Refreshing like a spring breeze?

better signal:noise ratio on ortho threads, just my opinion
 
on topic,
I'm going to pick one of these up eventually as I'm impressed by the frequency graph,
It's interesting to note that LCD2 owners with tube/hybrid amps are happy with the phones.......
Perhaps the tubes in these amps fill in the order of harmonics above where the FR graph drops 10db's, considering the human voice (mids) is basically at 1 khz and that's just the beginning of where the frequency drops, likely to have excellent upper harmonics of the human voice to start from that point up for owners with tubes in amp, however results are likely tube and implementation dependent.
Can anyone comment on how it pairs with a solid state amp?

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perrew said:

Which is your favorite with the LCD-2?

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I don't have a favorite yet..

Quote:

dreamwhisper said:

better signal:noise ratio on ortho threads, just my opinion
 
on topic,
I'm going to pick one of these up eventually as I'm impressed by the frequency graph,
It's interesting to note that LCD2 owners with tube/hybrid amps are happy with the phones.......
Perhaps the tubes in these amps fill in the order of harmonics above where the FR graph drops 10db's, considering the human voice (mids) is basically at 1 khz and that's just the beginning of where the frequency drops, likely to have excellent upper harmonics of the human voice to start from that point up for owners with tubes in amp, however results are likely tube and implementation dependent.
Can anyone comment on how it pairs with a solid state amp?

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There is no lack, therefore there is nothing missing that needs to be filled in.  You're just not familiar with headphone voicing to accommodate HRTF.
 
BTW, they pair superbly with good SS amps.
 

Quote:

dreamwhisper said:

better signal:noise ratio on ortho threads, just my opinion
 
on topic,
I'm going to pick one of these up eventually as I'm impressed by the frequency graph,
It's interesting to note that LCD2 owners with tube/hybrid amps are happy with the phones.......
Perhaps the tubes in these amps fill in the order of harmonics above where the FR graph drops 10db's, considering the human voice (mids) is basically at 1 khz and that's just the beginning of where the frequency drops, likely to have excellent upper harmonics of the human voice to start from that point up for owners with tubes in amp, however results are likely tube and implementation dependent.
Can anyone comment on how it pairs with a solid state amp?

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, indeed, You need to check out the ortho thread! It's the best place.

I'll be running the LCD2 with solid state to start with (when i get it!). See how i get on...
 
But i dont think tubes would fill in anything in the upper end. I dont think there will be anything missing anyway, it extends amiably form the looks of the graph (and i wouldnt wnat it sticking out more to pierce my ears )

Quote:

perrew said:

Very nice which Mosfets Will you be using? It seems like there Will be several nice amps around and Spritzer mentioned the Dynafet possibly coming Along for CanJam as well so I think I will wait for impressions and use my 300B in the meantime. Anyone know of any good mini XLR plugs that will fit the LCD-2s so I can get à cable ready until they arrive?

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I have the whole line up of IRF 510-540, IRF 610-640, and a few others.  Also looking at bending the legs in on TO-247 package MOSFETs to allow a few other options.  The Aikido will mount up to a 10" wide, 8"tall slab of a heat sink with 2-1/2" fins in a custom modded chassis. 

So managed to spend a little time with the new headphones plugged into the little headphone amp on the Forte soundcard and they're now sitting hooked up to my bedside rig with the D10.  First impression when I heard it was that the sound felt soft...don't know how to describe it.  It wasn't veiled or anything, it just felt nicely mellow.  Then I realized on some of the vocals that I know can be a little peaky and bright they were just there.  No sibilance, no harshness, no shrillness...just really really there and clear.  Then I notice it didn't seem so much like I was "hearing" the bass, more like feeling it as it seemed to support the music rather than overpower it or hide off in the background.  Now I'm no audiophile or anything (as maybe shown by my unfortunate lack of an amp bigger than my cell phone), but I did do a lot of music in school and did some musical theater, and I really am digging the way these headphones present the sound.  It's not overly colored or artificially fun, but it's got enough liveliness to it that the music is very engaging.  It's hard to describe, but right now I'm a little worried about using in my bedside rig because I think I might get too involved in the music and forget to sleep.
 
