[NapalmK]

Thanks for the impressions! Sounds like I made the right decision with the LCD2 then. Now just to wait.

 

[holland]

A good write up, do you have anything else to compare it to?  Which would you say has better extension HE-6 or LCD-2?  I'd love to own the Stax, but I haven't yet built an amp for it.
 
Off to read the other threads.

 

[stef50millbay]

The review didnt jive with my take on the orthos..I have the he5-le and the lcd-2...I find both excellent and prefer the lcd-2 by a wide margin.but at price points.of 699 and 945,they are close..Lets face it the he-6 has a better cable , 2 microns of gold and is tuned a tad differently but is essentialy the same phone as the he5-le..Your problem is your amp...ViolectricHPAV100...HIGH OUTPUT VOLTAGE
through 60 Volt internal operating voltage.
Therefore best suited for high impedance headphones.
Over 90 % of all headphone amplifiers in the market offer not half that voltage !! HIGH OUTPUT VOLTAGE
through 60 Volt internal operating voltage.
Orthys need current ,current and current,so you have heard neither.If you ever hear flac-any dac-concerto or mini tori with orthos you would have heard the phones bloom.For my tastes and needs especially regarding bass these orthys are head and shoulders above the rest and from now on I will only buy orthys.,but they need the right amp.

 

[tvrboy]

Quote:

The review didnt jive with my take on the orthos..I have the he5-le and the lcd-2...I find both excellent and prefer the lcd-2 by a wide margin.but at price points.of 699 and 945,they are close..Lets face it the he-6 has a better cable , 2 microns of gold and is tuned a tad differently but is essentialy the same phone as the he5-le..Your problem is your amp...ViolectricHPAV100...HIGH OUTPUT VOLTAGE
through 60 Volt internal operating voltage.
Therefore best suited for high impedance headphones.
Over 90 % of all headphone amplifiers in the market offer not half that voltage !! HIGH OUTPUT VOLTAGE
through 60 Volt internal operating voltage.
Orthys need current ,current and current,so you have heard neither.If you ever hear flac-any dac-concerto or mini tori with orthos you would have heard the phones bloom.For my tastes and needs especially regarding bass these orthys are head and shoulders above the rest and from now on I will only buy orthys.,but they need the right amp.

I can tell you the rough edges might be polished off by using a speaker amp to power the HE-6, but even when powered by a headphone amp the HE-6 and LCD-2 still retain their own sound signatures. Using a pair of $100,000 Solution monoblocks would not change the basic sound signatures of these headphones. The V100 may not be perfect, but i believe it's quite sufficient to show what the HE-6 can do and a great match for the LCD-2.

 

[glac1er]

Thanks for the post, tvrboy. Do you think that the SR-507 has definite edge over 303/404 in bass extension, soundstage, detail or it's just that the SR-507 has a much better frequency balance?

 

[tvrboy]

Quote:

Thanks for the post, tvrboy. Do you think that the SR-507 has definite edge over 303/404 in bass extension, soundstage, detail or it's just that the SR-507 has a much better frequency balance?

Bass extension for sure... there is just a lot more bass with the 507 than with the last generation lambas. That's a good thing. the 303/404 might have had "realistic" bass in terms of what you would hear listening to an acoustic concert, but for genres besides classical, it was a little too bass-light. The 507's bass is better than any dynamic or ortho I've heard except the LCD-2. Soundstage and detail, I dunno... they are both pretty good at that. I would imagine that considering the 303/404 is an 11 year old design, the 507 is better. But without having them both here to listen, I can't say for sure. What I can say for sure is the 507 at least does nothing worse than the 303, and most things better.

 

[ben201]

thank yuou for the post!!! tvrboy. i was thinking about getting lcd-2 but now after reading your impression i am lost!!!

 

[graben]

Quote:

thank yuou for the post!!! tvrboy. i was thinking about getting lcd-2 but now after reading your impression i am lost!!!

What is to be lost about? Just get a 507 and a used Stax amp like a T1.

 

[DjAmTraX]

Can the LCD-2 be run off a power amp designed for speakers?

 

[Skylab]

Not in all cases.  With many power amps the LCD-2, being moderately efficient, will exhibit too much hiss and noise from the speaker outs.

 

[grokit]

Even with a modestly powered speaker amp I didn't hear an improvement from the additional power with the LCD-2 like I did with the HE-6. All they need is a couple of watts really while the HE-6 are more K1000 like, true earspeakers if you will. The main improvement with the HE-6 when you give it more power is in the imaging, they can have a weird side to side thing going on with no central depth if inadequately powered.

 

[MorbidToaster]

I still can't decide. See, at the Austin meet that went down recently, I liked the HE5LE over the LCD 2 (only slightly)...But that was on a Peachtree Nova, and a Cavalli Liquid Fire...

I need to decide on one to pair with the Lyr. From what I hear, the Lyr puts more control on the bass, and thus could cause the HE 6 to not have enough for me (my biggest worry). BUT...The Lyr is a warm sounding amp, and the LCD 2 is a warm sounding can. I generally like a very, very slight warmth to my sound (but try to get as close to neutral as I can).

I feel like this post is very confusing, but I just feel like the HE 6 would be the best choice...I really, REALLY wish I could hear them out of the Lyr before buying...

 

[Roscoeiii]

You might want to keep an eye on 6moons, which will have a Lyr review coming shortly. Interestingly, IIRC,  Srajan the reviewer in some ways preferred the HE-5LE to the HE-6.

 

[MorbidToaster]

You might want to keep an eye on 6moons, which will have a Lyr review coming shortly. Interestingly, IIRC,  Srajan the reviewer in some ways preferred the HE-5LE to the HE-6.

What I think I need if for someone to compare the 2 cans on a song that I know really well and tell me which they prefer. It's the only way I can think that I could even get a close idea of what I want out of this choice without auditioning.

Oh, and if anyone with both is willing to do this for me, use Pendulum's 'Sounds of Life', NOISIA's 'Split the Atom EP' (I know the entire EP quite well, it's a favorite of mine), or anything from Netsky's Self Titled album. All of these songs/EPs have some of my favorite bass in the business, as well as great vocals, and just pretty much frame the sound I love.

EDIT: Or for something a little more mellow, BT's Somnambulist

 

[sridhar3]

Quote:

I still can't decide.

 
Don't fret, chief.  I'm sure a lot of other people are in the same boat.  I sure as hell am.