Monoblock headphone amplifiers and now a $1065 driver swap. I don't know what the world is coming to.

Monoblock headphone amps are nothing new and we can blame Tyll for that...

Monoblock headphone amps are nothing new and we can blame Tyll for that...

But you should SEE these things, Biggie. Quite a spectacle and not in the normal Woo style. Curious to listen though.

I held the LCD-3 last night and put them on my head but did not hear them. The wood is more subtle and lighter but not bad looking. The fit was not adjusted for me -- too tight -- but the huge angle on the ear pads and the tight clamp even when resting did not bode well for comfort. Jude was going to give a listen last night and I am sure I will hear them at some point this weekend.

At 10k they better be impressive

From the description of the Woo website, it seems like it will be a very upgraded WA5 amp, with separate power supplies etc. I'm guessing the topology will be pretty similar along with the parts used (other than new transformer). I owned a WA5 for over a year and while it was quite good, I can't say it was worth the $4-5k I spent for it at the time for a decent headamp and a mediocre speaker amp. Woo amps rely too much on overly fancy tubes and exotic parts to have them sound decent...which I think is the wrong mentality when designing a circuit. My Atma sphere amps/ preamps sounds glorious (and dead silent) with just stock russian 6SN7 tubes, which shows what a well implemented circuit can accomplish.

Weight is also a huge issue with these amps...there is absolutely no reason why the WA5 amps needed to weigh a ton due to the chassis...makes it impossible to move and ship / resell. The new amp is twice as heavy and i'm guessing that $3-4k of what you're paying for is that fancy chassis. Moral of the story, I went down that rabbit hole once with expensive Woo amps and won't make that mistake again...

i saw a Woo amp in the room yesterday that was 2 large monoblock towers (like computer tower sized) with a Y-cable plugged into them that terminated in a 4-pin XLR

on the LCD-3....feefee just boarded a plane.

I held the LCD-3 last night and put them on my head but did not hear them. The wood is more subtle and lighter but not bad looking. The fit was not adjusted for me -- too tight -- but the huge angle on the ear pads and the tight clamp even when resting did not bode well for comfort. Jude was going to give a listen last night and I am sure I will hear them at some point this weekend.

So I assume they are similar in size / have similar headband apparatus as the LCD2? I have a big head - and I was just getting a little excited because JPnums just commented on HF they are more linear sounding than LCD2.

Wow....LCD3 already. By next year, we will have LCD5 rev. 2. I'm not complaining but they need to stop releasing gears every 6 months or so. At this rate, Sennheiser will have tough time keeping up with the greatest in orthos.

Sennheiser will have tough time keeping up with the greatest in orthos.

Fortunately, they haven't started trying yet.

I

Fortunately, they haven't started trying yet.

I hope they will come up with something soon. I love the HD800 especially the fit/finish as well as comfort.

I still haven't listened to my LCD1s or LCD2s yet....

I think Sennheiser are intentionally holding back based on the stuff I hear from the distributor here. For instance, where is the black HD800 that was supposed to be released by now?

From the description of the Woo website, it seems like it will be a very upgraded WA5 amp, with separate power supplies etc. I'm guessing the topology will be pretty similar along with the parts used (other than new transformer). I owned a WA5 for over a year and while it was quite good, I can't say it was worth the $4-5k I spent for it at the time for a decent headamp and a mediocre speaker amp. Woo amps rely too much on overly fancy tubes and exotic parts to have them sound decent...which I think is the wrong mentality when designing a circuit. My Atma sphere amps/ preamps sounds glorious (and dead silent) with just stock russian 6SN7 tubes, which shows what a well implemented circuit can accomplish.

Weight is also a huge issue with these amps...there is absolutely no reason why the WA5 amps needed to weigh a ton due to the chassis...makes it impossible to move and ship / resell. The new amp is twice as heavy and i'm guessing that $3-4k of what you're paying for is that fancy chassis. Moral of the story, I went down that rabbit hole once with expensive Woo amps and won't make that mistake again...

I spent an hour with one at CJ'10 and hated it. Now I'm not a fan of 6SN7/300b amps in general but this was just bad in every way. I couldn't believe how bad the Beyer T1 was until I moved onto the Woo6 and heard it was mostly the amp that made then sound that way.

As for the monoblock beasts... yeah, I can't wait to see internal pics of that to see how they are going to get 3 different amps to function off the same tube sockets.

