Audeze LCD-2 Impressions Thread
Nov 21, 2019 at 6:16 AM Post #11,971 of 13,132
Not sure what your definition of "relative loud" is but if over 100dB then I'd be careful to not listen for extended periods since you are damaging your hearing. For me I like my LCD-2F best from the headphone jack of my UD301 DAC that only puts out 100mW/ch but even at half volume it drives the LCD-2 to 75-80dB which for me is quite loud. On my Ember the LCD-2 gets too loud too quickly and there is very little play on the volume pot so volume adjustments are not easily done. Since you are in Europe I'd look for G-109 or similar

Hi david,

Thanks for your answer.
Well, loud is relative and depends of the mood and kind of music i listen, but yes, damage my hearing is not my goal.
i'll take a look on the G-109
Br,
 
Nov 21, 2019 at 6:40 AM Post #11,972 of 13,132
Hi david,

Thanks for your answer.
Well, loud is relative and depends of the mood and kind of music i listen, but yes, damage my hearing is not my goal.
i'll take a look on the G-109
Br,
I figure its mid morning for you but for me its time to go to sleep, 1:30am here in Hawaii.

If you have a "smart phone" try a dB meter app to give you a rough estimate on how loud you are listening, I know its not very accurate but it will give you a general idea to start and some of the better apps lets you do some calibrations. I use a setup pictured below and its pretty decent for getting within 2-3dB of what levels I'm listening at.
dB meter app-1.jpg
I use the closed cell foam to keep outside sounds from altering the readings.
 
Nov 22, 2019 at 3:02 AM Post #11,973 of 13,132
I figure its mid morning for you but for me its time to go to sleep, 1:30am here in Hawaii.

If you have a "smart phone" try a dB meter app to give you a rough estimate on how loud you are listening, I know its not very accurate but it will give you a general idea to start and some of the better apps lets you do some calibrations. I use a setup pictured below and its pretty decent for getting within 2-3dB of what levels I'm listening at.

I use the closed cell foam to keep outside sounds from altering the readings.
Hi David,

This measurement looks interesting, for sure i'll do in the weekend, it's interesting to see how loud i'm really listening :-D, I'm in a cold and wet Germany so not much outside activity possible this time of the year. Will post the result.
 
Nov 22, 2019 at 11:12 AM Post #11,974 of 13,132
I figure its mid morning for you but for me its time to go to sleep, 1:30am here in Hawaii.

If you have a "smart phone" try a dB meter app to give you a rough estimate on how loud you are listening, I know its not very accurate but it will give you a general idea to start and some of the better apps lets you do some calibrations. I use a setup pictured below and its pretty decent for getting within 2-3dB of what levels I'm listening at.

I use the closed cell foam to keep outside sounds from altering the readings.
Nah it's not realistic. The absorption and the seal isn't the same. And 56db is really low. It would make me fall asleep :wink:
 
Nov 22, 2019 at 1:52 PM Post #11,976 of 13,132
Just got back from a audio store with pretty much every major mid to high end headphone available for demo'ing .

Everything was run through a Chord Hugo TT2 so there should have been no issues with underpowering anything.

I compared mainly the Focal Elear against the Audeze LCD2 Classic because I'm a bit of a bass-head albeit one who likes open back headphones. I had read lots about the apparently astonishing dynamics of the Elear and had read some comparisons between it and the LCD2 Classic where the LCD2 Classic was made to seem 'soft' and 'laid back' in comparison. That's not what I heard.

I compared these two against each other mainly listening to Tool's latest album because I think it has extremely well mixed drums so the dynamics should be brought to the forefront. Yes the Elear was quite dynamic sounding (in terms of hearing a sharp attack characteristic from an aggressive drum hit), but it was not anything like it is hyped up to be. Comparing it to my HD650, it was possibly 5-7% more dynamic (if such a thing can be measured) - it was noticeable, but not night and day. This was similar to the difference in dynamics between my HD650 and my DT 1990 Pro, so though I did not have the DT 1990 Pro handy for direct comparison against the Elear, I would bet they are similar in terms of dynamics.

