Mike, can you tell us where your impressions are going to be? Audio360?
oh I've listed a bunch here already,
and will continue to do so this weekend!!!!
I just / Steven Rochlin and my Early Impressions article will be published at EnjoyTheMusic.com - I'll share that ASAP - hope to have that done mid-week next week.
My formal review will be published in Audio360 - going to finally launch our Columns section with it.
Sorry my Impressions are a few pages back - check out around page 140 - I write some Early Impressions listing associated gear, tracks, etc...
How would it make no sense to produce a stunning headphone at a lower price? Its called beating the competition. (I'm not saying that the EL-8 is an LCD-X killer or even as good as the LCD-X, just making a point).
I should've explained myself better. That's ON ME. The EL-8 was not designed to replace the LCD-series. That remains their flagship line.
Just in terms of bizness, since the LCD-series does so well for them (and wider margins) it wouldn't make sense, at THIS TIME, to make $699 headphones that destroy the line that MADE the company! Also: Audeze has a superb reputation in the recording industry - as many top producers use their LCD-series headphones. They wouldn't wanna lose that too.
And in terms of beating the competition - you're absolutely right!
And, THUS FAR - for my tastes, I can't think of another set a cans near this price that comes close!
some more
EARLY IMPRESSIONS:
and - this system configuration is HOT w/ the EL-8s!
JUST put it together early-morning:
- Lambert PlayItByEar hybrid amp
- iFi Micro iDSD as DAC (used in "Direct Mode")
- MacBook Pro SSD/Amara Symphony as source
- Wired w/ Black Cat Cables -
LectraLine interconnects and SilverStar USB
Playing: "Everything In Its' Right Place" -
Kid A (Deluxe ver.1) - Radiohead
Like before: These impressions were written while listening to the track:
First I gotta say this could be one of my top five FAVE sonic acid tests (along w/ the Donny Hathaway song/track I used in an earlier impressions post), so I've played it SO many times, on vinyl (9" and 12"), 44.1kHz/24-bit FLAC, and standard Redbook-CD quality (44.1k/16-bit). Here I'm using the 24-bit version.
One of the sonic characteristics I love most about this songs recording and mix is the way in which the synths keys and pads (and other similar-sounding effects they employed) hover effortlessly across the sound-field. The placement, often changing from left-to-right, right-to-left, always comes back to settle on an even plane. Those sounds also have this seductive rippling effect, which also changes, but comes back flowing outward towards the listener, and a few times back, deep into the outer-limits of the soundstage. They give this track dimension. When I close my eyes listening on a resolute system this is also perhaps one one the most hypnotic songs for me. However, and I know this may sound silly, but if a system isn't resolving it just doesn't draw me in. It feels flat. I've heard this happen far too often with 200k+ loudspeaker systems! Now that's some BS right there...
The EL-8s, the more signal they get, along with more pink-noise and different types of sweeps off burn-in discs from XLO, Ayre, Nordost, etc. - the more they're opening up. Now, since I have the open-backs, I am NOT INTENDING to imply that they were closed-in to begin with. They throw a soundstage and manage to do things simply in ways I don't think I've interpreted he reason I mentioned the different feel of the sound-staging and imaging from the EL-8 (in another Early Impressions post) and I cab't quite put my finger on, yet, how to express the difference in ways that I feel comfortable about the accessibility of its presentation. Meaning: I don't wanna seem like a nutball. And I'm workin' on it!
This song just smacked that home for me. Hearing the music through this gear and the EL-8 felt like they were made for each other. The sound was as balanced as I've heard from my LCD-X and I know talk about spaciousness can drive some people crazy. But the space between the sounds and Thom Yorke are so terrifically captured and rendered it makes for a fantastic sonic joyride. It's so dynamic - despite this being a spaced-out, mellow Radiohead tune. The most important frequency ranges here (again IMHO), that carry most of those enveloping cosmic sounds are the mids, lower mids, and bass. As I hear this track again and again on various systems, the more I appreciate a loudspeakers or headphones ability to provide the level of clarity needed in order to truly draw the listener in. I'm talking about the level of clarity where the image of Thom Yorke feels almost holographic, when the system's cookin'. I'm psyched to report that, while everything wasn't as big in scale as I wanted it to be here (which is always HD800-style, I love the 800s insanely wide and deep soundstaging). I'm continually impressed by the EL-8s performance.
To Be Continued...
PS: And while there are a couple of minor concerns thus far:
The bass is beginning to shed that SLIGHT murk/silky quality that seem to encircle the bass weeks ago
This isn't a problem with the cans - But I have to take on figuring a way to coherently describe the difference in sound-staging and imaging
NICE to have a challenge!!
driving them w/ the GRT micro
