If the bass is a deal breaker then the Elegia might be the better choice. It is the bassier of the two headphones while still keeping the overall focal sound and staging from the Clears.
Clears will be more detailed and have better dynamics as well as feeling a tad bit more natural, but the Elegia will have more bass with better slam and sub bass with the right seal and be more mid forward focused while still being fairly neutral sounding.
also closed back vs open back and all that. the clears are extremely open and while I prefer my clears to my elegia, I can really appreciate the closed off aspect at times.
I kind of like what I hear here but I also think I might like more of a darker headphone. I am guessing that the clear is pretty neutral which is not bad, especially since it seems very impressive in general. I might look for something a little lower end tho :P.
So yeah the Elegia for sure seems more up my alley and the price is obviously better since I dont have to hunt a sale for these. Do they as well need a higher end amp? I was also wondering how is the imaging/soundstage on these?
I have also been thinking of trying out a cheaper open back headphone (like a tygr300 which seems quite nice) just for a few weeks to build a better base of preferences (because I have not really heard an open back yet) and then buy something high end with more confidence.
yeah I would describe them as having a neutral bright signature, by far the brightest headphone i own but it doesnāt bother me and I would not describe them as fatiguing at all. Still they are about as bright I would want a pair of headphones to be personally.
yes they are a great steal for the price especially at the $429 price from adorama. They will scale with higher end gear but not as source picky as the clear can be imo. For example I mainly use mine portable with a ibasso dx160 DAP and I think they sound great this way, do they sound better at home on my desk with my RNHP and Lampizator Amber 3? You bet your ass they do but thatās besides the point because for the most part Iām satisfied with how they sound from my DAP.
this is always a good way to go about things for sure, finding out your own sound preference is one of the biggest parts of this hobby. Once you figure out what your ears like everything else falls into place from there.
So iāve owned the audio technica ad900x, dt770, dt990 and m570. I know at this point I prefer open back for home use, I just feel to closed off in closed-backs. I didnāt like the m570 because they didnāt really wow me in any way and considering I paid double what I did for any of the other headphones, I wasnāt impressed. They are definitely lacking in bass impact and sub bass. They do have a weird treble peak as well like beyers, and while I will say they might be better at detail retrieval, itās not by much. Also I think the beyers image better. That being said I donāt hate them, and I use them more than the dt770, but mainly for comfort and open-back. I think these would be really good for classical/acoustic music and female vocals. However when Iām gaming I tend to listen to electronic music the most and I donāt think the m570 excels in this area.
Iām all about the Audezes but im also all music. Much like you I started with dt 770 80 ohm used ā¦then refreshed pads, bought a new amp, then dacā¦10 sets of cans later the Audeze LCD 2 CB. I love them Period.
Yea i mean it has some punch but doesnāt extend deep. I just did some a/b testing between the two, and it made me like the m570 a bit more haha. I was listening to this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYfADOlstwc
And the first 30 seconds are so much crisper on the m570 compared to the dt770. Once the bass comes in, I like the dt770 slightly more, however once the song starts mixing in high pitched sounds, the dt770 sounds muddy in comparison to the m570. I think I would really like the m1070 and 1570, however quality concerns leave me hesitant about them. Also I have been eager to try a pair of LCDs, because they may be up my alley. However I do like a touch of treble sparkle, and those may lack in that area.
Can you share a little bit more about your journey? Like what qualities where you after that finally led you to the Audezes? Do you feel like it was important to try the 10 headphones before ending up here? I am seriously thinking about some LCD 2 C or the closed back but I am afraid I might be lacking experience to make the decision.
Hey thanks for bringing this little a/b testing up I really appreciate such a deep down analysis. And I have noticed the 770 sound a little muddy in situations like these even on its own but I also suspect audio quality.
Yes I am really keen on trying LCD 2 C myself and while I also like a touch of treble sparkle I hear that these take EQ well and I wouldnāt be that afraid of how it turns out.
While if it was the opposite and they lacked more in the bass area then the treble I would be more worried. I also like how everyone agrees that they are not fatiguing. However I am not sure about their imaging capabilities
I mean its not cheapā¦but yeah worth it. I did it way too fast and was/ am getting used stuff off ebay and head-fiā¦i drunkenly ordered an open box set of tygrs reading this forum one night but the rest is used.
