Gwarmi -
good question.
you know, every stinkin' nice headphone that has been released since 2007 has been touted as "the one to beat the hd800".
so the HD800 - although a love/hate headphone - has been a benchmark.
but, for two years of churning through high end cans, i've avoided the hd800 purely on its reputation around these parts.
well, i love my LCD-2 rev.2.
but, my newly acquired HD800 bests it, in my opinion.
so, i reckon i fall squarely in the soundstage/airy presentation camp.
and, in this (important to me) soundsage/imaging aspect, the hd800 is in a different league than the LCD-2. in my humble opinion.
The LCD-2 soundstage is chameleon-like at best. and frustrating at worst.
I find it terribly inconsistant and unstable - sometimes sounding decently large and frontal. other times, sounds stick inside your head or are shoved down your ear canals. other times there's a hard left/right imaging with no center image at all. (some of this is amp and source dependant. but no other phones i've heard exhibit such inconsistent performance from rig to rig.)
so, unless the LCD-3 is a complete reinvention of the audez'e sound signature, then i don't expect HD800 imaging or soundstage.
heck. if i'm being honest with everyone here, i bought the cavalli, peak, bryston dac - a whole lot of killer gear - in order to get the best out of my LCD-2.
but what that did instead was bring my other headphones up to a higher level than the LCD-2.
i'm just giving my honest opinion.
you can throw all the fruits and vegetables you want.