[milford3]

Since I'm in hook line and sinker on headphones I need to know about the sound difference between Planar cans and the "others."  Chime in Planar can owners.  All is good!

http://www.avguide.com/review/hifiman-he-6-planar-magnetic-headphones-playback-37

[eclein]

Hifiman HE-5LE Orthodynamic Headphones - Mine are just clean up and down, smooth, very open sounding to me. I was listening this am for a few and was trying to pick out anything to bitch about, anything, but other than the bracket popping off the cup once in awhile I got nothing to moan about.

 The sound is just clean, clear and smooth-I forget sometimes that I'm wearing them and just float within the music...sounds very out there, but your just in the midst of the recording and hearing everything just like its intended. Mine took awhile to break in but they sounded wonderful right out of the box. If I was buying all over I'd go HE5 or 6 just because I could..I use a Schiit Asgard and along with the DAC/Pre I use I can get plenty of gain.
 If doing again I'd wait and get Lyr amp. The Schiit stuff is nice for the money. If I had tons of cash...I'd talk to Vinnie at Red Wine about his package....and zone out.

[roscoeiii]

Love my HE5LEs too. Ed, I wouldn't fret too much about the HE-6s or the 500s. I heard all 3 on some great powerful enoug amps at a HeadFi meetup and didn't feel the urge to upgrade to either of the other models. And that's an urge I often get when trying higher up in a line.

The HE-5LEs pair fabulously with my Little Dot VI, a powerful, balanced headphone amp. They do need power but what a reward when they have it.

[hibuckhobby]

Would love to hear someone with the 4's or 400's chime in.
Might have to go to the Chicago meet in June to hear some of the
stuff on my short list.

[Noseyears]

Audez'e have caught my attention, (talking about the Rev2). Having a sensitivity of 91 dB/1mW they are easy to drive even from an ipod. They scale nicely when amped properly..personally i like how they sound with the HA-160D which is a known combo.

[saisunil]

Lcd2's are warm and lush types phones and they cannot be paired with a warmish amp unless ones wants too much of a good thing - they sound great with solid state / neutral amps - i'd imagine they would pair well with bruson amp.

Hifiman 5/6/500 are fantastic as well. 
I'd rule he-6 out unless you have a headphone amp purpose built for he-6.

I had he-5 and loved th me but found slight peakiness in treble and a desire for a little more bass. He-500 solved that ...

LCD-2 really spoils you with prodigious bass and envelop with warmth. They are the most musical of headphones I have ever heard. They do not have as wide or deep soundstage or sound as extended or open ended as he-500

These orthos / planar phones are in a different league compared to the conventional high end offerings.

Stax 007/009 are allegedly better but for them to sound their best they MUST have über expensive dedicated amps that are north of $4000

[J-Pak]

A used Headamp KGSS (guessing about $1900-2000) will make an Omega 2 sound really good. That is what I am using now. I used to own a Blue Hawaii before this and while it was better, the KGSS is very close to it.

I think the LCD-2 are a really good value and can be driven from fairly reasonably priced amps.

[HAL]

The HiFiMan HE-500's and the Borbely SE headphone amp kit work very well together.   I run the HPA on two 16.5VDC A123 battery packs and sounds very good indeed.  The DC coupled amp has very good bass response!

[neobop]

Audez'e have caught my attention, (talking about the Rev2). Having a sensitivity of 91 dB/1mW they are easy to drive even from an ipod. They scale nicely when amped properly..personally i like how they sound with the HA-160D which is a known combo.

Can you get adequate volume levels with an ipod?    I understand the impedance is low, so is my Fostex (50 ohms).  Is the T50, 98dB rating on a different scale? 

Sorry if this seems remedial. I don't have an ipod but I doubt if it would drive the T50. I just got a set of Panasonic HTF600S - 100dB/mW, 56 ohms.  On my cheap DAC/headphone amp or a receiver the 600 is way louder.  This is confusing.

[DaveNote]

Lcd2's are warm....LCD-2 really spoils you with prodigious bass and envelop with warmth. They are the most musical of headphones I have ever heard. They do not have as wide or deep soundstage or sound as extended or open ended as he-500...These orthos / planar phones are in a different league compared to the conventional high end offerings.

Amen to that! Have had, and do have, good conventional headphones, but the LCD-2s are just plain enjoyable. Highly recommended.

Dave

[santacore]

What Dave said!

I keep trying to love my HD800's, but always go back to the LCD-2's. For my taste, they are the most musical.

[ajzepp]

So are the top end hifiman cans generally considered superior to the LCD-2s?  I've been REALLY close to pulling the trigger on a pair of Audeze's, but saw some quality control issues and got scared away...plan to revisit them again in the future, though. Seems like I rarely see anything negative about hifiman, though, particularly the HE-500s and HE-6s.

[funkmonkey]

I'm right there as well  LCD-2 or HE-500...  and a desktop amp that won't break the bank.  Gotta wait for a little extra cash though. 

[Frank I]

I would stay away from the Audeze headphones with all the driver and cracking issues. They are never completed and in constant beta. Hifiman is a better bet but too heavy and uncomfortable for my neck so I am sticking with the Hd800 which does everything with such detail and finesse. My favorite by far

[roscoeiii]

So are the top end hifiman cans generally considered superior to the LCD-2s?  I've been REALLY close to pulling the trigger on a pair of Audeze's, but saw some quality control issues and got scared away...plan to revisit them again in the future, though. Seems like I rarely see anything negative about hifiman, though, particularly the HE-500s and HE-6s.

Don't know anything about LCD-2 QC issues (though that would scare me for such high dollar headphones), but I would say that choosing between the two isn't a matter of better or worse, but instead different sonic signatures. And then there are other issues of fit, comfort, amp matching etc. I found the LCD-2s to be less comfortable than the HiFiMan cans due to their weight.

I believe that Music Direct sells both lines, and they have a solid return policy. You could also check out both thru the Cable Company's new headphone lending library.

No more need to scour forums for impressions because you can't try before you buy. Pretty great. Nothing better than an audition.

[adydula]

I have a pair of LCD2 Rev2's and have had no driver issues. These are the best headphones I have ever owned.

The freq response curve is flat and the bass is very, very accurate and nice. They are truly world class in every respect from a listening perspective...they are BIG and a little heavy but I have listened for hours on end without any real issues....just lots of smiles.

Audeze did have driver issues with the LCD2, and with the new LCD3's. With the each it was identified, and they didnt hide anything, explained what the issue was and their corrections etc...and even extended the normal warranty to 5 yrs on the LCD 3's as a good show of faith...excellent customer service.

I use a Schiit Lyr, a DIY SOHAii Cavalli, Schitt ASGARD, AVA insight PreAmp head section and an tired old Onkyo AVR...all work well.

If you can afford them and want hadphones....I would highly recomend them...I came from ATH50's, AKG 702's and Grado 325si's...

But none of them equate to my 2 ch rig...

Have fun!
Alex