[wolfetan44]

Quote:

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.

Sennheiser Orpheus!

 

[Greed]

Quote:

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.

I think the whole "King of Kings" title referred to high-end headphones in general not literally stating these headphones are known as the "King of Kings". OP stated that he is on a budget, and the SR-009s and LCD-3s are both too high for his budget.

 

[Currawong]

Listening level, which is very important, is what I took into consideration when I suggested a 'stat rig.
Someone suggested the Asgard. I thought it was a very poor match with orthos.
Someone posted about bass response and impact: Mostly irrelevant at low listening levels.
Someone else posted that 'stat amps are expensive. The need for an expensive 'stat amp is irrelevant at low listening levels.
Other people suggested the HD-800s: They are very hit-and-miss with how they sound. They can sound wonderful or awful depending what they are plugged in to.
 
I've owned a 'stat rig that cost almost dead on $1k: Lamda Nova Signatures $220 (though hard to find at that price now, admittedly) + a Stax T1S (borrowed, but the one I have here I believe the owner wants to sell for a reasonable price), both vintage items now (if 12-15 years old is considered vintage in headphone terms). While I think the price of both, if bought now, would head more towards $1500, it is do-able and, most importantly, meets the OP's criteria. Unfortunately I've neither owned the GS1000s nor HE500s to say if either would be suitable alternatively. 

 

[funkydandy]

Quote:

I think the whole "King of Kings" title referred to high-end headphones in general not literally stating these headphones are known as the "King of Kings". OP stated that he is on a budget, and the SR-009s and LCD-3s are both too high for his budget.

 
That's true. I´ve a limited budget.
 
I can't afford those headphones.

 

[funkydandy]

Quote:

Listening level, which is very important, is what I took into consideration when I suggested a 'stat rig.
Someone suggested the Asgard. I thought it was a very poor match with orthos.
Someone posted about bass response and impact: Mostly irrelevant at low listening levels.
Someone else posted that 'stat amps are expensive. The need for an expensive 'stat amp is irrelevant at low listening levels.
Other people suggested the HD-800s: They are very hit-and-miss with how they sound. They can sound wonderful or awful depending what they are plugged in to.

 
I`ve said it in one post: I would like that new headphones have detailed sound at low volume.

 

[funkydandy]

Quote:

 
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.

 
Uuummm... HE-6 with my Cambridge Audio speaker amp?

 

[RustA]

Quote:

 
Uuummm... HE-6 with my Cambridge Audio speaker amp?

 
Try to ask people in dedicated threads, I cannot help here (but the majority of people prefer speaker amps with HE-6 as far as I know)... HE-6 are a very special pair of headphones, you know.
 
If you want tons of detail at low listening levels, you need something with more treble than Audezes have I guess. HD800 could be nice but I guess you need an excellent amp to pair with. Within your budget, go with HE-6 (+ adaptor/cable to connect it to your speaker amp), or HE-500 (with Objective2 amp for example).

 

[oblique63]

Quote:

 
HD800 could be nice but I guess you need an excellent amp to pair with.

A well powered Objective2 does just fine with the HD800's (remembering to keep the gain boost switch on). Honestly, it's sounded consistently decent on the handful of other solid state amps I've tried as well, so them being 'picky' hasn't exactly been my experience (though I do want to try it with a Phonitor or Auditor eventually just to see if there's a significant improvement). If the OP want's that tube warmth in there though, that's another story. I don't mess with tube amps, but I've definitely heard stories of how picky the 800's can be with those...

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

 
I`ve said it in one post: I would like that new headphones have detailed sound at low volume.

I find (and many others inluding good ole Tyll) that the LCD2's are very good for low level listening. In fact they don't change much sonically when you crank them up. The bass in particular sounds solid and tight at low level.

 

[NZtechfreak]

Well, I own three of those headphones (HE-6, LCD2.2, GS1000i), and have a fourth in my home on loan at the moment (HD800). It's not a popular answer, but I think Obobskivich is probably on to something with the GS1000i recommendation. Good detail even at low volumes, a good soundstage which for me helps with instrument separation, good across multiple genres and fairly forgiving of the upstream chain and source recordings. For me a more engaging sound than the HD800, which seems an important element for the OP. Within budget too, unlike the copious suggestions for the LCD3, and other headphones the OP has specifically stated are out of his price range.
 
