When my 3 meter headphone cable from Q Audio Cables arrived in the mail and I opened it I was surprised to find just how lightweight the cable felt as I held it in my hand.  Lighter and more flexible than any cable I have ever experienced.  Replacing the Audeze stock cable with the Q proved to be the ultimate in ergonomic enhancement. No longer did I feel like I had a small hose running from my head down my chest through the air to my rig like a cable on a suspension bridge.  Well, at least thats what the stock cable felt like once I replaced it with the softer more flexible Q cable.  Ergonomically the Q disappears when you use it. You simply do not realize it is on your LCD's while you are listening to music.  You can place it anyway you want and it will stay there and not become an insistent intrusion on your listening experience.  The Q is worth it just for that pleasure alone. 
 
But pleasant and practical ergonomics is just a side benefit that comes with the cable, the real value is the impressive sonic performance of the cable itself.   I was not expecting any noticeable improvement in sonic quality with my LCDs by switching out the stock cable and I was very surprised and impressed when I did. The first attribute that I noticed right away was the overall CLARITY of the signal the Q delivers to the LCD.  Upgrading to the Q cable allows the LCD to be more of what it already is. The stock cable is definitely holding the LCD back acting in many ways as a filter on the signal.  After 2 days of burn in and then 3 more days of comparison I found the stock cable to be smearing the finer detail within the music. The stock cable was adding a small amount of congestion and a bit of hardness to the more dynamic passages, especially in the upper region, low level detail was slightly soft and a bit more defocused, and a veil was impeding the overall transparency of the music.  
 
The artifacts created by the stock cable are not so readily apparent until you insert the Q into the sonic equation. With the Q there is more transparency to the music at hand, everything in the sonic presentation is cleaner and clearer and adds up to the one word that kept coming to mind, Clarity.   This clarity brings improvements in all areas of reproduction for the LCD to prove its Ortho stuff.  Detail is more precise and has better separation but it is not analytical, edged or artificial, it's simply clean, transparent, smooth and cohesive.  Because the detail is more clearly defined and presented, smaller, softer low level inner detail gives the soundfield a deeper sense of depth and dimension, this creates better definition overall in the context of the soundfield and leads to better imaging.  Rendering of the smallest detail is a delight with the Q, they are exciting to discover, bringing you closer to the music. One of the improvements the r.2 has over the r.1 I feel is its ability to better layer the detail in the soundfield and it does an even finer job using the Q cable. It is even easier to hear into the space of the sound field in a recording.  
 
 The Q opens up the soundstage, the clarity of the detail allows for more air around the instruments, there is more of a palpable feel to them and an increased realism.  There is more precise tighter imaging and more ambient detail.  It is as if the Q is simply getting out of the way of the overall signal and letting it pass unimpeded whereas the stock cable is to some degree adding a filtering signature to the signal.
 
The Q exhibits excellent control over dynamic passages, transients hold together with no break up or restriction, whereas with the stock cable congestion seems to be the outcome of some type of dynamic restriction, more often in the upper region.  High energy transients with the Q are portrayed with a clean effortless deliverance.  Cymbals have a shimmer that is clean, solid, and finely detailed adding to their realism,  whereas the stock cable portrays a softer less defined type of detail which for me robs a little bit of the excitement and realism.  There is no sense of the slight smearing of the detail with the Q as there seems to be with the stock cable.  Chimes, shakers, bells, cymbals are all more realistic and vibrant, again due to that little bit of extra detail coming through.
 
With the Q I found instruments such as drums to have more dynamic impact. More tightness to their surface, this being the outcome of the very clarity of detail the Q allows the LCD's to receive.  The black background in which the musical setting is presented seems blacker now with the Q than the stock cable. Voices come out of the background and seem more realistic and solid.  Piano is rendered with clearer transients and cleaner harmonic detail and control.  Bass has a bit more dynamic definition and palpable sense than the stock cable with a bit more detail and a touch less bloat. Some may think the less bloat description to mean less bass. It does not. The bass is not negatively effected, if anything it is a bit cleaner.  
 
The LCD's are even more exciting now with the Q cable than they were before with the stock cable.   Some of the differences I experienced between the two cables are noticeable right away and some are less noticeable but become more apparent and more finely substantial as you listen and experience the Q cable with time.  For instance the clarity of the cable is noticeable right way, it leads to the discovery of all the other benefits the Q has to offer the LCD.  Increased transparency, a more open soundstage, better layering, more realism from the cleaner less veiled more finely defined detail. It is a discovery of better, cleaner, signal transfer that continues on as you play more of the tunes you are familiar with and with each tune your appreciation will grow.  That is what happened with me. The more I listen the more the smallest improvements became apparent and began to add up into a more exciting experience. 
 
With the Q Cable you get better ergonomics over the stock cable and you will extend the LCD experience to another level of refinement.
 
 

 
Here are my impressions of the LCD-2 r.2   I will refer to the latest LCD-2 Revision2 as r.2 from this point on.

 

The r.2 has a thinner newly developed faster diaphragm and this new development has impacted the LCD in very beneficial ways in every aspect of its performance.  There is now more upper frequency extension than previous, this does not appear to be an increase or boost in treble amplitude but more an increase in the range of the r.2 itself in terms of portrayal and response.  Tonal characteristics of the r.2 are the same but the tonal range has been extended into the upper frequencies.  This upper frequency extension means more noticeability in that area and the key here is not an increase in treble amplitude, not an infringement of treble upon the sonic characteristic of the LCD as many have feared and speculated, but an increase in resolution and clarity from the new driver.  The frequency extension does not translate into a more forward sonic character, it hasn't created glare, edginess, artificial brightness, or a hardness to the delivery. There is more air now to this region and overall detail.  This detail does not create any hardness or bring to the r.2 an analytical nature. Audeze has described the upper range as more pronounced but I believe they have used the wrong term to describe what has happened in this region.  "More pronounced" can be misconstrued perhaps as forward or aggressive and this is not the case at all.  The upper range is simply more defined now with more access to inner detail. A veil has been lifted and there is more focus and speed to the detail, all of this seems natural and not analytical or cold. 

