Headphone lovers, what do you love, what do you have, Head-Fi fans 2018 edition.

@head_unit I'd be curious too. My buddy has the HD800s and they make my jaw drop. It's crazy how each instrument has it's own little space. The soundstage and revealed detail is unreal.

 

Typically vendors make special items for Massdrop and allow lower pricing in otrder to get quick sales volume and guerilla marketing.

 

Sony MDR-V6. I've had multiple pairs of these through the years. I've also had their cousin (MDR-7506). But I always come back to the MDR-V6. The thing I have always loved about them is that they have a fairly flat frequency response which leaves the music uncolored by someone else's idea of "good EQ" while giving the music just enough warmth to not sound as brittle as the MDR-7506 which have a very similar sound signature.

I fell in love with this headphone many, many years ago in my teens and I have carried the torch ever since. I just wouldn't be happy with any other set of headphones.

 

Current inventory:
Stax Lambda Nova Signature driven by Stax SRM-Monitor (very rare Diffuse Field Equalizer and SRM 1 Mk 2 Professional Amp in one package).
Beyerdynamic T1 gen. 2 driven by Phonitor 2730B
AKG K707 also driven by Phonitor.
The dynamics have really caught up over the years - bought the last two over the past 12 months and loving them nearly as much as the Stax.

 

The HD6XX sold through Massdrop is a limited production run of the Sennheiser HD650 sold with a shorter cable, a different color and a discounted price. The drop of 2017 sold for 217$ each and I understand that they are preparing a new drop in 2018 for less than 200$ each.

AFAIK the price isn't hidden for the new drop but the HD6XX, being basically a HD650 with a different paint-job, will not sound like the HD800.

 

hd800s plugged into a feliks amp

 

Current home rig - AKG K812 (the HD800 I can actually listen to for longer than 10 minutes); LCD2C; Sony Z1R. All out of the exceptional Hugo2

 

Audeze LCD-XC Premium

They are fantastic with most everything of quality .......but totally unforgiving of poor digital masterings.

 

Audio-Technica ATH-R70x with Schiit Asgard 2, Bifrost Multibit, and Loki Mini. I'm pretty happy with the sound quality but I'm tempted (always tempted!) to replace the Asgard 2 with a tube amp.

 

HD600 paired with a Shiit Valhalla 2.
I cannot imagine a better sounding rig.

 

The Stax L700 driven by their 353X amp is stunning. Worlds better than my HD800S. Hell, I like them better than my Quads.

 

As someone who's heard the HD800S and thinks they are stunning, genuinely curious what's "worlds better" about the L700's than the HD800S.

 

You are correct to question what "worlds better" might mean as this description is clearly subjective and means different things to different people, but as someone who has owned HD600, HD650 and HD800's I can only say I wouldn't want to go back to any of them now I have my Audeze LCD-XC's. So is that "worlds better"? Well, yes and no! Yes, in the sense that I have heard a far more transparent headphone with better definition of all instruments and vocals, richer "colour palette" and a more realistic natural timbre than anything previous. When you feel more close to the music and the experience of hearing it "live" performed in front of you, you know something is worlds better. No, in the sense that I could still listen to music and hear it all perfectly acceptably on the HD800's and forget the 'better' option after a few minutes. As I said it's all subjective......to a point!

 

Follow up myself, part of the way the Sennheiser HD-280 Pros achieve isolation is they do have a tight fit to your ears. You know you're wearing headphones when you have these on your head. My wife doesn't like them at all, which is perfectly fine as I don't want her borrowing them.

I find them perfectly comfortable, and I can (and do) wear them for hours every day editing audio and video.

To summarize, the 280s:

Have remarkably accurate presentation of the source. Nothing is hyped - not the bass, not the high end.

Isolate the user from external sounds. NOT a good choice to wear when you need to be aware of your external environment.

Rugged as all get out. I shove them in my backpack after a show. They are troopers.

 

Audeze LCD-2C vs ZMF Atticus

The LCD-2C are slightly dark but they are not warm at all. There is actually plenty of treble and to my ears, the LCD-2C have better delineation than the Atticus up high with cymbals and strings.

Like all the Audeze headphones, the LCD-2C recess the upper mids a little bit but it's not bothering me like it was with the horrible Fazor revision. The vocals are more lively on the Atticus and more lush on the LCD-2C. Despite being recessed, the LCD-2C can also handle female vocals very well.

The Atticus are a little bit more punchy than the LCD-2C but the difference is not night and day. Sub-bass is better with the LCD-2C.

Overall the LCD-2C are a fantastic pair of headphones and they are probably on par with the ZMF Atticus even if the sound signature is slightly different.

 

What amp(s) are you using with the Audeze and ZMF?

 

I'm using the Chord Hugo 2.

 

the hd800S unmodified is not my cup of tea. they need at least bass boost and some mods.
I guess its really time for me to explore the stax world! why did you go for the l700 rather then 007?

 

During the past few months I grabbed a pair of Mr Speakers ÆON Flow (closed back), a Schiit Lyr2 w/ NOS Mullard tubes, and a Mimby (Schitt Modi Multibit DAC).
To call this an upgrade would be an understatement, extremely pleased with all 3 pieces.
The ÆON cans are the most recent upgrade, and they are so incredibly detailed, the bass to me is just right, and the comfort is amazing.
And, got them on the forum here at a nice discount too!

 

007 scales better, but needs a powerful amp to drive it well. L700 is better for less powerful amps.

 

One of the things I've noticed with the LCD-2 Classic (and the old-school LCD-2) is that some amps can help get the upper midrange recession to sound less recessed. It seems that amps that have more micro-detail retrieval and presentation through the midrange can trick the brain in to hearing less of a frequency recess. It's as if the extra detail presentaion makes up somewhat for the dip in frequency response. Better amps and source help the LCD-2 to better be able to play things like female vocals and even classical. That's one reason why I think the LCD-2 have better synergy with some amps than others. And why I asked what amp you were using. If you hear the LCD-2 Classic doing female vocals well then your amp and source are doing well.

 

Yes I completely agree with you. You still have the Liquid Fire ?

I'm so happy that Audeze are back on track with the LCD-2C. I have been disappointed with all the pairs of LCD-2F that I have purchased (X5) in between 2014 and 2016 to the point where I don't know why I decided to give another chance to Audeze. Most of the pairs that I heard had completely sucked out upper mids and steely treble glare. (Even with a good amp)

 

Bingo. The L700 and 353x combination is fantastic bang for the buck.

 

I still have the Liquid Fire. I don't see myself ever getting rid of it. I like it too much.
I also just got an LCD-2 Classic. Ordered it right after Christmas. Audeze did good with the new Classic.

Amps that I've heard pair well with the Audeze LCD-2 have been amps that do really good micro-detail. The good micro-detail does something that helps the LCD-2 open up and not sound so closed in. And I think part of that is due to the Jedi mind trick the micro-detail does to make it seem like the upper mids aren't so recessed. There is more going on as well. The amp needs to be doing more than just exceptional micro-detail to get good synergy with the LCD-2, but the micro-detail thing I think is a big part.

 

HD 650 and a Vintage Grado RS1 running thru Woo WA7d. These days the 650 gets the most play.