[ilom]

As DavidA mentioned, a tube amp would give you a lusher, perhaps more veiled sound. He's correct in saying that the Asgard 2 is brighter compared to his tube amps, even though I find Asgard 2 to be slightly warm. It's all relative anyway and besides any tube setup will generally give you a warmer sound.

Do you hear a difference in normal and turbo mode on your iDSD? Just curious.

I did.  The turbo mode actually sounded a little more mid-forward.  But the iFI gear has analog stage volume controls and therefore iFi suggests a minimum usable volume range for channel balance, proper sound, etc.  For the levels I like to listen at the turbo mode was below this range.  I heard a huge difference between Eco and Normal, where Eco smashed and compressed everything to an unpleasant result.  

 

[Lohb]

  Recently purchased a pair of Audeze LCD-2's with bamboo and microsuede and am thoroughly enjoying them.  I have to agree with the quality level of the stock cable, they definitely cut some costs there.  The cable is flimsy, cheaply insulated, and the connectors are a joke.  There are the cheapest of cheap chinese mini xlr connectors.  They also no longer include a wood polish kit.  In any case...
 
But my comment is more on the sound.  I listen to my LCD's almost exclusively with a iFi iDSD micro (always been a fan of the burr-brown dacs) headphone amp and really like the sound.  I find it to be even more natural and analog using HQplayer and upconverting my flac192 sources to octadsd (I know sounds like a gimmick but all that cpu processing is actually amazingly analog sounding).  I have also tried these phones with other amps for short periods of time.  My thing is possibly every single person on head-fi goes on about how dark these phones are.  I found the opposite.  To me they are bright, sometimes bordering on too bright.  I remember reading some older posts talking about people sending their LCD2's in to have them de-veiled or whatever and after they sounded brighter.  I'd personally like to send mine in and have them "veiled".  Maybe Audeze changed the design or drivers and the new 2015's are brighter.  If anyone has any insight let me know.  I also have HiFiMAN RE-600S IEMs, Beyer DT150's, and they both sound less bright than my LCD-2's.
 
To me the real measure of brightness is the sound of a violin.  I know exactly what they should sound like and most headphones, including all the senn's I've owned, add brightness and sizzle to a violin sound thats not there and never will be.  If a violin sounded like that no accomplished player would ever use it.  They arent supposed to sound crispy and bright (some call it "air").  If the trend is to make a violin sound like a violin mic'd then having the treble cranked to 11 then designers are succeeding.  Or maybe headphone usage kills sensitivity to high frequencies.  I'm not new to good sound but very new to the world of quality headphones so its possible I just don't get it.
 
I know some have said the microsuede sounds brighter than the leather.  And that they now use thinner material to cover the driver on the inside.  But I am hoping to get a chance to listen to the older dark LCD-2's and maybe I'll find what I'm looking for.
 
Btw the mids are absolutely fantastic and the bass is definitely Audeze's killer app in that it sounds so pure, real, and clear in its presentation.  It's the first time I have heard bass in a headphone that resembled a good 2 channel system, with true clear resolution (as opposed to annoying jumbled loudness in the lower range).
 
Any comments would be appreciated even those including "sorry dude your ears are just messed up".  

Try shelf liner over the driver on top of the ear-pad dust cover to reduce upper end sensitivity. Cheap mod, easily installable/reversible.
Not tried on my own set of LCDs as I have the original ones, but it's an instant fix for your treble sensitivity, and has been successfully used on cans elsewhere.

 

[Lohb]

  If you want to stay SS and not worry about tubes, look into a Gustard H-10, its a warm SS amp that is fairly cheap, they have been on MassDrop twice in the last few months for $299 and some of the posters in other threads like them with a variety of headphones from planars to 300ohm Senns.

and the opamp rolling has started again on the H10 thread, he could roll in a darker opamp as well, great amp for custom tuning from various mods.

 

[ilom]

 
Try shelf liner over the driver on top of the ear-pad dust cover to reduce upper end sensitivity. Cheap mod, easily installable/reversible.
Not tried on LCD as I have the original ones, but its an instant fix for your sensitivity and has been successfully used on treble spike cans elsewhere.
 

Awesome. Thanks for the suggestion!
 
Oddly I don't really know much about the latest LCD-2's in terms of break in but since I'm in the middle of analyzing all this stuff I did a lot more testing with the 4000mw setting on my micro and definitely like it better.  Consequently I left it in this mode and turn the cans all the way to the distortion point then backed down a bit and let them cook for the last 2 hours or so.  I know many dont believe in break-in but I already hear a difference.  The bass is fuller and louder and seems to offset the brightness a bit more. Anyone have any experience with break in on the latest LCD-2's? 
 
