[Taowolf51]

My new LCD-2's came in! Bamboo and black leather, it smells like lemons! I'll take a picture of the FR soon and post it.
 
Oh, and I tried the HD650 pad mod on them and it really helps with the headband comfort.

 

[MattTCG]

Congrats!! That's a good day...

 

[jaywillin]

  Congrats!! That's a good day...

how are your LCD's coming along matt ? how's the comfort ??

 

[MattTCG]

The comfort is very good. Super soft, supple pads. This reduces the clamp by a good margin. The problem is they just don't sound like I remember. They are a touch brighter and don't have the jaw dropping bass extension. 

 

[jaywillin]

  The comfort is very good. Super soft, supple pads. This reduces the clamp by a good margin. The problem is they just don't sound like I remember. They are a touch brighter and don't have the jaw dropping bass extension. 

man's that too bad,
i was a little disappointed with the bass with mine,  until i switched amps,
did you get these new ??

 

[MattTCG]

Brand new. Rolled tubes. Changed amps...still the same. 

 

[jaywillin]

  Brand new. Rolled tubes. Changed amps...still the same. 

 
i've heard audeze has great customer support, maybe they'd check them out for you ??

 

[Taowolf51]

So far my experience is that the sound matches very well with the FR graph. The bass is extremely linear, and extends like crazy. I'm not sure whether I would call the bass "visceral" at this point, though, at least compared to my D7k's. It's definitely great bass, though, and my amp (M-Stage) doesn't really have enough power for these guys (I'll be trying them out on a speaker amp soon, which should give me a much better idea of the sound. The highs can get a bit sparkly, they seem brighter than my D7k's in the upper highs whereas the D7k's had a much stronger spike in the sibilance area. They're very smooth and fairly non-fatiguing, though. Details are pretty incredible and instrument separation is excellent. The one thing that does seem to bother me is that vocals can get a bit shouty, especially in the upper midrange (which is strange considering that's the lowest part of the FR graph).
 
Also, why is the only plastic part of the headphone the gimbal? They were metal on the Rev 1. Hand-made wooden rings, italian sheepskin, and two plastic gimbals.
 
Either way, I usually take some time to get used to a headphone, and I think they're really going to grow on me. Especially after I get proper amplification.
 
EDIT: Pictures of the headphone and FR graph!
 

 

 

[hojomojo96]

  Brand new. Rolled tubes. Changed amps...still the same. 

I honestly think it may have been that you hyped the sound up a little too much for yourself in your head. Although sending it back to Audez'e could be worth a shot

 

[MattTCG]

No hype. I spent a good bit of time with them. I know the signature pretty much spot on. 

 

[fortitude]

What are your impressions on them vs the loaner HD800s

 

[Barry S]

  No hype. I spent a good bit of time with them. I know the signature pretty much spot on. 

You sound pretty certain and I'm guessing you listened to some reference songs and aren't hearing the the same signature. Do you know if the LCD-2 you previosuly auditioned was an older sample?  Not a V1, just an older V2. Audeze may have been doing some tuning of the LCD-2 drivers over time or making improvements in the production process.

 

[fortitude]

the thing is the newer ones have better low end extension compared to the original R1, he has 4 revisions of the LCD2s on this plotting
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/spectacularly-yummy-audeze-lcd-2-and-lcd-3-measurements?page=1

 

[alan73]

  Interesting. When I first heard the LCD-2s, I felt they were a little bass-light. When the bass showed up, it was deep and powerful, but I felt like it didn't show up enough.  My perception changed over time, untill I was starting to think there was a bit too much bass. I have days when everything I listen to, sounds bad. I'd say just relax and listen and let them unfold.

 
People on headfi are quick to blame the drivers of their phone when they hear inconsistencies in the sound their phone produces. Has it ever occurred to you guys that it may be our hearing that is inconsistent? I read somewhere that stress and fatigue affect our hearing. I believe there are other things that affect our hearing too. Some days I feel like my HD650s are a little bassier than normal. Other days I feel like their laid back treble becomes even more rolled off. Most days though they sound just the same. I don't believe that burn-in can cause a phone to sound from bad to good to bad and back to good again like some people have reported on headfi.

 

[MattTCG]

  What are your impressions on them vs the loaner HD800s

 
I will post some in depth impressions on the hd800 later. It's a fantastic hp with regard to resolution and sound stage. Crazy comfortable. And responds to amp and source more than any hp that I've ever used. 

 
You sound pretty certain and I'm guessing you listened to some reference songs and aren't hearing the the same signature. Do you know if the LCD-2 you previosuly auditioned was an older sample?  Not a V1, just an older V2. Audeze may have been doing some tuning of the LCD-2 drivers over time or making improvements in the production process.

I do not know for sure what revision that I listened to on my previous loaner pair. They were bamboo with the angled black connectors though. I assume the latest version. 
 

   
People on headfi are quick to blame the drivers of their phone when they hear inconsistencies in the sound their phone produces. Has it ever occurred to you guys that it may be our hearing that is inconsistent? I read somewhere that stress and fatigue affect our hearing. I believe there are other things that affect our hearing too. Some days I feel like my HD650s are a little bassier than normal. Other days I feel like their laid back treble becomes even more rolled off. Most days though they sound just the same. I don't believe that burn-in can cause a phone to sound from bad to good to bad and back to good again like some people have reported on headfi.

 
I don't disagree that there are factors that we sometimes overlook that  change how a hp sounds. In this case, even factoring in those possibilities the difference between the loaner pair and this pair is just too great. Also, the signature from my other hp's is still spot on to what I'm used to getting from them. 
 
Either Audeze have tuned these differently or they are defective, no question.