General Headphone Advice

Thanks for giving my wallet a break, purrin.

Some nice portable phones are what I need and use much more. Interesting to see how good the Sines really are.

 

For rock, the best we have in the Senn lineup is the 650 (but modded) methinks. I am strictly a rock only guy and that's been my experience.

 

Do you have the Lyr 2 right now? I do also and I have a (partially modded, adding them slowly) 650 and will be listening to the Valhalla 2 maybe next week which I was told also works well with the 800 so I'll let you know if I think the Valhalla is a noticeable improvement for the 650 because if it is, that may be all that's needed for the 800 for a budget rig. Hell someone here is using a Vali 2 with his IIRC.

 

Cheers, a44100hz! Should be interesting to hear your impressions.

 

But Purrin! That's why you use EQ!

Un-EQ'd I agree the HD6X0 and LCD-whatever beats the HD800 for rock. Too much treble energy.

But with the right EQ I can even make my HD800's sound dark and meaty just like the LCD's. Perfect for rock.

 

Can you get Audeze-quality bass with eq'd hd800?

 

@Zed Bopp

Quality - I think the HD800 bass might be even better. Quantity - even with bass EQ, not quite. Bassheads should stick with Audeze.

But listen, if you're happy with the LCD2 probably just stick with them and enjoy the music. I myself prefer the HD800 with mods and EQ but it can be a bit of a rabbit hole to get them the way you want them. Don't get the HD800 unless you see it as a fun exercise with something different and you're willing to play around. I don't consider the HD800's to be plug and play cans, definitely not for rock anyway.

 

Yeah, that's what I'm afraid of... An exhausting experience in crappily done mods and EQing

...And possibly even costly amp purchases.

 

... personally ... well worth it.

 

I love this post.

 

I seem to be pretty alone here with this opinion, but I don't think LCD-2 loses in resolution to HD6x0-models. All over the treble is sharper and more headroom-y - am I hearing stuff wrong? I don't listen to lots of L-R ques and their placement... That may be wrong on the Audezes. Other than that, they don't sound any more closed in than my 600's.

 

Yeah, Lyr 2 is the best amp I tried my HD600 with. Lately I've used the LISST "tubes".

EDIT: what's missing or wrong with the Lyr? Lack of tubes, or something in the design?

 

I've been a big fan of tube amps, but that's with guitars. I bet they can bring some "euphonic" distortion, maybe more details too? Are there some clearly better SS amps for 600's?

I'm not being sarcastic, happy to learn

 

I bought a pair of used lcd2's last year. They were just a mess. Muddy and detail retrieval was sub par. Dont know if it was just my pair because the guy I sold them to had them up for sale less than a month later.

 

Unfortunately, I've only heard one pair and that doesn't sound like them at all. Do you know which version were they?

 

It is extremely difficult to produce planar drivers with uniformity and extremely tight tolerances.

Not only will there be variances between batches, but also between each and every unit within a batch.

For obvious reasons, manufacturers do not disclose this information.

I believe this accounts for some of the widely different opinions, comments and reviews when discussing Audeze/HiFiMAN cans.

If you are skeptical of what I have just stated, you are welcome to do your own research and find out for yourself.

 

Reading many opinions here I am willing to agree.