 

Sonic elements in the upper region are approached with more realism than before. Cymbals, chimes, cowbells, tambourines, are now better represented and reproduced. They have a more natural and metallic shimmer with more air.    The shimmer has quicker speed now and a more effortless and natural deliverance, a more realistic metallic timbre which is fast and delicate as it decays. They are simply more convincing and have more micro dynamics and frequency extension.

 

The r.2 is simply quicker overall.  There is more resolution of low level detail, micro dynamics, and more clarity to the detail which is more accessible and easier to discern giving the r.2 a more effortless sense of delivery. 

 

 This refinement in detail, clarity, micro dynamics, and overall resolution provides the r.2 with better focus, imaging and an improved soundstage.  The soundstage is more dimensional with more apparent depth from front to back and is more layered in it's defining presentation. This improvement comes from the cues derived from the speed of the new drivers. That extra resolution to the low level detail and micro dynamic detail gives instruments more of a physical embodiment, a touch more air around them and a touch more dimensional realism.  These cues allow for that ever small amount of detail to be separated in the soundfield and it adds to the overall realism.  A small triangle in the back of the mix when struck now seems to have more space and air around it and the extra bit of low level detail gives the instrument more of a physical embodiment and location in the space of the soundfield. 

 

Overall the soundstage has improved in dimensionality and seems wider. Not wider in terms of more seemingly extended distance in physical separation of instruments than before but that there no longer seems to be a constriction at the edges as there once was. You don't get that sense that there is something restricting  the edge of the soundstage, truncating it and reflecting it back closing it in. Now the soundstage seems to gently fall away at the edges leaving more of an impression that there is a natural unconstrained space for the instruments and music to sit within rather than be walled in by some sort of containment.   Before this restraint at the edges was a distraction but now with the gentle release at the edges of the soundstage the listener is free to enjoy the soundstage in a more natural presentation.  There is also an improved height to the soundstage as well. 

 

Midrange tonality remains the same but the added resolution has improved its definition and dimensionality.  Bass is a bit deeper and seems to have more extension to its depth than obtrusive amplitude. The entire spectrum seems to have benefited from a little more dynamic low level detail and resolution which adds an extra small amount of realism to the surface of a drum being hit with the drumstick, the pluck of a guitar string, or a cymbal being struck.  Instruments are just a bit more palpable where it counts.  

 

I am enjoying the new leather headband. I do not notice its presence at all while listening and I don't think it adds more weight to the LCD.  The latest LCD comes with the drivers secured with a plastic tie wrap so be forewarned to remove it before you try to adjust the height of the cans.  I didn't see them at first and couldn't figure out for a minute why they would not adjust.  

 

 
The V200 seems to be a very well balanced amp in every aspect of its sonic presentation.  By this I mean its frequency presentation seems to be equally consistent throughout the entire spectrum from the very low bass all the way throughout the upper treble. This consistency  gives the V200 a very smooth, even and natural tonal balance.  This well balanced tonal character gives the amp a smooth, almost liquid sense, a somewhat silky feel. Never is there a hint of artificial or electronic reproduction taking place. When I say silkiness and smoothness I do not mean to infer a lack of detail or leading edge blurriness but quite the contrary, there is plenty of inner detail and resolution.  

 

There is also an overall warmth to this amp but not too much, not overly present or in any way intrusive.  This warmth does not seem to be a manifestation of any undue or excess mid bass emphasis, its just there in the presentation in a beneficial way rather than detracting and does not obscure the the amps detail or compromise definition.  Personally I find this warmth pleasant, inviting and gratifying.

 

The V200 is at once dynamic and laid back. It delivers the dynamic emphasis required to give instruments the weight and impact needed for palpable realism and it does so without seeming to break a sweat. Dynamics are never constrained nor is there ever any sense of congestion.  There is explosive dynamics when called for and yet fine inner detail and micro dynamics are not sacrificed at the expense of muscle.  Its ability to deliver whatever power is needed is done in an effortless manner, never any sense that the V200 is straining to get the job done. If an amp could have a demeanor then for the V200 it would be confidence.

 
The V200 has the ability to unravel a complex sonic landscape with ease and confidence. Musical lines and rhythms are kept straight and coherent. Nothing is sonically tripping over itself or obscuring the detail of another instrument. Even in the most complex passages you can distinctly hear every instrument in detail.  This is the consequence of the V200's ability to resolve and present the smallest amounts of inner detail and micro dynamics.  Instruments are clearly defined and focused and separated across the soundstage.  
 
Bass extension is deep and controlled with excellent definition, impact and tonality.  Treble is extended and smooth without any sense of edginess or harshness. The slight overall warmth to the V200 gives the midrange the seduction needed to draw you into the music and get you involved. 
 
Listening to the V200 I never once thought I was listening to an amplifier. It is not an in your face kind of amplifier. It seems so well balanced in so many regards that it doesn't need to have any particular overbearing characteristics to give it its overall magic.  It simply does its job in every area with confidence and respect and disappears from the sonic equation in an effortless way.
 
Smooth and effortless are the words I kept mouthing when listening to the V200.