Leonardo Drummond Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I guess I should have prefaced by saying that I'm in the market for a more portable headphone. Nothing other than a good stat rig would pull me away from the K1000 at home. Now I'm curious about the Citiscape Downtown. They're even smaller and of coarse quite a bit cheaper. I guess I should try to audition the Creative Aurvana as well. No love for the B&W P5? Quite far from neutral, but it sounds warm and analog somehow, I really like it. Not sure if it's what you're looking for, but perhaps worth a try! It's a great portable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyll Hertsens Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 No love for the B&W P5? Quite far from neutral, but it sounds warm and analog somehow, I really like it. Not sure if it's what you're looking for, but perhaps worth a try! It's a great portable. Actooly, Leonard has a good point: I'd say the P5 is the perfect gentleman's headphone. But I will add that I still do very much enjoy the L1, and think it a similarly satisfying headphone. Don't let me stand in your way, Steve, I like the L1 a good deal. It's just not a modded 800. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxvla Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 (edited) Listening to the HD600/HD598/L1/Spirit One presently.. Making me realize just how good the HD600 is. Senn really knocked it out of the park with these for some genres. Making me reminisce about my old balanced HD600 setup. They certainly scale (just as the HD650 does) with gear more than most headphones, but with some of the newer phones available, it isn't always the best financial move to put so much source and amp ahead of the HD600/650 to get them there. Edited March 13, 2012 by Maxvla Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purrin Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 I know people (not people with "crap hearing" ) who have heard the resonance on the Apex Peak and Gilmore amps among others. I heard them at a meet on the Apex but it was too loud to hear much more than "bass- check!, mirange- check!, treble- check!" Oh you mean me? Yeah, what I heard was more of a wierd reverb effect and only on specific early LCD2r1s. I've never heard it since when I actually owned an r1 and that was long time ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhythmdevils Posted March 13, 2012 Report Share Posted March 13, 2012 You're one of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wink Posted March 14, 2012 Report Share Posted March 14, 2012 We're all one of them, just differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K3cT Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 (edited) You weren't alone my dear K3cT, I haven't noticed any veil on my LCD-2, but these are Rev2 and I drive them either with a Beta22 or in balanced with a Gilmore Reference. IMO the power you feed them has to do with the presence of resonances and the lack of balance. They're great headphones, but not sure really worth the asking price. I got them used and saved some dough, so no complains. I wouldn't pay $1000 extra for a more comfortable headband. No way! Although value is very subjective, I can see where you're coming from. The sound itself is a very welcome alternative to other dynamics which sound annoyingly bright but the actual headphone itself could use better ergonomics and design. I suppose designing a comfortable arc assembly design around these large orthodynamic drivers + damping is quite a challenge in itself. We will see whether Audez'e will release a revision to correct this in future LCD3s. Edited March 18, 2012 by K3cT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torpedo Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 IMHO the LCD-2 at 600-900 bucks are OK, because sound-wise are good, in an enjoyable and fun sounding way. They perform better than many more expensive dynamic offers at similar or higher prices, name the T1 for instance. But for build quality and comfort they're not worth that much. If all the LCD-3 has to offer is just an improved headband, some sonic benefits (which I really doubt are happening considering most people's comments, Tyll's measurements, and not having evidence the drivers are really different), there's no way I'm spending 2000 USD to try them, not even 1500 on an used pair. To sell at double the price the LCD-2 and being worth to me, I guess this is crucial part of this comment for most people can think otherwise, they'd need to sound clearly deeper (space-wise), more focused, more detailed, "airier" (as in a more extended and better resolved top octave), not having any risk of resonances, echoes or other sound aberrations, and offering a much improved design. Hanging directly from your head by a classic headband a heavy headphone isn't my idea of ergonomics. Sony wouldn't have done that with the R10, and didn't with the lighter CD3000, nor is doing Stax. $2000 should buy you a decent, well built and comfortable frame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K3cT Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Well, I do think that the LCD3 (unveiled version, lol) is a significant improvement from the LCD2 in those areas you mentioned but with QC being all over the place and ergonomics/design still a bit lacking just like what you said, I will probably stick around with what I have now and see what the market offers in the future. Why the 009 has to be so bloody expensive? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torpedo Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Because it's damn awesome, fucking comfortable and only rivaled by a $1500 discontinued electrostatic one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beefy Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 This thread in combination with the 'something different' thread inspired me to sit down and compare the HD650 with the SR-Lambda again. Neither set of phones is powered by anything particularly elaborate, with the HD650 run from my well-specced/upgraded Crack, and the Lambda from my Exstata. Less than five minutes in and they are chalk and cheese. Taken alone, the HD650 do have that comfortable warm bass response, and are nice and easy to listen to, and compare well to my other dynamic phones...... but in almost every other respect they can't hold a candle to the Lambdas. The clarity and speed of the Lambda is just FAR superior. I could criticise them for being a tiny bit intense in the treble, maybe a touch sibilant, but that is just nit picking their accuracy. Frankly, it astounds me how good these old phones sound, especially since I am using what some consider to be a crappy amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepak Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 This thread in combination with the 'something different' thread