[DefectiveAudioComponent]

And the graph of the LCD-2 that I am using right now

( although I see now that I posted it already earlier in the thread )

 

[metal571]

Slightly off topic, the older LCD-1.

That is amazing. I've always wanted to hear one of those but they are naturally almost impossible to demo.

Maybe a little nostalgic today, but I believe this is the very same thread I must have read sometime around 2012 when I only lurked this site heavily, was obsessed with Tyll's work, and could only dream of owning an Audeze. Back then, the HD 800 was one of the kings in my mind, and it seemed an impossible goal to own that. I saw many others who had experienced LCD-2 at the time state that it "may" actually be even better. I feel very fortunate to have owned both of those at the same time, and in the end I sold the 800 in favor of my trusty LCD-2.

So thank you for starting this thread over a decade ago.

 

[hikaru12]

I am sorry to intervene here in this rant, but there ere is nothing wrong with the LCD-2. I see no blemishes. Ear pads are fine. Sound is out of this world, as always.
This is not a new pair of LCD-2, not at all. These are over 10 years old. And I use them almost every day (because they sound like nothing else, of course

These are the holy grail as far as I'm concerned. The big fear on these is if the driver failed you'd completely lose out on the special midrange magic these had as they would be replaced with newer drivers. I saw one of these at an audio store once, but after the wooden plug for the headphone connector came out when I tried to unplug the cable I decided to put it back without hearing it for fear of having to pay for damage. Really wish I had gotten to hear a pair.

I just swapped 2021 (leather) pads on my LCD-2F and they made a huge difference for me. I don't know if my previous pads were original, but they were memory foam (leather). They seem way more airy, open and wide now. Almost unnaturally so.

I noticed this with my LCD 2C too. I don't know if the pleather on mines is equivalent to yours but the 2021 pads seem to be letting in more air and treble. It's making for a more fatiguing listen tbh. I'm trying to hunt down an older 2F with their original leather pads in the process. Way smoother sounding.

On a side note - Someone should put together a table of all the changes that have happened. The one thing that makes Audeze frustating, similar to HiFiman is how frequently they make revisions in which they claim no audible changes are made but several users claim the opposite. Silent pad changes, different headbands, etc.

If anyone has a fazor model that sounds this good, keep it, I'm so impressed with them so far. I'm not sure if it's indeed another tweak, it's not the firs time Audeze has silently revised the LCD-2, even down right lying about tweaks in the past.

These are the first fazors I've thought sounded truly fantastic, I'm actually blown away.

These sound just like my 2016 Bamboo LCD 2F. I really regret selling them. Like you, I hated the 2020 Shedua, very unnatural sounding and the treble was too peaky. Did you ever find this set? I wonder if the only way to get them is used. I believe these are similar to DMS's 2019 LCD 2F. I think Audeze went backwards in 2020/2021 with their tuning.

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

These are the holy grail as far as I'm concerned. The big fear on these is if the driver failed you'd completely lose out on the special midrange magic these had as they would be replaced with newer drivers. I saw one of these at an audio store once, but after the wooden plug for the headphone connector came out when I tried to unplug the cable I decided to put it back without hearing it for fear of having to pay for damage. Really wish I had gotten to hear a pair.

These drivers did not fail for over ten years, and I use them a lot, so I am not too worried about that

 

[mikecheck95]

O

These are the holy grail as far as I'm concerned. The big fear on these is if the driver failed you'd completely lose out on the special midrange magic these had as they would be replaced with newer drivers. I saw one of these at an audio store once, but after the wooden plug for the headphone connector came out when I tried to unplug the cable I decided to put it back without hearing it for fear of having to pay for damage. Really wish I had gotten to hear a pair.



I noticed this with my LCD 2C too. I don't know if the pleather on mines is equivalent to yours but the 2021 pads seem to be letting in more air and treble. It's making for a more fatiguing listen tbh. I'm trying to hunt down an older 2F with their original leather pads in the process. Way smoother sounding.

On a side note - Someone should put together a table of all the changes that have happened. The one thing that makes Audeze frustating, similar to HiFiman is how frequently they make revisions in which they claim no audible changes are made but several users claim the opposite. Silent pad changes, different headbands, etc.



