[obsidyen]

Mike Mercer seems like an easily excited fellow. He looks like he's about to make love to EL-8s in that vid. Nevertheless, I hope he's right about how good these are. I can only hope that these don't sound strident and fatiguing due to harsh treble, also that the sound signature is not lean but full and musical.

 

[citraian]

Mike is always excited but I found his comments to be spot on until now.

 

[potkettleblack]

   
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

The HD700 manhandles the 650's in terms of technicalities. Separate to the sibilance (also displayed by the 800's) the main reason they got such a bad rap was their initial retail price. The fact you can get them for the same price as the top Dre Beats now is hilarious.
 
 

 

[blessingx]

  The HD700 manhandles the 650's in terms of technicalities. Separate to the sibilance (also displayed by the 800's) the main reason they got such a bad rap was their initial retail price. The fact you can get them for the same price as the top Dre Beats now is hilarious.
 
 

 
Yep, the price was too high for that lousy signature. 

 

[MattTCG]

 
 
Overall, I think that if somebody is looking for the traditional Audeze house sound, I'm not sure if they should be looking at the EL-8. It is good, but it doesn't really sound like the older Audeze headphones to me. To me, this is good, as I wasn't the biggest fan of how Audeze voiced their older headphones (though I do admit they technically are very capable).
 
Hopefully, these impressions don't sound too much like incoherent babbling, and are useful.

 
To me this post sounds honest and on the mark. Unfortunately, it was just what I was afraid of. I personally have not been a fan of the direction that the Audeze phones have been going since "fazor-gate" and the lcd-2.
 
I bought the lcd2 about a year ago having heard it many times before and determined to "acclimate" myself to the weight and comfort issues. I was one of the first to receive the lcd2.2 without being aware that fazor was implemented. I will never forget the disappointment when I first listened to them. The "new" lcd2's were more resolving, detailed and overall brighter than anything I'd ever heard from Audeze. For me, this signature was lacking most of what I loved about the Audeze sound, which was the luscious mids, detailed if not somewhat darker treble, and that signature bass response...flat, tight and with off the charts extension.
 
I returned those lcd2's and gave up on Audeze. Then I saw the announcement for the EL-8 at CES. I'm going to reserve judgment on the EL-8 because it's of course WAY to early to make judgment calls here. But there are some adjectives being thrown around that have tripped some red flags in my estimation. Such words and phrases like, "most open sounding Audeze ever," "most resolving Audeze" "treble spike" "airy" etc.
 
What I'm not hearing is nearly anything about the bass and mids, particularly the bass response. If the EL-8 turns out to be a brighter version of the lcd-x, then I'm definitely out. But I'll reserve judgment till more detailed impressions and reviews start pouring it. I'll be particularly interested in what Tyll says about these because, like me, he had a deep appreciation of the lcd2 pre-fazor.

 

[MattTCG]

  Mike Mercer seems like an easily excited fellow. He looks like he's about to make love to EL-8s in that vid. Nevertheless, I hope he's right about how good these are. I can only hope that these don't sound strident and fatiguing due to harsh treble, also that the sound signature is not lean but full and musical.

 
THIS.

 

[Jeb Listens]

Hi Matt - that's a useful impression for me to hear as I decide on a new Audeze.  
 
About 6 months ago I decided it was time for some serious headphones.  I set my heart on the LCD2s and began reading about them on Head-Fi while I started putting money aside for them each month.  
 
Perhaps this is normal for any revised headphone but the Fazor/Non-fazor versions seem incredibly polarising and varied - they range from people who think they are a tremendous improvement, to those who strongly dislike the change in sound (like Matt's post above) to a great many who state that the difference is subtle, difficult to A/B and not one to lose too much sleep over.  Finally, I just read Mike Mercer's product of the year review for the LCD2F... I don't think it could really be any more glowing.
 
