Hero Kid
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2009
- Posts
- 2,036
- Likes
- 43
Where can I find prices for the Norse cables?
Audeze LCD-2 Orthos
- Thread starter Kabeer
- Start date
Wedge
500+ Head-Fier
Quote:
You email Trevor, norseaudio@gmail.com, and tell him you are interested in his cable, he has various offerings.
perrew
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2008
- Posts
- 310
- Likes
- 12
Quote:
Do you mean one of these http://www.acoustic-fun.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=83 ?
daveDerek
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2006
- Posts
- 3,309
- Likes
- 22
Quote:
isn't a gilmore lite a dynalo? what other amps are considered good matches with the ad2k? and to head back on topic, is the g-lite also good with the lcd2? would this one amp serve both these cans well?
isn't a gilmore lite a dynalo? what other amps are considered good matches with the ad2k? and to head back on topic, is the g-lite also good with the lcd2? would this one amp serve both these cans well?
JIGF
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2009
- Posts
- 1,063
- Likes
- 25
elnero
Headphoneus Supremus
Quote:
Yes, a Gilmore Lite is a Dynalo as is the GS-1 and X2 for that matter. I was using a Lite paired with a Pico DAC with my LCD-2's and the pairing was IMO just OK, the sound was focused and transparent and sounded wonderful with some things but overall I felt the stage seemed narrow, bass lacked weight and it could sound a bit flat and dry. I don't want to say it was the amp or the DAC individually, I just think the pairing wasn't that hot.
I've since sold the Lite and am in the process of reconfiguring my system to balance it more in favor of my home setup. I'm on a limited budget though so I'm trying to find the most bang for my buck. I'm leaning heavily towards a CEntrance DACmini, so much so that I've tried placing an order but had a problem, so while that's getting sorted I've been poking around researching alternatives like the Burson 160D. In the interim I'm borrowing a friends Headroom Desktop Portable which I think does a better job than the Pico DAC/GLite combo did. The Desktop Portable is fuller-bodied, has a larger stage and doesn't feel so strained although it stills seems a bit laid back by times. Even though I like it I still get the feeling the LCD-2 would like more.
daveDerek
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2006
- Posts
- 3,309
- Likes
- 22
iirc, headphoneaddict has been very happily pairing a CEntrance DACmini with his lcd-2. has anyone else tried this pairing or tried that unit with the ad2000?
elnero
Headphoneus Supremus
Quote:
Yes he has.
The DACmini does seem like it would serve my needs the best and as a bonus I believe if I get a second wall wart for work I should be able to put it in my backpack and take it to and from work which would negate the need for a separate portable rig for work. I'm more curious at this point how it stacks up against the competition.
llama_egg
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2009
- Posts
- 190
- Likes
- 14
So I just received my tracking number from FedEx. I figured if I was lucky they would arrive on Friday, but most likely not till Wednesday till next week (being that it has to come into Canada), well, if the estimated ETA on the tracking number is correct I'm going to be a very happy listener;
Quote:
Oh god please be true, I'm off Thursday so I'll be sitting next to my door impatiently waiting for them to arrive!
Quote:
Oh god please be true, I'm off Thursday so I'll be sitting next to my door impatiently waiting for them to arrive!
Shahrose
Headphoneus Supremus
Quote:
I'm not surprised, considering the use of a portable USB DAC here. The Glite can definitely scale higher with a better source.
Shahrose
Headphoneus Supremus
Quote:
I would stay away from it. Having owned both, the SQ difference between the Headamp and Sheer Audio Dynalos couldn't be more obvious. Just goes to show how much implementation matters. One is highly transparent and the other is always mushy and slow sounding.
wakeride74
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2005
- Posts
- 5,047
- Likes
- 24
Quote:
Ha, I just sent him a PM looking for some more info about that. I've been on the hunt for a dac upgrade but am always hesitant when it comes to the all-in-one packages. I was originally shooting for the Cary Xciter but looks like some home repairs are going to knock the budget I had for that down so what's next. I really like the Concerto with the LCD-2 but the vdac is too warm and the udac just doesn't do them justice.
