I have been looking for a pair of closed, clear headphones. I was happy to consider outright neutral, or something a bit warmer for relaxing listening. I have kindly been sent a pair of Premium Hi-Fi headphones by Lindy for review. I was very much looking forward to finding out which position they would occupy and whether they would fit the bill.
With the preamble over, let's get down to business. I'm not going to open with the usual unboxing comments, save for a couple of photos, because it's the sound that we're interested in. I will return to non-sound thoughts towards the end.
Preliminary Listening
Initially, I wanted to just listen and absorb the experience, without being critical and certainly not make comparisons. The aim was to get a sense of what was worth investigating more critically; what stood out, both good and bad. A couple of things grabbed me. Firstly, the pizzicato and smoothness of the strings in the middle section of the Hebrides' Overture (Mendelssohn). Secondly, subtlety and nuance in Concerto In F (Gershwin). I intended picking one movement from this but soon decided I wanted to listen to it all. I quickly realised that I was going to have to break out the big guns (well, my best headphones at least) for the comparisons.
Comparison With HD600
The bulk of the review is a comparison test against the Sennheiser HD600. This is a well-known headphone and I'll try to use non-obscure but telling tracks. I used an Audio-GD Sparrow (AD1852) throughout. At this point the Lindy had less than five hours use.
HoneyDripper (Jools Holland Beatroute album)
I'll kick off with probably the least known piece (d'oh!). This piece has lots of percussion and dynamics, trios of brass and wind and several background instruments. It has a jazz/swing feel. The Lindy bring out the percussion. The 'hits' are dynamic and have punch. I expected the brass to be less delicate and have more rasp at the top end, it's that kind of piece. The sound felt marginally too polite. The individual instruments could be identified in the chords. The HD600 yield a more delicate presentation, with cymbals and brass more exposed. Immediately it is clear that the Lindy have more low-frequency presence, or at least drums are more pronounced. The Lindy are more full-bodied but not Denon-like.
Canon In D (Pachelbel)
This is a string quartet piece that starts slowly and gradually builds in intensity. Individual instruments and cohesiveness of a small group are important here. As noted with the brass above, the Lindy have smooth highs that seem to extend well enough. The HD600 present more edge to the upper strings and there appears to be more energy in the music. The Lindy have the edge in (double) bass volume in the opening section but the airiness of the HD600 creates the impression of delivering more nuances.
Katie Melua
I played a selection of pieces but let's face it, there isn't a massive variation in style
Doesn't stop me liking these tracks.
The HD600 has a lighter presentation and the vocals are more brittle, perhaps demonstrating more detail. The Lindy present a full and smooth sound. If you're looking for a relaxing, laid back session that seemed to envelope you and shut out everything else, this is it. I hesitate to make a comparison with the HD650 because I haven't spent long enough with those but my recollection and other descriptions on here match my description of the Lindy with this music.
Dave Brubeck (At Carnegie Hall: Blue Rondo, Castillan Drums (4:00 - 5:40))
The Lindy have more weight but the HD600 gives a tighter presentation. Both convey the subtleties and dynamics of Castillan Drums. The Lindy may need to be played a little louder for all of the nuances to show through. Overall, the Lindy certainly don't languish behind the HD600 and I'd say it's down to preference of presentation.
Gershwin (Rhapsody In Blue, Concerto In F)
The Lindy are less brash and at times convey the music less well because of that. Conversely, when passages are supposed to be smooth, the Lindy can be sublime. The piano and timpani (I think) have great weight.
I have more but I think we're getting the picture here. It may strike you that I've not written a great deal in each section. I haven't been intentionally [concise/pithy/lazy/useless]*. It transpires that the Lindy are not outclassed by the HD600 and they are similar enough that there is no need for copious notes on how they perform or differ. They both attempt to convey music in a neutral and detailed manner and both succeed, albeit with slightly differing presentations. I consider the fact that I found myself largely considering which presentation I preferred (and not uncovering deficiencies) testament to the SQ of the Lindy.
[]* delete as appropriate
Comparison With HD497
I have also compared the Lindy directly with the Sennheiser HD497. The reasoning here was that the HD497 originally retailed at c.£70, almost the same as the Lindy. I suspect no-one ever paid close to that (I know I didn't!) but nevertheless, it seemed a fair test. Since the HD497 will be much less familiar to most head-fiers, I'll comment only briefly.
It was one of those comparisons where you think you hear something only in one set of headphones, only to then discover it in the other. However, the initial discoveries were usually with the Lindy, which is often a good indication of superiority. The more I listened, the more the Lindy seemed to pull ahead in realism and instrument separation. The Lindy are able to pull off that trick of instrument separation while maintaining a cohesive musical message. Despite still having less then 15 hours on them, I would pick the Lindy over the HD497.
