[sachu]

Quote:

 
--> LCD-2 gets good marks, but the HD 800 cannot be beaten in this regard.
 
BASS/LOWS: The LCD-2 goes deeper (yes, it is possible...), but the HD 800 has a slightly tighter grip/control on the bass. The LCD-2 clearly has more impact, making bass heavy genres such as electronica and hip hop an absolute joy to listen to. By far the best bass I have heard in headphones. 
 
--> LCD-2 wins overall, but not in everything regarding bass.
 
What amp are you using to drive the LCD-2? THe control of the lower end of the frequency spectrum is dependaent on the transducer as well as the amplifier damping factor and bandwidth.
 
MIDS: Both perform very well here, but there´s just something in the LCD-2 that I´ve heard no dynamic headphone ever do. It´s so lifelike, clear and grainless... The mids are more transparent on the HD 800, making layers that go on top of eachother easier to separate. On the LCD-2 sometimes a layer can slightly push over another one. To me the LCD-2 is more detailed and grainless than the HD 800 - I´m very suprised as I never thought there was anything left to improve here. The LCD-2 feels more neutral and is clearly the more natural one out of the two. There is more weight and the texture is more solid and refined on the LCD-2. 
 
--> Both are fantastic, but LCD-2 is absolute magic here and takes the win. Is this why people love orthos?
 
Yes it is

 

 

[vrln]

Quote:

Quote:

 
--> LCD-2 gets good marks, but the HD 800 cannot be beaten in this regard.
 
BASS/LOWS: The LCD-2 goes deeper (yes, it is possible...), but the HD 800 has a slightly tighter grip/control on the bass. The LCD-2 clearly has more impact, making bass heavy genres such as electronica and hip hop an absolute joy to listen to. By far the best bass I have heard in headphones. 
 
--> LCD-2 wins overall, but not in everything regarding bass.
 
What amp are you using to drive the LCD-2? THe control of the lower end of the frequency spectrum is dependaent on the transducer as well as the amplifier damping factor and bandwidth.
 
MIDS: Both perform very well here, but there´s just something in the LCD-2 that I´ve heard no dynamic headphone ever do. It´s so lifelike, clear and grainless... The mids are more transparent on the HD 800, making layers that go on top of eachother easier to separate. On the LCD-2 sometimes a layer can slightly push over another one. To me the LCD-2 is more detailed and grainless than the HD 800 - I´m very suprised as I never thought there was anything left to improve here. The LCD-2 feels more neutral and is clearly the more natural one out of the two. There is more weight and the texture is more solid and refined on the LCD-2. 
 
--> Both are fantastic, but LCD-2 is absolute magic here and takes the win. Is this why people love orthos?
 
Yes it is

 

Consider me a converted ortho fan then Amp is Audio-gd Phoenix. The comparison is rigged in favor of HD 800 btw, it´s balanced HD 800 vs. single ended LCD-2 as I don´t have a balanced cord for them yet... Running both out of the same amp. So I´m only running the LCD-2 at 50% of the power and circuitry vs. the HD 800. I believe that´s the reason for the slightly superior bass control on the HD 800. The same phenomenon can also be observed when running HD 800 single ended vs balanced. The Phoenix as an amp is also famous for being substantially weaker in single ended mode (doesn´t use full circuitry).

 

[sachu]

balanaced amp crap again...meh i'll leave it at that...yeah get a better amp than the audio-gd stuff.

 

[vrln]

There´s nothing wrong with the Phoenix, it´s just running with half it´s power output right now. It´s a fantastic solid state amp, by far the best I have heard, not to mention it´s amazing value for money with the features it has (I´m also running active monitors through it).

 

[MrSpenkelink]

But is it the right amp for the HD800? I've been researching amps for the HD800 and decided that I would pair it with a tube rather than solid state amp. It seems that the HD800 benefits from just a touch of warmth that tube amps can provide.  

 

[vrln]

I wouldn´t be suprised if it´s better with tubes. Unfortunately I don´t have any experience with tube amps... 

