Audeze LCD-2 Orthos

[NumLock]

Do you have to pay upfront to get on the wait list? Or do they only collect the money once it is ready to ship?

 

[jamato8]

You don't pay until they are ready to be sent. 

 

[oqvist]

Quote:

I think the LCD2 is great with classical music. It captures the tone of instruments very realistically and has excellent 'image specificity' - to use a Skylabism

I haven´t found any music/sound for movies  it doesn´t do well disregarding soundstage completly. Maybe for some genres it wouldn´t be my first pick but not due to it being bad but because I preferr another coloration and/or soundstage. For some music I am really not looking for maximum reality often something ethereal for electronica but it is really never wrong.

 

[Asr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrGreen /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Depends on the tempo of the piece. Personally I found that the headphone struggled with some presto pieces (and particularly didn't do all that great with some fast electronic music).

As a (fellow?) musician, I take issue with your mention of tempo with the implied relation to impulse response (or just fast music in general). Tempo is merely a set BPM on a metronome (the Latin adjectives aside) and even the fastest tempo still wouldn't mean anything with respect to a "speed" concept. It'd be more accurate to refer to something like eighth- or sixteenth-note runs at a fast tempo. It's possible this is what you meant but your post as-is makes no sense without the additional info. Because even quarter notes at BPMs of 140 or more (typical BPM range for electronic music) still aren't really that fast-sounding.

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrGreen /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Depends on the tempo of the piece. Personally I found that the headphone struggled with some presto pieces (and particularly didn't do all that great with some fast electronic music).

As a (fellow?) musician, I take issue with your mention of tempo with the implied relation to impulse response (or just fast music in general). Tempo is merely a set BPM on a metronome (the Latin adjectives aside) and even the fastest tempo still wouldn't mean anything with respect to a "speed" concept. It'd be more accurate to refer to something like eighth- or sixteenth-note runs at a fast tempo. It's possible this is what you meant but your post as-is makes no sense without the additional info. Because even quarter notes at BPMs of 140 or more (typical BPM range for electronic music) still aren't really that fast-sounding.

 
Yeah my bad.

 

[daltonlanny]

I just put my name on the Audeze LCD2 waiting list today.
Whats the current waiting period now on a pair?
Can't wait to try em out!

 

[jamato8]

It looks like a month to a month in a half. 

 

[NapalmK]

Quote:

I just put my name on the Audeze LCD2 waiting list today.
Whats the current waiting period now on a pair?
Can't wait to try em out!

Congrats! Now for the fun part...

 

[Tubularbells]

Well after waiting for what seemed like an eternity my LCD-2s finally rocked up. You know the old saying about first impressions and do Audeze deliver!

Talk about packaging, thought i had bought a giant babushka doll it had so many layers! Opening the first box revealed a secondary box along with foam filler around the edges. This second box contained a third box and upon opening that I was greeted by layers of bubble wrap under which laid the wooden coffin like box. Inside this was more wrapping revealing the headphones themselves.

This whole experience added to the anticipation and instilled a level of quality and exclusiveness that made my HD800s packet look cheap in comparison.

First impressions were a big fat WOW. These babies are BIG and while obviously heavier than my HD800s were not as heavy as I had expected (a good thing) Throwing them over my noggin bought a sigh of relief after hearing so many comments about the weight and discomfort.

To be perfectly honest the LCD-2's are more comfortable on my head than my HD800's. Call me crazy but its true. These are nicely balanced and the weight isn't bothersome at all. They also don't clamp as hard as my HD800s and I find the leather pads more comfortable as well (Found the HD800s pads a little itchy at times) Although extremely comfortable you never forget these are on your head due to the extreme size. Rolling my eyes slightly left or right of center and the sides of these monsters come into your peripheral vision.

For me the only let down in terms of comfort is the cable. Although this is the newer "improved" version minus the nylon braid (heat shrink used instead) it is shockingly microphonic and inflexible coiling around my body like a giant serpant. That aside the cable is up to the task in terms of power transfer unlike the wispy thin copper used in the HD800s.

Now as for sound I had big expectations from reading the 1000's of glowing posts found in reviews and forums. I never felt I fully connected with the HD800s musically. Perhaps this was due to my extreme taste in music living on a healthy diet of badly produced black metal however this was never really bothersome on my older HD650's which tended to allow the music to flow no matter how badly produced it was. The HD800s always put its foot down and threw a tantrum whenever I fed it with anything less than a pristine source.