There's also a beautiful full and round sound that I hear in the tones that isn't just in the higher pitches, but extends way down.  The impacts are present, but I have yet to hear something that feels jarring...maybe if I come across a piece in the music where someone makes a mistake or something, I'll hear it.  It's just mind-numbingly pleasant without being sugary-coated sweet.  I also haven't run into anything yet that makes it sound congested or taxed.  Closest analogy I would have is that it's the kind of feeling that I get when I hear a marvelously good tenor or soprano and they make producing a sound seem effortless.  It doesn't "sparkle", so I can see some folks who lean toward that sound feeling that there's something missing.  I might see if I can dig up some good orchestral music to get a better "look" at the upper register.
 
As far as taxing my equipment, my soundcard normally drives a pair of ATH-A700's, and I had to move it up from about 20% to 30-35%.  My D10 normally drives ESW9's, and it is up from about 9 or 10 o'clock to about 12 or 1 o'clock.  Considering that both of those headphones are pretty easy to drive, I'm quite happy that I was talked into buying them and using the equipment I have to drive them for now.  OK, so I didn't REALLY need a whole lot of arm twisting, but thanks guys!  In the next day or two I'll grab my 2Move from work and see how that fares as well, but now I'm horribly curious to see how they are with something other than my portables or the teeny amp on my soundcard.

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dreamwhisper said:

wow the hype you see on Head-Fi about orthos is refreshing compared to the hype surrounding other new headphones like the T1, D7000...

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It's raining Flagship phones...nice after a long drought!
 

Spent time last eve' using the Sonett to drive the LCD-2. The 6H30 aka. "Supertube" is Super in it's own right, wide bandwidth and no noise.
 
I liked it! Some observations, I couldn't push it hard, but at "normal" levels for me it was quite good. The HE-5 burbled when I tried it! When pushed hard (with the LCD-2) the sound congested and lost focus...BUT that's to be expected! Solid-State (or a hybrid derivative) is the most solid of performers here. But a quality Tube unit will get your feet wet with this phone...neat...

You'll have few shortcomings when you mate with a "Home Amp".  It's a slippery slope, gathering paraphernalia for Audiophelia. Once started, you can't help yourself.

 
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equus said:

So managed to spend a little time with the new headphones plugged into the little headphone amp on the Forte soundcard and they're now sitting hooked up to my bedside rig with the D10.  First impression when I heard it was that the sound felt soft...don't know how to describe it.  It wasn't veiled or anything, it just felt nicely mellow.  Then I realized on some of the vocals that I know can be a little peaky and bright they were just there.  No sibilance, no harshness, no shrillness...just really really there and clear.  Then I notice it didn't seem so much like I was "hearing" the bass, more like feeling it as it seemed to support the music rather than overpower it or hide off in the background.  Now I'm no audiophile or anything (as maybe shown by my unfortunate lack of an amp bigger than my cell phone), but I did do a lot of music in school and did some musical theater, and I really am digging the way these headphones present the sound.  It's not overly colored or artificially fun, but it's got enough liveliness to it that the music is very engaging.  It's hard to describe, but right now I'm a little worried about using in my bedside rig because I think I might get too involved in the music and forget to sleep.
 
There's also a beautiful full and round sound that I hear in the tones that isn't just in the higher pitches, but extends way down.  The impacts are present, but I have yet to hear something that feels jarring...maybe if I come across a piece in the music where someone makes a mistake or something, I'll hear it.  It's just mind-numbingly pleasant without being sugary-coated sweet.  I also haven't run into anything yet that makes it sound congested or taxed.  Closest analogy I would have is that it's the kind of feeling that I get when I hear a marvelously good tenor or soprano and they make producing a sound seem effortless.  It doesn't "sparkle", so I can see some folks who lean toward that sound feeling that there's something missing.  I might see if I can dig up some good orchestral music to get a better "look" at the upper register.
 
As far as taxing my equipment, my soundcard normally drives a pair of ATH-A700's, and I had to move it up from about 20% to 30-35%.  My D10 normally drives ESW9's, and it is up from about 9 or 10 o'clock to about 12 or 1 o'clock.  Considering that both of those headphones are pretty easy to drive, I'm quite happy that I was talked into buying them and using the equipment I have to drive them for now.  OK, so I didn't REALLY need a whole lot of arm twisting, but thanks guys!  In the next day or two I'll grab my 2Move from work and see how that fares as well, but now I'm horribly curious to see how they are with something other than my portables or the teeny amp on my soundcard.