 

[Danz03]

It's a bit hard to compare the two because they are quite different. The LCD-2s are designed as monitors and the HD800s are designed for audiophiles. Some would like the LCD-2s because they sound more accurate while others would prefer the HD800s because they are more enjoyable to listen to. If 'better' to you means being able to reproduce the sound more faithfully, get the LCD-2s, but if 'better' for you means more enjoyable listening, then go for the HD800s. Personally, I like them both, but for difference reasons. 

 

[vrln]

The brightness/sibilance on the HD 800 ruins the listening experience for me, more pleasure to be found on the HD 650 even though they are weaker in everything else. If I could get rid of it I would definately have kept my HD 800. They do certain things a lot better than the LCD-2 and have a clearly different sound signature.

 

[MrGreen]

The treble spike ruins the HD800 for the price. The darkness (haven't you heard of diffuse field EQ, Audeze?) TOTALLY ruins the LCD-2. HD800 wins it for me overall.

 

[rhythmdevils]

Are there any Diffuse Field equalized headphones that don't have a huge amounts of treble?  Maybe not using DF eq is a good thing...

 

[Skylab]

 
Quote:

The treble spike ruins the HD800 for the price. The darkness (haven't you heard of diffuse field EQ, Audeze?) TOTALLY ruins the LCD-2. HD800 wins it for me overall.

Have you heard the HE-6?  I'm thinking you'd really like it

---

 

[grokit]

IME the HD800 treble smooths out with the right tubes and source, and plenty of voltage. Too much treble isn't the problem anymore for me with the HD800, but the HE-6 blows them away (makes the HD800 sound "thin") if you have enough current to drive them properly.

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

 
Quote:

The treble spike ruins the HD800 for the price. The darkness (haven't you heard of diffuse field EQ, Audeze?) TOTALLY ruins the LCD-2. HD800 wins it for me overall.

Have you heard the HE-6?  I'm thinking you'd really like it

---

 
Nope, I've gone the stax route! Currently waiting for a SRM-T1 and a Lambda Sig. The so-called "etch" bothers me far less than the HD800 (whose spike is a little piercing, honestly).
 
I think I'm done with headphones too now because of it (I say that...

)
 

 
Quote:

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Are there any Diffuse Field equalized headphones that don't have a huge amounts of treble?  Maybe not using DF eq is a good thing...

 
In short, no. Diffuse Field equalisation is supposed to create the same tonal response of a dead-flat speaker in a uniform field (i.e. a perfectly treated room with a homogenous sound pattern). In theory, the tonal balance of all of them are the same (i.e. hot on the treble for your ears).
 
There's also free field equalisation (there's no consensus about which is the superior, really) which I believe is also "hot" on the treble.

 

[jamato8]

Quote:

The treble spike ruins the HD800 for the price. The darkness (haven't you heard of diffuse field EQ, Audeze?) TOTALLY ruins the LCD-2. HD800 wins it for me overall.

Hearing obviously is a totally personal experience and as such, one thing I do not agree with you on is that the LCD-2 are dark. Having played the violin, sax and a few other instruments and having listened to a lot of live music, amplified and acoustical, I find the sound to be truer than most anything I have heard, save my home speaker system, which sadly sits in storage 8000 miles away, with regards to reproduced sound. Thankfully we have many choices to fill our individual tastes and perceptions. 

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

Quote:

/img/forum/go_quote.gif

Are there any Diffuse Field equalized headphones that don't have a huge amounts of treble?  Maybe not using DF eq is a good thing...

 
In short, no. Diffuse Field equalisation is supposed to create the same tonal response of a dead-flat speaker in a uniform field (i.e. a perfectly treated room with a homogenous sound pattern). In theory, the tonal balance of all of them are the same (i.e. hot on the treble for your ears).
 
There's also free field equalisation (there's no consensus about which is the superior, really) which I believe is also "hot" on the treble.

I actually don't prefer a warm/rolled off sound, my reference for all headphones are my Mackie HR624 Monitors, which you can't argue are warm or rolled off in the slightest.  And I've heard them in many different rooms over the years, including acoustically treated rooms.  I can't really comment on DF eq because I'm not sure which headphones were designed that way, and I haven't heard the K240DF.