FH123
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2011
- Posts
- 13
- Likes
- 0
Reading back over this thread I see some people questioning whether the LCD-2s would be a worthwhile upgrade or whether they're past the curve of diminishing returns. Or perhaps comparable results can be achieved with a different headphone/amp combination, hence the LCD-2s would be nothing special per se. These were the kinds of questions on my mind before I bought them too. In my experience many upgrades are marginal and bear no relation to price. I'm happy to say the LCD-2s are the one product that have confounded my expectations in this regard.
I unfortunately do not have much breadth of experience, however I do own a pair of Sennheiser HD-650s for comparison. I run them out of a Benchmark DAC1, both with stock cables. One thing I don't see mentioned much is that the LCD-2s completely and utterly trounce the HD-650s in terms of precision and detail retrieval. I listen mostly to rock and pop. On any reasonably complex studio recording the LCD-2s are more intelligible, they better track individual voices and instruments and vocals are easier to understand. This is not subtle. Listening on my speakers or with the Sennheisers I typically notice nice bits in recordings that stand out. It could be a sliding guitar on a Rodrigo y Gabriela album or perhaps a trumpet solo in Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition that was particularly well recorded, bathed in ambience. Such moments don't occur all that often for me. With the LCD-2s however I find that these parts don't stand out anymore, because the rest of the music has been elevated to a similar level. For me the LCD-2s do that consistently, track after track for probably more than half of my music collection. It's not merely about transient speed. It's the way the LCD-2 track small or gradual changes in dynamics and articulation that turns the music more into a performance and, for me, sustains interest far more than the relatively homogenized sound that comes out of my speakers or the Sennheisers. You can reasonably compare frequency balance and wearing comfort, I would rate the HD-650s better on both counts, but in terms of musicality and sheer technical excellence I find the Audezes in a completely different league. I have not heard the HD-800, T1, HE-6, Stax nor any other headphones that compete with the LCD-2s, but whenever I see the older Sennheiser HD-600/650 mentioned in the same paragraph, well, I cannot believe that you could ever achieve comparable results, regardless of amplification (not that anyone has asked that exact question, but there you go).
I wonder why not more LCD-2 users are drawing attention to the above. Perhaps that's just my perception. Perhaps I haven't read widely enough. Quite likely the other high-end phones play in the same league and the HD-650 comparison just doesn't come up. There are possibly some other reasons though. One is that the frequency balance is down-tilted and that the LCD-2s are quite unforced. All the information is there, and I really mean that, but nothing stands out or draws attention to itself. It's sort of musically balanced and just sounds natural to me. You have to sit down, relax and listen to a few tracks. When I do that, I'm really enjoying the above experience, however if I listen while working I might as well use the HD-650s. The LCD-2s don't especially draw attention when your mind is on something else.
The two downsides of the LCD-2 for me are wearing comfort and frequency balance. There was a substantial clamp initially (I have a big head
), however this can be fixed immediately without any protracted stretching exercises. The headband is made from spring steel and Sankar (from Audeze) encouraged me to stretch it out, saying it was easily replacable. What you do is place the headphone on your thigh, with the top-side on the thigh, then bend the headband completely the other way a couple of times (the cups will end up facing outwards). You probably couldn't do this with any other headband (not made from spring steel) and obviously you have to be careful where you grip it - you only want to stretch the headband, not the mounting posts - but I wanted to mention that this is possible and you needn't give the headband too much respect (still at your own risk, of course). With the headband fixed to my liking they are a just a little loose when tilting my head back and forth and won't stay on it bed due to the weight, but to me it's infinitely preferable to the clamp.
