[Shane D]

Well I have been HP-2in’ all week. I did end up finding some bass and even went back to the Violectric V220. The sound really is crystal clear on these. I think they have enough bass, but I may be fooling myself or in denial. I have been doing lots of blues and jazz lately so today I finished with my newest Offspring, Blue Stones, Foo Fighters and some Seether.


Felt like there was a fair amount of bass and so I pulled my Grado’s out as both of these headphones work great out of the V220 and it has two outputs. It did not destroy the Grado bass wise as I thought it would, but the sounds are SO different it is hard to compare. These headphones are polar opposites sound wise. The HP-2’s are a LOT cleaner and smoother. Surprised me on both counts.


Only one way to finally answer the bass question, at least to me.
Tomorrow I will leave my HP-2’s where they are. I will plug in the Elex’s in their preferred amp, the Liquid Platinum. Lastly, I will plug the HiFiman HE6se V2’s into the iFi Pro iCAN and turn off the bass boost and 3D functions.

I will volume match all three within one decible. Far from scientific, but close enough for me.
I will see tomorrow where they fit in my collection.

Regarding everything else, I love these headphones. Super comfortable and light. I can wear them for hours and hours. Really good isolation also. My T5’s have great isolation, but they are kind of clampy. And once again, these are Really open sounding closed backs.


I will write a bit more tomorrow after my bass test. I went online looking for bassy music in my collection. I should have done this long ago! I have attached a pic of tomorrow's playlist.

 

[LostnAmerica]

Well I have been HP-2in’ all week. I did end up finding some bass and even went back to the Violectric V220. The sound really is crystal clear on these. I think they have enough bass, but I may be fooling myself or in denial. I have been doing lots of blues and jazz lately so today I finished with my newest Offspring, Blue Stones, Foo Fighters and some Seether.


Felt like there was a fair amount of bass and so I pulled my Grado’s out as both of these headphones work great out of the V220 and it has two outputs. It did not destroy the Grado bass wise as I thought it would, but the sounds are SO different it is hard to compare. These headphones are polar opposites sound wise. The HP-2’s are a LOT cleaner and smoother. Surprised me on both counts.


Only one way to finally answer the bass question, at least to me.
Tomorrow I will leave my HP-2’s where they are. I will plug in the Elex’s in their preferred amp, the Liquid Platinum. Lastly, I will plug the HiFiman HE6se V2’s into the iFi Pro iCAN and turn off the bass boost and 3D functions.

I will volume match all three within one decible. Far from scientific, but close enough for me.
I will see tomorrow where they fit in my collection.

Regarding everything else, I love these headphones. Super comfortable and light. I can wear them for hours and hours. Really good isolation also. My T5’s have great isolation, but they are kind of clampy. And once again, these are Really open sounding closed backs.


I will write a bit more tomorrow after my bass test. I went online looking for bassy music in my collection. I should have done this long ago! I have attached a pic of tomorrow's playlist.

That's good news. Enjoying the music and warrants more exploration. Thank you for your assessment, greatly appreciated. Waiting for your "bass" tests, even knowing I've never heard any of the other headphones and amps you have in your collection. Still valuable to me. Thank you Shane D!
Cheers

 

[LostnAmerica]

Well I have been HP-2in’ all week. I did end up finding some bass and even went back to the Violectric V220. The sound really is crystal clear on these. I think they have enough bass, but I may be fooling myself or in denial. I have been doing lots of blues and jazz lately so today I finished with my newest Offspring, Blue Stones, Foo Fighters and some Seether.


Felt like there was a fair amount of bass and so I pulled my Grado’s out as both of these headphones work great out of the V220 and it has two outputs. It did not destroy the Grado bass wise as I thought it would, but the sounds are SO different it is hard to compare. These headphones are polar opposites sound wise. The HP-2’s are a LOT cleaner and smoother. Surprised me on both counts.


Only one way to finally answer the bass question, at least to me.
Tomorrow I will leave my HP-2’s where they are. I will plug in the Elex’s in their preferred amp, the Liquid Platinum. Lastly, I will plug the HiFiman HE6se V2’s into the iFi Pro iCAN and turn off the bass boost and 3D functions.

I will volume match all three within one decible. Far from scientific, but close enough for me.
I will see tomorrow where they fit in my collection.

Regarding everything else, I love these headphones. Super comfortable and light. I can wear them for hours and hours. Really good isolation also. My T5’s have great isolation, but they are kind of clampy. And once again, these are Really open sounding closed backs.


I will write a bit more tomorrow after my bass test. I went online looking for bassy music in my collection. I should have done this long ago! I have attached a pic of tomorrow's playlist.

I forgot to ask, how many hours on the HP-2' now?

 

[Shane D]

I forgot to ask, how many hours on the HP-2' now?

About 60+. I will run them for another four days to get me around 100 hours.

