I used the Audeze EL-8 Open-Back headphones paired with a McIntosh MHA-100 amp. I was in a quite room with foam on the walls to make the room very quite. I used Vinyl albums such as Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon,Miles Davis's Kind Of Blue, Adele's 19, and the Remastered Nirvana Nevermind album. I found these headphones did really well at about 1.3 watts.
 
Sound
I have to say sound is the most important aspect for me in a headphone. I put these headphones on with no idea how these would sound. These quickly stole my heart with the Start of Money from Dark Side Of The Moon. It was very crisp and alive to me. Once it got to where the bass entered i heard it and it wasnt overpowering in any way. It seemed very balanced. I heard the mids and highs all put together with a very tight bass, I wouldnt say it was warm at all because it came across more like this is the bass drum and this is how it sounds. Very could you say punctual. I loved it. It had its own ID and it wasn't afraid to show it and flaunt it. After the first song I can honestly say I was in love and knew that it would be hard to send these back instead of a check. I switched on over to Miles Davis and I found myself relaxed it didnt seem to have that demanding feel but more of a sweet sound. I heard everything crisp and clear once agian with no over powering and a bass that said I am here but I'm not here to steal the show. I Switched on over to Adele, and once agian one word came to mind, amazing. So i thought I would switch it up and put on the Nevermind Album. I have to say it gave a new feel to it. I know how often people say that and I honestly did not believe it, but these did. I listened to these and it is not like the complete sound changed it just gave me a feel of full evenly balanced grunge. It was remarkable to say the least. I honestly dont have any complaints about the sound! I prefer these over my HD650's! The HD 650's are a much more layed back headphone to me and these were just more alive and eager to please. I would say the HD650's are warm and that the Audeze was just ready for any challenge and was ready to please.
 
Design
When i picked these up I kinda thought man these look nothing like the LCD's. It had a very thin wood veneer over top more wood maybe? It didnt seemed polished or flashy. It had a very flat bland look. It did not seem like a $700 headphone by the look of that veneer. It really gave me the impression that oh these headphones will be a step down just because of the looks. The side of it was i believe plastic it had a very flat finish to it that was not eye catching to say the least. It was very much so a flat and boring looking headphone. Next the cable it was 3.5mm end and it wasnt very long. Aswell it did not even come with an adapter to 1/4inch. Which for $700 I would expect to come with it. The packaging was very standard nothing to special. Was not very impressed here. The pads were the only thing that were impressive a very soft leather maybe, i am not sure based on how cheap they went on the rest of it. Still they were angled and very soft! I found these using some decent power so make sure you can drive them that is my only warning in design besides the one in comfort which has to do with head size!
 
Comfort
I have to say the way they felt was very impressive. Very soft and i never found myself trying to adjust them on my ears. I had to bring them all the way out and push them in 1 click to fit my head. I think i have a little bit bigger then average head. So i would watch out if you have a big head, it may or may not fit. They do offer a 30day trial of them though so you can take them for a spin to make sure they fit your head! I really do not have alot to complain about when it comes to the comfort of them they felt good when I put them on and they felt good an hour and a half later. I liked the way that the pads where angled to fit it was really nice and comfortable!
 
Summary
Amazing sound that hands down beat my HD650's which I thought were nearly untouchable. The biggest thing I can honestly not stop saying is wow that sound was amazing and addicting! I kinda feel like they could have made the exterior of it look alot better, given a longer cable, and an adapter to quater inch. All that aside the sound is brilliant! Make sure you have an amp that will drive these to there potential cause they sound amazing! Aswell Beware they may not fit if you have a bigger head!

I have to say i reviewed these with great expectations! I used these headphones in a very quite room with foam on the walls to isolate sound. For the amp i used the McIntosh MHA-100. I started out thinking that these will be amazing. The looks are amazing, and they feel really comfortable at first.
 
