[Sonic Guild]

Hi, 
 
I am looking for a headphones that complement the LCDF. I am in between the HD800 "S" and Ether "open".
What do you think? 

 

[NA Blur]

The Ether is going to be similar enough and a downgrade so I would not recommend it. The HD800 is great and very impactful and detailed for a dynamic driver headphone. You can always save yourself a ton of cash and go with an HD800 and apply the Anax mod to it which would approach the sound of the HD800s.

 

[SeaWo|f]

I'd go with the hd800 original like blur said. Since the hd800s nut only cost a lot more but I have heard it sacrifices in the areas of sound stage and instrument separation to smooth the frequency response.

Since you already have a very smooth totl line headphone i would think what the original hd800 brings to the table is a better compliment.

 

[Sonic Guild]

Are you saying that the Anax mod will be better compared to the HD800 "S"?
 
Just came to my mind the HE1000, will complement the LCD3F?  OR do you recommend the HD800 "S".
 
 
To drive the phones, I am using the Moon HA430.
 
I am not quite sure but when I demoed the HE1000, I didn't find them night and day different from the LCD3F. But this is just a comparison based on memory NOT next to each other. 

 

[SeaWo|f]

.  
I am not quite sure but when I demoed the HE1000, I didn't find them night and day different from the LCD3F. But this is just a comparison based on memory NOT next to each other. 

 
To me with both cans on the HeadAmp gsxmkii in terms of technicalities they are not night and day, they are pretty damn close. However in terms of delivery they are very different. If money is not a factor I would pair the LCD-3f with the HeK. I feel like most of the areas that the HD800 excels in the Hek takes it to another level with out the treble issues of the HD800. The HD800 may do better in sound stage and imaging but not by much and the sacrifice of dealing the treble would push me to the Hek. Hell I might end up with this pairing myself if audeze never works out the driver failures on the lcd-4. The smooth delivery of the lcd3f is seductive and a lot of fun to listen to especially if one is trying to relax and not be critical about things. But if I want the headphones to just step out of the way and hear deeply into what is on the recording the Hek is superb. For myself listening back to back the lcd3f and HeK are dramatically different FWIW. 

 

[NA Blur]

The HE-1000 is tricky because upon first listen you might really like it, but due to some build quality issues and ultimately how it sounds it will become rather boring and I know a few people at meets and up not really liking it. The HD800 has awesome build quality from a team not known to pull punches in this area and their engineers are very honest about their intentions. Don't get me wrong, the HE-1000 is a cool headphone and all, but just not justifiable for its price. The HE-400i will get you super close. this is from experience, and it costs less than 1/3 the price of the HE-1000.
 
It can be hard to separate cost from performance in this hobby, but doing so can really save you some money and still deliver the sound quality you are after. Now the looks of a headphone are another matter.

 

[Sonic Guild]

Thank you guys for the recommendation.
 
All of you suggested the HD800 instead of the HE1000 and Ether.
 
But why non of you has mentioned the new HD800"S".
 
 
Here is my feeling about the HD 800 "S", Senheiser  managed to develop a perfectly natural and accurate headphones long time ago. I am talking about the HD800.
 
They developed headphones that produce an accurate sound that reflect the "real" nature of the song. This is why they waited so long to come up with a new HD800 "S", that has an absorber to overcome the annoying peak.   They did NOT come up with a totally new headphones and claim new sonics! WHY?
The simple answer is HONESTY 

 
Senheiser is a professional company that does not aim to milk customers for no clear reason like the other companies. Whenever a company come up with a new model every 3-4 years and claim that it is a reference headphones and produce accurate sound, I ask the following questions:
 
So what about the previous headphones? Aren't they already a reference and produce an accurate sound? What about the new phones are they able to produce the song differently? If yes, this means that there is something missing from the older phones! In other words, the older phones are NOT accurate to reflect the real sonics of a song!
 
I know that some of you will say that technology is getting better over the time. I agree with you BUT manufacturers have NO right to claim accuracy and realism every 3 years! If a company says accurate and natural, then I expect %100 reflection of the song with no additional/less frequencies.