[baka1969]

Quote:
Originally Posted by shoooze  

" I'm looking to upgrade to a pair of world class cans, and this topic was very informative. The HD800's seem to be the slight favorite, though the harsh highs, and to a lesser extent the mild bass is something to note. 
Great impressions and write up's all around.
Cheers."


I don't personally think the HD800 has harsh highs. I think they're quite refined and airy. It's a matter of preference, but the HD800's highs are my choice of the group.

 

[monsieurguzel]

I have owned or tried all of these headphones, and despite all the technical proficiencies of the HD800s, I just couldn't live with them....they really are very fatiguing and can be too harsh due to those highs.  Never before did I have a headphone that would give me so much fatigue on my ears.  I even tried switching cables and tubes to tame them....

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

I don't personally think the HD800 has harsh highs.

Neither do I.

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

I don't personally think the HD800 has harsh highs. I think they're quite refined and airy. It's a matter of preference, but the HD800's highs are my choice of the group.

Not harsh, but perhaps a bit overly present, the midrange to treble transition is not quite seamless. I owned the GS1000, then went for the HD800, then traded towards the T1, which is now gone as well due to similar problem, or different problem in the same area. Seems I just don't cotton to expensive cans. I found the top end of the HD600, HP-1000 and SR200 much more natural and less offensive. But I haven't heard the Audeze LCD-2 yet.
 
Still, it seems all these $1000+ cans are fighting for poll position for some hi-fi race. Come on guys, there's music to be listened to, not endless problems to be solved.
 

 

[ctemkin]

When you were doing comparisons between the LCD-2 and the HD800, were you alternating them on the same amp?  The reason I ask is that I am comparing that way on mine, both balanced, and it seems to me that the LCD-2 produces more volume, which throws off the comparison.  That is, if I pull out the HD800's plugs and insert the LCD-2's, without making any other changes, the LCD-2 is somewhat louder.  Was this your experience?  I don't have an SPL meter.

 

[baka1969]

Quote:
Originally Posted by ctemkin  
" When you were doing comparisons between the LCD-2 and the HD800, were you alternating them on the same amp?  The reason I ask is that I am comparing that way on mine, both balanced, and it seems to me that the LCD-2 produces more volume, which throws off the comparison.  That is, if I pull out the HD800's plugs and insert the LCD-2's, without making any other changes, the LCD-2 is somewhat louder.  Was this your experience?  I don't have an SPL meter."



Hi. Yes we did A/B different headphones with the same amp. Several amps, but when comparing we would use the same amp. The volume has to do with the impedance and sensitivity of the headphone. The more difficult a headphone is to drive (higher impedance or lower sensitivity) the lower the volume will be when compared to a headphone that's easier to drive. That's what you're experiencing. You have to volume match when doing a proper evaluation. You can get a SPL meter at Radio Shack.

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

Not harsh, but perhaps a bit overly present, the midrange to treble transition is not quite seamless. I owned the GS1000, then went for the HD800, then traded towards the T1, which is now gone as well due to similar problem, or different problem in the same area. Seems I just don't cotton to expensive cans. I found the top end of the HD600, HP-1000 and SR200 much more natural and less offensive. But I haven't heard the Audeze LCD-2 yet.
 
Still, it seems all these $1000+ cans are fighting for poll position for some hi-fi race. Come on guys, there's music to be listened to, not endless problems to be solved.
 

Yeah I agree with everything you said.  I kind of think the Hd600 are a poor man's HP1000.  Not nearly as transparent, but I think they're aiming for a similar sound.  I also had the same problems with the phones you mentioned. 
 
I've noticed that the people who like the HD800's treble tend to find the LCD2 rolled off on top, and the people who find the HD800 too bright on top think the LCD2 sounds perfect.  Who knows whether the HD800 has a treble spike, or the LCD2 has a treble roll off, but it's obvious that it's a good thing both flavors are out there.  I personally would rather have an HD600 than an HD800 just because the Hd800's treble ruins it for me.  I sure hope Audeze doesn't pull a Sennheiser and react to some people's complaints by adding treble.  It's good to have variety, and right now the majority of headphones cater to the "more treble" crowd IME. 

 

[oqvist]

Quote:

Yeah I agree with everything you said.  I kind of think the Hd600 are a poor man's HP1000.  Not nearly as transparent, but I think they're aiming for a similar sound.  I also had the same problems with the phones you mentioned. 
 
I've noticed that the people who like the HD800's treble tend to find the LCD2 rolled off on top, and the people who find the HD800 too bright on top think the LCD2 sounds perfect.  Who knows whether the HD800 has a treble spike, or the LCD2 has a treble roll off, but it's obvious that it's a good thing both flavors are out there.  I personally would rather have an HD600 than an HD800 just because the Hd800's treble ruins it for me.  I sure hope Audeze doesn't pull a Sennheiser and react to some people's complaints by adding treble.  It's good to have variety, and right now the majority of headphones cater to the "more treble" crowd IME. 

