[DavidA]

So i finally got to try some audeze headphones for the first time last week, so i tried the open EL8 and the LCD2. I only had 20-something minutes or so, but at first listen i liked the EL8 slightly more. I dont know if this would be a long term reaction, but i felt drums had slightly more impact with the EL8s (i play drums so i listen to them more closely).

I did notice what others have said about the cable connections. Theyre not that strong. This has me a bit hesitant.

Im an artist and i use headphones mostly while painting or drawing. This means im on my feet and moving a bit. The LCD2 i noticed slides a little bit on the top of my head when i move. The EL8s have those weak connectors which might slip out when i move around the room. I use an extension cord for headphones when i do this.

A purchase is still fairly far off. And ill do another listening test for sure. Im just wondering what the bigger factor is, assuming i like the sound of both headphones.

PS: im too new to start my own threads

The EL8 is a very easy to drive headphone while the LCD-2 sounds better with better equipment.  I got the EL8 open for portable use but it was too heavy and the small padding on the headband made them difficult to use for more than 30 minutes at a time.  Since you say you will be moving around a lot while listening you might want to look a lighter headphone that is easy to drive, Fidelio X2, MDR-1A, SR-225e, TH-600, V-Moda XS or M-100, Momentum, MDR-7506 and ATA-M50x are my suggestions that I have, you can also look at the headphone guide to get a better idea what is available.

 

[RollinHard843]

The EL8 is a very easy to drive headphone while the LCD-2 sounds better with better equipment.  I got the EL8 open for portable use but it was too heavy and the small padding on the headband made them difficult to use for more than 30 minutes at a time.  Since you say you will be moving around a lot while listening you might want to look a lighter headphone that is easy to drive, Fidelio X2, MDR-1A, SR-225e, TH-600, V-Moda XS or M-100, Momentum, MDR-7506 and ATA-M50x are my suggestions that I have, you can also look at the headphone guide to get a better idea what is available.

Thanks for the tips i already have some grado sr225e's and i love them. To complement their sound i also got Sennheiser hd598s and they've been good in their own way. They are more comfortable when i need to wear glasses.

Ive been interested in audeze for a while and curious what planar magnetics even sound like. Now i know and need to start saving some money!

I guess neither headphone is ideal for wear while doing something else then? Painting isnt that vigorous, but it isnt quite stationary either. I'm curious how well the EL8s (and LCD2s for that matter) can handle some movement around the house.

 

[DavidA]

Thanks for the tips i already have some grado sr225e's and i love them. To complement their sound i also got Sennheiser hd598s and they've been good in their own way. They are more comfortable when i need to wear glasses.

Ive been interested in audeze for a while and curious what planar magnetics even sound like. Now i know and need to start saving some money!

I guess neither headphone is ideal for wear while doing something else then? Painting isnt that vigorous, but it isnt quite stationary either. I'm curious how well the EL8s (and LCD2s for that matter) can handle some movement around the house.

The only time I use my LCD2 or EL8 is sitting down at my desk.  If I look down they start to slide of, if I tilt my head back on my recliner they also start to slide back.  My HE-400i/560 are much better staying in place but the clamping force is on the high side.
 
I had the HD-598 for about a year before giving them to an old girlfriend a few months ago as I never used them anymore and having the HD650 also made them redundant.
 
If you feel like a little DIY you might want to try and take the SR225e drivers and put them in wood cups, they become so much better.  I've built 3 senngrado's and tried my friends 225e drivers in one of them and couldn't believe how great they sounded, bass that was solid like a TH-600, mids of a HD-650 and highs like a RS2e.

 

[RollinHard843]

The only time I use my LCD2 or EL8 is sitting down at my desk.  If I look down they start to slide of, if I tilt my head back on my recliner they also start to slide back.  My HE-400i/560 are much better staying in place but the clamping force is on the high side.

I had the HD-598 for about a year before giving them to an old girlfriend a few months ago as I never used them anymore and having the HD650 also made them redundant.

If you feel like a little DIY you might want to try and take the SR225e drivers and put them in wood cups, they become so much better.  I've built 3 senngrado's and tried my friends 225e drivers in one of them and couldn't believe how great they sounded, bass that was solid like a TH-600, mids of a HD-650 and highs like a RS2e.

Heh, if only i was that handy. I recently made a headphone stand out of mdf board, pvc pipe and some pipe insulation, and thats about the best i can do! Nonetheless, thanks for the feedback.

