Intro
My hifi journey started 2 years ago with a pair of Sennheiser hd598s and an Asus Xonar Essence Stx sound card. A modest entry, but I have spent a lot of money trying to recapture that wow factor. This was a headphone that I initially bought for gaming, but rekindled my passion for music.
I was lucky enough to pickup a set of LCD 2's for black Friday prices, and received a rosewood upgrade for free. Many thanks to HeadAmp for this wonderful deal. I consider the LCD2's to be an incredible value for a number of reasons I hope to explain throughout the review. The attention to detail, and engineering is truly second to none.
Note: I have the LCD2 revision 2. However for the remainder of this review I will refer to them as 'LCD2'.
Packaging and Accessories
When I received my headphones I was struck by the attention to detail and how well thought out every aspect of the headphone is. Ill explain. I knew I was working with a well thought out product when I saw the pelican case, and leather care 'oil' that is made with beeswax. Two products I am very familiar with. Arguably the best leather conditioner out there, Obenaufs, is based on beeswax. A good boot 'oil' will be waxy, but should melt as you apply it to leather from the heat of your hand. What can you say about Pelican cases that has not already been said? The have one of the best reputations out there, and for good reason.
The cable that comes with the headphone is of excellent quality. I appreciate its light weight, supple feel, and the quality connectors. I really like that the cable is flat. Compared to my Hifiman He 400s, the Audeze cable blows it away in every aspect. The goofy mini connectors HiFiman uses to connect the ear-cups are temperamental, and are prone to shorts.
The 6.3mm to 3.5mm adapter is of good quality, and good design (grado style adapter). No problems here.
Build Quality & Comfort
Note: Some of the aspects of the LCD2 I appreciate so much are a result of revisions based on community feedback.
The build quality is superb. Every aspect of this headphone is well thought out, and even though some features have been added through the different revisions, Audeze deserves credit for the excellent build quality. Wood, metal, leather. This headphone exudes quality workmanship, and long lasting durability. The leather is real, no pleather on this puppy. The rosewood housings are beautiful. The leather ear-pads are uncommonly supple, and are best described as pillows. I really appreciate the angled connectors on the ear cups, this keeps the cable from bumping your shoulders. This sounds like a minor annoyance, but it is a nice feature.
I would say the LCD2's are a reasonably comfortable headphone. The ear-pads are warm, but they breathe reasonably well. The stock ear-pads are incredibly soft, and supple. When you first put the headphones on you will notice three things; cabin pressure on your ears, the weight, and the clamping force. You adjust quickly, but it could bother some. I have a large head, and have to completely extend the LCD2's to get a comfortable fit. This is an area the Sennehiser HD598s and AKGs K702.65AE's outshine the LCD2's. With those headphones you will forget you are wearing them after a while, I always know I have headphones on with the LCD2's.
Setup
For purposes of this review, the LCD 2 was run off the following setup: CD quality music, Asus Xonar Essence STX Optical out, Schiit Bifrost, Schiit Asgard 2. This is a pretty good budget setup with great price vs performance. You are only limited by your budget far as amps and dacs go. The LCD 2 is incredibly efficient for a Planar Magnetic design, and sounds good out of most everything. If you are looking, for amp recommendations for the LCD2 check this thread.
Sound Quality
I am going to keep this section brief as possible. Some of the best have already reviewed this headphone, and honestly I am a blundering newbie when it comes to reviews.
That being said, the sound quality is better than anything I have heard before. I compared the LCD 2 to the following headphones: AKG K702 65th Anniversary, Sennheiser hd598s, Grado Sr80s, Hifiman He400s w/velour ear pads, and lastly my Denon D600s.
Right from the start I was smitten by these headphones, and the effortless way they produce mid range vocals. It is delightfully rich and warm. I am struggling to relay just how great the mid range is. Expect several wow moments were the music just seems so real, and alive.
