The Best Audiophile Earphones headphones and Amp

I have used Stax phones for decades now. I had the Stax O2 mk1 and mk2 and other lambdas. I actually decided to keep the Stax Sigma Pros (very rare) and a pair of Lambda Limited edition (very good). Both are confortable. I plan to acquire the SR-009. My amp is the Stax SRM-007II. We are talking about a $ 3000 setup here which is reasonable.

If anyone is looking for great audiophile headphones (at any price), I really love and recommend the Audeze LCD-2 Rev 2 (that's the current version, this Revision 2). I've had LOTS of phones and these really seem like the top ones to me now. Here are my comments after getting this new version of the LCD2s.:

Well, way to go Audeze! I finally broke down and got the Rev2s, and they are much better than the originals and are fantastic phones, period, just with their stock cable with a conventional 1/4-inch plug.

(1) They have no sluryness or sense of overhang that I find orthos can suffer from (including HE6s).

(2) They do not ring at all in the upper midrange, so important to non-fatiguing vocals.

(3) The bass is controlled and detailed.

(4) They have great definition without any hyped up highs. I always thought conventional dynamic phones were needed for this level of definition, but the Rev2s are right up there with Beyer T1s, Senn. HD800s, and Denon D7000s in this area.

(5) They are excellent with my tube and solid state amps (but the tubes give more saturation of tones, a more continuous sound; but even with tubes, the bass is not soft and is quick and satisfying).

(6) The highs are (Goldilocks-like) "just right" to me (a rare achievement with headphones).

(7) They are just plain balanced over the entire frequency spectrum, more than any phones I've tried (& I've tried many of them). No anomalies that I can detect in the Rev2s.

Just plain shocked at how good these are out of the box. A big step up for me over the Rev1s.

The Hi-Fi Man has excellent headphones, but they require a powerful headphone amp, as they are a difficult load. The Audeze LCD-2 (Revision 2) would probably be for me my favorite. They are easier to drive than the Hi-Fi Man phones and are more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. Of course, all great phones require great headphone amps to sound their best, but with the Audeze's you can buy from a larger range of headphone amps.

Greg

I have not had two great head-phone amps in my audio life.

My first was the legendary Melos SHA. Used to listen to them with a few different Grados. I sold it about 10 years ago. If I found one used, I would buy one again for its amazing sonic abilities.

Recently, in March I bought myself a Eddie Current Balancing Act and the Audeze LCD-2. This is definitely on the higher end of what can be achieved sonically in the headphone listening world.

If I can sit and listen to music and not feel any desire to be anywhere else than just be and listen to music, then I am having a musical moment, like being in the pocket. I have many musical moments with this setup when I just sit and let the music come over me.

But, now I also have a small tube amp and speaker setup that gives me a whole different type of musical experience. And I am tempted to expand my speaker system, but it surely is going to get quite expensive both in space and money to achieve that kind of musical experience.