The LCD2 Classic was not soft and laid back sounding next to the Elear; they thump just as hard as the Elear. Perhaps Elear has slightly more sharpness of transients in the higher frequency ranges, but the LCD2 Classic has more depth to its punch down low so just sounds a bit 'bigger' in the low end. But I also heard forceful attack, for example in higher pitched drums. Again, these are relatively subtle differences. The combination of a more laid back frequency response with gripping dynamics makes for an enticing listen in the LCD2 Classic.

But really the HD650 is not THAT far behind either in low end extension, slam or dynamics, and still has its magic midrange, so is not an objective downgrade from either.

I also got to compare the Sundara to the Ananda. Again, not huge differences here - both sound well extended, but I got a touch more midrange presence and (to my ears) midrange tonal accuracy from the Ananda in addition to slightly better separation of instruments within the soundstage (as if each instrument is contained in some sort of airy 'pocket' within the soundstage). I'm not good at gauging the size of a soundstage generally, but there didn't seem to be massive differences from Sundara to Ananda - both were plenty big.
 
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Nov 23, 2019 at 9:54 AM Post #11,977 of 13,132
Yes 56dB is really low but I don't think there was anything playing when I took the picture LOL :darthsmile:


Hi Guys,

So i have made my measurement using " dB meter" on Iphone8 and the result that i'm listening between 70-88dB, but 88dB is the level i can only bear it for short time like 1 song.
In the mean time I also went further with 2 amp, i have bought a Lehmann audio Linear earlier, and now i listen with Burson Vivid 6 installed and also played a bit with the Audio GD NFB11.
Earlier i wasn't sure that these amp could drive the LCD2 in the full potential, but seems to be they do. (at least it can run loud that i can't listen)
What do you think this 70-88dB is acceptable (in terms of not to damage my hearing) or too much?
Peter
 
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Nov 23, 2019 at 7:19 PM Post #11,978 of 13,132
If this measurement is accurate I wouldn't be worry. My sweet spot is rather between 95-100db. I'm listening all day and night long. At 54 I'm still hearing till 17khz.
In the other hand bad music can really damage your ear :wink:
 
Nov 23, 2019 at 7:22 PM Post #11,979 of 13,132
If this measurement is accurate I wouldn't be worry. My sweet spot is rather between 95-100db. I'm listening all day and night long. At 54 I'm still hearing till 17khz.
In the other hand bad music can really damage your ear :wink:

Yeah, my grandfather smoked a pack a day until he was 80. Doesn't mean it was a good idea.
 
Nov 23, 2019 at 10:56 PM Post #11,980 of 13,132
Yeah, my grandfather smoked a pack a day until he was 80. Doesn't mean it was a good idea.
I didn't say it was a good idea to listen at my personal level but 70-88db shouldn't be a problem.
The secure level for music is officially below 92db..
Now regarding my personal level I make regular tests starting from low threshold (this kind of test that can identify damages very early) and my ears are better than the average joe of my age. Now every person have different ears and a different sweet spot. Muscles for example play a big role. Trained ears can manage a better compression, protecting the internal ear. There is one thing that really kills ears, a sudden impact like a gun shot because your middle ear doesn't have the time to protect the inner ear. Or a static tone because it will always reach the same part of your inner ear without the compression of the middle ear if it's above 500hz.
Now personally I think that a well produced and mixed music on a very good system will be less damaging at the same level because you will have less peaks or distortion and the bass will make the middle ear compress more efficiently. But you have to know your ear and your limit because the lake of distortion can be misleading on the actual level.
Finally going back to the LCD2, I would say they are on the gentle side (particularly the rev2). The dip en the high/mids and the very good bass (with a good amp) makes them particularly suitable for long session at a good level. I think it's part of the charm of the LCD2.
 
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Nov 24, 2019 at 12:09 AM Post #11,981 of 13,132
Just got back from a audio store with pretty much every major mid to high end headphone available for demo'ing .

Everything was run through a Chord Hugo TT2 so there should have been no issues with underpowering anything.