I'll give the shelf liner a try tomorrow after I punish these things some more tonight.

 

[Lohb]

  Awesome. Thanks for the suggestion!
 
Oddly I don't really know much about the latest LCD-2's in terms of break in but since I'm in the middle of analyzing all this stuff I did a lot more testing with the 4000mw setting on my micro and definitely like it better.  Consequently I left it in this mode and turn the cans all the way to the distortion point then backed down a bit and let them cook for the last 2 hours or so.  I know many dont believe in break-in but I already hear a difference.  The bass is fuller and louder and seems to offset the brightness a bit more. Anyone have any experience with break in on the latest LCD-2's? 
 
I'll give the shelf liner a try tomorrow after I punish these things some more tonight.

Some might say it could affect imaging as well as treble. Well, it's down to how you interpret the change, so interested in your results and if you perceive any negatives of the simple filter.

 

[joebobbilly]

Tube rolling would be one of the easiest and most effective ways to tune down treble if your amp responds well to that. Aftermarket cables do have difference IMO but very very subtle... you're better off investing in changes for the amp and DAC first before the cable.
 
As for Mjolnir... I would not call it a high treble amp... it is quite forward and aggressive when it needs to be, more of a dynamic range kinda thing, so it is easy to think that it has peaky trebles, but more likely it is simply bringing out treble spikes more aggressively sometimes from the recording or DAC sound signature. Personally it's tonally quite neutral with a bit of warmth.
 
The Gungnir on the other hand is a bit stronger on the treble.
 
These thoughts are mostly based on A/B comparisons with some older gear I had and various swapping back and forth with my friend's amps and DACs too (Fiio E17, Fiio E9, Schiit Lyr, Bifrost, Emotiva Stealth DC-1, Bryston BHA-1).
 
As usual.... YMMV, IMHO, etc. Cheers!

 

[Jeb Listens]

Do you guys think it's possible to apply a little EQ to the LCD-2Fs to get a sound closer to the ballpark of the pre-fazors?  Or even to create a sound signature that reflected the strengths of both versions? 
 
I have the LCD-2Fs and haven't been able to listen to a pre-fazor version and am just curious to get some kind of tangible sense of the differences.  I downloaded a trial of Amarra SQ+ and have been playing with it a little bit.   
 
Jeb.

 

[TsukiNick]

  Do you guys think it's possible to apply a little EQ to the LCD-2Fs to get a sound closer to the ballpark of the pre-fazors?  Or even to create a sound signature that reflected the strengths of both versions? 
 
I have the LCD-2Fs and haven't been able to listen to a pre-fazor version and am just curious to get some kind of tangible sense of the differences.  I downloaded a trial of Amarra SQ+ and have been playing with it a little bit.   
 
Jeb.

What does your FR Graph for your LCD-2s look like?

I have the 2.2 Pre Fazor and think the sound signature is one of the best.

 

[Jeb Listens]

 
What does your FR Graph for your LCD-2s look like?

I have the 2.2 Pre Fazor and think the sound signature is one of the best.
 

 
Hi TsukiNick, 
 
Thanks for posting that.  Interesting stuff.  My LCD-2F graph is below.  
 
Comparing with yours, the main difference with mine is the low range starting to tail off at 40HZ then dip at 30Hz and the larger spike at around 11KHZ.  The higher range in general seems a little more elevated but perhaps more even.  I'm not really sure how these would translate to audible differences, especially in the sub-bass region.
 
I'm not sure if I used EQ to boost a few dB in that area and reduced things a little at 10KHz  if that would translate to something that would be closer to a pre-fazor sound or if it doesn't really work that way.   
 
There are different options on the EQ - Presence, High/Low Shelf, High/Low Pass etc and I'm a bit lost at the moment so I probably just need to read a little, experiment a bit and see what sounds best. 
 

 

[ilom]

 
Some might say it could affect imaging as well as treble. Well, it's down to how you interpret the change, so interested in your results and if you perceive any negatives of the simple filter.

I am thoroughly blown away how the sound of my LCD-2's has changed after 4-5 hours of 4W punishment.  The treble issue has gone away almost completely and the mids may have had a tiny amount of grain that has also gone away.  Bass fullness has increased and I am impressed.  I still hear aspects of what i heard before (ie a tambourine too loud here and there) but its toned down to the point that I really like the sound now.  Now I am still really tempted to keep my iDSD micro and run it with the Gustard H10 per previous suggestions.
 
