[deafanddumb]

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

I agree...total deal breaker unfortunately and the reports say the closed maybe even lighter in bass I had the beyerdynamic t5p on demo for a while and they're lack of bass robbed mute popular music of emotion and drive. Good for classical and acoustic though.

 

[YtseJamer]

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

 
X2.
 
But I don't think that we should panic too early because Mike said in the post below that the bass has been totally re-tuned in the final version...
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/749214/audeze-el-8-the-el-8-is-a-must-hear-at-ces-2015/2085#post_11287602

 

[nicholars]

 
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.

 
"audiophiles" are allowed to like high quality, powerful bass as well (eg. not beats).... Does not make you some sort of inferior because you want headphones with good bass as well as the other parts of the sound. Do you think all high end speaker setups stop at 6.5" drivers? No they have 8-12" drivers as well for bass....

 

[kapanak]

   
"audiophiles" are allowed to like high quality, powerful bass as well (eg. not beats).... Does not make you some sort of inferior because you want headphones with good bass as well as the other parts of the sound. Do you think all high end speaker setups stop at 6.5" drivers? No they have 8-12" drivers as well for bass....

I specifically said "for audiophiles that prefer a more even tonality". I did not generalize audiophiles and say none of them like bass.
 
With regards to The Beats comment, I specifically was referring to what I had quoted, and it still holds. If somebody just wants specifically just slamming bass, then they need a basshead headphones... or spend the same money on paying somebody to punch them in the guts for that "gut-wrenching" bass
 
PS: I think I specifically said 'specifically' too many times just now ._.

 

[nicholars]

 
I specifically said "for audiophiles that prefer a more even tonality". I did not generalize audiophiles and say none of them like bass.
 
With regards to The Beats comment, I specifically was referring to what I had quoted, and it still holds. If somebody just wants specifically just slamming bass, then they need a basshead headphones... or spend the same money on paying somebody to punch them in the guts for that "gut-wrenching" bass
 
PS: I think I specifically said 'specifically' too many times just now ._.

 
Ah yes I read it wrong and it annoys me when people say that if you like bass you are an inferior specimen. My point is that most basshead headphones are not very good sound quality other than the bass (usually even that is not good and there is just a lot of it eg. beats) and there are not enough headphones with high end sound quality and powerful bass as well, currently on the market LCD2 and TH900 seem to be the only headphones with very good sound quality and subwoofer level bass and they both cost £1000. I guess it is because is it hard to make one driver do everything at the same time from 20-20000hz.

 

[malla1ml]

   
Ah yes I read it wrong and it annoys me when people say that if you like bass you are an inferior specimen. My point is that most basshead headphones are not very good sound quality other than the bass (usually even that is not good and there is just a lot of it eg. beats) and there are not enough headphones with high end sound quality and powerful bass as well, currently on the market LCD2 and TH900 seem to be the only headphones with very good sound quality and subwoofer level bass and they both cost £1000. I guess it is because is it hard to make one driver do everything at the same time from 20-20000hz.

+1 This is exactly why I have a pair of TH-900's on the way to compliment my LCD2 rev1's.  I'm hoping that the EL-8 closed would be the perfect can while at work.

 

[kapanak]

   
Ah yes I read it wrong and it annoys me when people say that if you like bass you are an inferior specimen. My point is that most basshead headphones are not very good sound quality other than the bass (usually even that is not good and there is just a lot of it eg. beats) and there are not enough headphones with high end sound quality and powerful bass as well, currently on the market LCD2 and TH900 seem to be the only headphones with very good sound quality and subwoofer level bass and they both cost £1000. I guess it is because is it hard to make one driver do everything at the same time from 20-20000hz.

I agree. Many headphones struggle to reproduce bass as it is meant to be, and have gobbles of it.
 
This may explain why many audiophiles that are financially capable have HD800 and either the TH900 or LCD-3/3F to compliment each other.

 

[Exacoustatowner]

I am eagerly awaiting the EL-8's! I Did listening tests with the Audeze LCD-2 Fazor, LCD-X, and Senn HD 700 with Musical Fidelity VPA-90 and M1 HPAP HP Amps. I chose Classical (Firebird and Borodin Polevetsian Dances) and female jazz (Tierney Sutton) on SACD as my sources. I was amazed at the LCD2-until I heard the LCD-X-which seemed to have a wider soundstage. The Tierney Sutton has some really lovely acoustic bass and both of these phones excelled.
The female and male chorus in the Polevetsian Dances was just lovely. 
 