 

[LostnAmerica]

About 60+. I will run them for another four days to get me around 100 hours.

On the road to victory

 

[Shane D]

I have to say that I was initially very disappointed with the bass on these. After several days and about fifty hours they seemed to be coming around. But was that just my imagination?
Yesterday and today I spent about 6 or 7 hours going through a playlist of bassy songs (pic attached).
I had my Bifrost 2 feeding an XLR switcher, which in turn fed three amps. I ran:
Violectric V220 into LSA-HP-2’s
Liquid Platinum into Elex’s
If Pro iCAN into HE6se V2’s


The results really surprised me. Coming in a distant third was the Focal Elex’s. The bass is just thumpy. Works for some songs, but not others. Even songs that I previously enjoyed them with did not sound good in comparison.


Coming second was the HE6se V2’s. I love these on the iFi Pro iCAN with bass boost maxed out! However, I removed all bass boost for this test and they still come across as pretty bassy. These guys impress me more all the time, although on a few songs they sounded veiled or limited. Not sure what that’s about. Maybe some modding needed.
The bass, while generous, was not articulate or sharp.


And this is where the LSA HP-2 came first. The bass is crazy accurate, laser sharp and very on point. Each drum strike sounded like a stick hitting the skins. Bass guitars sound like bass guitars.
These headphones are, by a bit, the most expensive headphones I ever bought. They beat my Grado’s, my Elex’s and my HE6se V2’s. And I won’t even bother comparing the Cascades.


I know that I am still in the shiny new toy phase, but the bass, the mids and the clarity is just outstanding! And they do not sound at all closed, although they have great isolation.


I am feeling Great about this purchase right now!

 

[LostnAmerica]

Nice.

 

[iFi audio]

I have to say that I was initially very disappointed with the bass on these. After several days and about fifty hours they seemed to be coming around. But was that just my imagination?
Yesterday and today I spent about 6 or 7 hours going through a playlist of bassy songs (pic attached).
I had my Bifrost 2 feeding an XLR switcher, which in turn fed three amps. I ran:
Violectric V220 into LSA-HP-2’s
Liquid Platinum into Elex’s
If Pro iCAN into HE6se V2’s


The results really surprised me. Coming in a distant third was the Focal Elex’s. The bass is just thumpy. Works for some songs, but not others. Even songs that I previously enjoyed them with did not sound good in comparison.


Coming second was the HE6se V2’s. I love these on the iFi Pro iCAN with bass boost maxed out! However, I removed all bass boost for this test and they still come across as pretty bassy. These guys impress me more all the time, although on a few songs they sounded veiled or limited. Not sure what that’s about. Maybe some modding needed.
The bass, while generous, was not articulate or sharp.


And this is where the LSA HP-2 came first. The bass is crazy accurate, laser sharp and very on point. Each drum strike sounded like a stick hitting the skins. Bass guitars sound like bass guitars.
These headphones are, by a bit, the most expensive headphones I ever bought. They beat my Grado’s, my Elex’s and my HE6se V2’s. And I won’t even bother comparing the Cascades.


I know that I am still in the shiny new toy phase, but the bass, the mids and the clarity is just outstanding! And they do not sound at all closed, although they have great isolation.


I am feeling Great about this purchase right now!

Thanks for mentioning our Pro iCAN and your playlist tells me that you're a man of culture! Kongos!

 

[Shane D]

Thanks for mentioning our Pro iCAN and your playlist tells me that you're a man of culture! Kongos!

It's funny that you replied as I am jamming the iCAN right. The HE6se lost the fight, but barely. I am now listening to the iCAN with The LSA HP-2's and the bass boost is on 20hz. SO awesome.

I think the comparison for tomorrow is just the HE6se V2's and the LSA HP-2's on the Pro iCAN with lots of bass boost. That will be large fun for hours!


Just watched the Zeos review on your new Signature Pro iCAN. He was VERY impressed, as am I. But Man, that is stupid expensive. Most people will be priced out of this amazing machine. I bought the old model, used and it was still my largest expenditure ever for Head-Fi gear.
Luckily for me, it was not another dud and I will be keeping this until it breaks.

 

[arielext]

I have to say that I was initially very disappointed with the bass on these. After several days and about fifty hours they seemed to be coming around. But was that just my imagination?
Yesterday and today I spent about 6 or 7 hours going through a playlist of bassy songs (pic attached).
I had my Bifrost 2 feeding an XLR switcher, which in turn fed three amps. I ran:
Violectric V220 into LSA-HP-2’s
Liquid Platinum into Elex’s
If Pro iCAN into HE6se V2’s


The results really surprised me. Coming in a distant third was the Focal Elex’s. The bass is just thumpy. Works for some songs, but not others. Even songs that I previously enjoyed them with did not sound good in comparison.


