I think you might just be looking into anorher planar cause that desired effect you are looking for Ive only ever really found in planars. woth tthe wide soundstage and very unique layering of sound creating a nice depth effect.
That could also be the case which to me is fairly intriguing… I love that sound but it seems… rare kind of. Definitely chasing after it… Granted I never have liked audeze brand headphones though… anytime I tried them I didnt like the fit (tried the lcd 1 actually) and sounded quite a bit congested I just really didnt like it and it didnt have that sound I am looking for… lcd2 is definitely outside my budget… Ananda is in my budget, Verum is in my budget, I have NO clue about that thieaudio phantom one over there just heard its good if modded and darker so probably not what I am looking for. I don’t know about oppo pm3 just that its supposedly good its also in my budget. edition xx is also in my budget m0n told me its brighter than ananda but they are similar so i planned to try ananda. I already have my sundara still from headphones over there I do prefer the circular pads over those big ol ovals. I know the He5se came out after the sundara but I dont know the comparison between those two.
Ananda is brighter than the xx
There was a bait and switch on adorama camera, and I wouldn’t suggest buying those unless you wan a high chance of getting a bum pair
really? that bad huh? i was curious if it was better than the sundaras…
I was able to pick up a pair of LCD-2 Fazors as open box for $599 not long ago, but they appeared to be brand new. Keep your eye out, as those can pop up from time to time.
I can control my suspension of disbelief easily so I can lean into psycoacustics and get sound staging etc. easier and not have those kinds of problems. I will bow out of this one Lol. Oh, certain types of crossfeed dsp can help with staging btw. Things similar to dirac sensaround can make sounds appear more forward and speaker like etc. So those may be an option to help with getting the effect you like and want 
I am pretty sure I have an audio center here that carries the lcd - 2 I will look. theres not a lot of centers around here at all and damn sure no meetings nearby which is disappointing which is one of the hardships I face when getting audio equipment and why I ask a ton of questions.
I will chime in and say this. This isn’t to say I don’t enjoy the headphones thus far. I am only looking for a very particular sound. As it stands I could very well pick up the koss 95x or the elex and love them for different reasoning entirely as that is what happened to me when I tested the Sundara and came full swing with the aeon. As it stands I already have my Bright V analytical headphone chosen,1990s, and my favorite dark headphone is definitely my carbons. In this case it is definitely looking like it may be a planar in particular that I am searching for but I will find that out soon enough, probably after I sit down with Ananda. As far as 95x is concerned I haven’t ever tried an electrostatic headphone so I would attribute this to a bit of a different experience and the Elex I was considering definitely sounds more shouty and adaptive with such a large sound stage making it unique, less its for some reason a step up from the dt 1990 but I haven’t heard anything on that front.
this is something I have pondered looking more into honestly as I have Hesuvi and dolby atmos programs as well
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I think it is a step up from the 1990 for music, but the 1990 preforms better for games imo
That’s an entertaining thought. Elex is a bit of a strange one and drop doesnt offer returns on those. I would prefer to find an elear or clear in a shop or something just so I can get the general comfort for them down and the style of sound they offer if possible. As it stands Gaming and music is a 60/40 ration but of late its been a 30/70 with music being used more. Took a recommendation from @Antpage2 who mentioned the Sendy Aiva are really good for a planar. Found them FINALLY with a good return and that makes the last one I am ordering for the time being. Will look more into Koss later on.
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Having both the Elegia and Elex, the comfort I’d say is similar to the 58x with a softer pad and slightly less clamp, but a little heavier. I have no issues wearing them for a few hours at a time personally, but I’m not particularly sensitive to most comfort issues.
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Would you say the pad is thicker or about the same on the elex? I can wear the 58x no problem its just the clamp out of the box was horrible. Actually still have my 58x I just barily use it. I suppose I should also ask about how large are the cups that go around your ears in comparison. as the 58x is quite literally liek the absolute perfect comfortable fit.
Did you end up doing the headband bend thing to reduce clamp?
Yes, I definitely did. Fixed it completely thanks to you posting that to me. Would not been able to wear it at all if I didn’t stretch the band as it hurt my head
I suppose I should ask if someone has actually sat down with the Elegia, Clear, Elex, or Elear and can compare sound to the Aeon or Sundara.
So which ones would you want compared to which?
Well, from my understanding Elex sounds the best? I have heard Clear sounds better from some people than elex but I assume that’s more subjective. Not sure how either of these compare to Aeon over there which has a stronger signature than the Sundara does. So would be the focals primarily elex and clear vs Aeon open, open x, or aeon open 2 since that supposedly sounds better and were factoring in clear over there which puts these two in the same bracket of pricing. I need to ask since I can’t seem to find a way to test focal for myself at this point in time.