The treble, to me, is perfect. A lot of people will disagree with this, but I am sensitive to treble, and even the slightest bump in treble causes fatigue. So for me personally I prefer treble that is present but slightly rolled off. My biggest complaint against the Akg k702.65AE, and the Hifiman He400s was how fatiguing the treble peaks are.
I really enjoy how well the LCD2s handle bass. It is my humble opinion that the LCD2 has the type and quantity of bass all other cans should strive for. This is one area the HE400 keeps pace with the LCD 2s, although still slightly behind. The LCD 2 can rumble your brain if the music calls for it, but does not over extend into areas it should not be. Well extended, tight, controlled, and great impact when it is called for. Excellent.
Imaging and transparency are pretty darned good with the LCD2's. I haven't sampled other heavyweights in this category, but suffice to say they are the best I have heard. One area the Akg k702.65AE's outshine the LCD2's is with sound staging and instrument separation. This is probably due to the LCD2's slightly rolled off treble.
Value & Conclusion
How do you put value on a $1000 headphone? It seems very frivolous in today's economy to spend that type of money on personal audio. The good news is, you dont have to spend much money to bring the LCD2's to life. I have a decent budget setup, but obviously you can go wild with sources and amps. Which leads me to the main reason I think the LCD2's are an incredible value (especially with 20% off). This is one of the few headphones that cost around $1000 that can sound so good from a setup costing 1/5 as much. They sound excellent just from my Asus Xonar essence Stx. This makes the entry price a lot lower than some of the competition, and will enable you to enjoy them and upgrade gear a little at a time. Do they scale with better gear? Of course. Take the Sennheiser Hd800 for example. It is considered one of the worlds best headphones, but is known for being picky about source and amp, making the entry price a lot higher.
This whole review I have been trying to drive home the attention to detail, and how much thought and engineering went into these headphones. For your $1000 you get one of the worlds best sounding headphone that is made right here in the good ole USA. The company does not nickle and dime you, and provides top of the line components and an excellent pelican case. I give these two big thumbs up.
My hifi journey started 2 years ago with a pair of Sennheiser hd598s and an Asus Xonar Essence Stx sound card. A modest entry, but I have spent a lot of money trying to recapture that wow factor. This was a headphone that I initially bought for gaming, but rekindled my passion for music.
I was lucky enough to pickup a set of LCD 2's for black Friday prices, and received a rosewood upgrade for free. Many thanks to HeadAmp for this wonderful deal. I consider the LCD2's to be an incredible value for a number of reasons I hope to explain throughout the review. The attention to detail, and engineering is truly second to none.
Note: I have the LCD2 revision 2. However for the remainder of this review I will refer to them as 'LCD2'.
Packaging and Accessories
When I received my headphones I was struck by the attention to detail and how well thought out every aspect of the headphone is. Ill explain. I knew I was working with a well thought out product when I saw the pelican case, and leather care 'oil' that is made with beeswax. Two products I am very familiar with. Arguably the best leather conditioner out there, Obenaufs, is based on beeswax. A good boot 'oil' will be waxy, but should melt as you apply it to leather from the heat of your hand. What can you say about Pelican cases that has not already been said? The have one of the best reputations out there, and for good reason.
The cable that comes with the headphone is of excellent quality. I appreciate its light weight, supple feel, and the quality connectors. I really like that the cable is flat. Compared to my Hifiman He 400s, the Audeze cable blows it away in every aspect. The goofy mini connectors HiFiman uses to connect the ear-cups are temperamental, and are prone to shorts.
The 6.3mm to 3.5mm adapter is of good quality, and good design (grado style adapter). No problems here.
Build Quality & Comfort
Note: Some of the aspects of the LCD2 I appreciate so much are a result of revisions based on community feedback.
