I have finally attained both the HD800 and the LCD-2 and have both of them in my possession as we speak.
I had all these questions as to which one is better, which one works better with my system, etc and I felt that I just had to compare them for myself and make a decision as to which one I would keep.
I am currently running these through my Nuforce HDP which serves as both a DAC and headphone amp in this particular case. It is being fed through USB, playing 320kb music.
I have to say, that this is actually a MUCH harder decision that I originally thought it to be. Just to give some context, I used to own the HD800 for a period of about six months. I had to sell them off due to financial troubles but have attained them again after making a deal this afternoon. The LCD-2 I have had in my possession for about a week now. My first impression of the LCD-2 was actually quite negative. I felt like it was congested, muddled, and overall less clear than everyone had raved about it to be. Because I knew how clear and transparent the HD800 was, I was quite disappointed with what the Audez'e was offering.
Nevertheless, I ended up purchasing them because there was a local deal that I couldn't quite resist. Poor wallet. Putting them through my setup and listening quietly at home to my own library of music has really changed my mind about these suckers. The coziness, realness of sound is very irresistible to me now. There really is very little to complain in regards to how well it produces the highs, mids, and bass. Though the comfort is not ideal, it certainly is not uncomfortable to me either. Heavy as they are, they seem to be bearable for long listening sessions.
Then there's the HD800s- my old love. This headphone gave me the best reproduction of music I had ever heard of by any headphone. The soundstage was immense, the detail retrieval was amazing, and the overall transparency was shockingly good for a headphone. They are the most comfortable headphones that I've tried as well since they're light and have very soft ear pads that cover a huge amount of my head's surface area, distributing weight quite equally.
On to the comparison though:
The reason it is so hard for me to decide which to keep is because the both have such different strengths in my opinion. I feel like I am compromising one quality for another when I switch from either headphone. This is not to say that a person wouldn't be happy with either of these headphones, since I do believe they are both on top of the heap when it comes to headphones.
Now I can go into a huge in-depth review of each of the components of the music such as the mids, the highs, the component matching, etc.. but I won't be doing that because I feel like both of these headphones excel in almost all areas and really compare head to head in most . However, I will note which areas I feel like each headphone is better than the other blatantly in my opinion, so it will help those who are choosing between the two in terms of where their value lies in each aspect.
The HD800s win in these areas:
1. Soundstage
2. Clarity/Airiness
3. High extension* <-- this may not be desirable to some as the HD800 might reveal sibilance in some setups.
4. Comfort
The LCD-2 win in these areas:
1. Bass
2. Rockability/Musicality
3. Liquidness
I would also add that if you listen to primarily classical, smooth jazz, or acoustic, the HD800 is for you. With the LCD-2, I would say that it is better for rock, electronica, or hip hop. I would say they are equally good for R&B, country, and older jazz (Miles, Duke, Charlie Parker, etc).
The truth is that I have not tested these cans on higher-end setups or with balanced terminations or with tubes so please take my thoughts on this with a grain of salt. However, when compared on the same setup switching between multiple genres of music and directly comparing them, it is very difficult for me to choose the clear winner as it really depends on what the person values in their headphones. Do they want that hard hitting bass? Do they want a huge soundstage?
I will update you all with my choice and one will go on the market. Or who knows, I may just end up keeping both.