[ppdv]

Hi all fellow headfi members,
 
a bit longish post, apologies in advance 

 
I am considering to up my headfone inventory by a notch or two. My present setup is as follows 
 
Source - Cowon J3 / Laptop/Desktop
DAC/AMP - Aune T1
HP - ATH M50
IEM -Shure SE 215
My source files are mainly flac with some additional mp3's thrown in. I listen to mainly rock, metal, pop, instrumental, world music.
 
I had been contemplating the HD650 for quite a while now (approx 5-6 months), but never pulled the trigger on it. Lately, I just noticed and have been reading about the Audeze EL8 and have always thought about how a planar magnetic phone sounds. i do read that Audeze products are amazing as per most reviews and impressions on the Internet.
 
I would also be adding a new component to the chain in the form of a tube based AMP, since the Aune is only a tube based DAC and not that it is bad on power or sound, but wanted something more on top of it.... i guess its kinda weird the way i explained, but in this forum i believe most fellow members would understand  what i am trying to explain. A few days of reading and considering what i wanted to spend gave me options of Crack (i love DIY and used to be extensive in it during my teen days, but these days have little time but would like to do somethings again) or go with a schiit valhalla-2 amp.
 
Should i push the notch a bit up and aim for Audeze EL8 (Open back) which i have never heard and am hunting for some hifi shops to have a demo piece for the same ? or should i go with HD650 which is easy peasy to buy locally ?
 
Like wise would i be better off with a valhalla2 or a crack ?
 
Cheers

 

[mesamitch]

I have the valhalla 2 and the hd650 love the combo
but i thought for some reason the le8 was 1500? Don't know why

just found out today that they are 700 now I am going insane for them and looking for reviews but i cant really seem to find any

but for the price of the hd650 and valhalla 2 you can probably get both for the same price of the le8

If you get the hd650 look for a good price I got mine I think for around 280 dollars? On amazon around Christmas time?

 

[jodgey4]

I'd go 650+Crack, or EL8+Asgard 2. But I wouldn't purchase either headphone without an audition. Any chance you could audition headphones? Why are you only looking at those two?

 

[magnum703]

How about HD650 with Marantz Hd-Dac1?

 

[ppdv]

I have the valhalla 2 and the hd650 love the combo
but i thought for some reason the le8 was 1500? Don't know why

just found out today that they are 700 now I am going insane for them and looking for reviews but i cant really seem to find any

but for the price of the hd650 and valhalla 2 you can probably get both for the same price of the le8

If you get the hd650 look for a good price I got mine I think for around 280 dollars? On amazon around Christmas time?

mesamitch,
 
well, i did contemplate on the HD650 for a while since my post but somehow didnt pull the trigger on but kept reading on different options and reviews online for the 650 and many others as well.
 
Eventually, i joined Massdrop and continued to watch the drops come and go on some of the good headphones, but still dint make a move. Finally, last month there was a drop for the HD700 and i thought, what the heck, get one. Though i know there are quite a lot of mixed emotions and reviews around the HD700 ( both negative and positive ).. am gonna try it out.
 
I havent yet received the piece yet as I am in Eu and it is stuck at the border customs.
 
 

  I'd go 650+Crack, or EL8+Asgard 2. But I wouldn't purchase either headphone without an audition. Any chance you could audition headphones? Why are you only looking at those two?

jodgey4,
Yes, i could audition some headphones and  I did audition the HD650 and were quite good  but as stated above just couldnt finish the deal.
 
I cannot audition Schitt stuff over here in Europe too much but probably others might be available..
 
No particular inclination towards HD 650 or EL89. But the fact is that HD650 is 1 or 2 step above my current ATH M50 (possibly ???) and  i have never heard a planar and the Audeze products were always at 1500$ ++ and I cant spend so much on it right now due to personal commitments. EL-8 seemed like a one that i could possibly buy and they were quite new in the market as well.
 
 

  How about HD650 with Marantz Hd-Dac1?

 
Magnum,
 
The DAC looks impressive and i used to have Marantz PM2008 with Marantz CD17 with Monitor Audio Floor standers back home. I was not looking for a SS DAC as i already have the Aune and was only looking to get a Tube based AMP for my current setup.
 
so to conclude, will soon be having the HD700 with Aune. and probably go with Ember or HD Crack soon or probably even schitt Asgard... but thats quite a long way off.. let me first do some tube rolling on the Aune, (got some Orange globes & voshkod in transit) and break in my HD700 after which i will think about the next amp.
 
Cheers guys

 

[mesamitch]

mesamitch,

well, i did contemplate on the HD650 for a while since my post but somehow didnt pull the trigger on but kept reading on different options and reviews online for the 650 and many others as well.

Eventually, i joined Massdrop and continued to watch the drops come and go on some of the good headphones, but still dint make a move. Finally, last month there was a drop for the HD700 and i thought, what the heck, get one. Though i know there are quite a lot of mixed emotions and reviews around the HD700 ( both negative and positive ).. am gonna try it out.

I havent yet received the piece yet as I am in Eu and it is stuck at the border customs.

 

jodgey4,
Yes, i could audition some headphones and  I did audition the HD650 and were quite good  but as stated above just couldnt finish the deal.

I cannot audition Schitt stuff over here in Europe too much but probably others might be available..

No particular inclination towards HD 650 or EL89. But the fact is that HD650 is 1 or 2 step above my current ATH M50 (possibly ???) and  i have never heard a planar and the Audeze products were always at 1500$ ++ and I cant spend so much on it right now due to personal commitments. EL-8 seemed like a one that i could possibly buy and they were quite new in the market as well.



