Audeze LCD2 Classic

I get bored writing long reviews. I just want to say that these headphones are suitable for all music genres, but they absolutely shine with rock and metal. For these two genres I even prefer them to my Hifiman Arya Stealth and Sennheiser HD800S. The highs are not recessed as someone wrote, but the bass is strong. Very precise and defined, but strong. If, for any reason, you need to EQ it by 2 or 3 db either in the highs or the mids, they will respond magnificently to equalization.

I also had the similarly priced Ananda v2 in the past and the differences are substantial. Not necessarily better or worse, but I must say they are two different headphones. In short, the Anandas have a wider soundstage, while the lcd-2c have a richer and perhaps more musical sound. I'd say the Anandas have the edge if extreme neutrality is sought after, but both are top tier cans in their price range.

With EQing, maybe this headphone may work well. I personally prefer not to use EQ so I had to let LCD2C go..

LCD2C is not great for classical, jazz, folk and acoustic music in general but good for genres that require big bass (think EDM, some types of rock, pop, etc.)

Summary:
- Small preamble: bought with my own money, complete unbiased opinion.
- I bought these headphones due to their FR, knowning they were somewhat bass heavy (which is what i was after).For open-planars, they have an exceptional amount of slam in the sub-bass with fast decay and a decent amount of rumble. Mids sound nice, with the high-mids not sounding shouty. Treble is crsip, no harhness and no silibance.
- Use case: People who like R+B, Hip-hop, EDM and Pop. I think the reviewer who gave them 3 stars was being unfair (it'd be like rating CA andromedas a 1/5 because it has , these headphones were never marketted as being neutral or harmon target. These are warm headphones with an emphasis on bass - which i think is the exact reason they are excellent. They do what they do very well.



Testing Gear:
- JDS Atom
- Topping D30
- Hiby R5

Genres:
- Hip-hop
- EDM
- Pop
- R+B

Build Quality:
- Other than the plastic rings, metal, metal and more metal. These are built well. Sure there are some cost cutting pleather cups and band) but overall it's a 8/10.
- Cable is very nice, thick and well braided - you won't need any after market cable unless you're after a balanced output
- Lack of case is of note, however a headphone stand works fine and these can sit nicely on a mouse pad without getting damaged

Sound Quality:
- Bass: The big reason to by these, I've listened to 2 - 3 open planars and these had the best bass response by far. That's not to say they are muddy or massively emphasized. Good slam with fast decay. Doesn't spill into the mid range and there is clear seperation between mids and bass. It should be noted, the bass even though exceptional, isn't anything like a closed-back counter part (i.e. CA cascade), though sacrificing a bit of slam results in great staging, clarity and a far superior listenability.

- Mids: They are there. Not the most pronounced. Male and female vocals sound nice. Not shouty. Not much else to say really.

- Highs: Crystal clear. No silibance. No harshness. I'm extremely treble sensisitive and can listen to these for hours with no issues.

- Soundstage: Very good for the price. Depending on the genre they can sound intimate at times, but not at anypoint congested.

- Another thing to note, these work really when given plenty of juice. I noticed that even though they will run of a Hiby R5, to get the best sound you need to really pump some amps in - they are wonderful to listen to from the atom.