I can now see why people are referring to the LCD-2s as a HD650 on steroids as from what I remember of the 650s has a similar flavor and disposition in that it will try and pull the best out of each recording rather than analysing every note that the HD800s tended to do.

I threw some torture tracks at them starting with Altar of Plagues superb "White Tomb" album. Although classified as a black metal album the sound is a lot more progressive than most traditional bands of this genre playing brutal blast beats and harsh vocals interlaced with beautiful sonic soundscapes. The production is one of the best in the genre with a clear organic sound that is neither over or under produced. The first cut Earth: As a Womb is a 12 minute roller coaster starting of very slowly breaking out into a blast of sonic inferno. I listen for the delicate cymbal work, guitar tone and overall "meatiness" of the track for evaluation purposes. While the HD800s sounded good the LCD-2 absolutely kicks delivering a wave of sonic bliss I never thought possible.

Next up was some electronic music, specifically Distance "My Demons" album (first track Night Vision). Although not my absolute fav. in this genre I find this album a difficult customer as the production has this real electric sound which is hard to describe. Kinda like the whole album is statically charged with 1000's of volts arching and crackling around it. My HD800s absolutely hate it making it sound harsh and toppy. There weakish bass doesn't help matters either however the LCD-2s tame the sonics a little allowing a thick wave of bass to flow around all that crackling energy. I do not find the LCD-2s lacking in treble at all. All the top end detail I hear via the HD800s is there it just sound more cohesive with the rest of the spectrum.

Next up perhaps my favorite album of all time. Mike Oldfields Tubular Bells (original 1973 recording) I simply cannot get enough of this no matter how many times i hear it. From the haunting piano intro to the mighty hammer strokes across the giant tubular bells this album takes me on a different journey every time. I have to admit the HD800s sound very nice with this album but is let down by its weakens bass. The bass playing on the first track around the 3 min mark is hard to follow with the HD800s which is where the LCD-2s shine allowing me to he r not only each pluck of the bass string but the decay of the note as well.

I could go on and on but I would like to conclude to my ears the LCD-2s are a definite upgrade to my HD800s allowing me to really enjoy my music again and at the end of the day thats what its all about….

For the technophiles im currently using a Mac mini (2010 version) as a source with 4gb ram upgrade using Apple lossless and iTunes via AyreWave or Audivana players. this is fed into a RWA Isabellina HPA LFP-V Edition Amp via USB. HD800's are cabled with DHC MiniCompliment.
f

 

[NumLock]

 How is the LCD-2 bass quality/quantity compared to D5000 or D7000.

 

[rhythmdevils]

I finally convinced my sister to listen to all (or most) my headphones yesterday.  She really doesn't care about this stuff at all, though she loves music.  She thought the LCD-2 sounded amazing, and said things like "it sounds like he's right in front of me".  She liked how real and detailed they were.  I had her go to my T20v2 next, and she disliked the comfort and said the sound was attacking her ears and was too sharp.  Then the HD600, which she said was too soft sounding.  She liked the K340.  But her favorite by far was the LCD-2, which she thought sounded very realistic.  Her complaint was the comfort, and she is small, so it hit her jaw bones I think, and the headband kept loosening on her.  It's always interesting to hear what non-audiophiles with no experience thinking about SQ have to say about these kinds of phones.  Whenever I had asked her about getting new headphones as a gift in the past, she had always said she could care less, but after listening to the LCD-2 she said her sony earbuds sounded like crap, and she doesn't enjoy listening to music because of it, and that she wants some full size headphones.  Which I was amazed by because she is very style conscious. 
 
I think that earns the LCD-2 a couple points.

 

[jamato8]

Yes, I find the LCD-2 to be anything but static. By this I mean that they reflect what is being fed to them. I got the RSA 71b yesterday. Running it fully balanced opens up the phones even more. I hear excellent layering but not just some paper cut outs, that I expressed early on in my reports of what I was hearing, but a layering with dimension and body to instruments and voices that are more distant. The 71b also opens up the sound field to such an extent that the soundscape is very large but while it is spread out, if recorded in a way that reveals this, unlike some amps I have heard that are expansive but lose their focus, the 71b and the LCD-2 retain all the focus/imaging that a smaller soundstage often yields. My other phones benefit from the 71b but the LCD-2 really tell the story and it is a good one. 