It's pretty confusing. In the end, with the difficulty of demoing the different versions here in the UK, the lack of a strong used Audeze market here and the high price of used equipment that comes from the US (once you factor in VAT and customs) ,  purely on cost and value, the sensible option seems like a new LCD2-F at this point. 
 
My only worry with them, is when I hear people say they are too bright which really turns me off as that kind of sound is just not for me.  Getting back to the EL-8 - If it is brighter still then I think i'll skip that one.  It does sound like a great headphone and its great to see them continuing to push the boundaries.
 
All the best
 
Jeb. 

 

[EddieE]

  Hi Matt - that's a useful impression for me to hear as I decide on a new Audeze.  
 
About 6 months ago I decided it was time for some serious headphones.  I set my heart on the LCD2s and began reading about them on Head-Fi while I started putting money aside for them each month.  
 
Perhaps this is normal for any revised headphone but the Fazor/Non-fazor versions seem incredibly polarising and varied - they range from people who think they are a tremendous improvement, to those who strongly dislike the change in sound (like Matt's post above) to a great many who state that the difference is subtle, difficult to A/B and not one to lose too much sleep over.  Finally, I just read Mike Mercer's product of the year review for the LCD2F... I don't think it could really be any more glowing.
 
It's pretty confusing. In the end, with the difficulty of demoing the different versions here in the UK, the lack of a strong used Audeze market here and the high price of used equipment that comes from the US (once you factor in VAT and customs) ,  purely on cost and value, the sensible option seems like a new LCD2-F at this point. 
 
My only worry with them, is when I hear people say they are too bright which really turns me off as that kind of sound is just not for me.  Getting back to the EL-8 - If it is brighter still then I think i'll skip that one.  It does sound like a great headphone and its great to see them continuing to push the boundaries.
 
All the best
 
Jeb. 

 
Whereabouts are you based Jeb?
 
I don't think I'm going to be able to make it this year, but the national meet is in Cambridge this year, and its likely that all the LCDs will be there to audition.

 

[DoctaCosmos]

I bet these just won't have the full bodied and varied amount of over smoothing through the models that is the audeze house sound. Probably still smooth but more similar to a neutral planar such as he6 or t50 mods

 

[Jeb Listens]

Hi Eddie, 
 
Thanks - I think auditioning them would be helpful wouldn’t it. 
 
Based in Bristol at the moment.  Not too far from Cambridge - 3hrs I reckon.
 
 I’ll see if I can make it to the Head-Fi meet! It's a beautiful city!
 
 
Regards
 
Jeb

 

[potkettleblack]

   
Yep, the price was too high for that lousy signature. 

The same could be said for the hd800 and nearly all AKG's so steady on there cowboy.

 

[EddieE]

  The same could be said for the hd800 and nearly all AKG's so steady on there cowboy.

 
Same can be said about every set of headphones; someone out there is going to hate them.
 
I've never got it when people think something price should be set based on how much they want it/like it. Things cost what they cost, the response to not wanting it is not buying it.

 

[potkettleblack]

   
Same can be said about every set of headphones; someone out there is going to hate them.
 
I've never got it when people think something price should be set based on how much they want it/like it. Things cost what they cost, the response to not wanting it is not buying it.

Consensus still stands for something.. But yes, I completely agree.

 

[pedalhead]

  Hi Eddie, 
 
Thanks - I think auditioning them would be helpful wouldn’t it. 
 
Based in Bristol at the moment.  Not too far from Cambridge - 3hrs I reckon.
 
 I’ll see if I can make it to the Head-Fi meet! It's a beautiful city!
 
 
Regards
 
Jeb

 
Jeb, we're expecting to have most (if not all) of the usual suspects headphones at the UK meet.  Details in my sig.  Cheers.

 

[YtseJamer]

  Finally, I just read Mike Mercer's product of the year review for the LCD2F...

 
I agree with everything that Mike has said about the new LCD-2 Fazor, they are the best LCD-2 that I have heard so far!  (And I have heard all the revisions.)