Having read all the reviews, I'd wanted to get one at release but a then purchase of a PM-3 and a later purchase of an LCD3 all got in the way of that. So this year, my belated birthday present from wifey was an Audeze Sine. My best ever birthday present used to be an Alo Audio Pan Am that I got a few years ago. My best ever birthday present is now an Audeze Sine
I've had the Sines for a week now and I have been wowed from the first listen. I'd used the PM-3 for travel and always wished I could be listening to my LCDs on the go. That and they tended to dig my glasses into the sides of my head. To be fair, the PM-3 are well balanced and honest sounding but they lack a little drama. The exact kind of drama that the LCDs provide in waves.
My first impression of the Sines was that I was literally wearing mini LCDs on my head. They almost exactly produced the same drama, the same level of attack, the pronounced transients and liquid clarity from my LCD3 - except everything was just on a smaller scale. That and a humped bass and a decidedly twinkly treble through the cipher cable, which was a bit weird but not unwelcome. Most remarkable of all was that they did not sound like they were closed back at all. There was the airiness that you usually only get from full open back headphones.
Things got quite a bit better once I hooked them up via regular cable to my Cayin iHA-6. This is when they really shone and firmly cemented their place in my collection. Bigger soundstage, better tonal accuracy, better balance and overall fidelity compared to the cipher from an iPhone. Looks like I'm back in the market for a iDevice amp-dac...
Having said all this, what it lacks slightly compared to its bigger brethren is the weight of bass, mids, treble and a full bodied sound. Not enough to call it tinny, by no means, but enough to still lose out to the LCD 2 and 3. More than understandable considering that they are on-ear cans and have much smaller diaphragms but mind you, they are not very far off. If you're curious about the Audeze house sound but aren't yet willing to commit $1000 and up for the LCDs, the Sines will tell you all you need to know about it.
Compared to other portable on-ears / around ears I've heard though, the Sines are heads and shoulders above the rest. My PM-3s are now for sale.