From the stated genre choices the LCD2 looks like a good choice too, although for me it doesn't fit quite as well as the GS1000i with some of the other qualities the OP is stating they want in their new headphones.
 
I love my HE-6, and in some respects I think they're just about the best for the OPs needs, but hard to recommend with the amping requirement and I don't think they'll offer the low volume performance the OP is looking for.
 
Yet to listen to some stats, so can't weigh in on the discussion there (the SR009 is increasingly calling out to me though...).

 

[funkydandy]

Quote:

Well, I own three of those headphones (HE-6, LCD2.2, GS1000i), and have a fourth in my home on loan at the moment (HD800). It's not a popular answer, but I think Obobskivich is probably on to something with the GS1000i recommendation. Good detail even at low volumes, a good soundstage which for me helps with instrument separation, good across multiple genres and fairly forgiving of the upstream chain and source recordings. For me a more engaging sound than the HD800, which seems an important element for the OP. Within budget too, unlike the copious suggestions for the LCD3, and other headphones the OP has specifically stated are out of his price range.
 
From the stated genre choices the LCD2 looks like a good choice too, although for me it doesn't fit quite as well as the GS1000i with some of the other qualities the OP is stating they want in their new headphones.
 
Could you please explain it? Thanks.
 
I love my HE-6, and in some respects I think they're just about the best for the OPs needs, but hard to recommend with the amping requirement and I don't think they'll offer the low volume performance the OP is looking for.
 
The best choice? Could I amp this headphones with Shiit Lyr?
Ooops... don't they offer detailed sound at low volume performance?
Are these headphones best choice al normal volume?
 
Yet to listen to some stats, so can't weigh in on the discussion there (the SR009 is increasingly calling out to me though...).

 

[RustA]

Quote:

 

 
If you are going to use Schiit Lyr, there most probably isn't a better option than LCD-2 to pair with. Those two should work extremely well from what I've read so far.
 
I would be VERY skeptical about Lyr being a good match for HE-6.

 

[MrViolin]

hah! you call these the king of kings? Hah! Well, if you mean king of kings that're still in production that reign over planars/dynamics, then you're correct lol. Otherwise, electrostats pretty much destroy, and the true king of dynamics is no longer in production.
 
HD-800 has a horrible paint job for $1500. If you get it, get it at colorware. HE-6 you need a MANLY amp like the Dark Star from Ray Samueles... 

 

[obobskivich]

hah! you call these the king of kings? Hah! Well, if you mean king of kings that're still in production that reign over planars/dynamics, then you're correct lol. Otherwise, electrostats pretty much destroy, and the true king of dynamics is no longer in production.

HD-800 has a horrible paint job for $1500. If you get it, get it at colorware. HE-6 you need a MANLY amp like the Dark Star from Ray Samueles... 

I think the point was more within the OP's stated budget and conditions - not deciding what is the best headphone overall. Also, shouldn't the Cambridge mentioned earlier be suitable with the HE-6? (I know a few users have enjoyed them with other brands of IAs). I'm honestly asking this - I know the specsheet says 20 mW, but a lot of people tend to want/need a lot more than 20 mW.

 

[NZtechfreak]

On the LCD-2 Vs GS1000i I was referring to the presentation of detail, I think the GS1000i does better there due its more expansive sound stage and treble presentation. You seemed to place a great deal of emphasis on that, which is why I wonder whether the GS1000i is a better choice for you despite the fact that the LCD-2 matches your stated genre preferences well.
 
RE: HE-6 - I don't think the Schit Lyr will be sufficient for the HE-6. You may be able to drive them properly and still within budget off a speaker amp, as others have mentioned. I'm using the Audio-GD Reference 10 with mine (6W into 50ohms) and satisfied with how that drives them, however I've never heard them from a well-matched speaker amp, so I can't say whether I'm hearing them at their best. I tend to enjoy the HE-6 more at higher volumes I have to say, which is why I'd have some hesitancy about recommending them for listening at low volumes. The GS1000i does extremely well there.