[BunnyNamedCraig]

That looks Dangerous. Be careful.

 

[waveSounds]

Dangerous? Or Sourcey?

Maybe both! Guess I'll find out when I'm home later on.

 

[waveSounds]

DM Source in da house.

 

[BunnyNamedCraig]

DM Source in da house.

Is that a mini Coke you’re drinking or is your computer tower that big??

 

[waveSounds]

@MTMECraig xD That tower only houses a mini ITX motherboard so it's relatively compact compared to your average gaming rig! We'll just put it down to the angle of the shot...

 

[gardibolt]

Can Elear be considered end-game headphone without any further upgrade for at least few years? I am thinking of getting one.

Well, end-game for a certain budget possibly. I was thinking the Elear would be my end-game for a while but then the Massdrop Black Friday Koss ESP-950 drop happened and before you know it I have two end-game headphones in the space of a couple months (happily $2000 MSRP for $1200 outlay). But the budget says that's all for at least a year. Really. Seriously. More to the point, things that are likely significant upgrades from those two are going to be in the $1500+ range and there's just no way I can swing that, so I'm going to enjoy these for a while. And probably stop coming to head-fi, if I'm ever to have any hope of sticking to that resolution.

 

[PopZeus]

I consider the Elear end-game for me. They're just so detailed and dynamic, the stars would have to align for me to want something else. Now, the only upgrades I'm making to them are for balanced cable swaps.

 

[waveSounds]

Elear are open end-game here, too. With the arrival of my Source I've reached the same territory for DAC/amp needs. The one component left that might be subject to an "upgrade" is the ol' Shure 1540, possibly with the AKG K872, but yet to be swayed by a circa-£1000 closed can.

 

[AllenWalker]

Just demoed Elear today at a local shop. At first, I wasn't impressed with the sound as only using modest Fiio X5iii without an amp. When I connected the Cayin C5 to X5iii, just wow! Everything opened up and it felt great. Tried some other headphones as well like Atticus, LCD-2, HE-560, He-400i and AR-H1. Really like the LCD-2 and now I am torn between them

 

[DavidA]

Just demoed Elear today at a local shop. At first, I wasn't impressed with the sound as only using modest Fiio X5iii without an amp. When I connected the Cayin C5 to X5iii, just wow! Everything opened up and it felt great. Tried some other headphones as well like Atticus, LCD-2, HE-560, He-400i and AR-H1. Really like the LCD-2 and now I am torn between them

Welcome to the world of choices, so many headphones, so little time & money

 

[Ampeezy]

Just demoed Elear today at a local shop. At first, I wasn't impressed with the sound as only using modest Fiio X5iii without an amp. When I connected the Cayin C5 to X5iii, just wow! Everything opened up and it felt great. Tried some other headphones as well like Atticus, LCD-2, HE-560, He-400i and AR-H1. Really like the LCD-2 and now I am torn between them

There are many affordable amps with adequate power that will make the Elears shine over the LCD-2. With those sources you are describing, you're probably not hearing the Elear's full potential. The LCD-2s do generally sound quite good on low power, but do not scale as well as the Elears. Just food for thought

 

[makne]

There are many affordable amps with adequate power that will make the Elears shine over the LCD-2. With those sources you are describing, you're probably not hearing the Elear's full potential. The LCD-2s do generally sound quite good on low power, but do not scale as well as the Elears. Just food for thought

hmm, I don't know if I agree fully with that. The Elear is fairly easy to drive, it shines with high quality components but it's more about quality than pure power.
The LCD-2 on the other hand, is a planar that really shines with some more juice. Planars in general often need some decent current to sound their best, the HEX being one relevant exception.

Whether the Elear or LCD-2 is the best will depend a lot on taste. The Audeze is smoother, but lacks some sparkle that the Elear has (slight 10k peak on the elear).
The Audeze's midrange doesn't have the 4k dip of the Elear, probably more linear overall. And the Audeze bass is just phenomenal, soo deep and clean.

But for my preferences, the Elear is the best. A more airy sound, superior layering, and of course the great dynamics.

 

[SRKRAM]

hmm, I don't know if I agree fully with that. The Elear is fairly easy to drive, it shines with high quality components but it's more about quality than pure power.
The LCD-2 on the other hand, is a planar that really shines with some more juice. Planars in general often need some decent current to sound their best, the HEX being one relevant exception.

Whether the Elear or LCD-2 is the best will depend a lot on taste. The Audeze is smoother, but lacks some sparkle that the Elear has (slight 10k peak on the elear).
The Audeze's midrange doesn't have the 4k dip of the Elear, probably more linear overall. And the Audeze bass is just phenomenal, soo deep and clean.

But for my preferences, the Elear is the best. A more airy sound, superior layering, and of course the great dynamics.

I tend to agree with what you say, but for my preferences the LCD2 is best. I never really liked the Elear at all. I've got a very new LCD2, and I find it to have pretty good detail and layering. Quite different to how I remember LCD2s which I listened to earlier. And the bass is superb. One of the problems which I had with the Elears was that the bass was muddled and slow.

 

[makne]

I tend to agree with what you say, but for my preferences the LCD2 is best. I never really liked the Elear at all. I've got a very new LCD2, and I find it to have pretty good detail and layering. Quite different to how I remember LCD2s which I listened to earlier. And the bass is superb. One of the problems which I had with the Elears was that the bass was muddled and slow.

Hmm I've only heard two lcd-2's, both fazored, don't know which revisions.
If you're used to audeze bass, anything else will sound muddled and slow yeah the Elear's DD can't keep up with the planars in the bass area, but to me at least the elear sounds more "effortless" in the higher registers.
I find the LCD-2's I've heard to be pretty decent and detail, but not quite on Elear level. I think a lot of people disagree here because of the Elear's 4k dip (more of a valley actually), which throws a lot of people off.

What made me pick the Elear wad it's more sparkly and airy highs, the dynamics, and the fact that the Audeze was just too heavy on my head. But the Audeze's bass is second to none

 

[SRKRAM]

Hmm I've only heard two lcd-2's, both fazored, don't know which revisions.
If you're used to audeze bass, anything else will sound muddled and slow yeah the Elear's DD can't keep up with the planars in the bass area, but to me at least the elear sounds more "effortless" in the higher registers.
I find the LCD-2's I've heard to be pretty decent and detail, but not quite on Elear level. I think a lot of people disagree here because of the Elear's 4k dip (more of a valley actually), which throws a lot of people off.

What made me pick the Elear wad it's more sparkly and airy highs, the dynamics, and the fact that the Audeze was just too heavy on my head. But the Audeze's bass is second to none

At the time I had the Elears I had the Beyerdynamic T1.2, DT1990 and Amiron. I thought they had better bass than the Elears. At least faster and less muddled. The Elear had more bass, but it seemed like quantity over quality to me. Maybe the Elear's 4k dip plays a role in making its bass slow and muddled. Since then I have moved on a bit after getting tired of the Beyerdynamics' treble. The LCD2's excellent bass (speed, separation and extension) and effortless and natural (to my ears) presentation of detail make it the headphone for me.