 I am currently listening to an Oppo BDP-105D with my 20+ year old AKG 340 Dynamic/Electrostatic HP. They sound really good btw, I have to compare them directly (through the HP Amps)  with the EL-8 and LCD 2 before buying though.
 
 I'd also like to hear the HiFIman He-560 before I make my final choices. 

 

[nicholars]

 
I agree. Many headphones struggle to reproduce bass as it is meant to be, and have gobbles of it.
 
This may explain why many audiophiles that are financially capable have HD800 and either the TH900 or LCD-3/3F to compliment each other.

 
Yes and also reproduce a lot of bass without messing up the other frequencies.

 

[Exacoustatowner]

   
"audiophiles" are allowed to like high quality, powerful bass as well (eg. not beats).... Does not make you some sort of inferior because you want headphones with good bass as well as the other parts of the sound. Do you think all high end speaker setups stop at 6.5" drivers? No they have 8-12" drivers as well for bass....

Yes! I listen to a lot of Classical-which frequently has massed basses, tympani, etc. Cathedral Organs anyone? Some of the low notes in Bach's Toccata in Fugue are near the lower limits of hearing. I'd LOVE to have HP that can reproduce that! I suspect some may just be referring to thumping unrealistic bass that some more commercial HP have. Realistic DEEP BASS? YES! 

 

[kapanak]

Anybody looking for truly breathtaking bass from a headphones should listen to an Abyss once in their lifetime, powered by a very powerful amplifier. The bass is practically numbing but detailed, and the rest of the frequency range don't miss out much either.
 
Still, I'd take my HD800 (for soundstage, mids and treble) and an LCD-3F (for bass and mids and enjoyment) AND a Schiit Ragnarok (for gobbles of power and good sound with just about any headphones) for the price of one Abyss, and get the best of all worlds in terms of headphones

 

[DVass13]

  Anybody looking for truly breathtaking bass from a headphones should listen to an Abyss once in their lifetime, powered by a very powerful amplifier. The bass is practically numbing but detailed, and the rest of the frequency range don't miss out much either.
 
Still, I'd take my HD800 (for soundstage, mids and treble) and an LCD-3F (for bass and mids and enjoyment) AND a Schiit Ragnarok (for gobbles of power and good sound with just about any headphones) for the price of one Abyss, and get the best of all worlds in terms of headphones

 
Why not just take the Abyss AND the Rag? I've demoed the Abyss off my Rag and I have to say that I would give up my HD800 and LCD-X for the Abyss. Of course, money might be an issue, but who needs cable or heat or a car...
 
I'm pretty pumped to try out the EL-8s off my Rag, though. Audezes always do well with more power.

 

[mikemercer]

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

@mangler:
 
I don't have the closed-back EL-8s (as most of you know) but I felt obligated to tell you that, after 100 hours of pink-noise and various frequency sweeps via the burn-in discs I mentioned earlier (using the classic XLO system burn-in disc, the Ayre disc, and Nordost System Tuning Disc - ALL ripped to my SSD) the bass, and especially the sub-bass via the open-back EL-8s is definitely getting tighter (and faster)
 
It's gaining more and more control and dimension as time passes! The bass extension is, in addition, not only getting deeper - but the overly-silky/warm sonic characteristics I mentioned in some of my first Early Impressions has literally dissipated! And believe me: I've been throwing everything at the open-back 8s ever since I noticed this!
 
I wanted to hear if those traits were the result of a particular system configuration, or if it was an unfortunate kink in the EL-8s sonic armor. It appears to have resolved itself, and so I'm going to DOUBLE MY BREAK-IN TIME from now on! I also see this as a big PLUS for the resolving capabilities of the EL-8 open-backs - As I've been able to hear the sonic evolution of the 8s SQ since the first morning I tried em after my first all-night break-in session via all those burn-in tools I listed above. That's impressive, as I looked through my EL-8 notes I confirmed that I wrote about/consistently observed these changes - which (IMHO) speaks volumes regarding the transparency of their overall detail retrieval, and their capacity for reproducing both micro and macro-dynamic-details. 
 
