[CarmenC]

I personally thought the closed back was terrible, I also think that LCD-xc sounds unnatural, not a big fan of closed back audeze. 





 

Zulkr9

you need to go here IMO 

 

[daphen]

I went to audition the EL-8 and PM-3 again and now I'm not so sure anymore..
I don't LOVE either of them. The PM-3's are just so, normal? I guess. They don't sound special at all.
The EL-8 sounds AMAZING when just playing instruments, but the vocals are very "shouty" and thin..
I have no idea what to do. I really need a closed headphone ASAP but I have no idea what headphones to look at.
Also, the EL-8 is just way more comfortable than the PM-3, eventhough they're much heavier.
 
My brain is going to blow up making this decisions. I have a budget on about 1k and I need a great sounding closed can that has nice isolation and doesn't leak much. Any suggestions? 
I really want to try the TH900 but they are not available in any store in Sweden so I can't audition them. I don't want to spend that much money on a headphone I can't try out for myself before buying. PS. They have to be quite easily driven as well, I don't have a nice amp at the office, I listen through my E17 via my laptop. (Macbook pro retina 15")

 

[reddog]

I went to audition the EL-8 and PM-3 again and now I'm not so sure anymore..
I don't LOVE either of them. The PM-3's are just so, normal? I guess. They don't sound special at all.
The EL-8 sounds AMAZING when just playing instruments, but the vocals are very "shouty" and thin..
I have no idea what to do. I really need a closed headphone ASAP but I have no idea what headphones to look at.
Also, the EL-8 is just way more comfortable than the PM-3, eventhough they're much heavier.

My brain is going to blow up making this decisions. I have a budget on about 1k and I need a great sounding closed can that has nice isolation and doesn't leak much. Any suggestions? 
I really want to try the TH900 but they are not available in any store in Sweden so I can't audition them. I don't want to spend that much money on a headphone I can't try out for myself before buying. PS. They have to be quite easily driven as well, I don't have a nice amp at the office, I listen through my E17 via my laptop. (Macbook pro retina 15")

If you have 1k budget, then check out MrSpeakers Alpha Dog or Alpha Prime's. Those two cans isolate and do not leak out noise.

 

[daphen]

If you have 1k budget, then check out MrSpeakers Alpha Dog or Alpha Prime's. Those two cans isolate and do not leak out noise.

They are impossible to audition. Are they better sounding than the TH900?

 

[bouch24]

You might try the Sennheiser Momentum M2's or Denon AH-MM400's. I'm looking for a "better" portable, closed headphone up to $600-$700 as well, but haven't heard anything yet that I like better than the headphones in the $300-$400 price class yet.

 

[money4me247]

@daphen, for your sonic preferences I would also recommend checking out the M2. I think you would enjoy its bass boost if you enjoy the EL-8 due to its bass and find the PM3 too boring and flat.
 
The TH900 seems to match what you are looking for sonically too, but its noise isolation isn't as good. Fine for at home listening without disturbing someone in a different room, but may not be the best option if using in the same room as someone trying to study or sleep.

 

[zerolight]

You might try the Sennheiser Momentum M2's or Denon AH-MM400's. I'm looking for a "better" portable, closed headphone up to $600-$700 as well, but haven't heard anything yet that I like better than the headphones in the $300-$400 price class yet.

I would caution against the M2. Unless you like a very bloated one dimensional bass and limited highs. Worst headphone I've ever heard. My sons £15 Sonys sound better.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I just got some open EL-8s to try out. Design is beautiful. Just like the LCDs though, they have that vacuum like seal around your ears, which I think is terrible. Also, the right driver appears to be dead. Returning them.

 
You think a good seal is terrible? Without a seal, you can't get proper bass with most headphones.
 

As I've said in this thread already,
The EL-8 closed back KILLS the Focal.
I have both.
No contest.

 
My memory is fuzzy. Can you please describe the differences you hear between them?
 
I'm actually glad to hear the EL-8 beats the FSP, even if it's just one person's opinion.
 

  Hey Dave: Glad you got to finally hear them. I really like them and their measurements are quite impressive. Flat FR down to 20Hz, treble that is't "shrill" like some headphones and nicely balanced with low distortion. 

 
Not even close to flat. Look how closely the FSP follows the black line in this graph. (Ignore the labels on the top right. My friend made some mistakes when labeling it. The black line is the HRTF curve that emulates how humans hear flat-tuned speakers.) Now compare the InnerFidelity graphs of the FSP and EL-8 back to back.
 
Just making that point. "Flatness" is only one factor in headphone sound, so I don't care too much how neutral the EL-8 is.
 

