Edwood

I think the HM-602 will support 24/96 playback, but it's internally upsampled.

I wish there were an easy way to mod the HM-801 to have the USB input go straight to I2S. But since the PCM1704 does not have a native I2S input, it would not be a simple endeavor. I would've preferred that the HM-801 have a staight to I2S USB input rather than USB to PCM2706 and SPDIF input. The upcoming HM-602 looks like it will have a better USB input implementation, but it uses a different DAC chip.

I have had nearly a week of quality listening with the HE-6. I've been listening almost exclusively to standard stereo music and SVS Realiser movies with my JH13's for a long time. Nothing really came close to the thunderous bass and lightning speed. I had the HD800's for two weeks, and didn't keep them, they didn't tempt me back into full sized cans. But how that I've had Thunder in my Pants, I'm totally sold on Orthos. I can't believe how well balanced they are. They have the detail, soundstage, speed, and frequency response all locked down. The only odd thing is that they don't behave well with some very high frequency sounds, especially with lossy compressed music. A couple of MP3's I tried (and a few FLACs even, which could be the recording, or who knows), get weirdly etchy transient highs, especially with cymbal strikes. Not sure yet if it's revealing a flaw in the music or it's the HE-6's or something else. But the biggest selling point with the HE-6's is that they work amazingly well with my Smyth SVS Realiser. So much so, that as much as I like using my JH13's with the Realiser, at times they are a little too smooth and the HE-6's can often make the JH13's sound laid back in comparison. LOL, imagine that. Of course, the JH-3A could likely change all of that. -Ed

Eagerly awaiting Thunderpants Modifications...

Likely not. I don't think anyone actually took a multimeter to the ALO cable to check for sure. Tyll was in a hurry to finish other tests. I think he did test a stock wired one though, so if it measures significantly differently, it would be a better indicator. But as of now, no one's actually 100% sure. All I know, the ALO wired LCD-2 was the only LCD-2 I had time to listen to, and it sounded off. The soundstage and imaging was not right. There was extreme left and right channel separation, like there was a big hole in the middle. And my SVS test tracks were even more off, which tells me it's a phase problem. As to what's causing it is not conclusive. But I keep thinking of Occum's Razor... -Ed

Damn you, Pete, you're making me hungry. Hmmmmm. I think we'll have to go to Five Guys tomorrow.

Nah, I'm liking them much more with my JH13's. Will like them even more with my JH16/JH-3A. That way my HM-801 will feel less self conscious about their size.

I have some recordings that are very reliant on proper phase. I recorded some demo tracks of Smyth SVS processed audio streams, and they lose their tight localizations (especially the center channel) with headphones that are out of absolute phase. I could tell something was sounding off with the LCD-2's in Tyll's measurement room when I listened to those tracks there.

Listening to the HE-6's now with Dream Theater "6:00". Holy shit the bass is fast. I'm really loving Orthos. -Ed

No No No, he NEEDS something to wear, or he'll wear nothing at all. He has a fully nude version of that infamous Stereophile Ad.

And people can keep redundantly regurgitating other people's posts as their own.

If I was to start a wish list it would include: 2. Longer play time, I would suggest a 20 hour target. You'll have to sacrifice sound quality for battery life, or have an even larger battery. Notice how the current battery is nearly 1/3 the mass and half the weight of the entire thing? 3. A way to shut down the screen to extend the battery life. Goto the Settings menu, change LCD timer settings, it will then automatically shut off the LCD at specific times set. 4. Inclusion of a case, even if it adds $30. Yeah, I'd like this one too, but there are places that can make custom ones, there's a thread on it in the Head-Direct forum on HF. Otherwise, if you just want a protective case, go check out GPS cases at Best Buy, Fry's Electronics, etc. I found a rigid case meant for 4.3" GPS that fit perfectly. 6. Ability to use the upcoming 64 GB and 128 GB SD Cards. SDXC format was not finalized by the time the HM-801 hardware was finalized. 32GB is the max limit for SDHC, blame Sandisk and the flash memory consortium for that one. 7. Gapless which I believe it is being worked on as we speak. Yup, that would be great. Hope it's in the next Firmware revision. 8. A more common A/C plug into the HM-801 so it would be easier to secure wall warts replacements in the future. Not a simple solution because the HM-801 has TWO batteries inside that battery pack. It has + and - 9V LiPolymer batteries inside. Head-Direct is still working on a more portable charger for travel. Basically most of your complaints are addressed in the upcoming HM-602, the little brother to the HM-801. It's cheaper, smaller, and lighter. But you give up some sound quality for those. -Ed

Are you sure you guys don't want this thread in the Casino, if you're OK with it being searchable by Google, then carry on.

Bass bloat in the LCD-2? The bass measured very very flat in Tyll's measurement rig. Mmmmm. yes. I am a believer in having Thunder in my Pants. I need to put some orthos in this pic.

I do prefer to not have leather, pleather, etc for ear pads, as they get uncomfortable for me to wear in warmer weather like in SoCal. I guess I have a hot head.

Hmmmm. The HE-6 Driver looks quite different than that one as far as I can tell.

There's a partial pic of the HE-5LE's outer part of the diaphragm with the grill cloth removed. A simple way of adding airiness to HIFIMAN HE-5LE: Remove Grill Cloth - Head-Fi.org Community Doesn't really look like what I'm seeing in the HE-6 prototype. There is definitely no damping cloth on the outer part. -Ed

If I end up getting the LCD-2's, they'll need Thunderpants Edition Headband modding. I'm not really into the whole BDSM headphone scene. -Ed

The cups are actually covered with real leather if that really matters to you. Looks, feels, and smells like it too. Anyone have pics of the HE-5LE diaphram? The HE-6 not feeling like a finished product? No shit, Sherlock, it's not the final product. But overall build quality of the prototypes feel pretty finished to me. -Ed

Brokeback CanJam

Al, your big Vodka toss outside was fucking hilarious. I though it was in the bushes, but then we heard the sound. How bad was your hangover ? Mine was fairly nasty, but I had a lot less of the Red colored stuff than you. Haha.

I'm demoing the HE-6's now. Is there anyone in SoCal with the LCD-2's? I'd like to do a good head to head comparo. Orthos ruled CanJam 2010 in full sized cans. Sorry Stax Mafia. -Ed

Did you ever get a hang over at all? LOL, man you and your young liver.

He tested ones with different, non-ALO cables. He was in the middle of testing it, so I was only able to listen to the ALO cabled ones. They made the LCD-2's even more heavy than they already were, and being wired out of phase makes sense with how they sounded to me. The soundstage was messed up, almost inverted, towards the back of my head, and extreme left and right stereo separation making them sound like they needed serious crossfeed. There needs to be a different pair of headband available, it's way too small and far too much clamping pressure. I don't care how much "breaking in" there is, it's made for people with tiny melons. BTW, thanks for all the fine spirits, I think we all enjoyed them a little too much. I was laughing my ass off at Justin at his HeadAmp table with an open bottle of scotch Sunday morning. Someone has to have a picture of that. -Ed