Best I heard for this specific use is the Hifiman he6se v2, with a few physical mods and amped on a Ragnarok 2. Preferred it for metal over the Focal Clear OG or the LCDx, but it depends on your set up. The Focal and Audeze are both very easy to drive, but the Hifiman need a lot of voltage.
One must work with the source limitations for these genres. Rock and metal are generally highly distorted from the start – to include active (amplified) guitar pickups, overdriven recording amps, and a series of processing effects (pedals) that shift natural sounds to a fully arbitrary place. The quality isn’t technically great or comparable to a nuanced acoustic source, and it can never be the same.
In addition, post-1980s metal tends to be very fast with abrupt transitions and start-stop passages. (Pre-1980s metal such as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin defined the genre with electrified and aggressive orchestral-like soft-to-loud passages.) The genre is thereby not suited for ‘slow’ playback setups that cannot keep up.
The Clear has known technical limitations, to include clipping with extreme volume, the top end disappears into air, and a metallic timbre. Still, the lack of distortion prior to clipping preserves whatever content was there at the start. If a person makes the Clear clip routinely, then they likely have hearing loss that moots the ‘audiophile’ goal.
If I play metal on my nuanced, delicate, and airy HD 800 S it sounds “fine” but lacks the bite and punch of the Clear. The Clear is exactly what works with these genres. It’s not technically the best, just complimentary.
I’m old having been in high school in the 80s-ouch! So, I’ve seen it all from late 70’s hard rock, to NWOBHM to thrash to grunge to-sadly Nu Metal (sorry my millennial friends-that era is just regrettable) to extreme metal. Ironically, now I think the best metal is in the underground or maybe always was.
I’m a bit of a genre whore and really enjoy experimental weird ass droney metal, OSDM, prog death/black, atmoblack, a little 2nd wave black metal, all of that…but doom/sludge/stoner is probably of my favorite over all genre.
Back on point, my LCD-3 and probably LCD-2 pre favor that I initially fell in love with at Head-Fi meets to my ears sounds great with low and slow and atmospheric doom/sludge/post metal and the like. It has a way of smoothing out the rough edges of low-fi ghetto production metal, but I think my LCD-3 is a little too laid back for highly technical, multi layered metal-brutal Nile influenced technical suff. That’s really where I have a gap which is why I had originally thought a LCD-X or Clear would give me an edge there. I’m intrigued by ZMF but from reviews that have mentioned detail retrieval is not it’s strong point, I’m not sure it would give me exactly what I want for this area-fast, multi layered, chaotic, insanity. But, I’m open to possibilities.
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Just tried to listen Nile - Chapter for Not Being Hung Upside Down on a Stake through Utopia and LCD-X (no EQ), for me both do well with this track, but it seems LCD-X sounds sharper, more intensive, with more pronounced treble, and with more noticeable instrument separation. I’d say this specific track sounds more fun through LCD-X. Through Utopia it’s a bit more laidback listening, probably because of less pronounced treble.
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I’d jump on the Clear if I could find one. I’ve been looking on Head-Fi classifies. Been on the wait list here on Headphones.com. Most of the HP’s are are waitlisted and seemed to have been unavailable for some time.
I’m looking at a Bokeh open and a LCD-X going for sale on Head-Fi right now. Both in the $700 range.
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$700 at TMR
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I may have to jump on that! I’ve never looked at the Music Room. Thanks! Dang, LCD-X $750, Clear $699, Bokeh $700…decisions
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Thanks again, Lou, I pulled the trigger on the Clear, OG, been looking for one for a few months. The Music Room looks like a very cool outfit. Now, I’m debating the LCD-X or Bokeh, leaning towards the LCD-X.
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