  I listened to a variety of genres from artists like Daft Punk, Ariana Grande, Eva Cassidy, The Piano Guys, Adele, Pentatonix, Sufjan Stevens, Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol, and Prince and 3RDEYEGIRL. I feel like the closed version works with more genres, while the open ones work better than the closed in some genres, but are less suited to others. I find the closed ones to be more analytical, clear, detailed, and balanced. Listening to the piano on The Piano Guys's cover of Can't Help Falling In Love, I could hear the individual notes on each chord, instead of hearing a cohesive and more compressed single-note chord on less-luxurious headphones I own. The treble and bass are both extremely well-extended. I was used to hearing a compressed, and smoothed off cymbal crash in Duke Ellington and Juan Tizol's arrangement of Caravan from the film Whiplash, but the EL-8s managed to make this sound detailed, clear, and realistic, to the point where I could differentiate which cymbal the drummer was playing. It's as if the sounds of the cymbals have more much more room or air to play around with, instead of being closed in and compressed. The bass is also incredibly detailed and well-extended, but it is less prominent in the frequency range.
 
The open version is, in my opinion, just as technically capable, but differently tuned. I would describe it as warm, smoky, and rich, like the wood on its earcups, or a soft couch. It is more mid/lower-mid forward with an emphasis on vocals or instruments around that region like cellos and upright basses. It works extremely well with jazz and classical, particularly with saxophones and the mentioned instruments. I prefer it to the closed versions in slower or more mellow tunes with a solo vocalist and minimal instruments, like Adele's live cover of Make You Feel My Love. It is more intimate and silky, especially in the treble. The treble is detailed and well-extended, but not as detailed, and recessed when compared to the closed cans. I find the lack of treble/upper-mids to be the open can's fatal flaw. It sounds a tiny, tiny bit congested and the air and room I mentioned earlier seems to have been significantly reduced. When I listened to Daft Punk's Fragments of Time, the first passage was noticeably bass/lower mid-emphasized with the first few electric guitar notes slightly overshadowed by the bassline. I find the EL-8 to resemble the Shure SE535 in terms of its mid, lower-mid and bass presentations. Like the SE535, it is rich, lush and full-bodied, but it has more extended and detailed sub-bass and treble than the 535. The open EL-8's treble is also more recessed than the SE535.
 
In conclusion, I personally prefer the closed-back EL-8s simply because I have always preferred more neutral/bright headphones than warm ones. The closed EL-8s are more versatile, detailed, balanced, and airy, and the open ones are more rich, lush, and full-bodied, especially in the mids and lower-mids, but less detailed. The soundstage and instrument separation, I believe, is better on the closed version due to its more detailed, energetic, and airy treble. Regardless, I still think these are both amazing-sounding headphones for the price and I strongly recommend trying them out yourself to see which you prefer.

 
How ironic that the open one sounds more closed than the closed one!

 

[TMRaven]

   
You think a good seal is terrible? Without a seal, you can't get proper bass with most headphones.
 

 
 
No, that's not what he said it all.  He only said that he dislikes the vacuum effect-- most likely for comfort reasons.  He said nothing about sound quality.

 

[reddog]

They are impossible to audition. Are they better sounding than the TH900?

I have not heard the TH900, however a friend of mine sold his TH900, when he heard the TH900. Good luck in your quest to find a closed back headphone to make you happy.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  No, that's not what he said it all.  He only said that he dislikes the vacuum effect-- most likely for comfort reasons.  He said nothing about sound quality.

 
I must have misinterpreted the statement. When I get a good seal on a headphone, a vacuum is how I would describe it, but I guess he was referring to how it feels like a literal vacuum cleaner sucking on him. lol
 
Does anyone else here feel this way about the fit of the EL-8?

 

[TMRaven]

 

   
Not even close to flat. Look how closely the FSP follows the black line in this graph. (Ignore the labels on the top right. My friend made some mistakes when labeling it. The black line is the HRTF curve that emulates how humans hear flat-tuned speakers.) Now compare the InnerFidelity graphs of the FSP and EL-8 back to back.
 

 
I think even more impressive is how close the PM3 is to the Harmon target curve through 4khz!  Even the treble is pretty good not counting that channel imbalance (maybe bad pair or measurement?)
 
http://i.imgur.com/JlfACH9.png

 

[spectrum]

 
I really want to try the TH900 but they are not available in any store in Sweden so I can't audition them.

 
Where did you find the EL8 and PM3s for audition in Sweden?

 

[daphen]

  @daphen, for your sonic preferences I would also recommend checking out the M2. I think you would enjoy its bass boost if you enjoy the EL-8 due to its bass and find the PM3 too boring and flat.

The M2 was way too bloated in the bass. I think the PM-3 has more bass than the EL-8, by quite the margin. The PM-3 wasn't too flat imo, I just wasn't wowed. 
The most striking factor of the EL-8 besides the thin vocals in the first songs, is the incredible build, it's amazing how good it feels in the hand and how comfortable they are.
The PM-3 pads are a tad small imo, I can imagine that they would become uncomfortable after a little while.
Sadly I can't audition the TH900 either..

 

[daphen]

   
Where did you find the EL8 and PM3s for audition in Sweden?

Sorry, I missed you. Reference Audio in Stockholm.
http://referenceaudio.se/