[MrSpenkelink]

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^ What did you think of the HD800 and T1 and why do you prefer the LCD-2?

I really did enjoy both the T1's and HD800's. The HD800's had some of the best treble detail I've heard, and the T1's had great imaging. I just really relate to the member who posted earlier, about how the HD800's (and in this case, the Beyer T1's also) sound like high-end headphones, but TO ME, the LCD-2's sounded like real life.
 
Again, this is arguable till the end of time, but FOR ME, I couldn't have imagined a more life-like sounding set of headphones.

 
I was immediately struck by the treble detail that the HD800 revealed. The shimmer and decay of cymbals was reproduced with almost microscopic resolution. I enjoyed the LCD-2 and can understand why people liken it to listening to a speaker rather than a headphone. It has a powerful presentation; if that makes sense.   
 

 

[kwkarth]

 
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For people who think the HD800 is just a little bit to bright, and who also thing the LCD-2 is a little bit too dark, the Beyer T1 and the HifiMan HE-6 are good choices, as they are "in between".  Of these, if you have the amp to drive them, the HE-6 are better, IMO.

Yup, what Sky said...  IMHO, I would take the HE-6 over the T1, and I've never heard the HE-6 production version... Call me an Ortho head!!

Kevin I will say the production HE6 stomps the pr0to in every way possible. it is focused  and more easier to drive as the prototype was not getting any volume all the way up and this at low setting is working so well. It is a step up IMO than the T1. But unfortunately not everyone can own it unless they commit to having the proper amp to drive them

I guess we're in perfect agreement then!!  

 

[Frank I]

yes we are
 
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For people who think the HD800 is just a little bit to bright, and who also thing the LCD-2 is a little bit too dark, the Beyer T1 and the HifiMan HE-6 are good choices, as they are "in between".  Of these, if you have the amp to drive them, the HE-6 are better, IMO.

Yup, what Sky said...  IMHO, I would take the HE-6 over the T1, and I've never heard the HE-6 production version... Call me an Ortho head!!

Kevin I will say the production HE6 stomps the pr0to in every way possible. it is focused  and more easier to drive as the prototype was not getting any volume all the way up and this at low setting is working so well. It is a step up IMO than the T1. But unfortunately not everyone can own it unless they commit to having the proper amp to drive them

I guess we're in perfect agreement then!!  

 

[29029]

Agreement is good. 

 

[grokit]

 
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I have mostly argued toward the 800's but i was again reminded today using a different amp at how badly they can sound.  I really understand when auditioned next to the LCD-2 how they fail.  I think if I had a lesser amp than the Zana Deux I may choose the LCD-2.  The 800's are just so insanely amp/source dependent.  Without the right chain they can sound really bad and I have yet to hear the LCD-2 sound bad on anything i have tested it on......xcan v3, Zana Deux, v200 and i think the Sonett and a Woo amp too.  So just for the record, i get it and when i criticize the LCD-2 for it's lack of musical integration, it is a criticism of top tier pickiness vs. other on the best systems that i can find.

Agree. It is very difficult in my limited experience thus far to make the LCD-2s sound less than very good, and relatively easy to make them sound terrific. The HD800s are far more work. For some the comfort and particular SQ advantages (soundstaging) will make that extra work worth it. I would place the T1s closer to the LCD-2 in this respect also -- they can sound very good with even rather modest equipment. I guess I think of the 800s as tools, not as relax-and-enjoy phones. For others they may well be both.

 
I think I've come respectfully close reaching the potential of the HD800 on my WA22 now that the balanced cable is back and I've rolled a few tubes. It has now re-asserted itself against the LCD-2 and I do like listening to them very much. The only thing that ruins it for me is if I listen to the LCD-2 first. These are two great headphones for sure but if I could keep only one pair it would be the LCD-2.

 

[epocs]

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.
 

 

[pp312]

"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). """
 
I find these comments quite surprising. The LCD-2 is often recommended as the natural upgrade from the HD650, and I've always considered the 650 very much a "classical" phone. Also I'd have thought the brighter, brasher phone more suited to rock, the more laid-back, organic, "liquid" phone more suited to acoustic music. I'd be interested to hear any other, particularly contrary comments on this issue.  

