What Cables for Audeze LDC-2? - Page 6

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frihed89 

Hi kwharth,  Yes, I have the thicker Norse cable.  It's tough to nail this one.  On my favorite chamber music, which feature cello or violins, it sound balanced and extended, but on single small group pop music, it sounds dark (Leonard Cohen, Bonnie Prince Billy, Bill Callahan, Jason Collette, etc).  Have cables become this specialized.  Over-all, it is not bright, not microphonic, and has reasonable bass.  It has good grip on the music and does not sound analytic.  But, over all, I have been having trouble appreciating the LCD-2s and am not sure where the problem lies> me, the amps, the cans, the cables.  I've been too busy to go over to Sabastian's and have a listen to his rig, as he is -- like most other LCD-2 owners -- thrilled.

 

Sorry, not to have a more detailed or incisive review!!

It's always possible, that the LCD-2s are just not the can for you.  This is neither good nor bad.  We all have our individual HRTFs and preferences.  The voicing chosen by Audeze may simply not match your HRTF or preferences that well.  What can currently wows you?  It would be a good idea to get together with other LCD-2 owners and compare notes and sounds to further refine your understanding of how you hear and what best suits your needs.  I've found great improvement to my enjoyment of the LCD-2 by using certain aftermarket cables.
 

It's been discussed that classical music generally has more dynamic range due to less compression than popular music does, so if you don't find another heaphone that solves the problem the quality of the recording could be the culprit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frihed89 

Thanks to the both of you. I've been trying to take the time to hear Sabastian's rig, but my schedule is just too busy. The 701s have always been my preference. Yes, many factors are probably at work. I just need a confirmation from another Audeze owner that my rig + phones sound OK to him technically. I also want to play my cans on someone else's rig, because I have some doubts about them. The overwhelming thing about the LCD-2s that I hear is bass. It's almost too much. On classical music that goes away. Now an interesting thing happened yesterday on my speaker amps I switched from GL KT66 to GE6550A and, because I have been listening to the KT66 fro so long, I was astonished by the bass tilt (dark) and strong bass of the GEs. So I listened to both at the same time through the same type circuit (the preamp and head amp output stage on my Blue Circle are identical (and not connected), and I heard exactly the same sound, but now -- coming from speakers -- it sounded good. Both Bonnie Prince Billy, Beware and Bach's unaccompanied Cello suites and Partitas. WE humans are complicated. Thanks again.

Last time I heard your Single Power and Blue Circle amps they sounded magnificent. But I hear you had problems with your Single Power lately, right?

Concerning the bass I don't it's too much at all. They're the most linear cans I've heard to date. Perfectly balanced no boosted upper mids or anything. No listening fatigue. But they do respond to every tiny link in the chain so synergy is important - as always. It took me some time to get into them as well. Now I can't live without them.

But maybe they're just not your cup of tea as kwkarth pointed out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frihed89 

One more, if you don't mind. I wrote to Ken at ALO regarding my confusion about his products. He wrote back: One is all copper 8 wire in a round weave and it uses an all Teflon jacket. The other is also a 8 wire but all the returns are silver plated copper (in a PE jacket) and the signals are copper in a Teflon Jacket. But both are new, correct? So my questions are 1. Which of these new ones is better than the old "one" (directed kwkarth, i think) 2. Can anyone comment on the sonic differences between the two new cables? Thanks

I have not heard the cable with SPC returns yet, so I can't comment on it.  From past experience, Ken has a good ear and if he said A sounded better than B, I can't think of an instance where I didn't agree.  I will listen to it when I get the chance, but you can take Ken at his word.
 

My LCD-2 has arrived and is breaking in, and now that I have two different balanced cables, I can report that both are quite an improvement on the stock cable, but they are surprisingly different. Neither brings the LCD-2 up to the level of my LA7000s. I can still hear far more detail and greater coherence and presence with the LA7000. Maybe that is insufficient power for the LCD-2?

The first cable is a silver Double Complement from Double Helix, the second is a TWcu twisted and shielded cable from Twisted cable.  Both are terminated with the new rhodium carbon fiber XLRs from Furutech. Both are clean and much more open than the Canare Starquad stock. But the copper cable produces greater detail retrieval - to me that is very surprising.

I'd like to have a direct comparison with another LCD-2 as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frihed89 

Thanks, Sebastian. I disabled the high power feature on my MPX3 because of the unsafe switch and because I wasn't convinced that the 6BL7 and 6BX7 sounded any better with 450V than 300V. I also added some AN copper foil coupling caps and silver signal wire. It sounds better. Some time after April, I'll connect with you to see if the cans are OK and it's just my equipment or personal preferences. I heard these at RMAF two years ago and they floored me listening to an Eddie Current, ZDT. So, I am really keen to find out what has happened, or if I actually have a bad set. Thanks for your experience. Do you still have the Mapletree?

Yes I still have the Mapletree Ear+ but I'm afraid it can't keep up with my Violectric HPA V181 or my modded Little Dot MKIV SE. Especially my LD knocks me over with the LCD-2s.

What cables for Audeze phones would tone down (reduce, avoid any glare in) the upper midrange and/or lower highs while keeping the bass firm and controlled?

Thank you.

Is there glare in the upper mid/lower treble?