[ScareDe2]

Driver failures so far gave been a thing of the past for close to a year

glad to hear that! I got a deal on a demo pair I hope it's the last revision and that it will last forever lol.

 

[notengewirr]

Now it got me too !
At first, the right driver/membrane crackled ( sounds like a broken or torn foil) by moving the ear-cup over my right ear. One day later the right driver failed completely.
My LCD-2 is a Fazor model from late 2014.
No of my old AKG, Sennh. or Beyer had such a problem or failure in the last 30 ! years !
I think I will not invest in repair ,or in this model or headphone brand anymore !
i'm pissed off

 

[Whisky Warrior]

Now it got me too !
At first, the right driver/membrane crackled ( sounds like a broken or torn foil) by moving the ear-cup over my right ear. One day later the right driver failed completely.
My LCD-2 is a Fazor model from late 2014.
No of my old AKG, Sennh. or Beyer had such a problem or failure in the last 30 ! years !
I think I will not invest in repair ,or in this model or headphone brand anymore !
i'm pissed off

I would definitely reach out to Audeze and see what they can do for you, even if a repair isn’t free, they may do it for a discounted price. Or at least at a price that justifies not tossing a pair of 2s away.

 

[notengewirr]

Of course I could have the headphone repaired. But at what price? 250-300 € i think...
..and in the next years it will fail again ...
You can indeed read enough about the known problem in the web
ridiculous !

 

[notengewirr]

Audeze has changed distribution in Germany.
Now the company cma-audio is responsible for the German distribution.
Unfortunately, they have no prices for an exchange yet....
I'm curious how this continues.
Does anyone know the price for a "matched pair" exchange in 2018 ?

 

[moriez]

Based on what I've picked up here and there you're not far off with the €250-€300 for out of warranty drivers replacement. The answer is probably fastest by 'submit a request' top right of page.

 

[notengewirr]

Crinkling/clicking/static sound when I press on the earcup

This is what exactly happened to my LCD2 Fazor only one day before the complete driver failure.
The crinkling sound was caused by "trapped air" inside the cup. There is always a slightly vacuum inside this kind of "cup-sealed" HP.
So it's only a question of time when this "fatigue process" starts... a few years ago i saw a youtube video about this "noise".

And this is what is on the Audeze website:

Since air is trapped between your head and the diaphragm it creates a pressure zone, and as the headphones shift with movement you may hear a slight crinkling sound from the diaphragm. This is a normal occurrence with planar magnetic drivers and is nothing to be concerned about, it's the sound of the thin diaphragm moving back and forth with the changes in air pressure.

Sometimes as the driver film stretches slightly with age, the sound can become more apparent, and sometimes it may also lessen again. This is mostly influenced by factors in your environment (such as temperature and humidity), and we don't have much control over whether or not this occurs.

One important note is that we strongly recommend exercising certain cautions when handling planar magnetic headphones: trapped air can create high pressure and sudden pressure changes could damage the diaphragms, and this is not covered by warranty. The same is true when you put the headphones on or take them off-- it's not a good idea to press them hard and fast against the head, so we recommend slow and steady movement to allow the air pressure to stabilize.

I have always treated the headphones with care. My LCD-2 Fazor still looks like new today! And yet this preprogrammed error has occurred.
In the future, therefore, I will distance myself from this type of driver construction !

 

[notengewirr]

After only one week at the German service cma.audio, my LCD is back here now.
The repair was very professional and accurate !
The German Audeze service was very accommodating. Not completely free, but still satisfying.

 

[moriez]

After only one week at the German service cma.audio, my LCD is back here now.
The repair was very professional and accurate !
The German Audeze service was very accommodating. Not completely free, but still satisfying.

NICE it worked out for you. For those with out of warranty drivers within the EU it sounds like a clean solution.
Did Audeze recommend to contact cma.audio or what happened? And can you share the price of servicing?

 

[notengewirr]

Only since August cma.audio is the new distribution for Germany and Austria. And only there I have requested. However, they have read my critical forum posts here in germany , and contacted me there first.
It was a personal goodwill offer. I'm not allowed talking about the price.

the serial numbers of the new matched pair drivers are consecutive

 

[Alpsun]

I just had both drivers repaired/replaced for my LCD-2F (2014). This was outside of warranty and I'm from the Netherlands.
The cost for this was according to my dealer € 800,00 (incl VAT) but offered it to me for € 450. I did just buy a new Hifiman Ananda headphone there so that helped to bring down the price of repair. But nonetheless it's still a high price.

 

[Selmer52]

I must say I find this thread a little worrying, LCD 2s are on my radar in the near future but I really don't like the thought of spending close to £1k for drivers to fail after only a few years. Hoping your unfortunate cases are in the minority?

 

[ChaChaRealSmooth]

I must say I find this thread a little worrying, LCD 2s are on my radar in the near future but I really don't like the thought of spending close to £1k for drivers to fail after only a few years. Hoping your unfortunate cases are in the minority?

From what I see researching this throughout the web, it seems like from the 2016 revisions forward the drivers are mostly reliable. I can't really say anything from personal anecdotes (only just recently got a pair of LCD-3s), but do know that Audeze did seem to go through some period of time where they really struggled with QC (seems to be the models between 2012 - 2015; if you are more knowledgeable about the situation then please feel free to correct me).

 

[Roasty]

Oh man..
I had my lcd2 sent in for pad replacements. Got them back today. Right driver is dead..
Sigh.

 

[notengewirr]

For those who find it interesting

Here is the answer from the manufacturer Audeze


" Here's some information on some of the changes our 2016 driver revisions brought to the table:

-Reduced diaphragm thickness: Reduces driving mass for greater diaphragm response.
-Higher compliance: Lowers resonance for improved low frequency extension and bass definition.
-Optimized magnetic circuit: Creates more uniform magnetic flux distribution for a more uniform driving force, smooths frequency response, lowers distortion, with greater resolution and improved imaging.
-Improved diaphragm tensioning: A new system delivers better performance and improved consistency for less variation between units.
-Improved internal damping: Better, more controlled bass and a smoother overall frequency response.
-New voicing: Smooths the midrange response.
The sensitivity and resistance should be the same as your old pair, even with all the iterations, so no worries in that regard.
While I cant confirm that our newer drivers are any more physically robust than our old ones, we have had lower incidence of failure since the 2016 revision. "