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Audeze LCD-2 Orthos
Jul 1, 2011 at 5:28 AM Post #12,886 of 18,459
I ordered a pair of LCD-2s two days ago and they were shipped out to me yesterday via FedEx. I will be driving them with a LFP-V Isabellina HPA, which is currently en-route to Red Wine Audio for DAC to headphone amp conversion. I'm quite excited, and must say I'm impressed by the quick shipping as well.
 
Jul 1, 2011 at 5:39 AM Post #12,887 of 18,459
so are they worth the extra money over HD650? or would you prefer to listen to both?
 
Quote:
windsor said:
 
I received a brand new loaner pair of the LCD-2 this morning (freq. response measured on 03/2011) and had a quick listen. Straight out of the box, music sounded great with them and out of curiosity I compared them with the Sennheiser HD-650 that I have. Whilst the LCD-2 seemed technically superior, my gut feeling was that they weren’t worth the $950 more to upgrade from the HD 650.
 
***
 
Fast forward a few hours to nearer the end of my day, and I’m listening to music files (320 kbps and lossless files) sent to the LCD-2 via iTunes to the Lavry DA 10 DAC/Amp and having a wonderful time. 
 
Overall, to me the LCD-2 are fantastic headphones, the most technically adept I've yet heard. Here are some more specifics about them, the way I see it. 
 
Packaging, looks, and physical feel of the LCD-2
 
The packaging is very impressive. The wooden LCD-2 box is beautifully shiny and smells very new and quite expensive, though I felt the box smell could be less pungent. But I guess that way the smell will last for a long time. From memory it doesn’t seem to be as refined as the Sony R10 packaging, but the LCD-2 packing still very elegant. It was fun to unravel the cling-film over the pads, which provided me with a sense of the care and custom-manufactured nature of the LCD-2.
 
The LCD-2 are amongst the heaviest headphones I’ve worn and I’m definitely aware that they’re on my head. But I find that to be attribute of them to be grounding, as I enjoy being present in this moment, here and now in my body. At this time of writing I’ve had the LCD-2 on for over 2 hours, and though I’m aware of them on my head (probably because I’m focusing on them), wearing them is quite a pleasant sensation.
 
The stock LCD-2 cable is stiffer than the stock Sennheiser HD 6x0 series cables I have, and I sometimes feel the stiffness of the LCD-2 cable if I move, but again, it adds to the LCD-2 gearing me towards physical grounding, which is probably important to those who want to ably stay in the present moment. The weight of the LCD-2 is probably enough grounding for me when listening though, so I’d probably prefer another more flexible cable, but the stock cable is most satisfactory.
 
Aesthetically, the LCD-2 are larger headphones than I thought they might have been from looking at pictures of them online. On me they seem to look like they mean business, and other than I just did a few seconds ago, I probably won’t look in the mirror again to check how they look on me - the important thing to me that I'm sitting here wearing now the LCD-2 and my cheeks are gently tingling from the smiling and joy I’m experiencing. 
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Clarity, timbre, and sound signature
 
The LCD-2 excellently delineate musical lines. Their rhythmic articulation and impact is the best I’ve heard from any headphone so far – great PRaT, as we say – which has led to me hearing many details with them that I’ve never heard before in recordings I’ve listened to for years. The LCD-2 have also revealed distortion on recordings more clearly than I’ve yet heard, but not unpleasantly so, just in a way that often makes me think, ‘oh, interesting – so that’s how that recording actually sounds…’ 
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The timbre they reveal sounds and feels very natural. When listening to a live performance recording with the LCD-2 and aware that I’m hearing music with headphones, the sound of the instruments is still very realistic, like a smaller version of my favourite musicians playing inside my head. 
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On a related side-note, I have played the drum set for many years and enjoy hearing a well-tuned and played drum set acoustically. When listening to recordings of drums on headphones, I’ve always been disappointed by the sound and feel of drums, but the LCD-2 has really changed that for me. Right now as I write this, I am experiencing the most realistic experience of hearing live drums via headphones and for that I am very grateful. Thank you Audez’e; truly well done!
 
Listening to some acoustic jazz, such as ‘So What’ from Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue album, the LCD-2 come across as ever-so-slightly bassier than natural. For listening to acoustic music, a more neutral headphone could be more preferable. Whilst I have enjoyed the neutral frequency balance of the Sennheiser HD 600 when listening to acoustic/jazz recordings, I’ve never experienced recordings of those styles as viscerally as I have with the LCD-2, and to do so in a way that every note is clearly defined, even on a musically dense recording e.g. one of Miles Davis’ really large ensembles, is an astonishing experience.
 
