[greenkiwi]

 
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!!
 

@mikemercer My earlier comment was actually re-enforcing this, why don't the manufacturers have this burn-in process built into their product delivery system.  They surely want the end user to like and hear the headphones at the optimal (and hopefully stable) state.  
 

 
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...

I hear you there.  Though I found that you had to get to double the price before they even were "technically" better.  Mostly due to integration issues between the stat and regular driver.  It seemed like you had to get to a much bigger and more full range stat before they stopped having blending issues.  Also, I want the 20.7s (and the new house that I'd need to be able to have a living room large enough for them.)

 

[mikroski]

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...

"the sweetness of the mids" sound good to me but actually I'm a Martin Logan owner

 

 

[Madeupword]

  The easiest way for me to break that down now would be to say that, in order of my preference  - this is what my top-level reference (damn, rhyme totally unintentional) list of headphones would look like so far, in my personal order (meaning my favorite up-top, and then descending):
 
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..

@mikemercer  Pardon to put you in the spot, but if the Audeze LCD-3 w/ Fazor is 100%, how much is the Audeze LCD-2 w/ Fazor?
 
Thank you so much, and looking forward to your review of the EL-8s.

 

[mikemercer]

  "the sweetness of the mids" sound good to me but actually I'm a Martin Logan owner

 

AH!
Sorry bout that - believe it or not - me too!!!
I lent them to Alex (Rosson - at Audeze) - 
 
I was actually thinking of their cheap model designed for Magnolia/Best-Buy.
BUT - I still believe a pair of Maggies w/ a couple Nola Thunderbolt subs is simply on another-level...  
 
They've made some terrific speakers actually, Gayle Sanders had a BRILLANT idea that BUILT Martin Logan:
Providing the listener w/ a dynamic-driver to pick up the sub-bass where the panals roll-off.
 
sorry if it seemed like I was hatin' on em!! 

 

[mikemercer]

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...

Believe me (as I know Alex Rosson very well).
He doesn't make ANY moves based on what others are doing.

 

[nicholars]

  Believe me (as I know Alex Rosson very well).
He doesn't make ANY moves based on what others are doing.

 
Are you affiliated with Audeze and that's why you got the EL8 early?

 

[Lohb]

@mikemercer interested why you ranked EL-8 above Alpha Prime with all the great impressions it receives ?
What does it have that puts it over AP ? That is a pretty strong all-rounder can.

 

[mikemercer]

   
Are you affiliated with Audeze and that's why you got the EL8 early?

NO.
I got an EL-8 because, as a music writer/gear reviewer, I'm also a genuine evangelist for Audeze, and my evangelism doesn't STOP at my reviews like most professional writers.
NOT for ANY other reason.
 
Alex appreciates my passion for Audeze
 
I asked my older cousin last week (Kenny works for Stevie Wonder) - Hence - Stevie going to the Audeze booth at CES! 
K also loves loves Audeze csn

 

[Jeff Y]

  NO.
I got an EL-8 because, as a music writer/gear reviewer, I'm also a genuine evangelist for Audeze, and my evangelism doesn't STOP at my reviews like most professional writers.
NOT for ANY other reason.
 
Alex appreciates my passion for Audeze
 
I asked my older cousin last week (Kenny works for Stevie Wonder) - Hence - Stevie going to the Audeze booth at CES! 
K also loves loves Audeze csn

However, you should be the official promoter from Audeze lol.

 

[citraian]

  AH!
Sorry bout that - believe it or not - me too!!!
I lent them to Alex (Rosson - at Audeze) - 
 
I was actually thinking of their cheap model designed for Magnolia/Best-Buy.
BUT - I still believe a pair of Maggies w/ a couple Nola Thunderbolt subs is simply on another-level...  
 
They've made some terrific speakers actually, Gayle Sanders had a BRILLANT idea that BUILT Martin Logan:
Providing the listener w/ a dynamic-driver to pick up the sub-bass where the panals roll-off.
 
sorry if it seemed like I was hatin' on em!! 

Sorry to continue the OT but what ML speakers do you guys have and with what headphones would you compare them with?

 

[mikroski]

 

  BUT - I still believe a pair of Maggies w/ a couple Nola Thunderbolt subs is simply on another-level...  

Sorry to continue the OT but what ML speakers do you guys have and with what headphones would you compare them with?

@mikemercer I agree that Maggies (with good sub) will sound very good, but you need a decent power amp to get the best
 
@citraian Very hard to answer.From my experience, its sonic varies on source and amp. When I use pre/power Krell,it sound cold and analytic. When I drive it with Cary audio tube amp, it sound warm and bold. When I pair with Moon Audio I7rs, it sound neutral and fluid.
 
So, it can be as bright as Grado or as warm as Hifiman depend on source
 

 

[money4me247]

earpad dimensions?

 

[mangler]

@mikemercer SWEEEET! It's good to hear the bass is getting better. From the frequency response graphs, it looks excellent. I guess I was just getting down about some of the early comments made by others. But, those were the pre-production units, so I guess I got ahead of myself Thank you so much for posting all of these updates and taking the time to respond to everybody's questions. 

 

[GettingBuckets]

@mikemercer
interested why you ranked EL-8 above Alpha Prime with all the great impressions it receives ?
What does it have that puts it over AP ? That is a pretty strong all-rounder can.

I'd like to know more too. I've always been a fan of the t50rp mods, and I know Mrspeakers does a great job. Having a ZMF Blackwood, I might want to switch it up since they are around the same price.

 

[Linchpin]

  @mikemercer My earlier comment was actually re-enforcing this, why don't the manufacturers have this burn-in process built into their product delivery system.  They surely want the end user to like and hear the headphones at the optimal (and hopefully stable) state.  
 

 
Same reason headphone manufacturers don't ship their headphones with $600 cables because both are dubious at best and there's no point wasting time and resources on the minority that care about either since they can just burn them in or change the cabling themselves.