[OneEyedHito]

Do you really listen at 90Db's or am I reading that wrong?

I set my spl meter on max dB setting. Play some of a track and see what the max dB recorded is, then I do the same with a second HP and set the volume to where they are both maxing at the same dB. I am not really listening at 90dB sustained but a few notes here and there can hit that yes. I believe my avg dB’s listened to is around 80-85 dB most times. Hope that helps.

 

[Terriero]

Good morning, I wonder if it is very difficult to change the pads of the liric, and how it would compare to a denon d9200.
I am thinking of buying a pair of these next week and I have these doubts, I think I have read that the pads are well matched, it is true.
a greeting.

Here you can find a little comparison with the 9200s by our friend Malevolent. He tried the Liric in a shop, and is going to try them again (I think tomorrow).

 

[Shane D]

I set my spl meter on max dB setting. Play some of a track and see what the max dB recorded is, then I do the same with a second HP and set the volume to where they are both maxing at the same dB. I am not really listening at 90dB sustained but a few notes here and there can hit that yes. I believe my avg dB’s listened to is around 80-85 dB most times. Hope that helps.

Wow, that's loud! I do the same thing, but my max is low 70's. To each their own.

 

[tesarpa]

I also thought I'm fine with 70 dB peaks, measured by SPL app on iPhone. But then I noticed I'm measuring with dB-A method, which covers mainly mid FQ. When switched to dB-C method (incl. lows and highs), I got closer to 80 dB. Which setting is the right one to understand the danger for my hearing, I do not know. I believe under 80 dB is safe anyway.

 

[Malevolent]

I had a second round of auditions with the Stealth and the LIRIC today. I had a great time comparing the 2 last Friday, I knew I had to go for a second bite.

This time around, I used a Chord Hugo TT 2, and my own Hugo 2, to drive the 2 headphones. Don't mind the DAVE in the photo, though; it was stacked in this manner as an earlier customer was having a go comparing the Qutest, the Hugo TT 2, and Chord's flagship. An aside: I think that particular customer was this close to getting the DAVE.

In any case, my impressions from the first set were well-and-truly confirmed today - the LIRIC retains its musical and engaging streak across both the Hugo 2 and the Hugo TT 2. It's still a fun, yet relatively detailed, headphone that you'd be happy to listen to your tunes - and enjoy them - with. It's not a tool for the critical listener, though; it's no surgeon's scalpel where absolute resolving ability is concerned. With that in mind, if you enjoy tight, slightly-elevated bass, with good impact and rumble, and a spicy, crispy treble that has good prominence and attack, but remains 1 or 2 rungs below the harsh and strident planes, the LIRIC would certainly tick your respective boxes.

On the other side of the coin, the Stealth still failed, in most parts, to conjure a magical and immersive listening experience. In my earlier post, I detailed how lackluster it appeared; this time around, with the help of the Hugo TT 2, the Stealth unveiled a sense of greater body and fullness in its tone. This afforded a meatier sound that added a touch of authority and warmth. Sadly, these improved aspects weren't enough to elevate the Stealth to a level that was exciting or musical. Rather, it remained somewhat dull, especially for EDM.

Don't get me wrong, though - the Stealth has its fans, and I can see its appeal, however niche it may seem from my perspective. Still, if you are a dance music fan, you would be hard pressed to derive high levels of emotion and passion from the Dan Clark Audio flagship. Rather, it presents the music like an artist would the many colors used to craft an art masterpiece - you spot the individual hues and strokes in vivid detail; however, the sum of its parts are less appealing than the micro-level examination of its composite units.

Consequently, after 2 auditions, I was sold on the LIRIC. I've purchased my own unit, and it should, hopefully, arrive within the next 2 weeks.

 

[CTR640]

@Malevolent
How are the vocals between the HP-3 and Liric? Are the vocals in the Liric exaggerated?

 

[SpeleoFool]

Here is a state of my current headphone collection.

