[fuzzyash]

i havent heard any electrostatics but my vote goes for the orthos
ive tried the he500, he6, and hd800 and for me electronic suited the hifimans better
havent heard the audeze though

 

[Greed]

STAX, should be out of the question for the OP. He has stated that the LCD-3s are out of his price range, so STAX would be completely out of it. I also would recommend the LCD-2 Rev. 2 for your tastes in music and what you are looking for. Another plus side to them are they're not that hard to drive, so any amp you get will more than likely be able to power them to their full potential. I own both LCD-2 Rev. 2 and HE-500 and even though I have both and love both, I still find myself reaching for the Audezes a lot more. If you love mids and vocals, you can't go wrong with the LCD-2s. Also, to comment on the Denons they shouldn't even be in your consideration. All these other headphones mentioned are much better at detail and after hearing the AH-D5000 I wasn't impressed with their overall sound after hearing my two babies. One thing I should point out is that the higher up you go, typically the more sensitive headphones are to source. I'm not sure what you are going to be feeding your headphones and amp, but basically most of these headphones are crap-in crap-out. I will say that I believe that the LCD-2s are more forgiving than most of these other options.
 

 

[obobskivich]

STAX, should be out of the question for the OP. He has stated that the LCD-3s are out of his price range, so STAX would be completely out of it.

STAX != SR-009. They make more than one product.
Also electrostats != STAX. There is more than one manufacturer.

I also would recommend the LCD-2 Rev. 2 for your tastes in music and what you are looking for. Another plus side to them are they're not that hard to drive, so any amp you get will more than likely be able to power them to their full potential. I own both LCD-2 Rev. 2 and HE-500 and even though I have both and love both, I still find myself reaching for the Audezes a lot more. If you love mids and vocals, you can't go wrong with the LCD-2s. Also, to comment on the Denons they shouldn't even be in your consideration. All these other headphones mentioned are much better at detail and after hearing the AH-D5000 I wasn't impressed with their overall sound after hearing my two babies. One thing I should point out is that the higher up you go, typically the more sensitive headphones are to source. I'm not sure what you are going to be feeding your headphones and amp, but basically most of these headphones are crap-in crap-out. I will say that I believe that the LCD-2s are more forgiving than most of these other options.

I agree on the Denons h34r: (the ones I've heard) - I don't know how the 7100 do or don't stand up though. They aren't bad headphones, but they aren't the ideal choice for detail extraction and pristine voicing. Of course, if isolation is a question (as currawong and I have been asking) - none of the open cans that we keep suggesting are going to be a good choice. The original post explains what equipment is in place in terms of amplification, source, previous headphones, etc. If the LCD-2 are within budget, both the Koss and STAX electrostats are within budget too - no question about it. I think at this point the best possible thing he/she can do is go out and try the models that are scoring highest among suggestions - if that isn't possible, a coin flip is probably going to be best (sure, we can all sit and argue back and forth what the "best headphone ever made" is - but there won't be a conclusive answer that satisfies all people).

I'll also re-iterate the GS-1000 should still be considered; if that hadn't been caught the first time. But really at this price point, trying these out for yourself is going to be the only real answer. I also think it's kind of interesting that the majority of responses seem to be saying LCD-2, HE-500, or something else; yet HD 800 has more votes by a mile. Wonder how many people are actually reading the thread before voting...

 

[Greed]

Quote:

STAX != SR-009. They make more than one product.
Also electrostats != STAX. There is more than one manufacturer.
I agree on the Denons

(the ones I've heard) - I don't know how the 7100 do or don't stand up though. They aren't bad headphones, but they aren't the ideal choice for detail extraction and pristine voicing. Of course, if isolation is a question (as currawong and I have been asking) - none of the open cans that we keep suggesting are going to be a good choice.

The original post explains what equipment is in place in terms of amplification, source, previous headphones, etc. If the LCD-2 are within budget, both the Koss and STAX electrostats are within budget too - no question about it.

I think at this point the best possible thing he/she can do is go out and try the models that are scoring highest among suggestions - if that isn't possible, a coin flip is probably going to be best (sure, we can all sit and argue back and forth what the "best headphone ever made" is - but there won't be a conclusive answer that satisfies all people).