Magnum,

The DAC looks impressive and i used to have Marantz PM2008 with Marantz CD17 with Monitor Audio Floor standers back home. I was not looking for a SS DAC as i already have the Aune and was only looking to get a Tube based AMP for my current setup.

so to conclude, will soon be having the HD700 with Aune. and probably go with Ember or HD Crack soon or probably even schitt Asgard... but thats quite a long way off.. let me first do some tube rolling on the Aune, (got some Orange globes & voshkod in transit) and break in my HD700 after which i will think about the next amp.

Cheers guys

Let me know if you like the hd700 because of i have been wanting them for the past 3 months I can't pull the trigger on them
I seen them on mass drop for 470 or something like that, let me know how they are

 

[Japheel]

No way would I go for the el8 as a closed pair of planars. I like the alpha dogs a lot more than the el8, really was a miss for me since the alpha dogs beat it in tonality and technicality. It sounds a lot more open and balanced, no odd dips. But if you can have open, then the he400S(which apparently is like the 400i, but cheaper) or he500(these really impressed me) might be an even better choice. I like my alpha dogs, but I like the soundstage and imaging of open backs a lot better.

 

[uncleoce]

I think he was considering the open back EL8's, not the closed.  I'm sorry to bump a slightly old thread, but this conversation is EERILY similar to my current thought process. 
 
I'm upgrading from the ATH-M50s.  I'm looking for used deals on nicer stuff.  Right now I'm liking a couple of HD 650's and an Audeze EL-8 (open back).  The HD 650's are significantly cheaper ($300'ish), while the Audeze EL-8 is going for $500'ish.  
 
I prefer the styling of the Audeze.  The price point seems more premium.  But would I see $200 worth of improvement over the HD 650s?  I don't have the ability to "test drive," so I'm going strictly by reviews I'm finding online.  They both seem like great phones. 

 

[ppdv]

Let me know if you like the hd700 because of i have been wanting them for the past 3 months I can't pull the trigger on them
I seen them on mass drop for 470 or something like that, let me know how they are

mesamitch,
 
got the HD700 a couple of weeks ago in my hands.......
Coupled it with my Aune T1 ( orange globes, Russian voskods) and listened to it for some time.. did not do an extensive listening.. been way tooooo busy with work to actually take time and listen on it. but from the initial impressions, i am quite surprised at how it sounds with some of the songs i  never expected to sound good. 
 
Yes, i am slowly getting into the signature of the 700's. though its far from an extensive listen that i am yet to take.. don't know when i will be able to do so.
 
the MassDrop deal however proved to be too costly for me.. since i had to cough up additional 110 Eur for tax and duties for import... i paid almost the same market price as i would have done here in Netherlands.
 
One thing i notice is that the bass is different,since i come from a closed headphone prior to this. There is enough bass, but i need to crank up the volume a bit to hear it or EQ (which i dont personally prefer ). But the bass signature is different from the closed back headphone, though i was expecting there would be differences.
 

  No way would I go for the el8 as a closed pair of planars. I like the alpha dogs a lot more than the el8, really was a miss for me since the alpha dogs beat it in tonality and technicality. It sounds a lot more open and balanced, no odd dips. But if you can have open, then the he400S(which apparently is like the 400i, but cheaper) or he500(these really impressed me) might be an even better choice. I like my alpha dogs, but I like the soundstage and imaging of open backs a lot better.

Japheel,
the open back sound signature is very different as i noticed and have mentioned it above, but i am not really having all that time to buy a couple of more headphones and keep tyring to find the end-game setup for me... feeling bad about it tho..
 

  I think he was considering the open back EL8's, not the closed.  I'm sorry to bump a slightly old thread, but this conversation is EERILY similar to my current thought process. 
 
I'm upgrading from the ATH-M50s.  I'm looking for used deals on nicer stuff.  Right now I'm liking a couple of HD 650's and an Audeze EL-8 (open back).  The HD 650's are significantly cheaper ($300'ish), while the Audeze EL-8 is going for $500'ish.  
 
I prefer the styling of the Audeze.  The price point seems more premium.  But would I see $200 worth of improvement over the HD 650s?  I don't have the ability to "test drive," so I'm going strictly by reviews I'm finding online.  They both seem like great phones. 

 
uncleoce,
 
yes, when i posted this thread, it was the open back type of EL8 that i wanted to try out. now i will leave the planars for another day or probably after half a year i will probably want to try out the Oppo PM-3 ( which seems be VFM in planars ) to know how a planar sounds for my preferences. and if i get the Oppo PM3, then i can plan to use it on-the-go as well since they are closed backs.
 
I think you should try out the EL-8's open or closed  based on ur your preferences of usage. and buy one which is more newer generation technology. i know the HD650 is still a very very desirable headphone and i initially started out with the HD650 in mind but ended up with the HD700, however  you could buy some what the latest in technology if it pleases ur ears and wallet.
 
 
cheers,
Prashant D

 

[mesamitch]

lol yeah i purchased them too for 500 at best buy
 
love them for movies
love them for gaming
 
Really picky on music some times though? 
 
Acoustic / live performances sound really good 
 
Rap sounds terrible
 
some pop songs for some reason don't sound so good?
and some pop songs sound amazing
 
all music depends on how its recorded with these
 
listen to all remastered tracks, anything remastered i noticed with these headphones sounds great