Click to expand...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Equus /img/forum/go_quote.gif

So managed to spend a little time with the new headphones plugged into the little headphone amp on the Forte soundcard and they're now sitting hooked up to my bedside rig with the D10.  First impression when I heard it was that the sound felt soft...don't know how to describe it.  It wasn't veiled or anything, it just felt nicely mellow.  Then I realized on some of the vocals that I know can be a little peaky and bright they were just there.  No sibilance, no harshness, no shrillness...just really really there and clear.  Then I notice it didn't seem so much like I was "hearing" the bass, more like feeling it as it seemed to support the music rather than overpower it or hide off in the background.  Now I'm no audiophile or anything (as maybe shown by my unfortunate lack of an amp bigger than my cell phone), but I did do a lot of music in school and did some musical theater, and I really am digging the way these headphones present the sound.  It's not overly colored or artificially fun, but it's got enough liveliness to it that the music is very engaging.  It's hard to describe, but right now I'm a little worried about using in my bedside rig because I think I might get too involved in the music and forget to sleep.
 
There's also a beautiful full and round sound that I hear in the tones that isn't just in the higher pitches, but extends way down.  The impacts are present, but I have yet to hear something that feels jarring...maybe if I come across a piece in the music where someone makes a mistake or something, I'll hear it.  It's just mind-numbingly pleasant without being sugary-coated sweet.  I also haven't run into anything yet that makes it sound congested or taxed.  Closest analogy I would have is that it's the kind of feeling that I get when I hear a marvelously good tenor or soprano and they make producing a sound seem effortless.  It doesn't "sparkle", so I can see some folks who lean toward that sound feeling that there's something missing.  I might see if I can dig up some good orchestral music to get a better "look" at the upper register.
 
As far as taxing my equipment, my soundcard normally drives a pair of ATH-A700's, and I had to move it up from about 20% to 30-35%.  My D10 normally drives ESW9's, and it is up from about 9 or 10 o'clock to about 12 or 1 o'clock.  Considering that both of those headphones are pretty easy to drive, I'm quite happy that I was talked into buying them and using the equipment I have to drive them for now.  OK, so I didn't REALLY need a whole lot of arm twisting, but thanks guys!  In the next day or two I'll grab my 2Move from work and see how that fares as well, but now I'm horribly curious to see how they are with something other than my portables or the teeny amp on my soundcard.

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Congrats Equus!  You've embarked upon a great journey of discovery and amazement.  Awesome!!  Please keep sharing your discovery and experience moving forward.  Inquiring minds (and ears) want to know!

Quote:

achristilaw said:

Spent time last eve' using the Sonett to drive the LCD-2. The 6H30 aka. "Supertube" is Super in it's own right, wide bandwidth and no noise.
 
I liked it! Some observations, I couldn't push it hard, but at "normal" levels for me it was quite good. The HE-5 burbled when I tried it! When pushed hard (with the LCD-2) the sound congested and lost focus...BUT that's to be expected! Solid-State (or a hybrid derivative) is the most solid of performers here. But a quality Tube unit will get your feet wet with this phone...neat...

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I would imagine the congestion and loss of focus is the amp running out of gas.  Is that your impression?
Thx!
 

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achristilaw said:

Yes Sir, I am approaching our first anniversary this Month! Synergy is the problem, not the 800. As ruthless as the "other" revealing phone...the Qualia. Sounds down-right relentless with the wrong gear and cable. The entire year has been an ongoing experiment! 
 
Being able to listen to the Audez'e at reduced levels, makes the treble reduction less obvious. Upper limits of the Violin loose some vibrancy, the Piano will observe a slight reduction in sparkle and the Soprano can (not will) glass a bit. Wouldn't be noticeable or even objectionable save the rest of the performance, which is outstanding.
 
That reduction in both treble hash and playback level can make for a VERY long listening session if one wished!! No Fatigue... That's a big fricken bonus!
 

 

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Well let's see what you think about the HD800's treble after you've listened to the LCD2 exclusively for a couple weeks

Quote:

achristilaw said:

Spent time last eve' using the Sonett to drive the LCD-2. The 6H30 aka. "Supertube" is Super in it's own right, wide bandwidth and no noise.
 
 
Yeah, I like the 6H30 - my hybrid uses the 6H30 and mosfets - lovely combo
 
..dB

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Got my pair today as well. I am very impressed. I am probably picking up a second pair.
 
Before

 
The New World

 
Close up.. jealous LCD-1s?

 
Pads

 
Nice and improved detachable cable? check!

