[Necator]

First of all thank you for the membership.

I have used various Bluetooth headphones earlier, but recently I found my old Ultrasone HFI 680s and bought a Dragonfly Cobalt. This has taken listening and music enjoyment to new heights.

With that being said, I do notice the limitations of a closed headphone, especially with quite harsh treble, and I do experience fatigue after using them for extended periods of time. I went to my local audiophile shop and tested several different open headphones, and fell in love with the Audeze LCD2 classic. I borrowed a demo model from them, and I’m currently testing it at home.

Now to the question- I listen to both classical and rock music, and pretty much everywhere I look, it says that the LCD2 classic is not recommended for classical music. I notice that they have a warm tone, but is that why they are not recommended for classical music? I also tried the LCD-X, which is supposed to be more neutral, but I liked the LCD2Cs better (plus the LCD-X is quite heavy).

(Edit - using Qobuz as music source, 16 bit FLAC for older recordings, 24bit for newer)

 

[earmonger]

Listen to something like a Mozart piano concerto or a Bach Brandenburg and see if the cellos sound a little more prominent than they should be. Sometimes the "warm" comes by pushing that range artificially forward.

 

[Roseval]

Have a look here: https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/audeze/lcd-2-classic/
It is probably pretty good in the fundamentals but suppresses the harmonics. I expect it to sound dark.
Wouldn't buy a headphone with such a weird frequency response.

 

[spittis]

You might be more sensitive to treble than the average person - in that case the LCD-2 classic is probably a good choice, whatever general consensus online might be. What were the other headphones you tested?

 

[Necator]

Have a look here: https://diyaudioheaven.wordpress.com/headphones/measurements/audeze/lcd-2-classic/
It is probably pretty good in the fundamentals but suppresses the harmonics. I expect it to sound dark.
Wouldn't a headphone with such a weird frequency response.

Very interesting article, thank you for that. You are right, it does sound dark or muffled, especially when listening to choral works. It

 

[Necator]

You might be more sensitive to treble than the average person - in that case the LCD-2 classic is probably a good choice, whatever general consensus online might be. What were the other headphones you tested?

I tested the Sennheisers 560S and 660S2. The 560S was out of the picture early, the 660S2 was about par with my Ultrasone 680.

I have done quite a lot of "A/B" testing between my Ultrasones and the LCD2C's over the weekend. While the Ultrasones does have a slight tendency to sound harsh in the trebles, the clarity is a lot better than with the LCD2C's. Upon closer listening, they even managed to make the back-up singers in Paul Simon's "Homeless" kind of muddy.

The final straw against the LCD2C's - my SO complains that they are too noisy when she is reading next to me listening (pretty much the use case). So, they will be going back, and I will start looking for a closed headphone, with the same or better clarity than my Ultrasones, with more pleasant trebles, and more comfort (the "grip" of the Ultrasones are quite strong).

 

[horsemen]

If you like smooth mid, warm and deep bass, go get the Audeze LCD classic. I have a pair and won't be selling them anytime soon.

 

[earmonger]

My recent closed-back search led me to the Beyerdynamic DT700 Pro X, which you might want to research further.

Beyers have been known for hot treble, but these relatively new ones are said to calm it down and to be fairly neutral. I like the timbre, which is important for classical.

 

[spittis]

The final straw against the LCD2C's - my SO complains that they are too noisy when she is reading next to me listening (pretty much the use case). So, they will be going back, and I will start looking for a closed headphone, with the same or better clarity than my Ultrasones, with more pleasant trebles, and more comfort (the "grip" of the Ultrasones are quite strong).

I see, closed headphones are a different ballpark. I would have a look at Focal, at least Celestee should be in your budget (similar to LCD2C). I've had a pair of Ultrasones at one point, based on that and your descriptions I think the Focal sound might be what you are looking for, and the comfort will be a lot better.

 

[Necator]

An update. I returned the LCD2C's, and tested the Audeze LCD-XC + the Denon AH-D7200 and the 9200s in the store. Of the 3, I borrowed the XC to further test them at home. They sound absolutely amazing, precision beyond anything I've heard, they will highlight any flaw in the recording but... they are simply too heavy. After a night of listening, my neck still hurts. I could probably get my neck muscles into shape like a race car driver, but it does take away the pleasure, so they will be going back to the store. The Denon's were both very comfortable, but lacked in sealing/isolation, and were behind the XCs in clarity (and frankly, the 9200s are outside my budget range).

Next step is to see if I can find a store that has the BeyerDynamics DT1770 Pro in stock, or simply order a pair online to try them out. The Focal Celeste also sound like an option, and there's a store in town who has them in stock.