[Uberclocked]

  I can't help shake my head at folks who think a $700 headphone is targetted at audiophile noobs or "budding audiophiles".  When I started on my long road to my used $700 LCD-2, I was barely willing to drop $150 on a used pair of Q701's!  Once I did, I didn't think there was any way a $700 headphone could improve the sound enough to be worth the almost 5x as much.  
 
No, this may be an "entry level" Audeze, but it's not an entry level price.  Not even close.

So the question still remains...
did it?

Spoiler: Super spoilerly spoiler, do not read if you suffer from heart conditions

No - at least probably not.  Not 5x at least.

 

[Stillhart]

Ok i agree tha this isnt an entry level price, but that this is entry level for audeze and entry level for the top of the line so to speak.

I say that because i agree that while $700 is still very expensive for headphones, it is becoming more attainable to the mass market. The landscape of general consumer headphones has changed over the last few years quite a lot and a lot of it is due in part to Beats. Love them or hate them, Beats has done an excellent job at convincing the average consumer to spend several hundred dollars on a pair of headphones. I remember in 2007, if you told your average buddy you spent $300 on headphones, you were insane, elitist, or both. Nowadays it is less of an insane proposition and the proof is simply that i see $300 headphones (mostly beats) a lot nowadays. I mean i go to the gym and there are at least thre or four pair of beats studios in there.

I think that is awesome. Its aweomse that the average consumer is willing to spend money on headphones and it is becoming more accepted. That itself is only awesome because it allows companies like Audeze to release a product like this. It certainly is a big leap in price and quality from beats, but its not longer bat$@t crazy for people. Its exciting that there are more and more products from daps, audio services, and headphones that are starting to bridge the gap between general consumer and audiophile.

Btw, awesome to see a fellow las vegan here on the forums!

 
It's still more than double the price of that $300 Beats and we have no idea if it has top of the line sound yet or not.  Audeze has made some great headphones but let's not forget that the HD650 and HD800 led to the HD700, which is one of the more polarizing headphones I know of.  
 
I mean, granted, if it sounds as good as the LCD-2, they'll have a winner.  But at the expense of the LCD-2.  It's certainly possible that they have a business guy at the top who made the hard decision to undercut the LCD-2 in an attempt to garner a larger market share.  But we don't know if that's the case yet.  They've certainly already stated that it's not the intention... so it stands to reason that it probably WON'T be top of the line sound.  High mid-fi?  Probably.  Summit-fi?  Narp. 
 
And yes, you're the first LVegan I've met on Head-fi!  Maybe now I can start hearing some new stuff without buying and selling used every month or two!  lol

 

[Stillhart]

  So the question still remains...
did it?

Spoiler: Super spoilerly spoiler, do not read if you suffer from heart conditions

No - at least probably not.  Not 5x at least.

 
I don't even think the LCD-2 is 5x as good as the Q701.  It's really damn good, but the incremental difference isn't even close to the jump from "ear buds" to the Q701.  
 
And these days when you can get the K7XX for $200?  X2 for $300?  For most people, that's all they'll ever need. 

 

[Uberclocked]

   
I don't even think the LCD-2 is 5x as good as the Q701.  It's really damn good, but the incremental difference isn't even close to the jump from "ear buds" to the Q701.  
 
And these days when you can get the K7XX for $200?  X2 for $300?  For most people, that's all they'll ever need. 

The real question is: is the HE90 worth 10 quadrillion Zimbabwe dollars?

Spoiler: Not a spoiler

Yes, it is. Unless you're comparing to the B34t5 Pr0.
Then it's not much of a comparison. 
The[size=1em] [/size][size=1em]B34t5 Pr0 will always reign as #1.[/size]
420/69-IGN

 

[RCBinTN]

Nice strategy.
LCD series = HD800
EL-8 = HD650
 
Only with the Audez'e signature planar sound.

 

[Uberclocked]

  Nice strategy.
LCD series = HD800
EL-8 = HD650
 
Only with the Audez'e signature planar sound.

It's double the price though (triple if you buy used).

 

[RCBinTN]

It's the upgraded price to the Audez'e signature sound.  

 

[YtseJamer]

New video

[VIDEO]http://youtu.be/X8NYdRxFGfo[/VIDEO]

 

[Stillhart]

Can't wait till someone actually posts something really substantive about the SQ.
 
Me, I'm going to CES tomorrow.  I've loaded my phone with my FLAC test tracks and I'm bringing my E11 amp and HP100 headphones.  They're nothing special, but they should give me a baseline that I'm comfortable with for comparing the sound signatures.  We'll see if that helps at all.  lol

 

[goldendarko]

  Can't wait till someone actually posts something really substantive about the SQ.
 
Me, I'm going to CES tomorrow.  I've loaded my phone with my FLAC test tracks and I'm bringing my E11 amp and HP100 headphones.  They're nothing special, but they should give me a baseline that I'm comfortable with for comparing the sound signatures.  We'll see if that helps at all.  lol

Sweet, look forward to hearing some real posts about these headphones, getting tired of discussing their styling! Can't wait until they get out in the wild and impressions start rolling in.

 

[reddog]

True. True.

But the volume of the response for these and other Audeze headphones certainly has this Hifiman/Mr.Speakers/Grado fans attention.

Yes I am intrigued too, this hobby drains my wallet.

 

[money4me247]

I don't even think the LCD-2 is 5x as good as the Q701.  It's really damn good, but the incremental difference isn't even close to the jump from "ear buds" to the Q701.  