My use case sounds a bit differentā¦I was listening to my spotify playlist while at my computer a while ago and it kinda clicked that as I listen to music so frequently why not figure out some solid gearā¦then i found reviews ā¦zeosā¦that led me to dacs and amps and cans vs iems and now here we are. Never really game. @Falenkor has a nice write up bout some solid gamers here:
I really dig the soundstage and imagining of the Audezes- relatively wide and detailed. Big step up from Meze 99 and DT 770s in those regards.
In terms of bass, they also are exactly where I want themā¦Its true my Argons thump but l feel I get a more complete package with these with most music and the bass isnt at all what Id call weak or lacking.
Hmm? oh, yeah I wrote that up but I will be having to sit back down and rewrite a lot of itā¦ I asked for some help due to my inexperience with the proper terminologies and explainations. I will probably cut a lot of the long reading out and make that post look better. For now it should suffice but I think some better explainations on there are neededā¦ otherwise someone may think the audeze mobius is better than a DT 880 lol. Take it as a regular write up for good headphones and feel free to ask questions. Definitely not the gospel or anything. However, thats for competitive gamersā¦ not casualā¦ I would have completely different recommendations for a casual gamer wanting bass. Like Emu Teak for a V signature maybe the Argons or Fostex TR-x00 from massdrop
I think part of the issue for gamers is they want both in one. I got the ad900x as my first real headphones because I was aiming at ācompetitive gamingā. However I found them boring because they lacked the bass(also I think imaging sucks on them compared to most things Iāve tried since).
For the most part funner sounding v shaped or bassy headphones start losing the clarity that brighter headphones have, making them worse for those footsteps haha. So honestly it seems you need two headphones in this kind of situation.
The only think I wonder is how come you finally decided for a closed back headphone? Is it that you prefer the sound of closed headphones or just for the isolation/sound leak?
I was never a big fan of the ad series I agree it lacked a lot of bass and just sounded dull. I donāt really think the imaging was bad per say just that it couldāve been betterā¦ all those big issues with it I found fixed mostly on the ad1000x but by then you have so many other alternatives ya know?
In general yeah, I tend to try to tell people if they want both gaming styles perhaps 2 headphones would be ideal if you want the best competitive experience. Though granted you can play competitively with any headphone even the bassy kindā¦ in tournaments we donāt use those open backs with huge soundstages and the like lol. Your limited to the closed back and in some cases the iems so everyones at a even playing field.
So, one of the things I will tell people for this if they want both is that you can do this it just becomes a little complicated with reasons being what youll see for the ideal sound I wrote out in that write up. Generally speaking you could still use something with a little more bass like just pulling off the top of my head the Audio Technica M40x while still a bit of a V signature itās not a big one still closer to neutral so you can still do well in competitive while enjoying some of that bass presence. Is it the most ideal? no of course not but its still more enjoyable. I tend to refer to those kinds of headphones as an āAll-Rounderā as I see them good for both competitive and casual. One of my favorites that I maintain in my collection for that very reason is the Aeons as they are a very Subtle V signature with tuning pads to switch things around feel like a closed back despite being open and man are they nice sounding.
I would think thats the case. Some people prefer isolation or live in noisier environments. Other times I hear sometimes people just prefer having the sound centered to their head instead of a surrounding like environment like open backs tend to provide while closed backs tend to offer more bass as well.
Hey @Falenkor so since you visited do you have any recommendations in the sub1000 range? Please have a quick glance at the OP for specifics if you havenāt already.
Hmm, I might have some but I would have to ask. You bring up movies. Do you need isolation? Are you okay with the brightness for movies? I see brightness as something that may be a bit on the discomfort side. It sounds like you like some brightness but its hard to gauge how much you like
I do not need isolation.Like I can control the environment to the point where an occasional dog might be heard or the sound of the AC. But since I do not have experience with opens, if you believe that there is added immersion or benefit from the feeling of a closed than ok, whatever is best.
I am ok with brightness but I would prefer to be sure that it wont be a problem. Like if you have experience with the DT770 80 ohm I do seem to get fatigued sometimes by it and notice some siblance. So brightness ok if it is smooth or tameable with EQ.
EDIT: Everyday usability is key here so they should be relaxed enough. Also donāt forget that I am open to using two headphones to maybe fill out every scenario better. Or maybe you could propose that I make a sacrifice somewhere to achieve a great overall solution. I am open to talking about it
