ll be doing some A/B comparative listening in my full review for Audio360.org. But I urge every Audeze devotee in the meantime to try and strike comparisons to the LCDs from your mind. I'm not saying this because I think the EL-8 is weak. I'm saying this, as I have from the announcement of the EL-8, that Audeze didn't look back for answers when they sat down to design the EL-8. For example, the EL-8s drivers are single-sided (another design aspect that sets them wholly apart from the LCD-series that are dual-sided) and this, along with other new implementations that we'll dig into in the full review, makes it more practical. If you have to judge them against other cans, try using things like a Sennheiser HD650 or HiFiMAN HE-400. Because I just can't picture another set of cans out-foxing the EL-8s to my ears, musically or sonically, for $699. Their speed alone is enough to raise the bar for all headphones under 1000 bucks today. They're also built like a brick shithouse, but look damn good nonetheless.
I checked the 8s out using various systems so people could get a broader picture for how they play sonically with differing configurations. As it's important to remember, we're always hearing more than any one component in any audio system. We're hearing and experiencing the system as a whole. This is why I try to stay away from statements like "this headphone sounds like.." without mentioning the associated components. It's like saying "this cable sounds like..." Can a cable actually have a sonic signature? Isn't it the cables' job to transmit the source signal without imparting much of itself onto the original signal? Generali