The Best Audiophile Earphones headphones and Amp


I do not own a set of earphones (headphones). I have a high end HiFi system and I am interested in possibly adding a high end headphone/headphone amp.

I am looking for advice/information. What is the best audiophile ear (headphone) and dedicated headphone amp on the market today?

I have heard Stax electrostatics are good.
matjet

Showing 2 responses by rgs92

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.
By the way, if anyone gets an LCD2 headphone, the Q-Cable replacement cable really helps things out, with much more resolved and tighter bass and adding a lot of overall refinement and faigue-free sound.