These cans have become impressively resolute, after (lets just get down to it) a pretty short period of time! Though, admittedly (and this is where OCD comes in-hand) when I'm not listening to them they're ALWAYS being fed a signal for the purpose of break-in/burn-in, whatever we prefer to call it - and it seems to be working really well.
 
\
The lower midrange and bass have improved greatly using this rig - and was especially noticeable during playback of "Eyesdown (ARP 101 Remix)"off Black Sands Remixed - Bonobo. The bass-line is more defined and weighty. The soaring synths collide w/ the various kick-drums hits, and now I can pick out the kick while these sounds are enmeshed. When I first started taking notes using this track - on this system- I made comments about that seeming overly-silkiness/warmth clouding the strike of the kick - 
 
Listening RIGHT NOW:
Not only can I pick out the kick with ease, and it's velocity has intensified (like I remember it - as this has been one of my top-ten sonic acid test tracks over the last couple years). Plus: While all these electronic sounds and organic instruments intertwine and ripple across the sound-stage, there's more of a presence to the sound - it's far more dimensional than when I first played it.
 
This is GOOD NEWS to me!
As I've been more than satisfied with their sound reproduction capabilities thus far (nothing can be PERFECT) - but now I'm beginning to get more and more excitable when listening through the EL-8s. My anticipation, to sit down and listen, especially after catching a power nap, has grown tremendously since I first fired em up!!!!
 
Because - their sound is evolving right before my eyes (well, ears

 ) and they're actually turning into the terrific headphones I KNEW they COULD be!!!!
 
PSYCHED for more sonic adventures with the EL-8s....  and I have a bunch of Impressions notes that I gotta get crackin' on!!
 
BTW:
@warrenpchi and I found that 200 hours of pink-noise was the magic number for breaking-in our LCD-Xs & LCD-XCs - so I expect Everything to keep changing for awhile!!
 

FANTASTIC sunrise listening sesh this morning - w/ the EL-8s +
 
Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies (+ upgraded tubes - Electro Harmonix gold-tips)
HRT MusicStreamer HD USB DAC
Using TIDAL as source via my MacBook Pro Retina SSD + Amarra sQ!!
Nordost Heimdall 2 interconnects
Locus Design/Cryoparts Nucleus USB

 

[mikemercer]

   
Hey Mike, did you get a confirmation from Audeze that the 'longer' cable will come by default with the Open-Back EL-8 ?

OH - SORRY!
Writing them RIGHT NOW...
 
man I thought I inquired already... I'm ON IT
 
Quote:

  Cool to see your list broken down that way! Out of curiosity, what do you hear in the LCD-2 Fazor that you don't get in the X? I've been LOVING the X, but they're a lot more expensive...

 
That's a difficult thing to quantify - As I still prefer the LCD-X for monitoring in the studio - and with a couple of my portable rigs as well...
 
When it comes to playing the LCD-2 w/ Fazor or LCD-X on my TOP/FAVE reference desktop amps, like:
My E.A.R HP4
Cavalli Audio Liquid Gold
ALO Studio Six
 
There's just something about the sweetness of the mids through the LCD-2 w/ Fazor that grabs me. The staging is wonderfully rounded/opaque - I mean it's like seeing a movie at a United Artists theater w/ the HUGE screen that extends outward and curves, like a half-circle. Ever been to one of those? It's like you're THERE, in the movie! The LCD-2 w/ Fazor is, for me, just more FUN to listen to music on strictly for recreation - When I'm NOT writing/reviewing/taking notes or anything else that distracts me - the 2s, for lack of a more exacting description - have more soul. 
 
It's also like there's more warmth there, but NOT too much - and I'm not saying the LCD-X lacks midrange sparkle - but it seems (to me) that the LCD-2 w/ Fazor just draws me deeper into the music - like a set of Magnepan 3.6s compared to the best Martin Logans - The Logans may do nearly everything better "technically" but the Magnepans paint a more holographic and enveloping sonic image...
 

 

[LFC_SL]

I want a tree that grows money but why on earth would audeze release a cheaper headphone and in portable form that has the LCD2 sound. Remember Audeze are only doing this because of oppo and Hifiman so small steps and expectation management...