I compared mainly the Focal Elear against the Audeze LCD2 Classic because I'm a bit of a bass-head albeit one who likes open back headphones. I had read lots about the apparently astonishing dynamics of the Elear and had read some comparisons between it and the LCD2 Classic where the LCD2 Classic was made to seem 'soft' and 'laid back' in comparison. That's not what I heard.

I compared these two against each other mainly listening to Tool's latest album because I think it has extremely well mixed drums so the dynamics should be brought to the forefront. Yes the Elear was quite dynamic sounding (in terms of hearing a sharp attack characteristic from an aggressive drum hit), but it was not anything like it is hyped up to be. Comparing it to my HD650, it was possibly 5-7% more dynamic (if such a thing can be measured) - it was noticeable, but not night and day. This was similar to the difference in dynamics between my HD650 and my DT 1990 Pro, so though I did not have the DT 1990 Pro handy for direct comparison against the Elear, I would bet they are similar in terms of dynamics.

The LCD2 Classic was not soft and laid back sounding next to the Elear; they thump just as hard as the Elear. Perhaps Elear has slightly more sharpness of transients in the higher frequency ranges, but the LCD2 Classic has more depth to its punch down low so just sounds a bit 'bigger' in the low end. But I also heard forceful attack, for example in higher pitched drums. Again, these are relatively subtle differences. The combination of a more laid back frequency response with gripping dynamics makes for an enticing listen in the LCD2 Classic.

But really the HD650 is not THAT far behind either in low end extension, slam or dynamics, and still has its magic midrange, so is not an objective downgrade from either.

I also got to compare the Sundara to the Ananda. Again, not huge differences here - both sound well extended, but I got a touch more midrange presence and (to my ears) midrange tonal accuracy from the Ananda in addition to slightly better separation of instruments within the soundstage (as if each instrument is contained in some sort of airy 'pocket' within the soundstage). I'm not good at gauging the size of a soundstage generally, but there didn't seem to be massive differences from Sundara to Ananda - both were plenty big.


thank you for this it was helpful i already own a 2c and may acquire an elear
 
Nov 26, 2019 at 3:40 AM Post #11,982 of 13,132
Hi Guys,

So i have made my measurement using " dB meter" on Iphone8 and the result that i'm listening between 70-88dB, but 88dB is the level i can only bear it for short time like 1 song.
In the mean time I also went further with 2 amp, i have bought a Lehmann audio Linear earlier, and now i listen with Burson Vivid 6 installed and also played a bit with the Audio GD NFB11.
Earlier i wasn't sure that these amp could drive the LCD2 in the full potential, but seems to be they do. (at least it can run loud that i can't listen)
What do you think this 70-88dB is acceptable (in terms of not to damage my hearing) or too much?
Peter
70-88dB is acceptable and since its a bit loud for you then you are like me and listen at a very reasonable level. With that said you don't really need a lot of "power" to drive the LCD2 to your listening levels and I've never really understood why some say you need 1.2 gigawatts to make a headphone sound good.
 
Nov 26, 2019 at 5:45 PM Post #11,984 of 13,132
70-88dB is acceptable and since its a bit loud for you then you are like me and listen at a very reasonable level. With that said you don't really need a lot of "power" to drive the LCD2 to your listening levels and I've never really understood why some say you need 1.2 gigawatts to make a headphone sound good.

One should not be using listening comfort level as an indicator for hearing loss. Anything above 75dB over certain extended periods of time can be harmful (85dB may cause damage after 2 hours of listening for example) . You can also have hyperacusis (hypersensitivity to loudness) from chronic exposure to high sound levels.

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/what_noises_cause_hearing_loss.html
 
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Nov 27, 2019 at 1:22 AM Post #11,985 of 13,132
One should not be using listening comfort level as an indicator for hearing loss. Anything above 75dB over certain extended periods of time can be harmful (85dB may cause damage after 2 hours of listening for example) . You can also have hyperacusis (hypersensitivity to loudness) from chronic exposure to high sound levels.

https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/what_noises_cause_hearing_loss.html
Since 88dB was too loud I'd assume that op would probably be listening in the 70-75dB range most of the time which is not bad. I'm usually somewhere in the 55-75 range most of the time
 

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