If you can swing the price difference the top is always the place to start :)

Nicely packaged too!

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/audeze2/1.png

Jeff.......Is there much sound outside the headphone when its on your head?


http://media.headphone.com/productph...23000_7618.jpg

I'm not Jeff but no. None of the headphones can give you a soundstage that's like a speaker.

The HD800 does its best tho but the bass performance is very anaemic compared to the LCDs and HEs.

If you do want an out of head soundstage you are gonna need something like the Smyth Realiser A8 :) it did a pretty impressive job of copying a pair of Dynaudio Temptations :(

The wood case is nice but the hardshell sure came in handy when I had to ship the LCDs back.

Yes, I would say if in a room with friends I wouldn't decide to check out all the recordings from the embarrassing music thread ;). These are definitely not for loud environments as you can hear ambient noise as well.

DH I have always been very curious about the A8. So you would agree with reviews that it sounds like floor standers? I just wish they would preload some setups.

Dan, the Smyth is an algorithm based amp that you take measurements with of a home audio system and your inner ear. Then when you listen to your headphones through the system it supposedly recreate the parameters to sound like your listening to the full size home system in front of you. They even have head tracking software so that when you move your head the image shifts like it would in the room. I have no idea if it works but it has some pretty good write ups.

It does work well but your mind also plays tricks on you. I can get that illusion when I'm in front of the speakers even when the speakers are off. But when I'm lying in bed, the illusion is a bit hard to picture (with imaginary speakers in the ceiling)

The main issue I have is that there's a lot of reverb from the room. Even in well damped showrooms so it feels weird when hearing the reverb on headphones because there's usually none over cans.

And of course there's no tactile bass sensation from the couch or on your skin. That's something that you can sorta address with a set of Crowson Tactile transducers.

Dan,
I have LCD-2 and have been very happy with them. I also have Beyerdynamic T1s, which are very transparent, more demanding on the amp. But my reason for using headphones is to listen loudly, and often to material that wasn't brilliantly recorded. This is tiring on the T1s, but great with the LCD-2, which have a warmer, punchier response.

I also have Sennheiser HD-600 and 650. I prefer the LCD-2 to either (I find the 650 unlistenable, and the 600 to be much better balanced).

I am sure the LCD-3 is better again, depends how far down the rabbit hole you want to go. They are a relatively big and heavy phone. I find the Senns and Beyer more comfortable, but not by a large margin.

I did buy an aftermarket cable, with a socket at the end which enable me to use either balanced or single ended connections. Although all my headphone current amps are single ended.

Glisse.......Thanks for your comments. My present headphone rig is the Sennheiser HD600 and a Musical Fidelity X-Can V8P tube headphone amplifier. I enjoy the sound but I'm intrigued by the planar driver concept and prodigious bass output the Audeze LCD-2 seems capable of reproducing.