inspired me to sit down and compare the HD650 with the SR-Lambda again. Neither set of phones is powered by anything particularly elaborate, with the HD650 run from my well-specced/upgraded Crack, and the Lambda from my Exstata. Less than five minutes in and they are chalk and cheese. Taken alone, the HD650 do have that comfortable warm bass response, and are nice and easy to listen to, and compare well to my other dynamic phones...... but in almost every other respect they can't hold a candle to the Lambdas. The clarity and speed of the Lambda is just FAR superior. I could criticise them for being a tiny bit intense in the treble, maybe a touch sibilant, but that is just nit picking their accuracy. Frankly, it astounds me how good these old phones sound, especially since I am using what some consider to be a crappy amp. The SR-Lambdas rule. They were one of the best kept secrets until the mega Stax threads emerged And another bonus about them- they are super light and don't feel like you have a 10 pound cinder brick on your head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spritzer Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 That one is on me. It was in my insane buying spree days when I acquired a few sets and found them to be awesome. Posted that it was odd nobody talked about them given how good they were and the rest is history... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swt61 Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 This is not news for the 'Silverbacks' of the audio world. Stax were the first to move the headphone into the audiophile realm, just as Nakamichi did with the lowly Philips dictation medium, the cassette tape. Before that, the headphone was a device of convenience only, and usually a pretty uncomfortable, sweaty one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spritzer Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Anybody complaining about LCD-2 weight should use the Koss ESP-6 for an hour or so and report back.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsavitsk Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 Anybody complaining about LCD-2 weight should use the Koss ESP-6 for an hour or so and report back.... The fact that Koss made something less comfortable is not an argument in favor of the LCD's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swt61 Posted March 18, 2012 Report Share Posted March 18, 2012 The fact that Koss made something less comfortable is not an argument in favor of the LCD's. No, but Skylab says they're good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tachikoma Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 That one is on me. It was in my insane buying spree days when I acquired a few sets and found them to be awesome. Posted that it was odd nobody talked about them given how good they were and the rest is history... Pity that I never truly found them (sig, nova sig, pro) to my liking, compared to the SR-5/x, but man they were comfy. I had the HD650s for a while and ... really didn't like them very much, my opinion of them is pretty much what Beefy said but extended to all of my stats. I really need a new gamma pro driver to replace my semi-faulty one on the SR-5... Vaguely on topic post: the person who runs the local Jaben says that everyone who bought the LCD-2s through them ended up hating it, and that he also greatly prefers the HE-6 over them. The HE-6 was very underpowered when I heard them, but I thought the sound sig was fairly reminiscent of my O2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadphoneAddict Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 This thread in combination with the 'something different' thread inspired me to sit down and compare the HD650 with the SR-Lambda again. Neither set of phones is powered by anything particularly elaborate, with the HD650 run from my well-specced/upgraded Crack, and the Lambda from my Exstata. Less than five minutes in and they are chalk and cheese. Taken alone, the HD650 do have that comfortable warm bass response, and are nice and easy to listen to, and compare well to my other dynamic phones...... but in almost every other respect they can't hold a candle to the Lambdas. The clarity and speed of the Lambda is just FAR superior. I could criticise them for being a tiny bit intense in the treble, maybe a touch sibilant, but that is just nit picking their accuracy. Frankly, it astounds me how good these old phones sound, especially since I am using what some consider to be a crappy amp. I always thought the HD650 needed a very strong and high-end amp to perform well, but the SR-Lambda can sound beautiful with a cheap T-amp and SRD-7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spritzer Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 The fact that Koss made something less comfortable is not an argument in favor of the LCD's. True but it takes a real man to don 1kg headphones with a headband that's way too small. Vaguely on topic post: the person who runs the local Jaben says that everyone who bought the LCD-2s through them ended up hating it, and that he also greatly prefers the HE-6 over them. The HE-6 was very underpowered when I heard them, but I thought the sound sig was fairly reminiscent of my O2. Never heard the HE-6 but the HE-5 was the biggest steaming pile of crap I've ever heard. Even the bad Grado's were good by comparison. Given just how bad the Jade was then I don't have a lot of confidence in HE... For me the LCD-2 rev.1 is a baby 007 and it's good enough for me not to touch any of my stats for a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gurubhai Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 It would be interesting if someone were to transplant LCD drivers in a Lambda frame (I believe they both have rectangular drivers of similar size). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spritzer Posted March 19, 2012 Report Share Posted March 19, 2012 My plan for the LCD-2 if I ended up hating the sound was to transplant some Omega drivers into the frame... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shahrose Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 (edited) The HD650 scale pretty nicely. Upgrade the cable (doesn't have to be anything fancy) and get a proper source and amp. They can sound like crap from an entry-level setup; slow, boomy, smeared. Pity so many write them off without hearing their full potential. Edited March 20, 2012 by Shahrose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Monkey Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 Tyll, between the Fidelio L1 and the HD 650, which would you choose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shellylh Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 ^This. I am curious about the Fidelio L1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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