Sound Summary
To summarise the sound, the Lindy present a neutral, full yet detailed, laid-back sound. The highs are smooth and pleasant, extend well enough and will not fatigue. I know that my descriptions can make them appear on the heavy side. This is in comparison to the HD600. If you told me either is neutral I would believe you and the other is not far off. I recently played a Schimmel grand piano. It sounded more bass heavy than I am used to. The tone cannot be wrong, it's an acoustic instrument! My point is, I cannot determine from recordings alone which is correct because neither impart a bias significant enough that anything sounds unrealistic. Both of these headphones have the chameleon-like ability to change with the music. The Lindy present a sound stage with good instrument separation and a sense of space.
Non-Sound Considerations
These are the things that aren't important if the sound isn't up to scratch but may be secondary priorities.
The headphones come with a soft, foam-padded carry case, including a spare set of protein leather pads (the same as on the headphones). The grey-silver plates are metal. I think the pads are real leather but can't be sure, and are very soft. While they conform well to the head, I don't know how well they'll keep their depth. The case foam is contoured to the headphones, which is nice. The cable is detachable, which is a plus. Two things I think could be improved with the case: i) the headphones don't fit in the case with the cable attached; ii) the spare pads (and cable) just rest in with the headphones and have a tendency to become mis-shapen to fit in there.
The headphones have a secure fit. There's plenty of cushioning in the pads, so they don't clamp. The only concern here is squashing the pads. These headphones are bulky, so you'll be conscious you're wearing them but they're not heavy or uncomfortable.
I almost forgot to mention isolation, after all, these are closed phones. They muffle external sounds enough that they're mostly not a problem when listening at a low level. My PC fan is easily audible normally and that is all but cut out. They won't block sound in a noisy environment.
Final Thoughts
The Lindy don't do much wrong and do nothing objectionable. (Where have I seen that before? ) Given the current price of the HD600, the Lindy represent remarkable value. I think if I could own only one, disregarding price, it would be the HD600. However, if I had heard only the Lindy I would not be disappointed at all with them. If I had to factor in cost, I think I would find it difficult to justify the HD600. Having both around, I would pick between these two based on my mood. For a relaxing session where I want the music to wash over me, I would pick the Lindy. For me, they pretty much perfectly fill a niche, so it's very easy for me to like them.
Hopefully the comparisons and comments here will give a good indication of what the Lindy headphones offer but as always, remain cognisant of what you're searching for.
I know that there has been much interest in these and the FA-003. As far as I'm aware, only Ulti has heard both pairs and here's what he has to say http://www.head-fi.org/t/491632/review-fischer-audio-fa-003-a-neutral-champ/2175#post_7941608
While they may or may not be identical, they're obviously pretty close.
With the preamble over, let's get down to business. I'm not going to open with the usual unboxing comments, save for a couple of photos, because it's the sound that we're interested in. I will return to non-sound thoughts towards the end.
Preliminary Listening
Initially, I wanted to just listen and absorb the experience, without being critical and certainly not make comparisons. The aim was to get a sense of what was worth investigating more critically; what stood out, both good and bad. A couple of things grabbed me. Firstly, the pizzicato and smoothness of the strings in the middle section of the Hebrides' Overture (Mendelssohn). Secondly, subtlety and nuance in Concerto In F (Gershwin). I intended picking one movement from this but soon decided I wanted to listen to it all. I quickly realised that I was going to have to break out the big guns (well, my best headphones at least) for the comparisons.
Comparison With HD600
The bulk of the review is a comparison test against the Sennheiser HD600. This is a well-known headphone and I'll try to use non-obscure but telling tracks. I used an Audio-GD Sparrow (AD1852) throughout. At this point the Lindy had less than five hours use.
HoneyDripper (Jools Holland Beatroute album)
I'll kick off with probably the least known piece (d'oh!). This piece has lots of percussion and dynamics, trios of brass and wind and several background instruments. It has a jazz/swing feel. The Lindy bring out the percussion. The 'hits' are dynamic and have punch. I expected the brass to be less delicate and have more rasp at the top end, it's that kind of piece. The sound felt marginally too polite. The individual instruments could be identified in the chords. The HD600 yield a more delicate presentation, with cymbals and brass more exposed. Immediately it is clear that the Lindy have more low-frequency presence, or at least drums are more pronounced. The Lindy are more full-bodied but not Denon-like.
Canon In D (Pachelbel)
This is a string quartet piece that starts slowly and gradually builds in intensity. Individual instruments and cohesiveness of a small group are important here. As noted with the brass above, the Lindy have smooth highs that seem to extend well enough. The HD600 present more edge to the upper strings and there appears to be more energy in the music. The Lindy have the edge in (double) bass volume in the opening section but the airiness of the HD600 creates the impression of delivering more nuances.