And these days when you can get the K7XX for $200?  X2 for $300?  For most people, that's all they'll ever need. 

this. after getting past the nice mid-fi headphones, you are paying an extreme premium for subtle improvements. only worth it for the enthusiast or the rich.

$700 is beyond what the average consumer will consider for headphones. The Oppo PM3s $400 pricing strategy has a better chance of reaching a wider audience.

For all expensive headphones, the price can be arbitrary set to reflect an perceived value. None of these TOTL headphones costs anything close to their MSRP to make. There is often insane markup on most headphones. >50% markup is not unreasonable & is standard practice in this industry.

 

[diamondears]

While I'm yet to hear a Fazor LCD, I've heard the earlier LCD2 and 3 many times and the treble on them was attenuated. They weren't super dark, but they were not neutral headphones by a long shot.

That's what makes me curious when people say that the newer models have too much treble. Do they actually? Or do they just sound that way to people who have mentally adjusted to the dialled down treble on the earlier models?

Looking at their measurements, they look like they should be closer to neutral rather than treble-heavy, but measurements can often be deceptive.

Or it can be the other way around...the people finding the LCD-2, especially the 2.2, dark/warm have ears accustomed to bright HPs with dark/warm amps, which is most often than not the case because there's NO HP right now that could compete with Audeze's deep full bodied bass.

So you gotta mention what's your amp and HP for reference.

The measurements alone don't tell that its' more neutral-- if anything it's the opposite.  Look at this graph of the two, the X has less energy than the 2 in the lower treble area from 3-7khz.  I rather mix my own track with an HD600 than an LCD-X, and it's a quarter of the price.  The only downside there is I won't be able to do much with anything sub 50hz.  When older headphones costing way less than yours do what you intended to do better, it's marketing speak.  Don't get me wrong though, I still enjoyed the LCD-X, especially because it had a coloration not too dissimilar from my then favorite Hifiman HE-400, only it was much more 'mature' in its voicing.


Yes probably not, which is why the tuning of the X has been so successful.  I don't think it's counter-intuitive to do so, just as long as certain aspects of the EL-8's sound is less superior than the X.  On the other hand, Audeze could pull a Schiit and revamp their LCD line with the same technology introduced with the EL-8.  They put the fazors in the 2 and 3 after they introduced it with the X and XC, so it's not entirely impossible.

Agree with you, except that IMO the LCD 2.2s are the most neutral if you have a TRULY transparent/neutral amp.

The rest of the specs seem the same, the 110ohms etc., I would say they are just measuring the sensitivity a different way now.  I remember when the OPPO was released with sensitivity in the 100+ range, a rep from Audeze mentioned that they measure it a different way (closer to the hp) and if Audeze used that way they would be a lot higher too. But I don't really know, just a guess.

I don't think they're measuring it differently. I think they've incorporated tech or things into the LCDs too that can be found in the EL-8s. Maybe for later announcement. If it's a new technology, they should.

New video

[VIDEO]http://youtu.be/X8NYdRxFGfo[/VIDEO]

Still no SQ comment? These guys (reviewers) are waiting for a complimentary unit...haha

Can't wait till someone actually posts something really substantive about the SQ.

Me, I'm going to CES tomorrow.  I've loaded my phone with my FLAC test tracks and I'm bringing my E11 amp and HP100 headphones.  They're nothing special, but they should give me a baseline that I'm comfortable with for comparing the sound signatures.  We'll see if that helps at all.  lol

Aside from not having a complimentary unit yet, I think they intentionally avoid any SQ comments because the environment isn't ideal (noisy) and they want to critically listen to it with their reference gears. There should have been an isolation booth or something.

 

[Stillhart]

I 

Or it can be the other way around...the people finding the LCD-2, especially the 2.2, dark/warm have ears accustomed to bright HPs with dark/warm amps, which is most often than not the case because there's NO HP right now that could compete with Audeze's deep full bodied bass.

Aside from not having a complimentary unit yet, I think they intentionally avoid any SQ comments because the environment isn't ideal (noisy) and they want to critically listen to it with their reference gears. There should have been an isolation booth or something.

Re your first paragraph, my HE-4 bass compares favorably to the LCD-2.  Not looking for a fight, just sayin...
 
Re your second paragraph, don't they have a room at the Venetian for demoing?  Or am I thinking of HiFiMan?

 

[DreamKing]

   
It's still more than double the price of that $300 Beats and we have no idea if it has top of the line sound yet or not.  Audeze has made some great headphones but let's not forget that the HD650 and HD800 led to the HD700, which is one of the more polarizing headphones I know of.  
 
I mean, granted, if it sounds as good as the LCD-2, they'll have a winner.  But at the expense of the LCD-2.  It's certainly possible that they have a business guy at the top who made the hard decision to undercut the LCD-2 in an attempt to garner a larger market share.  But we don't know if that's the case yet.  They've certainly already stated that it's not the intention... so it stands to reason that it probably WON'T be top of the line sound.  High mid-fi?  Probably.  Summit-fi?  Narp. 
 
And yes, you're the first LVegan I've met on Head-fi!  Maybe now I can start hearing some new stuff without buying and selling used every month or two!  lol

Are you saying LCD-2 is summit-fi? or just that the el-8 isn't summit-fi? because it's already looking like it might have better tone and just overall better sound than the LCD-2 from the impressions I've read. Especially since the sound is based on the X and XC. Won't be summit-fi obviously but LCD-2 isn't either anymore (I probably got what you're saying confused though).