Cool to see VC and LIRIC coexisting as closed back options. Those are my two ideal closed backs as well; I got LIRIC as an alternative to VC for more energetic genres, but found out I like how they do a lot of stuff. VC still has that unique ZMF lushness that's the best thing ever for certain vocal tracks, but I also like what LIRIC does with a lot of those same tracks, so now I have a couple superb closed options.

it's highly unlikely that people will use liric on the street with portable gear.

Lol. I literally did that last night--met up with a friend from Xbox at a Starbucks and had him listen to LIRIC from SP1K+Amp.

FWIW, external isolation is great--unless you're right on top of the listener, you won't hear sound bleeding out. And we were sitting right under an outdoor speaker playing whatever at a moderate volume, and for the most part LIRIC blocked that out (well enough for casual listening, certainly).

if noise isolation is very important like listening during flight, i'll rather turn to sony or bose's excellent anc headphones or tws.

Agreed--LIRIC isolation is perfect for an office environment (if you pause music you can hold a conversation without taking them off), but for a flight: MEST MkII customs. I will never fly without CIEMs again. I don't like ANC (feels like pressure on my ears), whereas I can use CIEMs as earplugs even if I don't want to listen to anything. It's remarkable to land after a cross-country flight, pop out my IEMs, and have fairly rested ears (as opposed to fatigue from hours of engine drone).

Now that I Think about it, maybe the strong amplification is why I have a different perception of Lirics Bass compared to most early reviewers here.

Yeah, this is quite possible. I have source-rolled mine from several amps, and LIRIC sounds good even straight out of an XBox controller for gaming, but they're clearly underpowered and have "thin" bass. It still sounds good, but it's lacking some punch that it present from better amps. It's not distorted or unpleasant, like I've heard from some bad pairings, but it's not the best version of LIRIC.

So far, I'm liking V280 for solid state (also heard and liked GSX Mini at CAF), and tubes (I have Pendant). Have also listened to them on A90 and SP1K. Will post more detailed impressions soon.

Any one with ether flow c for comparison?

Not the Flow, but I have Ether CX. As with Stealth, I've struggled to find a chain that makes CX engaging. LIRIC is all around better, particularly at staging and imaging, and it sounds more musical. But maybe that's Drop messing up the tuning? Would be interested to hear from Flow owners if that's any different.

 

[dadracer2]

The Empyrean is definitely the superior headphone of those two though.

I have to disagree. The Empyrean is an excellent headphone, but does not have the soundstage or neutrality that I prefer when you compare it to the HD800S.

 

[Ichos]

I have to disagree. The Empyrean is an excellent headphone, but does not have the soundstage or neutrality that I prefer when you compare it to the HD800S.

I wouldn't consider the HD800S as a neutral headphone.

 

[dadracer2]

I wouldn't consider the HD800S as a neutral headphone.

Well it is more neutral than most, and certainly more than the Empyrean to my ears. You are of course entitled to disagree by what your ears hear.

 

[HipHopScribe]

To talk about how "neutral" a headphone is, we'd have to agree on a target response first. I will say that I wouldn't personlly consider the HD 800 S ideal with it's boosted treble and sub-bass roll-off.

 

[Ichos]

Well it is more neutral than most, and certainly more than the Empyrean to my ears. You are of course entitled to disagree by what your ears hear.

I am not comparing with the Empyrean nor suggesting that the latter is neutral / more neutral than the HD800S.
Of course not.
But the HD800S isn't neutral either.
I have lived my whole life with HD800 and HD800S , I know...

 

[euter]

@Ichos Don’t you think, that HD800 are overall better headphones than “S” version?

 

[Ichos]

@Ichos Don’t you think, that HD800 are overall better headphones than “S” version?

No in general, I didn't like the HD800 and I switched to the HD800S which I liked better but still I couldn't stand the tonality so I sold them.
From a purely technical point of view when we consider detail retrieval and staging, the HD800 might come as better but the tonality is very flawed, at least for my preferences.

 

[Nostoi]

I have lived my whole life with HD800 and HD800S , I know...

That would mean you're 12 years old, which may be true.