I'll also re-iterate the GS-1000 should still be considered; if that hadn't been caught the first time. But really at this price point, trying these out for yourself is going to be the only real answer. I also think it's kind of interesting that the majority of responses seem to be saying LCD-2, HE-500, or something else; yet HD 800 has more votes by a mile. Wonder how many people are actually reading the thread before voting...

 
Only electrostats that should be considered! Go big or go home.

 
But yea, that is true you could look into electrostats, but the rig that he will need to build around those phones will cost him a pretty penny. And I agree, the poll is a completely counter to what has been said thus far. Honestly, one thing I have found about poll threads in general are that people will vote for what they "believe" is the right answer because they read or heard that something is the best overall. It's a shame that most of the time you are getting people vote that haven't even heard the headphone, which is lame. Anyways, rant aside, I agree with obob that if it is possible to audition some to all of these suggestions it would be ideal. Any of these headphones are a big investment and only you can decide what sound/characteristics you want/need.

 

[nick n]

Quote:

STAX != SR-009. They make more than one product.
Also electrostats != STAX. There is more than one manufacturer.

Of course, if isolation is a question (as currawong and I have been asking) - none of the open cans that we keep suggesting are going to be a good choice.

yep the Koss Stats also have the lifetime warranty.

and have certainly  had that # 950 model around for a while.
They are often had for the same price as that new Portable setup too.
It's not got to cost a fortune really.
Any decent integrated amp or receiver ( the OP HAS ONE )can deliver the goods , and my only reason for posting them was his insistence on detail at low levels.
 
Though all of that aside, between a choice of an Iso/orthodynamic vs a Dynamic as per the voting list, I would get the Iso/ortho assuming it fit all my needs, and MAKE it fit those needs
 
 
The original poster definitely has to answer the isolation ( open vs closed ) aspect, if that is important or not.

 

[obobskivich]

Only electrostats that should be considered! Go big or go home.

:rolleyes:

And this is why we can't have nice things.

But yea, that is true you could look into electrostats, but the rig that he will need to build around those phones will cost him a pretty penny.

Around what the LCD-2 will cost.

Within the ~$1k budget both the Koss ESP/950 and STAX SRS-2170 can be considered, there's also more options for used STAX.

And I agree, the poll is a completely counter to what has been said thus far. Honestly, one thing I have found about poll threads in general are that people will vote for what they "believe" is the right answer because they read or heard that something is the best overall. It's a shame that most of the time you are getting people that vote that haven't even heard the headphone, which is lame. Anyways, rant aside, I agree with obob that if it is possible to audition some to all of these suggestions it would be ideal. Any of these headphones are a big investment and only you can decide what sound/characteristics you want/need.

+1. I get the sense a lot of the poll replies are people just voting for the HD 800 because "it's the best headphone ever made" and everything is a popularity contest. h34r: I'm not trying to knock on the HD 800 - I just wanted to point out that the poll is seeming to disagree with the central thrust of the thread - which is leaning towards planar radiating open-back designs (be them planar magnetic or electrostatic).

yep the Koss Stats also have the lifetime warranty. h34r: and have certainly  had that # 950 model around for a while.
They are often had for the same price as that new Portable setup too.

They run around the same price as the SRS-2170 system (which I have not heard) - my understanding is that the SRS-2170 errs towards being brighter and dryer while the Koss are more musical (I will say the Koss are fairly musical!). But I have no idea if this is or isn't true; STAX are quite rare in my part of the world (and ~$800 for something I can't return, just to say I've tried it...does not make sense to me ). But yeah, both/either should be on the table. I don't know anything about the in-ear STAX - they've always looked interesting, but I'm not sure if they're a reasonable choice here or more of a novelty.

The original poster definitely has to answer the isolation ( open vs closed ) aspect, if that is important or not.

Indeed.

I ask this especially because he mentions having the QC15 and being interested in microdetails. I'll just throw this out there, since I have the QC15 myself -

I only use my "big" headphones at home, which includes the QC15, and generally home isn't very loud. But sometimes it is (like if there's construction going on outside, or if the air conditioning or heating is on, etc) - and in those situations, the QC15 will have better detail extraction than basically any other headphone I have. Does this mean they're the best headphone in the world? No. They offer something like 35 dB of isolation though, which translates into dynamic range and better access to things hiding in the background on many tracks. It also can mean the difference between hearing the music at all or not. Same reason I like my IEMs on the train, and wouldn't even think about taking my open cans with me on that commute. It may actually be that the Denons are a better choice here, simply because they provide *some* isolation. *shrug*

So if isolation is a consideration, we've all been going about this in the wrong way, but if it isn't, I think we're on the right track and that a lot of good suggestions have been made (and no, I haven't heard all of the headphones that've been suggested - but I think that by and large they're coming from people who are speaking from the right place, and that nobody is trying to shill or hype something up; it just comes down to preference though: if I like vanilla and you like chocolate, it doesn't matter if I offer you the best, most exotic, rarest, etc vanilla ever made - it's not chocolate).

 

[RustA]

Quote:

HD 800 has more votes by a mile. Wonder how many people are actually reading the thread before voting...

 
Heh, there seems to be a massive "german" army that just keep voting everywhere their phones are mentioned... I can only hope the OP is not going to choose one or another since there are much better choices for his music.
 
Electrostatic phones are most probably great but I am not sure whether they can provide the DEEP bass and FULL mids of orthos. Another thing is that it's more costy to purchase a suitable amplifier for them... There are tons of options for dynamic headphones, not so much for stats.
 
He can just get LCD-2/HE-500 with affordable amp/DAC like O2/ODAC or some Schiit stuff and be done with that. Or HE-6 with a speaker amp.

 

[oblique63]

Quote:

I also think it's kind of interesting that the majority of responses seem to be saying LCD-2, HE-500, or something else; yet HD 800 has more votes by a mile. Wonder how many people are actually reading the thread before voting...

I haven't listened to any of the electrostatic phones, but of the ones on the poll, I'd still say the HD 800 fits the criteria the best to be honest. They might not pull off jazz as well as the LCD-2's, but they do it at least as well as the HE-500's, and the detail+imaging is certainly better than both, so I think it's still justified given the options in the poll and what the original poster said he/she wanted... The only thing the HD800 might lack in is 'warmth', but it's not exactly much 'colder' than the HE-500's either. That being said, they do sound like crap without a good ~30hr break-in period.

 

[obobskivich]

Heh, there seems to be a massive "german" army that just keep voting everywhere their phones are mentioned... I can only hope the OP is not going to choose one or another since there are much better choices for his music.

I don't know about that (I really don't) - again, I just thought it needed to be pointed out that the poll and thread are diverging. I think you might be onto something though - again, I have a suspicion people are seeing it and thinking "vote for your favorite" or "vote for what's best" - not "vote for what I should buy" - I know that was certainly my impression when I first clicked into this thread.

Electrostatic phones are most probably great but I am not sure whether they can provide the DEEP bass and FULL mids of orthos. Another thing is that it's more costy to purchase a suitable amplifier for them... There are tons of options for dynamic headphones, not so much for stats.

Ugh.

Again, you don't need to drop $10,000 to get into electrostats. All of the "you have to spend $3000 to even have an "okay" amplifier" stuff makes me die a little inside. In recent years pricing on 'stats has gone absolutely insane due to STAX (and partly also due to the Yen-Dollar exchange) and Sennheiser (and while I'd love to rant about how Sennheiser is responsible for all of the recent price-hiking and amp hysteria of the last 20 years (okay I just did), I'll leave it alone). Historically speaking this hasn't been the case (and the reason STAX keeps hiking the price up is because they keep hiking their costs up, more or less; SR-009 cost a lot to develop and that gets passed on; ESP/950 cost a lot to develop too, and the original MSRP was much higher - but Koss has been able to come off of that (just like STAX has been able to come off of that for the SR-Lambda derived parts) as they've recouped that due to sales).

Regarding the mids - c'mon...they're stats. I mean...I don't even know what else to say here.

Bass-wise, it will vary more person to person - a lot of people seem to have an issue with the "thin" nature of 'stats (they don't do bass in the same way as everything else, for one, and they generally aren't bassy headphones, for two), but a lot of other people don't. Extension is not a problem - it's more impact related. Again, it will divide along lines of preference.

He can just get LCD-2/HE-500 with affordable amp/DAC like O2/ODAC or some Schiit stuff and be done with that. Or HE-6 with a speaker amp.

Yeah, Koss and STAX will include the appropriately matched amp, and he/she already has a receiver and CD player (did nobody else read the original post? h34r. Same price; really (probably cheaper actually - LCD-2 + all that stuff will be around $1300-1400, Koss or STAX at the top end will be around $1100). ODAC would be pointless here - last I checked it only plugs into USB.

I haven't listened to any of the electrostatic phones, but of the ones on the poll, I'd still say the HD 800 fits the criteria the best to be honest. They might not pull off jazz as well as the LCD-2's, but they do it at least as well as the HE-500's, and the detail+imaging is certainly better than both, so I think it's still justified given the options in the poll and what the original poster said he/she wanted... The only thing the HD800 might lack in is 'warmth', but it's not exactly much 'colder' than the HE-500's either. That being said, they do sound like crap without a good ~30hr break-in period.

And that's perfectly fine. But reading through the last few pages I see LCD-2 and HE-500 mentioned/suggested more than I do HD 800. That was my only point. Of course some people will prefer them better (heck, I voted for the GS-1000 and I'm arguing for 'stats too, lol). Or as another example - I haven't even seen the T1 suggested once in the thread, and they're in second place. It isn't lining up.

 

[LugBug1]

Yeah obobs right, any poll no matter what the subject matter is will lead to favoritism. 

 

[Ra97oR]

Getting a older Lambda and a more aggressive dynamic to pair with it is a good compromise IMO. Something like a Grados will contrast very well and gives a different experience. As much as 009 is excellent as it is, listening to the same sound for months and years is not what I find enjoyable.
 
Doing this will also gives you a better idea of the wide range of possible sound out there, going broke for the first and last pair of headphone you will ever buy seems to cut the journey short.

 

[Croozer]

No way... Their bass is boomy as hell, mids recessed (nowhere near fullness) and treble with D7000 harsh and thin. IMHO not suitable for anything except electronic music.

Hmmmm, I was speaking to the OP of the thread.

 

[funkydandy]

Quote:

http://www.head-fi.org/t/639785/he500-or-lcd2-or-both-please-share-your-impressions-mini-review-and-poll-please-vote
 
Yes, both sound teriffic and should be ideal for the op, the HE500 seem a bit more balanced from top to bottom and have a bit more air and are very smooth. The LCD2's have such an engaging deep sound, very cohesive and natural. But the clamp pressure can be annoying for some.

 
I've read your full thread... it has helped me.

 

[funkydandy]

I don't need isolation... I'm searching for open headphones.

 

[MEDO]

funkydandy ... you know that the King of kings is known to be the Stax 009 and Audeze LCD-3, each one of them dominate some areas of the audio spectrum. The polls and recommendations won't do you any good, you have to know what YOU want more; treble, soundstage,bass or the tone of the sound ( dark, bright,warm,cold - no one wants the cold tone unless they're audio engineer ). but there's a common mistake that every new audiophile make by thinking that the dark sound always mean just bass that muddies the sound and hides the detail. But i can assure you the level of detail in my T1 is equal to the Audeze LCD-2 ( the trick here is the air that moves around the treble in the dynamic headphones ) .. but in modern recorded music you'll notice the details are more real and apparent with the Audeze and easy to listen even at high volumes. You have to make sure that the treble is your cup of tea because i noticed that you mention the details a lot your posts, don't worry about the level of detail in these headphones, they are VERY close (some headphones extract the details and make it painfully obvious, so you're gonna have to upgrade your files too or else the low bit-rate files will sound worse than it already is).
 
good luck on your choice and don't rush making quick decisions.