Sound
However when i started up Pink-Floyd's- Money off of the Dark Side Of The Moon album 24bit audio from Vinyl all i can say is bass. I heard the bass crystal clear and really really heavy. At first i checked the amp to see if the bass was tuned up, and then after searching over anything a plugging in a different headphone i figured it out that it was just the headphones. The amount of bass i heard was almost a joke. Everything was there, but i struggled to hear the rest over the bass. So from there i was like well ill try something that doesnt have as much bass maybe blaming the track. So i changed it to Miles Davis - Flamenco Sketches off of the Kind Of Blue album of course this was Vinyl aswell. I started it up and sounded great to be honest. However as soon as (ANY) bass came in, it just blew it out of the water. I struggled to hear the soft relaxed sound that I am use to. I kind of snickered to be honest thinking this had to be a joke. So I thought well lets try Adele. So I pulled out the 19 Album from Adele and i started to listen to Daydreamer. Honestly this sound amazing! I Could hear the picking of the guitar and i could hear her voice crystal clear. So I went on to Pantera and there track 5 minutes alone off of the Far Beyond Driven Album. That just brought me back to the bass. I like bass dont get me wrong, but when it is all you hear with everything else in the back ground its a big no. I put on some Tech N9ne hoping they would shine and still all i got was bass which is great if you like beats. I spent hours with these and I feel like the only songs that i could truly enjoy had to have little to no bass. Right after i was done listening to these I put on the Audeze El-8 open back, keeping in mind that i still used the MHA-100 amp and the Audeze gave me clarity that the amp wasnt having an issue with over driving the bass. I tried all of the songs i tested with the MHP1000 and the Audeze didnt shake my ears, and overall it gave me a more full sound keeping in mind the difference between closed back and open back i expected there to be more bass in the MHP1000. So further more I put on some HD-650's aswell they shined with the MHA-100. I went back to the McIntosh MHP1000 and i got an adapter and plugged it into the Oppo HA-2, and to my surprise it came in pretty well, it couldnt fulley drive the headphones but in this case that was good. With less of a drive to it i really liked it and found myself enjoying it, so after awhile i plugged it back into the McIntosh MHA-100. I tried playing it at a lower level then what i liked and it became much more enjoyable. I was playing music at around 3.5 watts on the MHA-100 or -25db give or a take a few. That is when I expericened heavy bass beyond imgination. Although at a lower level i felt like i could really enjoy it and it be pretty accurate and warm. So if i had to recommend these headphones I would say use them to listen to music in a softer more quite manner. These are not a headphone that stays enjoyable the louder it goes.
 
Design and Comfort
I have to say these were some very beautiful headphones! I love everything about the way they look. There bright blue cable shines and it feels very durable and a resonable weight. It was very comfortable until you really started to play music then the bass would just shake your ears and wear you out within a hour. I was really sad about this. I expected so much more from McIntosh. They should honestly just stay with amps. Which is sad and hard for me to say. I hate to be a hater.
 
Value
Honestly this a very short section. I felt like they were a sub $500 headphone that competed with beats for the bass heads. Their comfort is amazing until the bass starts shaking your ears in it then your ears get worn out within 45min. I would say just get beats in stead which kills me. These arent up to par with anything that is $500 or up. Honestly I love the McIntosh Amp it is amazing hands down i would recommend it! Although when it comes to the headphone I would say let McIntosh improve and innovate for a few more years then take a look at them.

One of the best amps i have owned! It is great and must have for portable audiophiles~! I love it. It has 2 gain levels high and low. Very nice natural sound! If you feel your headphones do not supply enough bass, the Oppo ha-2 can fix that with its bass boost! The bass boost is nice when listening to some really heavy music. The Oppo Ha-2 has to be the best bass boost i have heard. It maintains the natural sound with no variation of distoretion. Really blew me off my feet when i tried it. This is a steal. The big brother desk amp uses the same chip as the oppo ha-2. So to get it for 900$ off is just amazing! I love it and i can not recommend this enough. I looked for portable amps for months and this stole my heart! I use this with my HD 650's. It has a volume nob on it which will not turn in your pocket i have tried everything and it just does not turn unless you do it yourself. It charges fast and lasts for hours like 8 to 10 hours of constant music! It supports apple, andriod, and of course the jack option. Everything was just very well done! I love the way it looks and feels and this is a steal for $300!

I listen to alot of heavier music dubstep through metal. I also enjoy listening to the beatles and Classical music! These Headphones shine for lighter more care free music, but when i try to give it a true load and demand heavy notes from the bass it doesnt show up. I have a oppo ha-2 amp to go with these and i have to use the bass boost for anything heavy and then they sound fine. Without the bass boost i really struggle to hear it at all. Im not a bass head by any means. I thought the Audio technica mx-50 was way to over powered in the lower end. I love my HD 650's and they are a great start for any audiophile! They are classic!