 

[Angular Mo]

Using years of accumulated points on American Express I purchased the closed version of the EL-8 having missed the open versions in the Web site (yeah, I am an idiot.)

Everyone prefers the open version.

I have not opened the box, and would need to ship them back to do an exchange, rather than walking into an Apple Store.

At home I have Beyerdynamics DT-770 80s which are closed circumaurals....and I still have my teenage children telling me to "turn down the volume on your headphones daddy, you are going to go deaf!" This is just annoying to me, and I anticipate more sonic interruptions were into choose the open version.


What would you folks suggest I do?

 

[Ultrainferno]

Personally I would return the EL-8C and upgrade to a good sealing and good sounding closed headphone, like the LCD-XC. But the DT770 is a superb headphone in my opinion. Can't you just turn down the volume? You must listen at very loud levels, I'm using the 770 at work for the moment and no one ever complains about it being too loud or audible at all.

 

[x RELIC x]

Using years of acclimated points on American Express I purchased the closed version of the EL-8 having missed the open versions in the Web site (yeah, I am an idiot.)

Everyone prefers the open version.

I have not opened the box, and would need to ship them back to do an exchange, rather than walking into an Apple Store.

At home I have Beyerdynamics DT-770 80s which are closed circumaurals....and I still have my teenage children telling me to "turn down the volume on your headphones daddy, you are going to go deaf!" This is just annoying to me, and I anticipate more sonic interruptions were into choose the open version.


What would you folks suggest I do?

Get the open version, turn down the volume and thank your kids. :wink_face:

 

[money4me247]

note the lcd-xs will be much heavier if you are going from a dynamic headphone such as the dt770. I would recommend auditioning it for 20-30minutes to see if the weight bothers you prior to pulling the trigger. also, you can look into lohb's leather suspension strap mod if you fall in love with the sound but find the comfort a bit lacking

 

[Angular Mo]

The LCD are USD 1000 more expensive than the EL-8, too rich for me.

 

[Maconi]

  I actually just got the EL-8 recently. I've only had a few hours with them so far so I'm not sure how I feel yet, but if I had to say what my first impression was it'd be "These cost $700?"
 
I'm having a real hard time trying to EQ the sound to where I want it. I feel the bass lacks fullness/body (I guess that's the best way to say it?), but if I try to boost the bass it immediately overwhelms the rest of the sound (it makes everything sound "muddy" I think is the term). Also to get any kind of clarity in the upper end (IMO) the 7k range needs serious EQ (but that's not news, the graphs on IF show the huge 6k/7k dip).
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AudezeEL8Open.pdf
 
Just as a note I'm driving them with an HA-2.
 
If I had to sum up my first impressions it would be that the bass feels a bit lacking (really lacking if you're a bass-head wanting a subwoofer like thump) and bleeds into the rest of the sound too easily if boosted (could use better separation). I was expecting to be blown away considering the price but honestly my DT 990 PRO 250 OHM doesn't feel TOO far off overall (although they're obviously 250 OHM and open). Maybe I'm just a closet bass-head and am expecting too much lol.
 
If I absolutely didn't want to EQ my headphones I wouldn't recommend the EL-8 (in my inexperienced opinion). However, since I don't mind EQ I'm going to give them a bit more time though.
 
EDIT: Reading back over my post I think I was a bit harsh. These aren't bad headphones, and the build quality is great. I was just expecting to be blown away for the price (although I've not heard many other headphones in this price range honestly, so maybe it's on par). Maybe I just need to adjust my expectations. We'll see. 

 
 

 
Alright, so after spending a bit more time with the EL-8 (Closed) I've decided I like them (EQ is a must for me though). I have nothing to compare them to besides my DT 990 PROs (maybe I'll try to find some place to demo headphones before the return period is up on the EL-8) but I feel like I'm at a good place with these now.
 
Now that I have the sound where I want it, I think part of the reason for my original harsh review was I'm used to open headphones with more soundstage (these feel more compressed and in front of you rather than all around you). That and I've never heard a Planar before (only Dynamics). It made it sound so different to me that no changes I made to the EQ could recreate what I was looking for. That and I expected more bass kick/punch from closed headphones (still wish I could get more bass feeling out of them without ruining the rest of the sound but maybe I'm expecting too much lol).
 
Below are my current EQ settings (still using an HA-2 with Bass Boost on). I'm not very good at it (hence why it took me so long to get it dialed in) but after a ton of listening (like 8+ hours daily since I've got them) this sounds about right. This EQ program helped a lot (being able to see the actual frequency line rather than just EQ sliders). If anyone has any suggestions (if I've made some mistake or could improve the EQ somehow) let me know.
 

