gasmd
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2010
- Posts
- 52
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- 10
My current rig: foobar with wasapi -> flac, pandora and grooveshark -> 192kbps ---> bifrost -> lyr ->lcd2 rev2. No more upgrades for me! (other than maybe a new cable.. but that's it..)
After trying out a few different iterations in my rig, I'm finally very happy with my current rig. By no means am I wealthy, so at this point the cost/benefit ratio gets exceedingly high for my budget. To those starting off with headfi, I would never have thought I'd spend this much money on my rig a year ago.
I probably don't have audiophile ears, but here are my thoughts on what I've purchased/tried so far.
My first rig: udac2 -> grado sr325is chromies.
Buying new, these headphones were so shrill! Psychologically or physically.. I felt they did mellow out after some hours of burn in. The highs were very articulate and clear, mids were adequate (nothing to write home about) , bass has a slight hump and nice thump/heft to their sound, but definitely a drop off in the sub regions. The resolution on these cans are average but commensurate to their price point. I thoroughly enjoyed them with rock, but for some tracks they can be rather bright and nonforgiving.
Beyer T1s: These headphones are a fun and comfortable pair of headphones, and moving from the 325is, I was immediately struck by how much better the resolution were compared to the 325is. The highs tended to be sparkly but never shrill or fatiguing like the 325is on certain tracks. Imaging was also definitely improved and I could better pinpoint instruments in the jazz at the pawnshop album. On a whole they felt so much more involving and immersive (or "musical" as we often hear here) than the grados. Unfortunately my lyr hadn't come yet so I only used them with the udac2 but I would assume they would have been even better with better amping.
HD800s with Lyr: I was immediately impressed by the huge soundstage. Instruments were separated very widely apart in a lateral direction. This was really cool in the beginning, but after getting used to these headphones this quality did not stick out or impress as much. They are super resolving throughout, especially in the highs, but I think they lose to the lcd2s in the sub regions. Surprisingly, I found that I suffered fatigue from these headphones after listening to certain tracks. Some vocals tended to be excessively sibilant for my preference. I also found a lack of bass thump/heft and overall body to music that I had with the T1s. I suspect this could be remedied by a better quality amp, but there is no way I could justify spending more than what I currently had, so these had to go.
LCD2 rev2s: heavier, not as comfortable as HD800s. Holy **** these sound good though. There is so much blatant fanboyism and defensiveness in these forums that I was initially adverse to buying these headphones. My loss! First thing that stoodout was the sub bass. They were an improvement in all the above headphones, (including the improperly amped hd800s). Just so much more texture, the right amount of weight/body to them. Where they really stand out though, is with vocals, female vocals in particular. They are AMAZING. There is a nice lushness/liquidiness to them that I can't otherwise describe. There is a slight loss of resolution in the highs compared to the hd800s, but I don't care, there is no more sharpness or excessive sibilance that's fatiguing to me.
So there you have it, no more changes for me. I mainly felt that the HD800s could not perform well enough with the Lyr, but the LCD2s make a great match. Otherwise, the T1s would have been a good 2nd choice for it. How do my thoughts jive with other's impressions?
After trying out a few different iterations in my rig, I'm finally very happy with my current rig. By no means am I wealthy, so at this point the cost/benefit ratio gets exceedingly high for my budget. To those starting off with headfi, I would never have thought I'd spend this much money on my rig a year ago.
I probably don't have audiophile ears, but here are my thoughts on what I've purchased/tried so far.
My first rig: udac2 -> grado sr325is chromies.
Buying new, these headphones were so shrill! Psychologically or physically.. I felt they did mellow out after some hours of burn in. The highs were very articulate and clear, mids were adequate (nothing to write home about) , bass has a slight hump and nice thump/heft to their sound, but definitely a drop off in the sub regions. The resolution on these cans are average but commensurate to their price point. I thoroughly enjoyed them with rock, but for some tracks they can be rather bright and nonforgiving.
Beyer T1s: These headphones are a fun and comfortable pair of headphones, and moving from the 325is, I was immediately struck by how much better the resolution were compared to the 325is. The highs tended to be sparkly but never shrill or fatiguing like the 325is on certain tracks. Imaging was also definitely improved and I could better pinpoint instruments in the jazz at the pawnshop album. On a whole they felt so much more involving and immersive (or "musical" as we often hear here) than the grados. Unfortunately my lyr hadn't come yet so I only used them with the udac2 but I would assume they would have been even better with better amping.
HD800s with Lyr: I was immediately impressed by the huge soundstage. Instruments were separated very widely apart in a lateral direction. This was really cool in the beginning, but after getting used to these headphones this quality did not stick out or impress as much. They are super resolving throughout, especially in the highs, but I think they lose to the lcd2s in the sub regions. Surprisingly, I found that I suffered fatigue from these headphones after listening to certain tracks. Some vocals tended to be excessively sibilant for my preference. I also found a lack of bass thump/heft and overall body to music that I had with the T1s. I suspect this could be remedied by a better quality amp, but there is no way I could justify spending more than what I currently had, so these had to go.
LCD2 rev2s: heavier, not as comfortable as HD800s. Holy **** these sound good though. There is so much blatant fanboyism and defensiveness in these forums that I was initially adverse to buying these headphones. My loss! First thing that stoodout was the sub bass. They were an improvement in all the above headphones, (including the improperly amped hd800s). Just so much more texture, the right amount of weight/body to them. Where they really stand out though, is with vocals, female vocals in particular. They are AMAZING. There is a nice lushness/liquidiness to them that I can't otherwise describe. There is a slight loss of resolution in the highs compared to the hd800s, but I don't care, there is no more sharpness or excessive sibilance that's fatiguing to me.
So there you have it, no more changes for me. I mainly felt that the HD800s could not perform well enough with the Lyr, but the LCD2s make a great match. Otherwise, the T1s would have been a good 2nd choice for it. How do my thoughts jive with other's impressions?
