I have been enjoying your no-BS reviews! I owned the LCD-XC and had more positive impressions, but agree with you on the stock cable and sound. The caveat is that these sound wayyyyy better once EQ'd (see Resolve's EQ settings on the headphones.com forums - they brought these to life!). That said, I ultimately parted with these because they are heavy, not the easiest to drive, and I preferred to not have to EQ as much to get the sound I wanted.