These sound just like my 2016 Bamboo LCD 2F. I really regret selling them. Like you, I hated the 2020 Shedua, very unnatural sounding and the treble was too peaky. Did you ever find this set? I wonder if the only way to get them is used. I believe these are similar to DMS's 2019 LCD 2F. I think Audeze went backwards in 2020/2021 with their tuning.

Audeze has helped with issues way less severe than driver failure. Their in-warranty service is some of the best I’ve ever experienced. It’s up there with major tech companies if not better because their support team is actually compassionate and sympathetic to audiophiles and our somewhere crazy ways. I’m sure that if you ever have an issue with your headphones they will repair them or replace them for as little cost as possible.

 

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

O


Audeze has helped with issues way less severe than driver failure. Their in-warranty service is some of the best I’ve ever experienced. It’s up there with major tech companies if not better because their support team is actually compassionate and sympathetic to audiophiles and our somewhere crazy ways. I’m sure that if you ever have an issue with your headphones they will repair them or replace them for as little cost as possible.

Well. The problem is that you do not want these replaced

 

[mikecheck95]

Well. The problem is that you do not want these replaced

Haha true guess it depends on what their current version is sounding like although I’m confident in the direction Audeze is going so long as they continue to listen to feedback. I’m always worried a big company like Apple will want to use their planar tech in noise-cancelling headphones and they will lose their focus on their audiophile products. Of course it’d be good for other reasons.

 

[betula]

Haha true guess it depends on what their current version is sounding like although I’m confident in the direction Audeze is going so long as they continue to listen to feedback. I’m always worried a big company like Apple will want to use their planar tech in noise-cancelling headphones and they will lose their focus on their audiophile products. Of course it’d be good for other reasons.

Their main focus is already not on audiophile products, and that is completely understandable from a business point of view. They earn the most money from their gaming headphones (Penrose, Mobius), then the next bit is their studio aimed gear like the LCD-X (which happens to be a great audiophile hp as well).
With some exaggeration it is almost like a courtesy to the community that they came out with the LCD5. This R&D still shows their passion to audio, but it is not the $4K high-end headphones where they make big money. (Btw as someone who really likes the LCD line, the 5 is just not for me.)

I have got a gut feeling that they will refresh the whole LCD line at some point. Perhaps with smaller cups/less weight and a more neutral tuning like the LCD5. If that happens, I will instantly but an old, wooden cup LCD2. Not many headphones reach a classic/legendary status. HD600/650 and the LCD2s are definitely amongst them.

 

[emba4]

Here we go then How my LCDs ruined me:

i never thought id get to own a pair but through various means i managed to get hold of a pair of bamboo LCD-2s the short version is i love them, the long version is a little more that i love them too much, thanks to my job i get to use whatever audio gear i want so i spend literally 8 hours a day listening to them, the real issues come in the fact that due to the fantastic low end performance ive found my self listening to more and more bass heavy music not so bad you might think until...

my biggest problem, volume, i try i really do, but i dont have normalize on as it messes with the sound and ill find my self saying "oh that tracks a bit quiet, ill just click it up one" but then it never goes down and im sat listening to stuff thats basically making my face ripple, which dont get me wrong is incredible, but its also REALLY bad for me and if im totally honest i think ive given myself a slight tinnitus in my right ear over the last year (remember kids you can **** up your ears) i mean thankfully im getting old anyway so im kind of just making the most of em before my whole body gives out

however i was missing that sort of closed back feeling with the sound, so i did a little research and last month got some MrSpeakers Aeon Flow, which just didnt cut the mustard, theyre OK headphones but just not close to the LCDs, my best analogy would probably be soup, where the LCD-2 is thick creamy chunky veg soup and the Aeon flow are Minestrone, so its already been decided after some slight deliberation between the 2 and the X im looking at a pair of LCD-X closed back instead and i think thats pretty much end game for me

honestly id weigh up the difference between the 2 and the x myself before i bought if i could, i mean the 2s are utterly astounding cans and its hard to imagine something better so ith be great to hear them side by side but i tried something similar last month when i went to Manchester and everywhere told me they cant demo headphones because of the rona. id also like to try the Meze Liric but going outside what i know at that price is a dangerous move, im kind of trusting that audeze improved the X over the 2 and i have to admit theres a slight aesthetic preference because the ones im looking at have the wood cups, this buying blind stuff is rather annoying though

 

[thefitz]

