[Kai Hiwatai]

Hiya, just chiming in as a new posted. I've had my LCD2 Rev 2 for 4 months now.
 
I listen mainly to Jrock, Jpop, Kpop, Pop, Hip Hop, Alternative Rock, Indie, Post Rock, Heavy Metal (Traditional, Thrash, Death, Doom), Trip Hop, House, Dubstep, Trance, Anime/Game/Movie soundtracks.
The bolded are genres I prefer on the LCD2. The others on the Beyer T1.
 
What I love like many about these phones' is the incredible bass and super seductive midrange. I've heard headphones with more powerful bass, but the LCD quality always reels me back in. I love the realism of the vocals as well. Obviously some of these genres have some pretty average recordings so these are pretty forgiving yet detailed so theres that. I don't really care that there are more detailed and revealing headphones than the LCD2 they will always hold a place with me due to how enjoyable and relatable they are.
 
Anyway I'm short on time but I'll be sure to come back and discuss the LCD2 when the time arises again!

 

[Gerzom]

After listening to several headphones last night at a headphone shop here in the Netherlands, I've pulled the trigger on an Audeze LCD-2 Rev 2 in Bamboo.
 
The line-up consisted of:
- Hifiman HE-400
- Hifiman HE-500
- Grado GS-1000i
- Audeze LCD-2 Rev 2
- Final Audio Design Pandora (don't remember exact model)
 
For me the Audeze sounded the best of the list.I can pick it up on Friday. Can't wait to hook it up to my Asgard 2. Now I need to start saving for the upgrade to a Schiit Mjolnir as I would really like to run it fully balanced.
 
One happy camper here!!!!!

 

[Dubstep Girl]

  After listening to several headphones last night at a headphone shop here in the Netherlands, I've pulled the trigger on an Audeze LCD-2 Rev 2 in Bamboo.
 
The line-up consisted of:
- Hifiman HE-400
- Hifiman HE-500
- Grado GS-1000i
- Audeze LCD-2 Rev 2
- Final Audio Design Pandora (don't remember exact model)
 
For me the Audeze sounded the best of the list.I can pick it up on Friday. Can't wait to hook it up to my Asgard 2. Now I need to start saving for the upgrade to a Schiit Mjolnir as I would really like to run it fully balanced.
 
One happy camper here!!!!!

 
I don't think the GS1000i can compete in any way except comfort

 

[MattTCG]

^^ True...but if comfort is the only concern I'll opt for my ma900 (crazy comfortable). If I could just mount the lcd2 drivers in my sony. 

 

[delancyst]

I'm a new owner of a Lyr + LCD2.2 setup over the black friday sale, and I kinda agree with the sentiment on the lack of bass quantity and bright sound.
Although i have never heard the older revisions of the LCD-2, I felt that there were none of the kind of bass signatures that ppl had been raving about *although the bass in these 2.2s does wow me on certain tracks*

Compared to the Ed.8 I previously own, the LCD-2.2s were leaps better in terms of soundstage and imaging.
The bass actually goes way deeper than the Ed.8, but it doesnt slam as hard for most of the music i listen to (primarily EDM, techno, house)
It seems to only appear when the track really calls for it.
Even though it was a brighter headphone than the ED.8, it did not feel fatiguing to listen to.

Overall, I am still very impressed with the LCD-2.2.
I've had comfort issues with the vibrating Ed.8 drivers touching the ears and crampy feel, these LCDs felt like a sofa .
Just wished that the bass could do with more presence.

I have a pair of Amperex Orange Globes inbound, I hope that would help to get a warmer sound than the stock GE tubes.

If not, I may have to consider jumping on a Black Dragon cable as a last resort.

 

[barid]

I don't think the GS1000i can compete in any way except comfort

You're really on the warpath against Grados

 

[Taowolf51]

I'm a new owner of a Lyr + LCD2.2 setup over the black friday sale, and I kinda agree with the sentiment on the lack of bass quantity and bright sound.
Although i have never heard the older revisions of the LCD-2, I felt that there were none of the kind of bass signatures that ppl had been raving about *although the bass in these 2.2s does wow me on certain tracks*

Compared to the Ed.8 I previously own, the LCD-2.2s were leaps better in terms of soundstage and imaging.
The bass actually goes way deeper than the Ed.8, but it doesnt slam as hard for most of the music i listen to (primarily EDM, techno, house)
It seems to only appear when the track really calls for it.
Even though it was a brighter headphone than the ED.8, it did not feel fatiguing to listen to.

Overall, I am still very impressed with the LCD-2.2.
I've had comfort issues with the vibrating Ed.8 drivers touching the ears and crampy feel, these LCDs felt like a sofa

.
Just wished that the bass could do with more presence.

I have a pair of Amperex Orange Globes inbound, I hope that would help to get a warmer sound than the stock GE tubes.

If not, I may have to consider jumping on a Black Dragon cable as a last resort.

 
Try Equalizer APO to help with the bass, it's a system-wide high quality parametric EQ for Windows. It's a bit of a pain to learn to use (since it needs a second program), but it was worth it in my experience. The LCD-2's bass is pretty crazy after you EQ it up a touch.
 
http://sourceforge.net/p/equalizerapo/wiki/Documentation/

 

[delancyst]

Interesting...
I tend to just let the various equipment in the audio chain affect the sound.
Just aint confident if eq-ing would make it worse for other tracks.

But I'll explore it until the Orange Globes get here, thanks!

 

[Taowolf51]

Interesting...
I tend to just let the various equipment in the audio chain affect the sound.
Just aint confident if eq-ing would make it worse for other tracks.

But I'll explore it until the Orange Globes get here, thanks!

