I have to ask Gu Sensai, are you a jazz listener and if so, do you have a preference between the LCD-2 and the HD800 for this music genre? I should add that I mainly listen to acoustic jazz combos, so acoustic bass figures prominently in the mix.

This thread is now distinguished by another of Gu Sensei's impartial and insightful reviews.

  Quote: Good for you. There is no one perfect headphone anyway, so why not collect and enjoy them for the different audio and aesthetic qualities that they bring? I didn't notice any Grado's in your collection. The RS1 and HF2 are pretty cool phones in my opinion.

The only thing that distinguishes this thread from any other at Head-Fi is its title. 

It does sound somewhat contradictory but if you heard the UM3X it does ring true. I found that the UM3X was a detailed but dull phone. It deadened the sound of music in a way that I had not encountered with any other phone that I have heard. The SE530 was a comparatively more lively phone, and...

  Quote:   You don't need me to tell you that this is speculative James and that there's really only one way to know for sure...  

  Quote:   Aren't you basing your opinion on how the SE530 compares to the SM3, when the other posters here are referring to the SE535 versus the SM3's performance? What is the point of your argument when you're not discussing the same earphones?  

  Quote: Hi, I seem to recall you posting that you were going to provide your impressions of the HD800 compared to the T1. Did you do so and I just happened to miss it or are they forthcoming? I was looking forward to reading your assessment.

Quote: Yes, aural memory can be as unreliable as our memory of events.

  Quote:   I'm not suggesting that you didn't detect a difference but you can't extrapolate from your little blind test that BA burn-in exists. That was your experience but someone else might not have detected any difference whatsoever.   I think we can all agree that the phenomenon...

Quote:   That's really not even close to somewhat and it doesn't verify the existence of burn-in as a phenomenon, although you're welcome to believe in it.   

Quote: In the absence of any empirical evidence to support it, I will call it your opinion.

^ Well, Grado's are known for having lively treble presentation and lean, tight bass. They tend to sound bright rather than dark. Some people find the Grado treble presentation too "hot", and it can be fatiguing. The HF2's treble presentation isn't as strident. It's more subdued and that along...

Quote: Yes you are, just as MacedonianHero is entitled to disagree with it. I think you must be the first person that I have seen in these forum threads dismiss the HD800 as rubbish. That kind of exaggerated statement is just asking to be scrutinised and dissected. I think that...

Quote: Yes, but the sound signature is different. The main differences from my reading of the forum threads is that the HF2 is a darker sounding phone overall, with a slightly recessed mid-range compared to the RS1. The HF2's highs are not as pronounced and it has more bass presence. The...

I saw this thread last night when it had a different title. The OP was interrupted whilst posting and promised to be right back with his listening impressions. Instead all we get is grainy photos of his gear. Some 24 hours has passed and still no descriptions of how these phones sound.   OP...

^ I believe they are still in production.

Well dat would 'ave to be de creme de la creme cream soda no?

Spyro - It seems to me that the improvements Shure have made to the SE535 are refinements rather than a complete re-design; an evolution in an existing product line if you like. That's not a criticism by the way. As I said, if I didn't already own the SE530 and was looking to buy a top-tier...

Quote: I am one of those who disliked the UM3X and hopes that the SM3 betters its performance. If the SM3 improves upon the UM3X's constricted presentation, then that would be significant in my view.

Based on what I'm reading so far, it does appear that the SE535 is an incremental improvement over the SE530. I'd be interested in this phone if I didn't already own the SE530. However, the SM3 interests me more as a potential upgrade from the SE530.   The SM3, UM3X and W3 all have separate...

Thanks shigzeo. There is a UM3X v SM3 thread, which I'll check out. I think that you spent some time with the UM3X and regarded it highly. How does its highs compare to the SM3? 

Hi shigzeo, I asked this of you earlier in the thread but you've been fielding a number of questions - just how laid back is the SM3 treble? Is it as laid back as the SE530, which I regard as slightly "rolled-off"?   And have you noticed any change in the sound of the SM3 over time that is...

I find this phenomenon with the SM3 peculiar. It almost appears as if the listener has to persist with the SM3 in order to appreciate its special sonic qualities, be that through earphone or brain burn-in.    Based on my own listening experience and from what I've read, I'm sceptical that a...

Next month - LCD-2 vs. Darts and I'm not talking about the pleats in your pants. Plus I can still drink a tepid pint of the tavern's finest at the same time.