Fortunately, they haven't started trying yet.

pfft have you tried placing a gym shirt inside the HD800? Improvement^2

on the LCD-3....feefee just boarded a plane.

So I assume they are similar in size / have similar headband apparatus as the LCD2? I have a big head - and I was just getting a little excited because JPnums just commented on HF they are more linear sounding than LCD2.

It seemed very similar in size and structure to me. I will try to compare them. The sound was pretty good after hearing half a song.

It seemed very similar in size and structure to me. I will try to compare them. The sound was pretty good after hearing half a song.

Al, that one sentence posted on HeadFi would serve as both conclusive evidence and an act of war. Have (moar) fun!

Al, that one sentence posted on HeadFi would serve as both conclusive evidence and an act of war. Have (moar) fun!

Indeed it would.

I have a pair of LCD2's, and love them. The LCD3's need to be OUTSTANDING for me to consider a pair. They need to be as good or better than a Stax 009,,,if they are, I will buy a pair in a second. At $2000 it would be a bargain compared to $5200.

I have a pair of LCD2's, and love them. The LCD3's need to be OUTSTANDING for me to consider a pair. They need to be as good or better than a Stax 009,,,if they are, I will buy a pair in a second. At $2000 it would be a bargain compared to $5200.

This makes no sense, why do they need to be as good as or better than a headphone that cost $3200 more to be worthy of consideration?

So I assume they are similar in size / have similar headband apparatus as the LCD2? I have a big head - and I was just getting a little excited because JPnums just commented on HF they are more linear sounding than LCD2.

Confirmed thad the headband assembly is the same as LCD-2 except for different leather on the headband and the cups are just different wood with forward-angled cable connectors.

Al, that one sentence posted on HeadFi would serve as both conclusive evidence and an act of war. Have (moar) fun!

LOL. I will have more fuel for both camps if I ever write up comments.

I note that even having a thread on this topic threatens a flood of nonsense but oh well.

Do it, it'd be entertaining

Al, I would really appreciate your comments as well. I've got just about enough saved up for an O2, but a majorly improved ortho might make me reconsider.

It's already obvious that it's going to extremely difficult to get any objective and substantive info. over on H.F. The noise content alone is overwhelming.

Edited October 15, 201114 yr by FrankCooter

Al, I would really appreciate your comments as well. I've got just about enough saved up for an O2, but a majorly improved ortho might make me reconsider.

It's already obvious that it's going to extremely difficult to get any objective and substantive info. over on H.F. The noise content alone is overwhelming.

Agreed. The number of people bitching about the price is overwhelming, and some are even treating it as a personal affront it seems like. If you don't want to pay that much don't buy it, it's as simple as that.

I just spent 45 minutes listening to the LCD3 with my own music and gear. Over a wide variety of music, the headphone did not disappoint. It is without a doubt, one of the most well-balanced, yet detailed headphones I've ever used. Sorry that I can't provide a good O2 comparison, Frank, but I really don't have enough personal experience with them to make a definitive comparison. I will say that even being amped by a modest Pico Slim, the LCD3 gave me just about everything I'd want, sound-wise, with just about nothing that I wouldn't. It really hits me much like the JH13 in that regard, in that it is very balanced yet detailed, and proves itself well across just about any sort of music (and even movie sound).

To say the least, I found the LCD3 extremely impressive. It is definitely a major new player at the top of the headphone food chain, and I'd take it over most of the other options out there for full-size cans.

Agreed. The number of people bitching about the price is overwhelming, and some are even treating it as a personal affront it seems like. If you don't want to pay that much don't buy it, it's as simple as that.

I think the concerns raised by some about the pricing are fair (this time). I like to think that something is not being priced up simply because it can. The 009 is way too expensive but, naively maybe, I like to think it's simply a by-product of intricate manufacturing process / large R&D investment. As of now, there's been no objective justification of the large cost increase. Does a new trace for the coil justify it? I'd like to hear why. Maybe they're going to tighten the tolerance on driver pairing, driving up the rejection rate?

In the end, it all can be just BS justification but, at least, it doesn't leave a taste of being "taken for a ride". It probably sounds like a 2kUSD headphone and I understand the concept of supply and demand, yet it doesn't mean I just want to accept it without raising an eyebrow. Without this kind of healthy skepticism on the pricing, the headphone audio world will become just like the traditional speaker audio industry with unreal escalation of prices vs. actual performance jump.

It's called a free market. Show your displeasure and skepticism by not buying it.

Or come up with a better product for a lower price and dominate the market?