[MickeyVee]

Great dealing with Charles and Headfone shop.  Was there on Saturday getting some IEMs and will definitely get the EL-8 from him when avaiable.
 
Quote:

   
http://www.highendaudioexchange.ca/
http://www.headfoneshop.com/

 

[nicholars]

Damn the "LCD but 65% of the size" sounds like a deal breaker for me... Was hoping for a big soundstage and bass, sounds a bit like sennheiser momentum, good quality but too small (physically and sound) !

 

[Zojokkeli]

It is interesting that the EL-8 comes right below the XC. I wonder how many steps below the EL-8 is from the XC? 
I have been in the market; ok, drooling over the XC for some time now and I really need a closed headphone. The only thing holding me back is the horrible weight of teh XC at 650 gm. Audeze had mentioned to me while at the RMAF (just a fleeting conversation) that there may be a small possibility that the XC might get the new graphite headband to make it lighter. I have been holding out for a while hoping that either the EL-8 closed meets my very high expectations or that the XC will be modified and becomes lighter. Even though sound quality is paramount in my quest, the comfort of the headphones is foremost on my mind since I will wear them 7 to 8 hours a day for work. There is not many closed headphones to choose from that have outstanding sound signature and staging performance. I will wait til the air clears on this and then decide which way to go. 

Have you considered TH900's? Superb comfort and sound quality.

 

[OrganMonster]

Have you considered TH900's? Superb comfort and sound quality.

Actually no I have not. I did not find a pair of 900's when I was walking around the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest last October. I tried almost everything else. Bummer.

 

[YtseJamer]

  Damn the "LCD but 65% of the size" sounds like a deal breaker for me... Was hoping for a big soundstage and bass, sounds a bit like sennheiser momentum, good quality but too small (physically and sound) !

 
It's a bit weird because Jude said in the video below that the Open-Back EL-8 is 'one of the most open best imaging Audeze I've heard so far' (Watch the video at 3 minutes 26 sec.)
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VbKHYQj8BU 

 

[kapanak]

   
It's a bit weird because Jude said in the video below that the Open-Back EL-8 is 'one of the most open best imaging Audeze I've heard so far' (Watch the video at 3 minutes 26 sec.)
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VbKHYQj8BU 

Still based on pre-production model, and Jude says a lot of things about headphones in his videos. They are merely impressions, and many of us know to take it as impressions, rather than cold hard review facts, which he clearly did not intend that video to be. It was an introduction and preview video

 

[GettingBuckets]

If they are also better than the Alpha Primes, then the $699 would definitely be hard for me to resist. However, I'd probably have to sell my ZMF Blackwoods first if I wanted these...

 

[kapanak]

  If they are also better than the Alpha Primes, then the $699 would definitely be hard for me to resist. However, I'd probably have to sell my ZMF Blackwoods first if I wanted these...

Honestly, having owned both Alpha Dogs and Mad Dogs 2014 versions, and having just heard Alpha Primes extensively besides those two, I would say there are a whole lot of good headphones better than the Alpha Primes. Definitely not even close to the price point in terms of sound quality.
 
If Mike considers the EL-8's, at least the open ones, worth its price with respect to those other headphones he mentioned, it will certainly sound better than the Alpha Primes.

 

[YtseJamer]

From The Audio Traveler :
 
'The voicing was a little different from what I was expecting — on the one hand, there was extension and air, and a lot of it. That was a very good thing, in my book, and I made noises about how this may be the most open-sounding the brand has produced to date. On the other hand, compared with the overall “dark” voicing of the LCD-2 and LCD-3 (as opposed to the LCD-X, which seems “faster” somehow), the EL-8 felt tonally tilted. That is, the bass was there, but not anywhere near as impactful as what I was used to out of an Audeze. For my part, I simply assumed that the earpieces (and therefore, the drivers) were smaller than the LCD line, so I didn’t take this impression as all that weird. You want Big Bass, get a LCD!'
 
http://theaudiotraveler.com/2015/01/21/ces-2015-burson-and-audeze-light-up-the-phones/

 

[DreamKing]

   
http://www.highendaudioexchange.ca/
http://www.headfoneshop.com/

first link doesn't work for me but the second one seems like they have the same prices headphonebar.com does. Thanks for these, in any case. 

 

[DreamKing]

 
 
Audeze LCD-3 w/ Fazor
Audeze LCD-2 w/ Fazor
Audeze LCD-X 
Sennheiser HD800
Audeze LCD-XC
Audeze EL-8
MrSpeakers Prime
Audio-Technica ATH-900X
 

 
above the Prime! very cool indeed, thanks a million for this.

 

[nicholars]

  From The Audio Traveler :
 
'The voicing was a little different from what I was expecting — on the one hand, there was extension and air, and a lot of it. That was a very good thing, in my book, and I made noises about how this may be the most open-sounding the brand has produced to date. On the other hand, compared with the overall “dark” voicing of the LCD-2 and LCD-3 (as opposed to the LCD-X, which seems “faster” somehow), the EL-8 felt tonally tilted. That is, the bass was there, but not anywhere near as impactful as what I was used to out of an Audeze. For my part, I simply assumed that the earpieces (and therefore, the drivers) were smaller than the LCD line, so I didn’t take this impression as all that weird. You want Big Bass, get a LCD!'
 
http://theaudiotraveler.com/2015/01/21/ces-2015-burson-and-audeze-light-up-the-phones/

 
it would make sense for Audeze to make the EL-8 not as good in the bass compared to the LCD line.... Because if they made a £600 headphone that equals / beats probably the main reason people spend all that money on the LCD's (the bass) they would be doing themselves out of money.

 

[kapanak]

   
it would make sense for Audeze to make the EL-8 not as good in the bass compared to the LCD line.... Because if they made a £600 headphone that equals / beats probably the main reason people spend all that money on the LCD's (the bass) they would be doing themselves out of money.

People who want DA Bass just go with beats. Audeze should have voiced these EL-8 more mainstream if they wanted to capture any of the market

 
On the other hand, I suppose this is a good thing for audiophiles that prefer a more even tonality.

 

[deafanddumb]

oh I missed yet another EXCELLENT question!
As I got to hear the TH900s at Canjam this year, for the first time, w/ a pair of my reference cans (LCD-XCs) and my AK240 plus my Glove Audio A1 + AK240 packed /w my tunes! My only other auditions of the 900s were on alien systems to me, and not my music either!
BUT: Checkin' em out w/ my reference cans and DAPs: I LOVED em!!!!



They are going to be my next reference-level headphones purchase!
But its gonna be awhile unfortunately (because of EL-8s)! That said:

I think I'd place the TH900s, when it comes to my preference/reference list above (OK - so the rhyme was intentional that time  ):
Right below my LCD-XCs...

What did you think my answer would be????

Honestly....? I thought you may edge them above the HD800...only because they do most music genres well. I actually sold my XC's for the th900...mainly due to enhanced bass, which I think is fundamental to primeval connection to a tunes dynamics....plus it resolves well and still sparkles. I lived the 3's so I concede to the king...but I felt the XC's a little to forward in the mids. I respect your choice in such high competition...although surprised the 2's climbed so high with fazer....interested to see if the th900 climbs after your ownership...it is rather addictive!!

 

[mangler]

For me,the great lcd bass isn't about being overblown, a la beats. That is, IMHO, the lcd series are not basshead phones. The bass is just controlled, tight, full, and deep. That's what I like the audeze bass, and it's a bummer the el-8 might be missing this