[Lorspeaker]

great review...time to sell my haus n buy the LCD3..

 
the hd600 reviewed here is with the standard cable...and the hd700 with the blackdragon, true?
given your scoring n good description,i reckon a hd600 with blackdragon/cardas eg,
 would give the standard hd700 a run for the money(?)..adding more weight n clarity...just a guess..hmmm.
 
when i had a chance the A/B the standard600 vs 600cardas, the aftermarketcable definitely added the magic to an already goodcan.

 

[donunus]

I would like to point out to people that don't know that the Michael Jackson Deluxe Editions are bright which probably explains why the senns were less suited to them vs the Audeze cans for the reviewer even though in most other recordings, the senns were in the lead in Windsor's point system. I'm sure that using the original pressing of Off The Wall would turn the favor over to the senns.

 

[dercius]

Great write up. Think your LCD-3 should be the "non-veiled" version if you got it pretty recently and it has a graph that is flat till 2000hz. Love your review style though.

 

[Windsor]

great comparison!
Why haven't you included any hip hop tracks?

That would have messed up my percentage rating system.

But thanks for pointing that out - I didn't realize that I didn't include any hip-hop/rap.

 

[Windsor]

Very well done! By the way, Is this a production version of the hd700 or one of the prototypes?

The HD 700 I used in the comparison was a production version.

 

[Brooko]

Thanks Windsor - great write up and comparison.  I'd love to see a weighted score based on your scores + taking value/cost into account as well.  Might make for some interesting reading.
 
Whilst I'd love to audition the HD700/HD800 (hopefully next time I'm in the US), they both remain out of my budget for the near future.  I do rest easy knowing that cans like the HD600 are such fantastic all-rounders, and for ~ one third of the cost of the HD700, can get you maybe 80% of the performance.

 

[Windsor]

Nice write-up! Thanks Windsor!

No probs! Keep up the great work. The HD 700 was a beautiful surprise!

 

[Windsor]

Not to detract from an awesome review (thanks for spending the time in doing the comparisons), I cannot help but wonder how the scores and your preferences would have changed if a different system (source and amp) was used.

Guess one thing that's clear is both the HD700 and LCD3 sounds awesome from a Lavry DA 10 Dac/Amp

  

Using a different source/amp would have resulted in a less neutral sound. The DA10, from what I understand, is about as transparent as sources get. Also, a reliable source informs me (excuse the pun) that Sennheiser use - or at least have used - neutral sources/amps inc. a Lehman Black Cube and/or a Grace m903 when creating their headphones. If that's true, using the neutral Lavry or similarly neutral source/amp will present recordings via the HD 700 as Sennheiser heard them when creating them. More coloured sources/amps will result in a more coloured sound out of the headphone they feed.

 

[Windsor]

great review...time to sell my haus n buy the LCD3..
:rolleyes:

the hd600 reviewed here is with the standard cable...and the hd700 with the blackdragon, true?
given your scoring n good description,i reckon a hd600 with blackdragon/cardas eg,
 would give the standard hd700 a run for the money(?)..adding more weight n clarity...just a guess..hmmm.

when i had a chance the A/B the standard600 vs 600cardas, the aftermarketcable definitely added the magic to an already goodcan.

All headphone were stock-cabled except the HD-800, which was fitted with a Moon Audio Black Dragon cable, which I enjoy more than the stock cable.

 

[Windsor]

I would like to point out to people that don't know that the Michael Jackson Deluxe Editions are bright which probably explains why the senns were less suited to them vs the Audeze cans for the reviewer even though in most other recordings, the senns were in the lead in Windsor's point system. I'm sure that using the original pressing of Off The Wall would turn the favor over to the senns.

That explains that, which I never knew before now; I never realised that the MJ Deluxe editions are brighter than natural, speaking of which, I'd love to find a selection of really natural-sounding recording to refer to and enjoy. If anyone has any great examples of that, I'd be grateful I you could PM them to me.

 

[Windsor]

P.S. I'm currently using my iPhone, otherwise I'd have grouped my replies together.

 

[alota]

Quote:

All headphone were stock-cabled except the HD-800, which was fitted with a Moon Audio Black Dragon cable, which I enjoy more than the stock cable.

The Black dragon helps a lot the HD-800.
more natural sound, without a nuisance in the high frequencies and return of the smallest details

 

[nigeljames]

Thanks for the time and effort put in to the comparisons, very interesting read.
 
Although I don't agree with your description of the LCD-2's bass and treble (relative to my system) the comparison will prove very useful for my next purchase.
 
Just one thing, what is your definition of 'laid back'.
To many people this can mean different things like recessed hf's,lack of hf's, slow or poor transients, recessed distant midrange etc. Many people have said the LCD2's are laid back and I totally disagree as I find the LCD's have great presence and immediacy. For referance how do you define it?
 
Thanks

 

[Windsor]

Thanks for the time and effort put in to the comparisons, very interesting read.

Although I don't agree with your description of the LCD-2's bass and treble (relative to my system) the comparison will prove very useful for my next purchase.

Just one thing, what is your definition of 'laid back'.
To many people this can mean different things like recessed hf's,lack of hf's, slow or poor transients, recessed distant midrange etc. Many people have said the LCD2's are laid back and I totally disagree as I find the LCD's have great presence and immediacy. For referance how do you define it?

Thanks

Deceiving the LCD-3 as laid back was relative to the other headphones, mainly the Sennheiser HD 700 and 800.What contributed to that subjective description was the reduced brightness in relation to neutral, caused by a lack of upper treble presence, as well as reduced transient clarity, mainly in relation to the Sennheiser HD flagships.

On their own, I wouldn't describe the LCD-2 or 3 as laid back and agree that they have great presence and immediacy, though I find that relative to other headphones that description could vary. It's a relative paradox.

And I still love Audez'e headphones and rate them highly, as this article an my previous LCD-2 review show.

 

[BrainFood]

Never knew there was a deluxe edition of Love Supreme.  Ordered- thanks Windsor