 

 
EQ (text based)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/
 
EQ GUI (put in config folder of EQ)
http://sourceforge.net/projects/peace-equalizer-apo-extension/

 

[Asr]

Using years of acclimated points on American Express I purchased the closed version of the EL-8 having missed the open versions in the Web site (yeah, I am an idiot.)

Everyone prefers the open version.

I have not opened the box, and would need to ship them back to do an exchange, rather than walking into an Apple Store.

At home I have Beyerdynamics DT-770 80s which are closed circumaurals....and I still have my teenage children telling me to "turn down the volume on your headphones daddy, you are going to go deaf!" This is just annoying to me, and I anticipate more sonic interruptions were into choose the open version.

What would you folks suggest I do?

 
Well going by some of the previous posts, maybe you might want to look into the Oppo PM-3 instead. And if the closed EL-8 was in your budget, then you might also want to consider the Fostex TH600 or Sony Z7 (can't comment on either of them though, just pointing them out as possible options).
 
The MrSpeakers Alpha Dog and Alpha Prime (both discontinued but available for direct discount by MrSpeakers now) are also good options and I can personally report that they have very good isolation since that's something you seem to need.

 

[money4me247]

 
Well going by some of the previous posts, maybe you might want to look into the Oppo PM-3 instead. And if the closed EL-8 was in your budget, then you might also want to consider the Fostex TH600 or Sony Z7 (can't comment on either of them though, just pointing them out as possible options).
 
The MrSpeakers Alpha Dog and Alpha Prime (both discontinued but available for direct discount by MrSpeakers now) are also good options and I can personally report that they have very good isolation since that's something you seem to need.

i've heard all those except the alpha dog.
 
sony z7 is a bit overpriced (just in my own personal opinion). noticeable bass bloat and bass boost. can find higher quality bass options, but if looking for a darker sound sig, it can work well. the th600 is v-shaped, so makes it easy to pick or not pick based on sound sig preferences.
 
alpha prime is pretty well done overall in terms of FR balance. has a nice large soundstage and good sense of planar speed. i personally never really got too into the prime for some reason, but overall a solid option. I think I had higher expectations for their price point & from all the positive thread talk, I guess I was expecting that they would blow my socks off. They definitely offer some really nice technical ability & is an extremely all-around solid option esp if you can get it at discount. I think its original msrp was too pricey for what you are getting, but the dearth of generally-well-balanced closed options makes it more reasonable to swallow. with the end-of-life sales seems like a much better option. nothing really stuck out too much (both positively or negatively) to me for the Primes relative to the rest of my collection. generally very competitive as a closed pair of headphones even against open or flagships, 
 
the pm-3 was my own personal pick d/t price point, portability, and overall sound sig balance. i find the sound sig very well-balanced though subtly on the warm side of things. if not requiring portability at all though, likely can find a better value. sound stage is competitive for a closed portable, but other closed options with larger sound stages. really nice build quality. size of earpads should be considered. they are portable headphones, so smaller earpads compared to some non-portable closed meant for home listening.
 
I think the best value for closed balanced (non-portable) would be the akg k553. extremely well-measuring FR curve that is more neutral than many flagships. no glaring sonic flaws to my ears. detail resolution is not as good as $1k+ flagship type headphones, but hell, these are $200 or less. extremely large sound stage with very precise imaging. speed is competitive for a dynamic pair of headphones. concerns would be non-removable cable and whether they will fit you. They fit me fine, but earpads a bit on the shallow side. also build quality is solid for a $200 product, but of course will not be luxurious build quality. of course if your budget stretches, most people don't consider these, but I have quite a few flagships and I still consider these to be pretty solid headphones.
 
also options to look at if your budget goes into luxury territory is the new ether closed that was just announced. eta probably 2 months to get.

 

[Maconi]

I will say one big plus of the EL-8 is that they fit me. They're on the biggest setting and my earlobes are almost hanging out of the bottom of the cups, but it fits lol. I'm assuming most other headphones wouldn't fit comfortably on my big noggin. 

 

[Angular Mo]

Well, I decided to return the EL-8C, and will consider the OPPO PM-3, and turn down the volume on my DT-770 80s.

I have not yet thanked my children

Lately, the Uptone Regens have made my DTs sound so great that I can live with them for a while longer.

 

[RollinHard843]

Out of curiosity, is there anyone who enjoys the EL 8's MORE than the LCD2s? Or at least, do you enjoy them equally?