The other downside I find with the LCD-2s is the frequency balance. It's not completely right for me. It doesn't hit the sweet spot where most of my records sound fine or at least not the ones that I previously thought well recorded. Even with the lean Benchmark DAC1 it favors the bright recordings (my opinion). Granted, with those it is fabulous and has really made me appreciate that part of my collection, but I can fully understand people who would call these headphones dark, even congested. It's a feeling I've had too occasionally.
I unfortunately do not have much breadth of experience, however I do own a pair of Sennheiser HD-650s for comparison. I run them out of a Benchmark DAC1, both with stock cables. One thing I don't see mentioned much is that the LCD-2s completely and utterly trounce the HD-650s in terms of precision and detail retrieval. I listen mostly to rock and pop. On any reasonably complex studio recording the LCD-2s are more intelligible, they better track individual voices and instruments and vocals are easier to understand. This is not subtle. Listening on my speakers or with the Sennheisers I typically notice nice bits in recordings that stand out. It could be a sliding guitar on a Rodrigo y Gabriela album or perhaps a trumpet solo in Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition that was particularly well recorded, bathed in ambience. Such moments don't occur all that often for me. With the LCD-2s however I find that these parts don't stand out anymore, because the rest of the music has been elevated to a similar level. For me the LCD-2s do that consistently, track after track for probably more than half of my music collection. It's not merely about transient speed. It's the way the LCD-2 track small or gradual changes in dynamics and articulation that turns the music more into a performance and, for me, sustains interest far more than the relatively homogenized sound that comes out of my speakers or the Sennheisers. You can reasonably compare frequency balance and wearing comfort, I would rate the HD-650s better on both counts, but in terms of musicality and sheer technical excellence I find the Audezes in a completely different league. I have not heard the HD-800, T1, HE-6, Stax nor any other headphones that compete with the LCD-2s, but whenever I see the older Sennheiser HD-600/650 mentioned in the same paragraph, well, I cannot believe that you could ever achieve comparable results, regardless of amplification (not that anyone has asked that exact question, but there you go).
I wonder why not more LCD-2 users are drawing attention to the above. Perhaps that's just my perception. Perhaps I haven't read widely enough. Quite likely the other high-end phones play in the same league and the HD-650 comparison just doesn't come up. There are possibly some other reasons though. One is that the frequency balance is down-tilted and that the LCD-2s are quite unforced. All the information is there, and I really mean that, but nothing stands out or draws attention to itself. It's sort of musically balanced and just sounds natural to me. You have to sit down, relax and listen to a few tracks. When I do that, I'm really enjoying the above experience, however if I listen while working I might as well use the HD-650s. The LCD-2s don't especially draw attention when your mind is on something else.
The two downsides of the LCD-2 for me are wearing comfort and frequency balance. There was a substantial clamp initially (I have a big head
), however this can be fixed immediately without any protracted stretching exercises. The headband is made from spring steel and Sankar (from Audeze) encouraged me to stretch it out, saying it was easily replacable. What you do is place the headphone on your thigh, with the top-side on the thigh, then bend the headband completely the other way a couple of times (the cups will end up facing outwards). You probably couldn't do this with any other headband (not made from spring steel) and obviously you have to be careful where you grip it - you only want to stretch the headband, not the mounting posts - but I wanted to mention that this is possible and you needn't give the headband too much respect (still at your own risk, of course). With the headband fixed to my liking they are a just a little loose when tilting my head back and forth and won't stay on it bed due to the weight, but to me it's infinitely preferable to the clamp.The other downside I find with the LCD-2s is the frequency balance. It's not completely right for me. It doesn't hit the sweet spot where most of my records sound fine or at least not the ones that I previously thought well recorded. Even with the lean Benchmark DAC1 it favors the bright recordings (my opinion). Granted, with those it is fabulous and has really made me appreciate that part of my collection, but I can fully understand people who would call these headphones dark, even congested. It's a feeling I've had too occasionally.
Users who are viewing this thread
