It has been interesting journey with my Argon’s. Starting with the the weak Amp on the dragonfly red they were slow, bloated, congested and had rolled off highs. I was going to sell them. Then I got the 789 amp but my Argon’s were single ended and so, at 50 ohms, the 789 can only feed them 0.9 watts but that really cleaned them up. everything tightened up and the highs are not only more extended but noticeably smoother. I then took my them apart and installed 3.5 mm sockets in each cup so I can now run them balanced out of my 789. At 50 ohms that is about 4.5 watts. Wow what a difference! The bass got even tighter, the mids came forward and the top end extended even further... Uh oh!! These were now quickly dethroning most of my best headphones. The last thing I did was finally take Ryan’s advice and switched from the lambkin pads to the protein pads and that was nothing short of amazing! Remarkably cleaner from top to bottom. I have now been using them for about a month and am finding it impossible to use my other phones. My hd600 sounds like a child’s toy - thin, shouty, grainy and narrow.. My Elex sounds fake, sterile and harsh. The LCD2c gets demolished in almost every category. IMO, other than maybe better definition in the mids and possibly better layering, there is nothing that the LCD2c does better than this Argon. I agree with the DMS review, every time I put these on I think to myself What is happening?? I usually have little interest in EDM but If you have these with a super clean and powerful amp try Infected Mushroom - Head of NASA or the Blade runner 2049 soundtrack... What is happening inside my head
The fun dimension aside, for rock, folk, vocal, acoustic and EDM they are extraordinary! I still prefer my Elex for classical and my Nighthawks and Nightowls will always have a very special place in my heart. Also, If you use headphones for movies and TV this is best Headphone on the planet. For those that don’t already own this, the one drawback is, you can’t just order it on amazon and plug it in to any amp. You can usually find them for around 350 used or you need to order a t50rp, ship it to Modhouse and wait 2-3 months. You must also have an SS amp that is very clean, NOT warm and puts out at least 3 watts of power. As my journey shows, the more power the better the sound.