(On a note of neutrality, I’m due to receive a loaner pair of the HiFiMAN HE-500 this weekend, so it’ll be interesting to hear them, especially next to the LCD-2).
The soundstage of the LCD-2 is definitely narrower than the HD 650, which has a very wide soundstage. But the LCD-2 soundstage is very enjoyable to me.
 
Bass, mids, and treble
 
Bass wise, the LCD-2 are of great quality. To me, everything is very clear in the bass region when listening with them and it’s very visceral. As I said, I find them ever-so-slightly bassier than natural, but for Electronic music, such as Squarepusher’s ‘Do You Know Squarepusher,’ the sound is superlative, and the lower end of the sonic spectrum sounds very satisfying. The same seems to be true for rock recordings, too. It feels real. Wow!
 
The mids are very clear and sound quite natural to me. Based on my experience of hearing live music and my experience as a performing musician (hundreds of gigs done). In response a post I read on these forums, I tried boosting the LCD-2 mids at around 3 + 4 K by almost 3 dB, and definitely find that makes them more forward and engaging sounding. But ‘unboosted,’ I can see why they can be described as lacking in ‘bite,’ but I wouldn’t call the LCD-2 hollow-sounding. I'm finding them very enjoyably un-fatiguing, and that for me is a real plus point.
 
I’ve read about the LCD-2 being described as dark in its sound signature, which I would agree with, and though they are far from (from memory) the treble extension and airiness of both the Sennheiser HD800 and Beyerdynamic T1, both of which I found very fatiguing after a short while of listening, the LCD-2 extend nicely and sufficiently in the treble for me. Though I could want them to extend further, I can clearly hear quite ample treble detail in a way that is non-fatiguing as they are. I like that muchly, as I want my hearing to remain healthy.
 
In closing
 
Regardless any of the technicalites and subtleties I’ve described, I’ve been listening to music with the LCD-2 constantly whilst typing these notes - which I guess have morphed into a review - and frequently laughing with enjoyment at the wonderful musical experience I’ve been and am having.
 
The LCD-2 are a lot of fun, and I definitely recommend them to anyone who wants to further their capacity to experience the joy that can be found when listening to music. 
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Jul 1, 2011 at 8:58 AM Post #12,890 of 18,459
The improvements over regular dynamic cans don't jump out at you, but creep up on you. They aren't showy cans with pronounced bass or peaky treble, for example, so their capabilities aren't shouted out always. Also, the real magic starts once they have a serious source and amp behind them.
 
Jul 1, 2011 at 9:05 AM Post #12,891 of 18,459


Quote:
brasewel said:
They are definitely worth the extra money over the HD650. There is really no comparison between the two headphones
 
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x2
 
 
Jul 1, 2011 at 10:30 AM Post #12,895 of 18,459
currawong said:
The improvements over regular dynamic cans don't jump out at you, but creep up on you. They aren't showy cans with pronounced bass or peaky treble, for example, so their capabilities aren't shouted out always. Also, the real magic starts once they have a serious source and amp behind them.
Click to expand...


Agreed! I liken my LCD's to a comfy pair of slippers! You gravitate to these after years of shrill uber detail phones that get so highly praised on the forums but are very hard to enjoy or live with on a day to day basis.

I love these phones for many reasons, one of which is they do not take me by the scruff of the neck and shout down my ears "hey! I am bloody wonderful, listen to me!

 
Jul 1, 2011 at 12:33 PM Post #12,896 of 18,459


Quote:
ianmedium said:
Agreed! I liken my LCD's to a comfy pair of slippers! You gravitate to these after years of shrill uber detail phones that get so highly praised on the forums but are very hard to enjoy or live with on a day to day basis.

I love these phones for many reasons, one of which is they do not take me by the scruff of the neck and shout down my ears "hey! I am bloody wonderful, listen to me!
 
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I reckon the above could be said of the HD650 as well.  Sennheiser veil .... ha!!!  I think balanced 650s are pretty damned good.
 
That said, the LCD-2 is simply the most enjoyable headphone I've experienced. My desert island phone for sure now with my new pads.
 
I recon I need to get into some good estats one of these days, though.
 
 
 
Jul 1, 2011 at 3:59 PM Post #12,900 of 18,459
Replacement of the 1/2 dead LCD-2s took one week.  FedEXed the broken ones last Friday, replacements came today (Friday).  The wood on this pair looks nicer than the prior ones, more grain this time.  Good service......took a second email to get a mailing label was the only hitch in the whole process.  
 
Listening to the mew ones now on my Musical Paradise MP-301 MK2 tube amp.  The new Sarah Jarosz - Follow Me Down is playing.  Sounds amazing!
 
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