[Stealthy Ninja]

First, just a correction. It seems the wire connecting the left ear Cup to the headband on the L1 is what is damaged, not the dangling down from the left ear Cup cable. After moving it about I can get the wire to connect if I hold it just right, so again I did some comparisons.

Just sat on my couch and listened to Frug in G major by Corduroy.

The L2 bass is less overpowering than the L1, but it seems quite clear to me (I don't like too much bass personally). The L1 can have a tendency to have the Mids and Highs overshadowed by bass. The L2 doesn't have this problem.

Another thing I noticed while listening to this song is the highs are more present with the L2. I can notice the high pitched sounds a lot more and they're clearer. This might be too much for people, I don't know. The thread starter did say they might be a bit too much for some tracks and become simbalant. I'd agree, but I actually like hearing high pitched details occasionally, though perhaps if a track had a lot of cymbals being hit over and over it could get distracting.

The Mids are similar, I think they're more clear on the L2 though as I have noticed overall vocals are more forward with the L2. This maybe because the bass is better controlled and less overpowering.

So again. The L2 is an nice improvement over the L1 in my opinion. They are not flat (I think that's the term). Philips has stated in one of their videos on YouTube something like (paraphrasing here) : We asked a lot of people about sound preferences and changed the sound to suit people's tastes.

So don't expect something that is intended for critical listening or whatever. It does sound nice to me though, and that's good I think.

 

[Stealthy Ninja]

Just did a quick comparison to my old K271. The L2 sounds closer to the AKG headphones but the L2 has more emphasis on highs. So I think it's safe to assume the L2 is more nutural than the L1.

Quick update. I pulled some wires out, did some slicing and soldering... Fixed my L1.

Even though I could theoretically return the L2 for exchange now I have the L1 fixed. I am still keeping the L2 and my daughter can keep the repaired L1. They're worth it.

 

[Teja]

Thank you again. More neutral and louder sounds great (Motörhead with the L1 and without an amp... oh boy ). I think the L1/L2 are together with the Momentum and the M100 the best designed portable headphones.

 

[Stealthy Ninja]

Thank you again. More neutral and louder sounds great (Motörhead with the L1 and without an amp... oh boy ). I think the L1/L2 are together with the Momentum and the M100 the best designed portable headphones.

I'd agree with that. I like the M100 apart from the bass being a bit strong. The momentums are ok too, I just don't like the momentum sound that much (I should say I prefer the L2 sound).

 

[apmusson]

Thank you for your impressions Stealthy Ninja.

I'm really looking forward to auditioning the l2s now.

 

[Teja]

Me2. I still hope they will release a non modern audiophile M100 because that would be my dream portable and I dig the fact that Val is such a maniac about his stuff (... or just a brilliant marketer. Dig that too )

 

[Trunks159]

+2

Nice simple impressions. Im almost sold.

 

[Stealthy Ninja]

I'd suggest trying them out before buying of course. Maybe my ears like things different.
 
I have been watching quite a few movies/TV shows with them lately and I've noticed that the voices are nice and clear and the atmospheric details (like people talking in the background) also are quite clear.  I'm not sure the term for this, but I would assume it's something like "clarity" or perhaps "separation".  At any rate it feels a lot like  I'm there in the scene, with someone talking in front of me (or perhaps in my head) and people all around me. I like the feeling myself. 
 
BTW being semi-open back the isolation won't be enough to block out the noise of bus engines, traffic etc. you'll also hear people talking around you (not as clearly as having no headphones on of course, but you'll hear them). As I said before it's mainly the lower frequency sounds that get in. So the effect is more of having the music within the scene you're involved in, rather than your own personal listening room (if that makes sense).  The isolation isn't bad though, if you compare it to other headphones (Shure 440 and AKG K271 are the headphones I have with me now) the isolation isn't worse than those two, just a little different (the Philips lets in more low frequency and less high, the other two kinda block everything but not quite as much high end frequencies).
 
IF you love bass and love being in your own world, I'd recommend the V-moda M100.  They have much better isolation, but with it comes the bass.
 
If you really must cut out all sounds then IEM are better as you all know.  That's why I have both.

 

 

[mrlawrence74]

what would be very interesting would be a comparison with the AKG K550 that are a reference. Wich one would have the best soundstage ?

 

[Stealthy Ninja]

Coming back after a while.  I also recently bought a Fisher Audio FA-003.
 
It seems (and it could be me getting used to it) that the L2's highs mellow with some burn in.  
 
Now comparing it with the FA-003 (which is known as a very neutral headphone).  The Philips has more highs and slightly less bass.  Vocals are a bit clearer with the L2, with the FA-003's vocals (mids?) and highs getting slightly overrun by bass.  The L2 is particularly good at bringing out electric guitar sounds.  Whereas the FA-002 has a what I'd call a more mellow presentation on the guitars. For example.  In the beginning of AC/DC's Thunder struck there's a mix of guitars and vocals.  With the L2 the guitar is stronger than the voices.  They are kinda even in presentation with the FA-003 (neutral indeed). The L2 certainly is a much more fun sounding headphone to my ears and ever so slightly better... that said... some people might get put off by the present highs (depends on your taste)... also...the FA-003 is an amazing headphone for the money.

 

[Trunks159]

Basically, the l2 is better than every closed headphone it competes with, but it has horrible isolation, and it may not compete with the mid fi open cans (DT880, K702, HD600, etc).

 

[Stealthy Ninja]

Well I don't know about better than every closed headphone it competes with, it would depend on if you like headphones without much bass and with emphasis on the highs.  I think the K702 would be better. I know the DT990 is better (and with that a lot of people would also like the DT880).  I haven't listened to the HD600 much, so no comment).
 
As for isolation:
Let me do the same test I did on isolation with the other headphones.  Right now I'm typing on my noisy keyboard with my FA-003 on.  I can hear the typing but it is quite muffled.  Mostly low frequencies are getting through... this one has the most isolation of the three I'm testing now...
 
Now I am typing with the L2.  A LOT more noise is getting through.  It is cutting out more high frequencies though (as I said before).
 
Now I'm typing with my UE TF-10 with custom ear moulds.  Only some high frequency clicking is getting in.
 
So yes, it doesn't have great isolation.  It lets in a lot of low frequency sounds in real use, which can be VERY annoying if you're walking past heavy traffic.  In Hong Kong we get quite a bit of traffic and when bus passes by it can get quite distracting with the L2 (and L1 before that). BUT there is one thing that kinda saves the L2 in this area.   It is easy to drive, so you can crank it up a bit and the noises are less distracting. On the way to work today I sat on a bus at the back (near the engine) and turned up my music one notch more than usual.  I had no problems at all.
 
If I'm watching a movie on the bus though I tend to use my IEMs, I want to hear what's going on.

 

[Snoopy Ears]

Is there a lot of sound leakage with the L2?  Will my office mates decide to put me in the janitors closet for listening to my music too loud?

 

[Snoopy Ears]

I feel like this is the ONE.  Anyone else read the 2013 Head-fi Winter Guide?

 

[Trunks159]

Oh! Nicely praised.  They still come out in the US in feb though!