X2... The HD 650 scared me away from muted treble headphones for several reasons. But the LCD-2 and Fostex T50 RP as well is in a total different ballpark.
It seems like the LCD-2 focus on realism by tone/timbre. All my dynamics get pretty much slaughtered in bass/mid range and they also don´t compare in quality in the treble for pan flutes or such. I don´t see the T1 playing on equal terms here. Whereas the T1 among others try to simulate speaker soundstaging with more air and instrument separation and sacrifice tone in the process. I appreciate that as well headphones are compromises after all, so it great to have headphones in both camps.
 

 

[Frank I]

 
Quote:

X2... The HD 650 scared me away from muted treble headphones for several reasons. But the LCD-2 and Fostex T50 RP as well is in a total different ballpark.
It seems like the LCD-2 focus on realism by tone/timbre. All my dynamics get pretty much slaughtered in bass/mid range and they also don´t compare in quality in the treble for pan flutes or such. I don´t see the T1 playing on equal terms here. Whereas the T1 among others try to simulate speaker soundstaging with more air and instrument separation and sacrifice tone in the process. I appreciate that as well headphones are compromises after all, so it great to have headphones in both camps.
 

Iown the T1 and LCD2 and I disagree with tone and timbre on the T1. What I look for when I purchase a high end headphone is tone. If tone is wrong then the can will not be musical. The T1 had pinpoint imaging and wide and deep sound stage and tone. transparency is a strong point. LCD2 sacrificwes litt space in soundstage production but does this well. I prefer trumpet recordings on the T1 and vocal recordings on the LCD2. Both excellent cans and have seen no reason to sell either one at this point.
 

 

[DarKu]

Awesome impressions!
Thanks guys

 

[Currawong]

Much thanks for the impressions.  I was put off being interested in the T1 after some impressions from people who suggested it wasn't as capable of resolving detail as the HD-800s are. The HD-800s do have an addictive sense of space about their presentation and the treble has been much discussed. Suffice to say, I got them working nicely in my rig, but ultimately I chose the LCD-2s to keep.  Due to their presentation though, I tend to make sure they are the only pair of headphones I use the whole day.  

 

[Frank I]

Quote:

Much thanks for the impressions.  I was put off being interested in the T1 after some impressions from people who suggested it wasn't as capable of resolving detail as the HD-800s are. The HD-800s do have an addictive sense of space about their presentation and the treble has been much discussed. Suffice to say, I got them working nicely in my rig, but ultimately I chose the LCD-2s to keep.  Due to their presentation though, I tend to make sure they are the only pair of headphones I use the whole day.  

The T1 has very nice sound stage and it resolves detail very well. It prefers a tube amp and I havwe found the same synergy with the LCD2. I stopped AB yesterday and listened 12 hrs to the LCD2 and they are special as well as the T1. I am keeping both as I would miss the T1 for all it does so well I still feel that even though they are not a wow phone they do nothing wrong IMO and sound fantastic on any genre. Tubes make them magical as Aaron stated with the Decware headphone listening doe not get any better IMO

 

[Priyajeet]

Few weeks ago I tried my T1 and an hd800 on a violectric V100 amp and lil dot tube amp. At the time I could really notice the difference in soundstaging of the headphones. Recently I tried them again in an audio gd Phoenix and the difference became quite a bit less apparent. Of course this is in the choice of music I generally listen to which generally doesn't include classical.

 

[Beagle]

Quote:

I don´t see the T1 playing on equal terms here. Whereas the T1 among others try to simulate speaker soundstaging with more air and instrument separation and sacrifice tone in the process. I appreciate that as well headphones are compromises after all, so it great to have headphones in both camps.
 

The HD600/650 have pretty much the only candidates that could give me a sense of space while maintaining basic purity of tone. Most of the larger expensive cans just pull the stereo image wide apart to "create" this wowie-zowie soundstage (that is totally bogus IMO) and throw tonal balance and timbre out the window.

 

[immtbiker]

Images of the meet. Please keep in mind that they were taken with a T-Mobile Blackberry. I hope the 3 of us can have a re-match and I will bring some different hi-end amps and a Panasonic Lumix with a Leica lens and a professional tripod. I was on my way back home from Baltimore to NYC and had nothing to help in participation except for an iMod loaded to the hilt with ALAC files and a bottle 12 y.o Macallans 12 red triangle which we did not even graze:
 
Franks Maggies that were the best full sized speakers I have ever hear for $600:
 

 
 
Franks Decware with some matched $50 tubes that were a match made in heaven:
 

 
 

 
 
Me with some funky-ass looking RS1's (these were not included in the shootout:
 

 
 
HD80's that did not make it to Ross' house without incurring some hardcore damage (he doesn't want to talk about it):
 

 
 
Denon 7000's (stock):
 

 
HE-6 and LCD-2's:
 

 
 
LCD-2's and T-1's
 

 
 

 
 
Glimore Light,Cambridge Audio DAC, Gateway Netbook, and T-1's: