO the LCD2 stomped the HE6 proto but YOMV.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Great thoughts so far Ari! Looking forward to your impressions after a few more days with these amazing cans!

 

[n3rdling]

That amp looks cool

 

[nikongod]

Part 2

for this part Im squaring off with:
Audeez LCD2
HiFiMan HE-6 Prototypes
Sennheiser HD-800
Beyerdynamic T1

The HD800 and T1 are both being run with a 100ohm source resistor because I prefer them (by a wide margin) that way. The rest of the system is the same as the OP with the exception of my “fine tuning” passive preamp to volume match on the fly – I can repeat to within better than +/-0.25db by hand.

Anyways, onto music.

First on deck is Hot Hot Heat “Le Le Low” off of the album Knock Knock Knock

The LCD2 plays this pretty narrow – about the same width as my head really, but the song has good depth (front to rear) the cymbals are in front of the vocals, but not as far as the other headphones. Id sat that the vocals have something of a veil over them. Perhaps smoothness is the better word? The bass on this headphone does not have as much impact as the LCD2, HD800

The HD800 have wider soundstage with some of the drums breaking out of my headphones. The cymbal on this track is also a touch further back with the HD800 than the LCD2. The bass on this track dosnt hit quite as hard as it does on the HE6 or T1 but has more impact than the LCD2.

The T1 play this track really wide, but the cymbals are further forwards than the LCD2. The top end of the vocals is somewhat nasally/stretchy and it pulls out of the rest of the voice with these, as does the cymbals. The bass on these is second only to the HE6 for impact.

The HE6 is about the same soundstage-width as the LCD2 on this piece. The nasally vocal thing is quite flat across the top, but the cymbals are forever forwards of the mids. These have the most untactful/deepest sounding bass of the 4.


Next up is the Indigo Girls “strange fire” off of the album Retrospective

The LCD-2 plays this song nicely. There isn't really that much deep bass, but there is an emphasis on vocals & guitar. I still cant get the sound out of my head! The range of vocals, and fingers scratching the guitar strings stay within their instruments rather than jumping forwards or backwards.

The HD800 is still wider, and still rocks for the vocals. Again everything sounds quite nice. The guitars are a touch forwards compared to the LCD2 and HE6, and dont stay in their own space as well.

The T1 wide as hell! The vocals and guitars roll into this song reallly nicely. They pull a little depth out of the guitar that kind of announces the singer. Its quite nice. The higher parts of guitar and the fingers sliding on the strings try to break away from the rest of the guitar ut not quite as much as the HD800

The HE6 is again not as wide as the 2 dynamics, but does the whole intro guitar thing really nicely. The fingers sliding on the guitar strings and the higher notes of the guitar all stay in their own place very well.

Since I didnt volume match for the first post (not as well as I should have) I'l go through the Hd6 and LCD2 by themselves for a couple more songs.

Perhaps my favorite soundstage song is “fair” by Remmy Zero off of the soundtrack from the movie Garden State. I actually bought a Remmy Zero album because of this song. It wasnt what I expected. At all. Ooh well.

This song starts off and focuses on the vocalist with a guitar in his lap. As the song progresses other sounds and instruments join in.

The HE6prototypes play this song well. They get the guitar right in the singers lap, and do the tricks with the sonar blip and tambourine over the singers shoulder. The bass is has more impact on these than the LCD2.

The LCD2 also play the song pretty similarly. The highs do break forwards of the restof the music just a touch compared to the HE6. They aren't quite as impactful in the bass, but they do actually go quite deep.

I may compare the HE6 to the R10 in a bit.

Quote:

That amp looks cool

Thanks!

 

[matthewh133]

Interesting.. thanks again.

 

[holland]

Interesting.  From all the prior threads it seemed to indicate that the LCD-2 had better bass and soundstage.  It's an interesting read.

 

[Satellite_6]

Funny how impressions are never consistent with each other. >_<
 
Oh well. . .all I can say is I wish I had a grand to spend!

 

[Region2]

Quote:

Interesting.  From all the prior threads it seemed to indicate that the LCD-2 had better bass and soundstage.  It's an interesting read.

I'd be inclined to agree about the bass, but soundstage?  The LCD2 felt like I was sitting front front row at a concert.  It was a very intimate sound that wasn't muddled and the separation of the instruments were great.
 
Ari, I just noticed that little bit towards the top with a 1/4" TSR and a Stax jack, that looks convenient and nice.

 

[che15]

Great Info , thanks a lot. I am really loving my HE5LE with my virtue 1 , the best sound I ever owned. I just can see the LCD2 or HE6 being much better than the HE5LE. I guess some day i will find out for sure.