Coming second was the HE6se V2’s. I love these on the iFi Pro iCAN with bass boost maxed out! However, I removed all bass boost for this test and they still come across as pretty bassy. These guys impress me more all the time, although on a few songs they sounded veiled or limited. Not sure what that’s about. Maybe some modding needed.
The bass, while generous, was not articulate or sharp.


And this is where the LSA HP-2 came first. The bass is crazy accurate, laser sharp and very on point. Each drum strike sounded like a stick hitting the skins. Bass guitars sound like bass guitars.
These headphones are, by a bit, the most expensive headphones I ever bought. They beat my Grado’s, my Elex’s and my HE6se V2’s. And I won’t even bother comparing the Cascades.


I know that I am still in the shiny new toy phase, but the bass, the mids and the clarity is just outstanding! And they do not sound at all closed, although they have great isolation.


I am feeling Great about this purchase right now!

Put those HP-2's to the test:
Dig down by Muse
Angel by Massive Attack
Lose yourself to dance by Daft Punk

What are your impressions on the highs? I always felt that they were a bit sharp for my taste

 

[iFi audio]

Put those HP-2's to the test:
Dig down by Muse
Angel by Massive Attack
Lose yourself to dance by Daft Punk

What are your impressions on the highs? I always felt that they were a bit sharp for my taste

I'd include Angel by Depeche Mode to that list. Plenty of slamming visceral bass on this one!

It's funny that you replied as I am jamming the iCAN right. The HE6se lost the fight, but barely. I am now listening to the iCAN with The LSA HP-2's and the bass boost is on 20hz. SO awesome.

I think the comparison for tomorrow is just the HE6se V2's and the LSA HP-2's on the Pro iCAN with lots of bass boost. That will be large fun for hours!

Great stuff, I'm really happy that you like it this much! Keep rocking those cans hard

Most people will be priced out of this amazing machine. I bought the old model, used and it was still my largest expenditure ever for Head-Fi gear.
Luckily for me, it was not another dud and I will be keeping this until it breaks.

Yes, our Pro range is on the pricey side and that's the best we have. But considering how much fun Pro iCAN provides and its skillset, for many folks that's one major purchase for years to come. Thanks!

 

[Shane D]

Put those HP-2's to the test:
Dig down by Muse
Angel by Massive Attack
Lose yourself to dance by Daft Punk

What are your impressions on the highs? I always felt that they were a bit sharp for my taste

The only song I have is Dig Down by Muse. I started with a much larger list, but a lot of bassy stuff is messy, I find.

All ten of those songs, to me, brought something special to the music, bass wise and I deleted the rest.

I wouldn't quite call it sharp, but there are some tracks that come across as leaning a bit bright. Not a problem so far, but noticeable.

 

[BubbaJay]

It nice to see people are starting to appreciate these as much as I do because they are a fantastic headphone. I will say that I have to bump up the bass on them to sound their best as they do tend to be a little bass light imo and even my Grado SR325e has more mid bass.

 

[Shane D]

It nice to see people are starting to appreciate these as much as I do because they are a fantastic headphone. I will say that I have to bump up the bass on them to sound their best as they do tend to be a little bass light imo and even my Grado SR325e has more mid bass.

I find that they have great bass, but it is not the boom-boom type. I compared them to the Grado GH2's and Focal Elex's. The latter two were thumpier, but the bass was a lot more messy and unfocused. I have never heard a headphone that cuts bass this cleanly. While listening to them, the words that go through my mind are; clear, clean, precise and well-defined. They are a completely different definition of bass from the Cascades. Just doing quick A-B's they sound so much cleaner than my Grado's, Elex's and HE6se's. It will be really interesting to test these against my HD660's. I was nervous about this buy, but I have really hit some home runs lately (he says oblivously as he keeps trying to sell off other headphones ).

 

[LostnAmerica]

I find that they have great bass, but it is not the boom-boom type. I compared them to the Grado GH2's and Focal Elex's. The latter two were thumpier, but the bass was a lot more messy and unfocused. I have never heard a headphone that cuts bass this cleanly. While listening to them, the words that go through my mind are; clear, clean, precise and well-defined. They are a completely different definition of bass from the Cascades. Just doing quick A-B's they sound so much cleaner than my Grado's, Elex's and HE6se's. It will be really interesting to test these against my HD660's. I was nervous about this buy, but I have really hit some home runs lately (he says oblivously as he keeps trying to sell off other headphones ).

Greetings ShaneD, just a quick update, (posted from another headphone website):
Strange you had mentioned the increase in the bass. I ran about 100 songs with the dap last night and today, (another 10 hours). And wow, where did all the bass come from? These babies keep getting better and better.
Maybe more to come with 150+hours

.
Nice and tight, true to the recording. I am impressed without any eq...wow
Right now listening to Alice Cooper’s Greatest Hits, awesome…
Cheers