Quote:
Zoom25, do you have the LCD3 yet? or is it on the way still? If you already have it, please give me a short honest comparison to the HE500. 5 sentences
Yup. Have had the LCD-3 for nearly 2 months now. LCD-2 for about 5 months when I sold them alongside with HE-500 at the same time, which I had for a year. Just to give you a timeline. Also, see my signature.
Now LCD-3 vs HE-500. Hmmm okay.
Engaging - Let's start with LCD-2 actually. For some LCD-2 has good mids and bass coherency, but it starts falling at upper mids/treble. Take your pick. I personally got used to it over months and loved it. It was the least fatiguing and yet exciting combo I had.
HE-500 is more balanced, although still has some faults across the FR. For example, the bass is loose compared to Audeze. LCD-3 is the most coherent across the board and more engaging. It flows from one end to the other. You tend to lose sight of that horrid "bass, mids and treble" approach.
Checklist of things LCD-3 does better over HE-500:
- Vocals all around, no exceptions!
- Bass extension
- Bass quantity/control
- Sub bass rumble, quantity and extension (very similar to my D2000 surprisingly)
- More 3D
- All around better FR coherency
- Comfort (softer and larger ear pads)
- Depth (soundstage)
- Tonality
- Transients
- Blackground
- Speed
- Detachable cable
- Stock cable is far superior on the LCD-2/3
- Smoother(est) FR
-
Checklist of things HE-500 does better over LCD-3:
- somewhat speaker like presentation
- Airy sound
- Treble extension
- Instrument separation (amp dependent, although LCD-3 is quite good)
Overall recommendation: LCD-3. Highly recommended.
Disclaimer: Also, I try to keep the price out of the equation as much possible, within reasonable limits of course. I value my stuff like D2000 and SE215 quite highly despite their low prices and sometimes prefer them over the planars. Also, I don't buy the whole cost to performance to enjoyment ratio. LCD-3 costs double that of LCD-2. Does the LCD-3 offer "double" the performance of LCD-2? Umm for different people on different setups this will differ and that is fine. I usually hear 20% better on LCD-3's performance. My problem is when performance, say of 20% is equated to a 20% increase in happiness. It's full on bullship IMO. For me with some genres, that extra 20% or whatever the difference is, equates to a FAR more than 20% increase in happiness.
Imagine being an olympic runner of a 100 meter sprint. You're currently the second fastest man in the world. The top sprinter has a time of 9.59 and you are currently at 9.64. You train and train for four years and finally are able to beat that man and also get a record of 9.55. Not a big difference in raw values and performance, but the joy you get when you're able to extend your performance a little bit and get the last bit out of it that you dearly wanted. That's priceless.
That's my HONEST opinion. I seriously hope that analogy made some damn sense. Writing this crap as I go along at 2 am here in Canada.
Umm...did you say 5 sentences?