Suffice it to say I am a believer in the concept of break-in for the latest LCD-2's.  Its good enough now that I don' think the shelving liner is necessary.
 
One question I had, is cranking these things for break-in risking the drivers at all?  I was under the impression that planars are basically bulletproof and even though the iDSD micro claims 4W its probably closer to 2.5-3W at this impedence.
 
Not sure if its relevant to anyone but the micro running under its own battery power gets no where near 4W.  Even on a full charge it distorts way earlier than it does when powered by USB.  Not a slam on the device just something I noticed while testing.
 
Once again thanks to everyone for all the advice and suggestions.

 

[TsukiNick]

   
Hi TsukiNick, 
 
Thanks for posting that.  Interesting stuff.  My LCD-2F graph is below.  
 
Comparing with yours, the main difference with mine is the low range starting to tail off at 40HZ then dip at 30Hz and the larger spike at around 11KHZ.  The higher range in general seems a little more elevated but perhaps more even.  I'm not really sure how these would translate to audible differences, especially in the sub-bass region.
 
I'm not sure if I used EQ to boost a few dB in that area and reduced things a little at 10KHz  if that would translate to something that would be closer to a pre-fazor sound or if it doesn't really work that way.   
 
There are different options on the EQ - Presence, High/Low Shelf, High/Low Pass etc and I'm a bit lost at the moment so I probably just need to read a little, experiment a bit and see what sounds best. 
 

I'm not really liking that spike at ~11khz.  Probably doesn't sound super natural when it gets up there.  I like the LCD-2s because they sound smooth and clean, but with the new iteration they seem to have really changed where they want to go.

I'm not really a big fan of software EQ myself.  If I was going to EQ I'd probably fork over a ton of money for a nice analog EQ with a large amount of bands to mess with.

 

[marcan]

Hi,
I come back from a  LCD-2, vs LCD-X vs LCD-3 comparison.
We had an appointment in a well known hifi shop in Brussels (New Music).
The question was "Did we have to upgrade our LCD-2 to X or 3?"
Here is the result of our tests.
 
DAC
Weiss 202 (filter b) fed with foobar asio mode on a pc win8 ssd hardisk.
AMP
Bryston BHA-1 fed with balanced cables.
Headphones
LCD-2.2 (no fazor) with leather pad. Inntesively used since several years.
LCD-2.2 (no fazor) with leather free pad. Inntesively used since one year.
LCD-X fazor. New.
LCD-3 fazor. New.
The cable used was the ugly balanced stock cable
 
We listen to several types of tracks. Acoustic, electronic, pop, vocal, classic, jazz,... be it in 44.1, 88.2, 96 or dsd.
Me and my friend Fred are both musician/audio engineer. We both own a LCD 2.
 
The first think that struck us was that the LCD-2 was better.
The bass went lower, the sound was more natural and the soundstage was bigger.
The LCD-X was better that the LCD-3 but wasn't on par with the LCD-2.
The LCD-X and LCD-3 was brighter but the trebles on both sounded less natural than the LCD-2 (which can be normal for LCD-2 owners).
We called José, the shop owner, and he agreed with us and preferred the LCD-2 with leather free pad (we didn't told him our impression before his test). So it gets out the accustomed effect that the LCD-2 had on us.
 
Now the LCD-X and LCD-3 didn't have a burn in so I'm sure both should open up with a good burn in but we arrive to the conclusion that Audeze really made killer headphones with the LCD-2. It is difficult to beat it even with the more expensive headphones from the same brand... So LCD-2 owners be happy!
 
Cheers

 

[Alexalder]

I am currently using a solid state Schiit Asgard, what would be a good start if i would want to venture into tube-land? I read good opinions on the Lyr but i really don't know much
 

   
Hi TsukiNick, 
 
Thanks for posting that.  Interesting stuff.  My LCD-2F graph is below.  

How do i get my graph? Owned them for months and still don't know. Have you tested them yourself or does Audeze provide it? In the first case, it might be a matter of how you are testing them

 

[Jeb Listens]

   
How do i get my graph? Owned them for months and still don't know

 
You can get in contact with Audeze via their website and ask for the graph for your headphones.  You'll need your serial number.   They will send the frequency response graph to you via email.

 

[Alexalder]

   
You can get in contact with Audeze via their website and ask for the graph for your headphones.  You'll need your serial number.   They will send the frequency response graph to you via email.

Woah, thanks, they should have written this in the box. This link, right? https://www.audeze.com/contact-us "Tech Support"?