[Mortalcoil]

  Welcome to the view from a mountaintop. At this level of headphone enjoyment it is imperative that a person listen on their own and not rely solely on opinions. I have had the Abyss and HE1000's in house with the 430HA-D I own the HD800's and the LCD-X so I get plenty of time with them and the Moon. I have also gotten a fair amount of time at shows with the LCD-4's. While I can comment on what I have heard, I would not want to characterize any of them as definitively "Better". You are comparing several TOTL cans that all bring their own unique flagship properties to the table.

 
 
   Having said that however which of those mentioned scales the best / most noticeable in relation to the 430HA in your opinion?

 

[longbowbbs]

 

  Welcome to the view from a mountaintop. At this level of headphone enjoyment it is imperative that a person listen on their own and not rely solely on opinions. I have had the Abyss and HE1000's in house with the 430HA-D I own the HD800's and the LCD-X so I get plenty of time with them and the Moon. I have also gotten a fair amount of time at shows with the LCD-4's. While I can comment on what I have heard, I would not want to characterize any of them as definitively "Better". You are comparing several TOTL cans that all bring their own unique flagship properties to the table.

 
 
   Having said that however which of those mentioned scales the best / most noticeable in relation to the 430HA in your opinion?

 
Going to have me hoist my own petard eh?
 
For me it is a fight between the HE1000's and the LCD-4's. For me this is also a question of value. I am on record as believing the Abyss is amazing tech that relative to what it provides is somewhat overpriced. Is it a TOTL HP, yes. Worth $5k relative to what else is out there at less, IMHO no. But that is purely my personal perspective. Others have clearly felt it was a worthwhile purchase. Hence my previous post about trying your own mountaintop. 
 
Between the LCD-4's and the HE1000's now you are arguing about which flavor is better rather than which is the only #1 choice. The LCD-X's & HD800's are not far behind. No one is suffering at these levels (except their wallet!)

 

[john777]

Welcome to the view from a mountaintop. At this level of headphone enjoyment it is imperative that a person listen on their own and not rely solely on opinions. I have had the Abyss and HE1000's in house with the 430HA-D I own the HD800's and the LCD-X so I get plenty of time with them and the Moon. I have also gotten a fair amount of time at shows with the LCD-4's. While I can comment on what I have heard, I would not want to characterize any of them as definitively "Better". You are comparing several TOTL cans that all bring their own unique flagship properties to the table.

I agree with you totally, but as I said in my previous post I cannot get out and try all these 'mountaintop' headphones. And my health problems are one of the main reasons I want to get / need to get an amp and headphones that will last me until it all comes to an end... What was that called? Catch 22?

 

[longbowbbs]

 

Welcome to the view from a mountaintop. At this level of headphone enjoyment it is imperative that a person listen on their own and not rely solely on opinions. I have had the Abyss and HE1000's in house with the 430HA-D I own the HD800's and the LCD-X so I get plenty of time with them and the Moon. I have also gotten a fair amount of time at shows with the LCD-4's. While I can comment on what I have heard, I would not want to characterize any of them as definitively "Better". You are comparing several TOTL cans that all bring their own unique flagship properties to the table.

I agree with you totally, but as I said in my previous post I cannot get out and try all these 'mountaintop' headphones. And my health problems are one of the main reasons I want to get / need to get an amp and headphones that will last me until it all comes to an end... What was that called? Catch 22?

Yes... Catch 22. So space vs clarity/Speed? HD800/HE1000 vs Audeze/Abyss....

 

[draytonklammer]

I may be totally off base here but I might be inclined to beleive that the HE-1000 might not scale as well as an Abyss or a LCD-4.  Meaning that in order to take full advantage of all that 430HA goodness one may look at other top tier headphone offerings besides the HE-1000.

As mentioned however I may be totally off base on this one :rolleyes:

Anyway you slice it though its a good problem to have.

In my experience this is correct with the moon.

 

[jlbrach]

The HE1000 is one of the handful of absolute best cans that exist....i own them along with the LCD-4 and the HD800S and I have the 430 on the way...i have no question the HE1000 will be able to take advantage of it

 

[jlbrach]

received my 430 and have been giving it a listen with my LCD-4's and my HD800S's....lots of burn in to do but one thing i can say for sure it has a nice wide soundstage and terrific instrument separation and of course this is essentially cold....another thing i will say is the LCD-4's really do need power.....on low gain I am listening between 50-60 for the most part and most of the time around 55-56 or so and around 45-50 with the HD800S's.....looking forward to hearing the improvement as time goes on

 

[Sonic Guild]

  received my 430 and have been giving it a listen with my LCD-4's and my HD800S's....lots of burn in to do but one thing i can say for sure it has a nice wide soundstage and terrific instrument separation and of course this is essentially cold....another thing i will say is the LCD-4's really do need power.....on low gain I am listening between 50-60 for the most part and most of the time around 55-56 or so and around 45-50 with the HD800S's.....looking forward to hearing the improvement as time goes on

Congrats!
 
Low gain (45-50 vol) + HD800S ?

 

[draytonklammer]

That moment when I realize I might be damaging my hearing.

My LCD-4 is on high gain around 55-60.

 

[jlbrach]

I am 55-60 on low gain with the LCD-4 and the 430....55-60 on high gain is probably too much for my ears

 

[john777]

received my 430 and have been giving it a listen with my LCD-4's and my HD800S's....lots of burn in to do but one thing i can say for sure it has a nice wide soundstage and terrific instrument separation and of course this is essentially cold....another thing i will say is the LCD-4's really do need power.....on low gain I am listening between 50-60 for the most part and most of the time around 55-56 or so and around 45-50 with the HD800S's.....looking forward to hearing the improvement as time goes on

So, how is it with the HE-1000s you said you also had?

 

[jlbrach]

sounds great with everything i throw at it and it gets better as it burns in

 

[jlbrach]

am on high gain now...45-50 pretty much occasionally a bit higher when listening to a non compressed album......sounds great on the LCD-4 ,HE1000 and the HD800S....the LCD-4 needs tons power

 

[dnlee480]

Might be selling my gear if anyone is interested.  430ha and HD800s

 

[john777]

Might be selling my gear if anyone is interested.  430ha and HD800s

That's all last year's stuff. We've all moved on now...