The build quality is superb. Every aspect of this headphone is well thought out, and even though some features have been added through the different revisions, Audeze deserves credit for the excellent build quality. Wood, metal, leather. This headphone exudes quality workmanship, and long lasting durability. The leather is real, no pleather on this puppy. The rosewood housings are beautiful. The leather ear-pads are uncommonly supple, and are best described as pillows. I really appreciate the angled connectors on the ear cups, this keeps the cable from bumping your shoulders. This sounds like a minor annoyance, but it is a nice feature.
I would say the LCD2's are a reasonably comfortable headphone. The ear-pads are warm, but they breathe reasonably well. The stock ear-pads are incredibly soft, and supple. When you first put the headphones on you will notice three things; cabin pressure on your ears, the weight, and the clamping force. You adjust quickly, but it could bother some. I have a large head, and have to completely extend the LCD2's to get a comfortable fit. This is an area the Sennehiser HD598s and AKGs K702.65AE's outshine the LCD2's. With those headphones you will forget you are wearing them after a while, I always know I have headphones on with the LCD2's.
Setup
For purposes of this review, the LCD 2 was run off the following setup: CD quality music, Asus Xonar Essence STX Optical out, Schiit Bifrost, Schiit Asgard 2. This is a pretty good budget setup with great price vs performance. You are only limited by your budget far as amps and dacs go. The LCD 2 is incredibly efficient for a Planar Magnetic design, and sounds good out of most everything. If you are looking, for amp recommendations for the LCD2 check this thread.
Sound Quality
I am going to keep this section brief as possible. Some of the best have already reviewed this headphone, and honestly I am a blundering newbie when it comes to reviews.
That being said, the sound quality is better than anything I have heard before. I compared the LCD 2 to the following headphones: AKG K702 65th Anniversary, Sennheiser hd598s, Grado Sr80s, Hifiman He400s w/velour ear pads, and lastly my Denon D600s.
Right from the start I was smitten by these headphones, and the effortless way they produce mid range vocals. It is delightfully rich and warm. I am struggling to relay just how great the mid range is. Expect several wow moments were the music just seems so real, and alive.
The treble, to me, is perfect. A lot of people will disagree with this, but I am sensitive to treble, and even the slightest bump in treble causes fatigue. So for me personally I prefer treble that is present but slightly rolled off. My biggest complaint against the Akg k702.65AE, and the Hifiman He400s was how fatiguing the treble peaks are.
I really enjoy how well the LCD2s handle bass. It is my humble opinion that the LCD2 has the type and quantity of bass all other cans should strive for. This is one area the HE400 keeps pace with the LCD 2s, although still slightly behind. The LCD 2 can rumble your brain if the music calls for it, but does not over extend into areas it should not be. Well extended, tight, controlled, and great impact when it is called for. Excellent.
Imaging and transparency are pretty darned good with the LCD2's. I haven't sampled other heavyweights in this category, but suffice to say they are the best I have heard. One area the Akg k702.65AE's outshine the LCD2's is with sound staging and instrument separation. This is probably due to the LCD2's slightly rolled off treble.
Value & Conclusion
How do you put value on a $1000 headphone? It seems very frivolous in today's economy to spend that type of money on personal audio. The good news is, you dont have to spend much money to bring the LCD2's to life. I have a decent budget setup, but obviously you can go wild with sources and amps. Which leads me to the main reason I think the LCD2's are an incredible value (especially with 20% off). This is one of the few headphones that cost around $1000 that can sound so good from a setup costing 1/5 as much. They sound excellent just from my Asus Xonar essence Stx. This makes the entry price a lot lower than some of the competition, and will enable you to enjoy them and upgrade gear a little at a time. Do they scale with better gear? Of course. Take the Sennheiser Hd800 for example. It is considered one of the worlds best headphones, but is known for being picky about source and amp, making the entry price a lot higher.
This whole review I have been trying to drive home the attention to detail, and how much thought and engineering went into these headphones. For your $1000 you get one of the worlds best sounding headphone that is made right here in the good ole USA. The company does not nickle and dime you, and provides top of the line components and an excellent pelican case. I give these two big thumbs up.