 

[Danz03]

I agreed with epocs. The LCD-2 is actually good with everything, but it's just that the HD800 is better for classical, smooth jazz and acoustic. For rock, it depends, with a lot of rock music that are so heavily compressed which results in a lack of treble, then the HD800 is better, otherwise, the LCD-2 is more balanced sounding for me. 

 
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I find these comments quite surprising. The LCD-2 is often recommended as the natural upgrade from the HD650, and I've always considered the 650 very much a "classical" phone. Also I'd have thought the brighter, brasher phone more suited to rock, the more laid-back, organic, "liquid" phone more suited to acoustic music. I'd be interested to hear any other, particularly contrary comments on this issue.  

 

[BrianMendoza]

Well, to me, the HD800 were almost too bright for rock. 
 
I think the reason people tend to find the LCD-2 dark, is because of it's organic sound. In real life, I wouldn't necessarily hear those treble details.
 
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy some treble coloration every now and then, but the way a crash or hi-hat sounds through LCD-2's is closer to the way it sounds in real life, TO ME, than HD800's. The way they sound through the HD800's will be more bright, with more treble detail. You'll hear more sizzle out of cymbals and "s" sounds out of vocals, but that's not what I'd hear if I were able to listen live.
 
And, TO ME, I also don't feel that the LCD-2's are too bassy at all. TO ME the thump on a bass drum or any percussion instrument sounds a lot more realistic on the LCD-2. On the HD800, I felt the thud was more of a "musical note" than the thud/impact of real percussion instruments, if that makes sense...
 
I stress "to me" because this is obviously not the same for everyone, but what I'm getting from my ears.

 

[Asr]

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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).

 
As an owner of both headphones, I'd say that your recommendations won't necessarily apply to everyone. I don't listen to classical or jazz on the HD800 and I don't listen to most of my electronica on the LCD-2. I find that the HD800 imposes too much added treble on violins and makes them unrealistic-sounding in the process, and it doesn't have accurate tone on either brass or woodwinds either. As for the LCD-2, I don't listen to ambient electronica on it at all, or IDM, or trance/derivatives. The only type of electronica I listen to on it is breakbeat. The LCD-2 is also one of my two dynamic headphone preferences for classical and jazz (the other is my Grado HP1000/HP2). So I don't think headphones can necessarily apply to specific genres, it's more about listener-dependent sonic preferences.
 
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I agreed with epocs. The LCD-2 is actually good with everything, but it's just that the HD800 is better for classical, smooth jazz and acoustic. For rock, it depends, with a lot of rock music that are so heavily compressed which results in a lack of treble, then the HD800 is better, otherwise, the LCD-2 is more balanced sounding for me. 

Audio compression doesn't have a direct correlation to treble.

 

[vcoheda]

of the headphones mentioned, i thought the T1 was the weakest of the bunch. it did not seem to excel in any area above the HD800, LCD2 or HE6.

 

[isuperfish]

seems I should order LCD2 very soon

 

[Danz03]

I take it you've never used an analogue compressor or tape compression. 

 
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Audio compression doesn't have a direct correlation to treble.

 

[BrianMendoza]

^I knew exactly what you meant by "compression" Danz.
 
No matter how good a pair of headphones I get, sometimes the mastering/recording of the song will never sound good. I have a weird bone in me that gets me to listen to bands like Saosin, Underoath, etc, and some of the songs on those albums are so poorly "compressed" that not even the best headphone/amp/dac will ever get it right. It just goes down to the recording itself...

 

[Danz03]

Yeah, one good example is the King of Leon's 'Use Somebody'; the drums were so heavily compressed, one can hardly hear any definitions in the hi-hats or cymbals, in fact the hi-hats sounded more like someone waving a big sheet of metal than hi-hats. And you are right, no headphones or speakers can make that sound good, but at least with brighter phones, they can sound a little better. Having said that, it could have been done deliberately, whatever the sound quality, it's still a great song, whereas well recorded rubbish is still rubbish.  
 
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^I knew exactly what you meant by "compression" Danz.
 
No matter how good a pair of headphones I get, sometimes the mastering/recording of the song will never sound good. I have a weird bone in me that gets me to listen to bands like Saosin, Underoath, etc, and some of the songs on those albums are so poorly "compressed" that not even the best headphone/amp/dac will ever get it right. It just goes down to the recording itself...