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Me, too! I decided after much reading here that I should have a pair of LCD-2s. I have been listening mostly to Bach organ lately and the HD800s just weren't cutting it. They were accurate but polite. I don' think organ, especially Bach organ, is polite. Since there were 431,783 satisfied LCD owners I thought I'd start there for a set of 'phones that were organ compatible. (Got really great service and fast shipping from Drew at Moon Audio, BTW.)
They arrived this morning and I've had them on my head almost non-stop for 5 hours. Here are my initial impressions.
1. They are good - very good. But... they don't make the instruments appear in your room and let you chat with the performers. Which is another way of saying that my expectations were way too high from reading through some of the LCD-2 threads.
2. The more I listen the better I like them. I really expected to be moved to tears and wasn't, but as I settle into them I am finding a lot to like. The bass is deep and powerful (think how important this is to organ). The separation between instruments is distinct. I care more about separation than I do width of soundstage, so I'm happy here. The soundstage is fine, however. They are quick - super quick - It feels like they rev from quiet to loud faster than I can hear. They also don't get confused when there is a lot happening in the sound. I can hear the organ parts distinctly, no muddyness at all. When the orchestra plays full I can hear the instruments distinctly even at lower volumes. (BTW: I don' think enough has been made at how good these are at low volumes. I actually like to listen at very low volume - these have a musicality when you play them softly.)
3. I am not bothered by the size or weight. I actually have a smaller noggin than many of you - I almost always use the smallest setting on the headband, and there is no problem here. They are tight, and they don't squeak on my glasses like the HD800s do.
4. Some odd things - I don't think the WA6 does a good job with them. I like them better with my Ray Samuels SR-71A. I get plenty of volume out of the blackbird, and think the tonal quality is richer - it's certainly better on the organ stuff. Maybe the WA6 is underpowered, maybe it's my ears. I don't quite know, but I'm glad I bought rechargeable batteries for the blackbird!
Another odd thing is that I'm having trouble with piano music - there is a ringing at any volume. Don't know what it is, and it's not there with the HD800s. I've heard it on the best recorded piano I've got (John Lenehan's Satie - thanks John Willett for this excellent recording! - as well as Angela Hewitt's Bach). I'll be playing more piano once I get my Bach organ fix taken care of.
Thanks for reading.
Very good post! I agree with most of your points, and I've had my LCD-2's for nearly a year now... actually 2 pairs, since the first one had a wood-cracking issue and was promptly replaced this spring.
Pointwise
#1: LOL chat with performers & shaking hands with the musicians. Went to a concert last night and was doing that very thing. Pretty disappointing to come home and listen to headphones, or speakers, or any recorded sounds. Still just Hi-fi and all an illusion we build in our heads.
#2: very musical at low levels -- somewhat amp-dependent, but yes, I agree.
#3: My head is apparently similar to yours in size. Pretty comfy, but I do find that after a few hours I'm relieved to remove them. Glad I'm wearing wire rims not thick framed glasses. But I do find them pretty heavy
#4: I didn't really like the LCD-2's with either the WA6SE or the WA22. I only listened to each for about half an hour at a meet a couple months ago, using the same source. I really liked the WA22, but felt the bass lines were not as clean as I'd like, and they really fell apart at higher volume levels. The WA6SE was clean and powerful and really ripped on Toccata & Fugue, but overall I found it less musically involving than the WA22. Ultimately, I don't think either of these is a perfect match without tube rolling. There are several people here who have found really good tube matches, so I'd recommend that you explore tube rolling on your amp to optimize the match. At the same meet, I listened to a Beta22 and was extremely impressed with its bass quality, but again didn't really love the overall harmonic envelope. I heard the Ray Samuels SR-71a at a meet last fall and thought it did a very impressive job of driving the LCD-2s, but didn't get to listen to a variety of material, so no strong impressions otherwise. Anyway, it sounds like you're on a good path!
#5: I'm a huge Angela Hewitt fan, listening especially to her French recordings (Chabrier and Couperin, the latter especially is wonderful). I like, but don't love her renditions of the Bach Well-Tempered Clavier. Haven't had the issue you list with piano on the LCD-2's. My only experience with a ringing complaint is a slight ringing on huge choral works (think Mahler or the B-Minor Mass), but I'm never sure whether that is my defective ears or something happening with my playback chain. Probably the former, as I hear it with my VPI/Rhea/FirstSound/Sandersound/Magneplanars in my listening room as well. Thanks for the reco on "Satie" CD -- I'll have to chase that one down.
Hope you continue to enjoy the music
