[VocaloidDude]

So, after the fiasco I just went through with getting the audeze lcd-2 and having the driver on the right side of the headphone fail, I am back to the drawing board in trying to find a new suitable headphone as an upgrade to my sennheiser 650.
 
It seemed through all of the reviews I looked through that the LCD-2 would be the best upgrade I could hope for. A headphone that does well with poorly recorded music, but doesn't lack detail or dynamics; can be driven out of my schitz magni 2 and modi stack. Was ranked highest in my price range on the metal headphone ranking chart http://www.head-fi.org/t/715478/headphones-for-metal-music-ultimate-solution
 
So, with those criteria, I was hoping that maybe someone could shed some light on those 3 headphones I chose to put "vs" next to, or perhaps suggest another pair you think would do the job better. I was thinking that the focal elear sounds great because it has amazing dynamics supposedly. But I don't know if it would go well with the sort of music I listen to. 

 

[schroedk]

My first question would be to what music do you enjoy listening? Not knowing that, however, I can give you my impressions of 2 out of the 3 headphones on your list, as I own the PM-1 and the Elear (I also own a pair of Sennheiser HD800's, which I'll add in my comparison, since it's in your apparent price range). I have never heard the Audeze LCD-2, but from what I've read I'm sure they're very capable headphones.
 
All three of my headphones are open-backed, as I'm sure you're aware, so they lend to a more airy, open sound vs. closed-back (I have a pair of PM-3's as well, which sound great but different), and they're all in the $1000 price range. Most of my music is at least CD-quality FLAC rips, with a healthy mix of high-res 24/96 or 24/192 recordings in the mix. I enjoy a mix of classical, jazz, and classic rock, with some celtic and a variety of soundtracks thrown in.
 
The PM-1's are driven by an Oppo HA-1, with a Logitech Squeezebox Touch as the source. 
 
The Elears are driven by a Cambridge DacMagic 100/Beyerdynamic A20 combo, with another Touch as the source.
 
The HD800's are driven by a Marantz DAC1 with a Bluesound Node 2 as the source.
 
Right now, I'm still in the process of breaking in the Elears, which have a Moon Audio Silver Dragon cable terminating with an unbalanced 3/4" plug. The cable on the HD800s is a Cardas with an unbalanced 3/4" that I bought as open-box, and the PM-1's are with an Oppo balanced cable.
 
That out of the way...
 
I have no true favorite, and give about equal time to them all, depending on my mood, and where I am in the house (different setups, different rooms).
 
The most comparable to each other are the PM-1's and the Elears. They're both fairly flat in the frequency response, although the Elears have a bit more oomph on the low end. The Elears are a bit more refined and articulate than the PM-1s, more like you're "in the room" listening to the instruments vs. the PM-1's. The soundstage is fairly identical, more "in your head" vs. open and 3-dimensional, but similar to most high-end headphones I've heard.
 
The soundstage is what sets the HD800's apart from the other two. However, they lack the low-end response and are a bit more harsh in the upper treble. However, when listening to classical or well-recorded jazz, I find that I'm more drawn into the performance as a whole with the HD800s vs. with the PM-1's or the Elears.
 
I think you'd be happy with any of the three headphones in your list, quite honestly. They're all fairly forgiving on lower-quality source tracks (I do stream some Spotify, and they all do fairly well). Price may help in your decision, as the PM-1s and HD800s (if you add them into consideration) can be found a little cheaper than they once were. I hope this comparison helps a little bit on your quest, if you haven't already made a decision.

 

[VocaloidDude]

  My first question would be to what music do you enjoy listening? Not knowing that, however, I can give you my impressions of 2 out of the 3 headphones on your list, as I own the PM-1 and the Elear (I also own a pair of Sennheiser HD800's, which I'll add in my comparison, since it's in your apparent price range). I have never heard the Audeze LCD-2, but from what I've read I'm sure they're very capable headphones.
 
All three of my headphones are open-backed, as I'm sure you're aware, so they lend to a more airy, open sound vs. closed-back (I have a pair of PM-3's as well, which sound great but different), and they're all in the $1000 price range. Most of my music is at least CD-quality FLAC rips, with a healthy mix of high-res 24/96 or 24/192 recordings in the mix. I enjoy a mix of classical, jazz, and classic rock, with some celtic and a variety of soundtracks thrown in.
 
The PM-1's are driven by an Oppo HA-1, with a Logitech Squeezebox Touch as the source. 
 
The Elears are driven by a Cambridge DacMagic 100/Beyerdynamic A20 combo, with another Touch as the source.
 
The HD800's are driven by a Marantz DAC1 with a Bluesound Node 2 as the source.
 
Right now, I'm still in the process of breaking in the Elears, which have a Moon Audio Silver Dragon cable terminating with an unbalanced 3/4" plug. The cable on the HD800s is a Cardas with an unbalanced 3/4" that I bought as open-box, and the PM-1's are with an Oppo balanced cable.
 
That out of the way...
 
I have no true favorite, and give about equal time to them all, depending on my mood, and where I am in the house (different setups, different rooms).
 
The most comparable to each other are the PM-1's and the Elears. They're both fairly flat in the frequency response, although the Elears have a bit more oomph on the low end. The Elears are a bit more refined and articulate than the PM-1s, more like you're "in the room" listening to the instruments vs. the PM-1's. The soundstage is fairly identical, more "in your head" vs. open and 3-dimensional, but similar to most high-end headphones I've heard.
 
The soundstage is what sets the HD800's apart from the other two. However, they lack the low-end response and are a bit more harsh in the upper treble. However, when listening to classical or well-recorded jazz, I find that I'm more drawn into the performance as a whole with the HD800s vs. with the PM-1's or the Elears.
 
I think you'd be happy with any of the three headphones in your list, quite honestly. They're all fairly forgiving on lower-quality source tracks (I do stream some Spotify, and they all do fairly well). Price may help in your decision, as the PM-1s and HD800s (if you add them into consideration) can be found a little cheaper than they once were. I hope this comparison helps a little bit on your quest, if you haven't already made a decision.

Thank you for the reply! My listening habits of the past 5 years can be seen here http://www.last.fm/user/metaldiscussor
 
artists from the past year
https://www.last.fm/user/metaldiscussor/library/artists?date_preset=LAST_365_DAYS
 
overall artists 
https://www.last.fm/user/metaldiscussor/library/artists?date_preset=ALL_TIME
 

 
This is the genre folders I have in my sorted music section, but I also keep a hell of a lot more music in various other folders which aren't as well organized. 
 
This library extends all the way back to my teenage years, so there's a lot of variable bit rate in there. More recently I've been downloading in only flac when I can. 

 

[Dman23]

What did you ultimately decide and what's changed since?

 

[airil]

So habe u decided or have u bought anything? I am in between the Elear and LCD-2 currently.