So I would say the clear is really a higher tier of headphone overall IF you have a high end amp to give it what it needs, otherwise on a lower tier amp the elex and clear sound pretty close with different signatures, but on a higher tier amp they really just really get higher preforming. The elex doesn’t scale as well. In your case for what you are after, the elex is moreso what you would be looking for imo
So I will ignore the aeon open here since you have the aeon x. I will also mainly focus on the elex here because with the tier of amp you are working with the elex and clear will sound rather similar (with just mainly a different signature).
So I think for dynamics the elex is by far the more dynamic headphone, so much so that it’s pretty surprising on tracks with a large dynamic range.
For detail, I think the elex is more detailed in most all ranges, and ends up presenting it in a more refined way without much harshness imo, where the aeon x does well with detail but just isn’t as resolving in my experience.
For impact, the aeon x is going to be a bit more impactful in the bass imo, but for midrange and treble they are somewhat similar in impact.
For speed I think both are speedy phones, with the elex actually possibly being a bit a bit quicker for midrange and treble, but they are both fast
For extension, I think the aeon x can extend into the subbass more linearly, where the elex can better extend into the treble range imo.
For timbre, both aren’t the best in the price range, but I think the elex might have a bit more accurate timbre, but neither are bad tbh.
For your signature, the elex is more w shaped with a bit bumped bass, midrange, and treble which is pretty nice, the aeon open x is a bit more v shaped in comparison, more preference here.
For spatial recreation it’s a bit harder to describe. The aeon x is more traditional with a medium width stage that is pretty nice and can extend decently far, but nothing crazy, and it remains consistent. Placement in that stage isn’t the most accurate but it’s generally solid and is pretty normal. Imaging is nice without any serious dead zones. On the elex its not as traditional, it’s more of a 360 degree type of stage where it’s more of a bubble around your head that adapts to what you are listening to, where the aeon x is more mainly creating a stage infront and to the sides of you where things can appear. The elex is really really good at placement of objects in that space it recreates and makes for a pretty impressive experience, very accurate. This will end up changing depending on the track and how much spatial detail it has. The elex is typically around kinda intimate range, but for some tracks can extend very far than normal for where things can be placed. It’s pretty dang nice for music. That being said, I would prefer the spatial recreation of the aeon x for gaming as it’s more traditional recreation works better for most game engines and it tends to be more accurate in games, but for music the elex imo presents a more interesting and accurate representation of space
Regarding the aeon 2 open vs the aeon x, the main changes are that it gets more dynamic for the better imo (still not as much as the elex but it really doesn’t bother me anymore vs other mrspeakers), is a more neutral signature but is more refined as well but perhaps a bit less fun than the x, is more impactful than the x, detail, speed, and other technicalities take a nice bump and it shows, and for spatial recreation, it generally gets more accurate at creating space, and also extends a bit wider than the x can, and adjusts more to the music than the aeon x does. I think this overall competes more with the elex to where I would say they are more on a similar playing field, but just different types of headphone, where compared to the aeon x vs the elex for music I really lean towards the elex.
For the clear, I think it would really command a higher tier of headphone amp in order to get a fair comparison, so I think that you are better off going with an elex if you don’t plan on spending around 1k ish on a headphone amp
Would honestly really like to test the elex for myself but there zero returns on those, I’d have to borrow one or buy it and sell it if it doesn’t fit and lose money which would lead to me trying to find it used just incase off another person. Meanwhile, I can technically get an aeon 2 to try out but the only one I see right now that has an open return policy is headphones.com but its the closed version not the open version, which the open variation has the pads that give it that better v shape and the open sound which is what I want. In other words… I don’t see any way of me actually auditoning these two. Also just stumbled upon Audeze lcd gx which… didnt know there was a friggin $800+ gaming headphone lol. It does sound like the elex would be nice… especially having that bubble… I am not quite sure how that would perform gaming wise though it sounds like it would be nice but I cant even say for sure considering how you described it.
The open and closed have the same pads iirc. They are both fairly neutral, and you don’t really take a hit too much by going closed as well, my preference does lean towards closed
It’s nice, but it’s moreso a re tuned lcd 2 classic in terms of technicalities kinda
So from my experience it can get a bit confusing in games, it’s immersive but things don’t really sound like they are coming from the right place for competitive play from my experiences, for music it’s great, but for gaming it can be confusing
Nah, closed has non perforated whereas the open has the perforations to change the signature. Open x has the same perforated pads as aeon 2 open. Due to this open has a wider stage and is even stated for the pads it provides a stronger v shape sound with the opens… while they can be implemented to the closed back im not paying the extra for that lol
isnt that the same one you recommended I look into though?
hmm due to that really interesting sound stage I guess I can see how that would throw it off… I assume itd be the same for casual. I can probably cross off the elex for now then, I definitely want to try it later though solely for music purposes maybe when i find it for either cheap or a good return on it