 
I wasn't an EQ guy until I tried it. Most EQ's really bring down the sound quality, but this one doesn't, plus it gives you the ability to really fine-tune the sound since it's parametric. I basically used it to make the headphones much flatter than they are stock, then added a bit of bass boost. I can send you my EQ file if you want.

 

[mogulmaster]

OK here is my LCD-2 vs HE-400 vs HD650 quality comparison with my low-end Fiio e09k (keep my amp choice in mind when reading). I didn't feel like anything was underpowered. Perhaps the hd650 was, but I'm not sure. 
 
Big difference - >>>>> 
Moderate difference - >>
Small difference - > 
Equal - = 
 
Timbre:                    LCD >> 650 >>>>> 400 
Bass quality:            LCD >> 400 >>>>> 650 (the bass was not tight on 650, got sloppy in complex stuff)
Bass quantity:          LCD >> 400 >>650
Bass punch:             LCD >> 400 >>>>> 650
Mids:                        LCD >>>>> 650 >> 400 - the LCD's mids melt my face off. 400s mids are nice but female voices sound off.
Treble quality:          LCD > 400 > 650 - the 400s treble is fun and detailed, but can be harsh without EQ
Treble presence:      400 >>>>> LCD > 650  the LCD might be darker than 650? 
Soundstage height:  400 >> 650 >> LCD
Soundstage depth:   400 >> LCD > 650
Soundstage width:    650 = LCD = 400   I've heard people saying the LCD-2 soundstage sounds somewhat closed-in. I can't disagree. However, it is still enjoyable and larger than most closed HPs. Also, I like the stage better than 650 because the 650 has that 3-blob stage going on. LCD has a stage more like the 400, just smaller generally.  
Imaging:                    LCD > 400 >>>>> 650
Instrument separation: LCD >> 400 >>>>> 650
Engagement:              LCD = 400 >>>>> 650 - the LCD and 400 are engaging in different ways. the LCD being more transparent and milky smooth, while the 400 has this zing! to it. 650 was boring.
Detail:                       LCD >> 400 >> 650 
Sense of space:       400 > 650 >> LCD - this one is tricky with the LCD. sometimes it seems really deep, but mostly its a closed-in feeling I get. 
Transparency:          LCD >>>>> 400 > 650
Listening fatigue (left is least fatiguing): LCD > 650 >> 400 
Straight up Electronic music:                                                  LCD > 400 >>>>> 650
Electronic music w natural instruments and vocals:     LCD >>>>> 400 >>>>>> 650
Rock music:             LCD >>>>> 650 > 400
Efficiency:                  400 > LCD = 650   
Comfort - not going to do this bc i think this is mainly subjective. But I'm not bothered by the weight of the planars and I have a 14.5 in neck size. which is really small. But i'll do a couple fit aspects below. 
Clamping force:                 650 > LCD >> 400
Small-ish head like me?    650 = LCD >>>>> 400 (I had to get aftermarket padding for the 400 to fit correctly)
 
 
As you can see, I'm a planar fan. I like that BASS baby, and the LCD-2 bass bests the 400 in every way. I was curious about this. 
 
I've had the LCD for 8 hours now. I'll report back if I notice any burn-in effect. At the black-friday sale price I got the headphone, I think it's a good value. I do like the LCD-2 a lot. It's really cool sounding. It is dark but I think I'm getting used to it. If there are any other categories you want me to compare these 3, let me know. 

 

[delancyst]

On the Lyr it seems to be the opposite.
The brightness does serve well in vocals, gives it a bit of air.
But when I play certain tracks that I'd expect bass (from the past cans I heard), it does not fair well.

Looks like the Lyr's not a good match to the newer 2.2s for me.
Will test this on my AK120.

 

[likearake]

  OK here is my LCD-2 vs HE-400 vs HD650 quality comparison with my low-end Fiio e09k (keep my amp choice in mind when reading). I didn't feel like anything was underpowered. Perhaps the hd650 was, but I'm not sure.
 
[snip]
 
I've had the LCD for 8 hours now. I'll report back if I notice any burn-in effect. At the black-friday sale price I got the headphone, I think it's a good value. I do like the LCD-2 a lot. It's really cool sounding. It is dark but I think I'm getting used to it. If there are any other categories you want me to compare these 3, let me know.

 
I've had the LCD-2 and HD650's for a few months now. Very jealous of the black friday sale price!
 
I really have preferred the LCD-2 almost across the board to the HD650. I use the Violectric V800/200 stack and the only time I have really preferred the HD650 was with very slow, sweeping music where the warmth and soundstage really provides quite a nice effect. The LCD-2 sounds a lot closer to life to me, in terms of almost being in the room if you are listening to a natural sounding jazz recording or something similar.
 
The warmth and relatively slow speed of the HD650 really seems to detract from any faster paced music for me. Maybe I just don't understand them. I expected to like them more from what I had read over the years.

 

[Uchiya]

Man, these new pads really make a difference.  In comparison, the HE-500's sound over damped.
I also thought I have a left channel imbalance issue.  Vocals were off center, as if lined up with my right eye.  I pushed the left-side into my ear a bit.  Wa-lah, there we go, perfect center.  Never had that issue before.

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

  Man, these new pads really make a difference.  In comparison, the HE-500's sound over damped.
I also thought I have a left channel imbalance issue.  Vocals were off center, as if lined up with my right eye.  I pushed the left-side into my ear a bit.  Wa-lah, there we go, perfect center.  Never had that issue before.

 
They do unveil a bit of air. Personally, I like it 

 

[In Over My Head]

Listening to the Infected Mushroom through the LCD-2/ Conductor rig. First time after a few weeks break.
 
Wow, just wow.
 
It is worth taking a break just to forget how awesome your gear is.
 
The first listen will really remind you.