Here we go then How my LCDs ruined me:

i never thought id get to own a pair but through various means i managed to get hold of a pair of bamboo LCD-2s the short version is i love them, the long version is a little more that i love them too much, thanks to my job i get to use whatever audio gear i want so i spend literally 8 hours a day listening to them, the real issues come in the fact that due to the fantastic low end performance ive found my self listening to more and more bass heavy music not so bad you might think until...

my biggest problem, volume, i try i really do, but i dont have normalize on as it messes with the sound and ill find my self saying "oh that tracks a bit quiet, ill just click it up one" but then it never goes down and im sat listening to stuff thats basically making my face ripple, which dont get me wrong is incredible, but its also REALLY bad for me and if im totally honest i think ive given myself a slight tinnitus in my right ear over the last year (remember kids you can **** up your ears) i mean thankfully im getting old anyway so im kind of just making the most of em before my whole body gives out

however i was missing that sort of closed back feeling with the sound, so i did a little research and last month got some MrSpeakers Aeon Flow, which just didnt cut the mustard, theyre OK headphones but just not close to the LCDs, my best analogy would probably be soup, where the LCD-2 is thick creamy chunky veg soup and the Aeon flow are Minestrone, so its already been decided after some slight deliberation between the 2 and the X im looking at a pair of LCD-X closed back instead and i think thats pretty much end game for me

honestly id weigh up the difference between the 2 and the x myself before i bought if i could, i mean the 2s are utterly astounding cans and its hard to imagine something better so ith be great to hear them side by side but i tried something similar last month when i went to Manchester and everywhere told me they cant demo headphones because of the rona. id also like to try the Meze Liric but going outside what i know at that price is a dangerous move, im kind of trusting that audeze improved the X over the 2 and i have to admit theres a slight aesthetic preference because the ones im looking at have the wood cups, this buying blind stuff is rather annoying though

I've owned three, yes, three, pairs of LCD-XC (all wood cups) and just acquired a second pair of LCD-2.2s, and they're very dissimilar.

The LCD-X series is departure enough from the Audeze house sound, but the XC is a different beast altogether. While the bass is flat and extends to zero, I wouldn't call them overly bassy cans in light of their fairly significant 1.5kHz honk and hot upper treble. For me, it's a bad mix.

Since you love the LCD-2 so much, why not give the LCD-2 Closed Back a spin?

 

[emba4]

I've owned three, yes, three, pairs of LCD-XC (all wood cups) and just acquired a second pair of LCD-2.2s, and they're very dissimilar.

The LCD-X series is departure enough from the Audeze house sound, but the XC is a different beast altogether. While the bass is flat and extends to zero, I wouldn't call them overly bassy cans in light of their fairly significant 1.5kHz honk and hot upper treble. For me, it's a bad mix.

Since you love the LCD-2 so much, why not give the LCD-2 Closed Back a spin?

see youre describing my very biggest worry, i did see a select few people say the X wasnt necessarily better just different and while it may have gained a little in clarity it lost a little of that low end magic the 2 had so i did really want to try the difference, but most places wont let you these days sadly, the 2 would save me a fat wedge of cash i could potentially dump on a mojo 2 when it drops or possibly an ifi gryphon

 

[pofofo]

I`ve had the LCD-2 closed backs, and compared to my LCD-2.2, I felt it was quite a bit brighter. The bass was good though and of course it was a bit more of a closed in sound. I used Audeze Reveal with them, and I felt that gave them more of a even presentation.

 

[thefitz]

see youre describing my very biggest worry, i did see a select few people say the X wasnt necessarily better just different and while it may have gained a little in clarity it lost a little of that low end magic the 2 had so i did really want to try the difference, but most places wont let you these days sadly, the 2 would save me a fat wedge of cash i could potentially dump on a mojo 2 when it drops or possibly an ifi gryphon

Yeah - if richness is what you're after, anything with an X in it isn't likely your bag.

 

[emba4]

See now I'm asking multiple people are saying the same, so I think I'm just going to go for the 2CB instead, but this in itself leaves done problems, first will I want/need the 2 if I get them or with the CB be my "everything" cans, if not I could upgrade the originals with the carbon fiber headband possibly and if not I can put the extra towards a new portable source

 

[mikecheck95]

Does anyone have photos to share of their 2021 rosewood LCD-2? I’m trying to see if I could live with the “reddish” colour they seem to have.