Headphone 'Review': Sennheiser HD800 vs 800S vs Audeze LCD X vs Focal Clear

Hi guys,

I spent quite a bit of time demoing headphones yesterday, so I thought I'd provide my initial thoughts for anyone who might find this useful.

The headphones:

- Sennheiser HD800

- Sennheiser HD800S

- Focal Clear

- Audeze LCD X

Set-up: laptop (playing FLAC files via foobar > USB cable > Naim DAC V-1 > headphones.

Key songs: Breathe and Time, Pink Floyd. New Shoes, Paolo Nutini. Stop, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Bittersweet Symphony, The Verve.

In order of preference:

AUDEZE LCD X -- seem to do everything well. Brilliant bass. An ability to take the harsh edge off heavier music -- I don't want to say 'smooth', as this implies a loss of detail. With the LCD X I felt as though no detail was lost. The hi-hats in Breathe sounded as close to standing next to a real drum kit as I've ever heard. 

FOCAL CLEAR -- a good middle ground. The quality I was expecting at this price range, but not higher.

SENNHEISER HD800 -- I already own these. I had not idea how little bass they had before this comparison. I much prefer a bright, detailed sound with my music, but this comes with a massive compromise on bass here, unlike the LCD X. Still really like them, but wouldn't have bought them if I'd been able to demo these others at the time.

SENNHEISER HD800S -- not too dissimilar to the Focals to my ears. However, I may have been fatigued. It really annoys me that these are named as part as the 800 series -- they sound nothing like the 800. I'm also still pissed off with Sennheiser for the HD800 DVD, which I think is a con because of its shit dac. Therefore these can go in last place

Your thoughts are welcome.