 

[Frank I]

 
Quote:

Yes, I find the LCD-2 to be anything but static. By this I mean that they reflect what is being fed to them. I got the RSA 71b yesterday. Running it fully balanced opens up the phones even more. I hear excellent layering but not just some paper cut outs, that I expressed early on in my reports of what I was hearing, but a layering with dimension and body to instruments and voices that are more distant. The 71b also opens up the sound field to such an extent that the soundscape is very large but while it is spread out, if recorded in a way that reveals this, unlike some amps I have heard that are expansive but lose their focus, the 71b and the LCD-2 retain all the focus/imaging that a smaller soundstage often yields. My other phones benefit from the 71b but the LCD-2 really tell the story and it is a good one. 

Interesting about them running balanced. My Taboo is being built and we are talking about making the headamp balanced.Nice impressions John

 

[SP Wild]

Quote:

I finally convinced my sister to listen to all (or most) my headphones yesterday.  She really doesn't care about this stuff at all, though she loves music.  She thought the LCD-2 sounded amazing, and said things like "it sounds like he's right in front of me".  She liked how real and detailed they were.  I had her go to my T20v2 next, and she disliked the comfort and said the sound was attacking her ears and was too sharp.  Then the HD600, which she said was too soft sounding.  She liked the K340.  But her favorite by far was the LCD-2, which she thought sounded very realistic.  Her complaint was the comfort, and she is small, so it hit her jaw bones I think, and the headband kept loosening on her.  It's always interesting to hear what non-audiophiles with no experience thinking about SQ have to say about these kinds of phones.  Whenever I had asked her about getting new headphones as a gift in the past, she had always said she could care less, but after listening to the LCD-2 she said her sony earbuds sounded like crap, and she doesn't enjoy listening to music because of it, and that she wants some full size headphones.  Which I was amazed by because she is very style conscious. 
 
I think that earns the LCD-2 a couple points.

Its an observation I made in the past as well.  The judgement of ordinary females (female DJs excluded) that have no predisposition with stereo systems other than a love for their music...without any influence from male partners etc...always seem to lean on the side of cans that are labelled "natural" and "organic".  I find male teens obsessed with subwoofer bass and then another group, I cannot define...listens predominantly to treble details...in what seems to me some psychology rebellion and distancing to the boy teenager psyche from other members.  Of course there are members opinions I highly trust that I do feel differing opinions are HRTF related and not psychological conditioning.  Lets face it.  Common girls are not into hi-fi and for this reason, their opinion is truly untainted and of a higher vale to me than so called "audiophiles".  I also find girls (I also have 2 sisters) have the natural commonsense to listen to their earbuds at reasonable levels and not crank them up...something I was devoid of as a teenager (yeah, I did the whole V EQ and volume full blast thing). 

 

[jermng]

Quote:

I finally convinced my sister to listen to all (or most) my headphones yesterday.  She really doesn't care about this stuff at all, though she loves music.  She thought the LCD-2 sounded amazing, and said things like "it sounds like he's right in front of me".  She liked how real and detailed they were.  I had her go to my T20v2 next, and she disliked the comfort and said the sound was attacking her ears and was too sharp.  Then the HD600, which she said was too soft sounding.  She liked the K340.  But her favorite by far was the LCD-2, which she thought sounded very realistic.  Her complaint was the comfort, and she is small, so it hit her jaw bones I think, and the headband kept loosening on her.  It's always interesting to hear what non-audiophiles with no experience thinking about SQ have to say about these kinds of phones.  Whenever I had asked her about getting new headphones as a gift in the past, she had always said she could care less, but after listening to the LCD-2 she said her sony earbuds sounded like crap, and she doesn't enjoy listening to music because of it, and that she wants some full size headphones.  Which I was amazed by because she is very style conscious. 
 
I think that earns the LCD-2 a couple points.

My wife loves the LCD-2s too ...says it feels like she's sitting in a concert hall listening to the music. She's a pianist and session musician so she knows how a concert hall sounds like - great praise for the LCD-2s indeed.