We have a bit of a treat in at the moment, the loan of a pair of Sennheiser HD650‘s and a very expensive Headroom Balanced Desktop Amp, to pair with our Audeze LCD2 and a custom made PPA headphone amplifier. We’ve been swapping cables all day! The balanced amp can drive two pairs of headphones or one balanced pair, which has been invaluable for head to head testing.
We’ll do a full review in a week or two, but for now my impressions are that the HD650 has a little more detail than the LCD2, especially at the high end, but the LCD2 has stronger, punchier bass. Don’t get me wrong, the HD650’s have bass, and the LCD2 has treble, we’re talking about subtle differences between two of the best headphones in the world here! It’s not always about each part of the sound is though, sometimes it’s about how it all comes together to play the music we love. Both are very comfortable headphones, but I think the Senny’s with their soft pads, lighter weight, and lower clamping force just edge out the still excellent LCD2’s leather pads and slightly greater clamping force.
I’m not sure whether or not I can hear a difference between the two amps. Sometimes I think the headroom has slightly better high end detail and a touch more bass, but I doubt I could tell the two apart in a blind test.
We may throw in the old A900s, since they’ll be back in the office tomorrow anyway, and there are some Beats by Dr Dre’s laying about that we’ll add in too.
Questions are welcome!