 
Nice frequency response graph for my pair of headphones? Check!

 
Care/Warranty/Manual printed on extremely nice paper and well put together? Check!

 
Wth? Some wood care polish stuff and a cloth to apply it? Check as well!

 
And a case that the HE-90 would kill to live in? Check check.

 
Sucks to be you HE-90 living in a sham of a case with its hard carton cut out under a deceptive blue velvet layer

 
Clearly Audeze has come a long, long way from the LCD-1s and they've brought their A game. For a 2-3 man operation they did not fail to deliver on a professionally manufactured and packaged product. No off the shelf chassis the sequel. No sir.
 
But the real question is of course how they sound!
 
Well the answer to that is they sound good. Listen to them from my AD1 Balancing Act sourced by my modded Assemblage DAC3 they sound damned good. I have not shot them out against my Qualias/K1K/AD2k yet, but these certainly sound competitive even factoring in a hit after new toy syndrome fades.
 
My complaints with the LCD-1 were as follows:
 
1. Highs.. I couldn't hear above 16khz where with some phones I'm able to hit 17/18khz which is sad because just a couple of years before I could hit 20khz
2. Fell apart a bit with distortion heavy, fast, complex raw music with a lot going on. 
3. The cable was a bit unwieldy (My bad since I made the recommendation ;p Whoops).
 
With the LCD-2
1. Highs I can maybe hear 17khz though that might be wishful thinking... also I've been to a few live shows since I've last tested my hearing so that may be user disability. I think they do better though.
2. Listening to some distortion heavy, fast, complex raw music and it's manhandling it with 0 issue.
3. The cable is not only vastly improved in build quality and while it's still thick, it isn't nearly as bad and is real durable feeling. Also <3 detachable. <3 it to hell. Every headphone should have detachable cablesif I had my way. Mmm qualias having detachable cables. 
 
What it has improved on:
1. Bass. God finally I have a headphone that has top tier bass I feel. The only thing that maybe edges it out is a properly amped O2. Maybe not even then. Would have to shoot it out to really say since it's been awhile since I've heard the O2/BHSE combo or O2/WES or mmm O2/T2 which I have yet to hear! The extension. The tightness. The speed. The impact. So perfect. Maybe a bit more tone and resonance, but I feel like those are tradeoffs against speed and so no thanks.
 
2. It's simply a more complete and refined and balanced sound. The LCD-1 had its sound signature which had its quirks. I sadly could not say that it was a better headphone even for the money when compared to the AD2k for me :/ These though... well any urge I had to buy T1s is now gone except for the fact that it's closed.
 
3. Comfort. Wow these are comfortable. Almost HE90 comfortable which is the most comfortable headphone I've worn. You have to remind them that they are on your head and when you do you just bask in their comfort for a moment. Then with their ungrip you worry if a 8-10k headphone is going to slide off your head. I didn't like that much which is why I sold them. LCD-2s, better than broken in hd650s since they grip more even when broke in. On par with comfy beyerdynamics. Comfortable, durable headphones, but not really my sound.
 
4. Construction/Look/Quality... off the charts here. Really. Almost as glamorous as the nicest AT woodies, but with nicer cable/boxes imo and overall I think a little bit more consistency. There were always little bits of each AT woody I've owned where I'd be like man rest is so nice, but they kinda skimped in this ridiculous nit picky small area. I can't think of any specific examples right now, but I don't get that with these.
 
5. Imaging/soundstage. The soundstage doesn't sound immediately all that wide, but when you get far away sounds in a song you are like whoa okay I guess they can go that far. And then you note that sound versus a more mid-centric sound and all the distances in between and how they are laid about for your musical palate to enjoy and then you realize that these headphones can image with the best ;p
 
6. Speed/Effortlessness... up another notch. The power too. The power that some headphones flaunt with their boomy one note bass and their sluggish heavyhandedness... yeah none of that with these headphones. By the time you realize the power and depth that these things can deliver in the note... right when you brace yourself for the impact the thing is already dancing away and moving onto the next note. So effortless. Like when Jet Li punches at a dude's face but then stops right before impact and the force of the punch blows the guy's hair back... yeah it's like that.
 
Okay that's enough for now. Time to enjoy. May or may not post impressions against other headphones and other amps. I can't wait til my Dynafet is complete.. I guess my Balanced Gilmore Reference and Dynahi will have to do for now.