Katie Melua
I played a selection of pieces but let's face it, there isn't a massive variation in style
Doesn't stop me liking these tracks.The HD600 has a lighter presentation and the vocals are more brittle, perhaps demonstrating more detail. The Lindy present a full and smooth sound. If you're looking for a relaxing, laid back session that seemed to envelope you and shut out everything else, this is it. I hesitate to make a comparison with the HD650 because I haven't spent long enough with those but my recollection and other descriptions on here match my description of the Lindy with this music.
Dave Brubeck (At Carnegie Hall: Blue Rondo, Castillan Drums (4:00 - 5:40))
The Lindy have more weight but the HD600 gives a tighter presentation. Both convey the subtleties and dynamics of Castillan Drums. The Lindy may need to be played a little louder for all of the nuances to show through. Overall, the Lindy certainly don't languish behind the HD600 and I'd say it's down to preference of presentation.
Gershwin (Rhapsody In Blue, Concerto In F)
The Lindy are less brash and at times convey the music less well because of that. Conversely, when passages are supposed to be smooth, the Lindy can be sublime. The piano and timpani (I think) have great weight.
I have more but I think we're getting the picture here. It may strike you that I've not written a great deal in each section. I haven't been intentionally [concise/pithy/lazy/useless]*. It transpires that the Lindy are not outclassed by the HD600 and they are similar enough that there is no need for copious notes on how they perform or differ. They both attempt to convey music in a neutral and detailed manner and both succeed, albeit with slightly differing presentations. I consider the fact that I found myself largely considering which presentation I preferred (and not uncovering deficiencies) testament to the SQ of the Lindy.
[]* delete as appropriate
Comparison With HD497
I have also compared the Lindy directly with the Sennheiser HD497. The reasoning here was that the HD497 originally retailed at c.£70, almost the same as the Lindy. I suspect no-one ever paid close to that (I know I didn't!) but nevertheless, it seemed a fair test. Since the HD497 will be much less familiar to most head-fiers, I'll comment only briefly.
It was one of those comparisons where you think you hear something only in one set of headphones, only to then discover it in the other. However, the initial discoveries were usually with the Lindy, which is often a good indication of superiority. The more I listened, the more the Lindy seemed to pull ahead in realism and instrument separation. The Lindy are able to pull off that trick of instrument separation while maintaining a cohesive musical message. Despite still having less then 15 hours on them, I would pick the Lindy over the HD497.
Sound Summary
To summarise the sound, the Lindy present a neutral, full yet detailed, laid-back sound. The highs are smooth and pleasant, extend well enough and will not fatigue. I know that my descriptions can make them appear on the heavy side. This is in comparison to the HD600. If you told me either is neutral I would believe you and the other is not far off. I recently played a Schimmel grand piano. It sounded more bass heavy than I am used to. The tone cannot be wrong, it's an acoustic instrument! My point is, I cannot determine from recordings alone which is correct because neither impart a bias significant enough that anything sounds unrealistic. Both of these headphones have the chameleon-like ability to change with the music. The Lindy present a sound stage with good instrument separation and a sense of space.
Non-Sound Considerations
These are the things that aren't important if the sound isn't up to scratch but may be secondary priorities.
The headphones come with a soft, foam-padded carry case, including a spare set of protein leather pads (the same as on the headphones). The grey-silver plates are metal. I think the pads are real leather but can't be sure, and are very soft. While they conform well to the head, I don't know how well they'll keep their depth. The case foam is contoured to the headphones, which is nice. The cable is detachable, which is a plus. Two things I think could be improved with the case: i) the headphones don't fit in the case with the cable attached; ii) the spare pads (and cable) just rest in with the headphones and have a tendency to become mis-shapen to fit in there.
The headphones have a secure fit. There's plenty of cushioning in the pads, so they don't clamp. The only concern here is squashing the pads. These headphones are bulky, so you'll be conscious you're wearing them but they're not heavy or uncomfortable.
I almost forgot to mention isolation, after all, these are closed phones. They muffle external sounds enough that they're mostly not a problem when listening at a low level. My PC fan is easily audible normally and that is all but cut out. They won't block sound in a noisy environment.
Final Thoughts
The Lindy don't do much wrong and do nothing objectionable. (Where have I seen that before?
) Given the current price of the HD600, the Lindy represent remarkable value. I think if I could own only one, disregarding price, it would be the HD600. However, if I had heard only the Lindy I would not be disappointed at all with them. If I had to factor in cost, I think I would find it difficult to justify the HD600. Having both around, I would pick between these two based on my mood. For a relaxing session where I want the music to wash over me, I would pick the Lindy. For me, they pretty much perfectly fill a niche, so it's very easy for me to like them.Hopefully the comparisons and comments here will give a good indication of what the Lindy headphones offer but as always, remain cognisant of what you're searching for.
I know that there has been much interest in these and the FA-003. As far as I'm aware, only Ulti has heard both pairs and here's what he has to say http://www.head-fi.org/t/491632/review-fischer-audio-fa-003-a-neutral-champ/2175#post_7941608
While they may or may not be identical, they're obviously pretty close.
