Last night, I sat down and did a serious listening session comparing the LCD-s', the T-1's and the Denon 7000's (which were
completely rewired from head to toe using Siltech wiring by Drew of Moon Audio).
First of all, I was extremely surprised to find that the T-1's bass were totally anemic compared to the other 2 brands. It was
just plain missing. I would have not noticed this without doing head-head comparisons.
Secondly, anyone who says that the LCD-2's are not a dark headphone, either has not done direct comparisons or have
become completely acclimated to them after some long term ownership. They blew the other 2 headphones away in detail, but
I'm sorry, the treble is extremely rolled off, and the only way to not hear that is to just listen to them by themselves without
doing comparisons to other top tier headphones.
A lot of people when they first get them, say they are dark, but change their minds after hours of use. The truth is, they are
dark. They just don't reach the upper register that other headphones from $900-1500 reach. There's no way around that. I think
that they are just convincing themselves to justify their purchase. They are a great headphone that succeed in many areas, but
treble extension is not one of them. Their detail is unrivaled and they produce a presentation that is unbelievable, but they are
missing notes and have a deficit when it comes to sustaining the high notes.
The T-1's are a good overall performer, but when comparing the three headphones, the bass is just downright missing. It's not
that the bass isn't visceral, it's just that it is not there. Period. This analysis was made using the same source and the same
amp for all three.
In come the modded Denon 7000's. They lack a bit in detail, and the bass is a bit wobbly, but the highs are clear as a bell
(the Siltech wiring is probably the emulsifier) and the bass is truly dominant even though they can use a bit more tightness. It
made me realize all of the upper register that was missing from the Audeze. Our brains, especially after a $1000 purchase can
easily be convinced to grow with the LCD-2's, but I believe, unless you get a better cable, it is bottlenecking the upper end.
Listening to the LCD-2's for a solid week without listening to anything else, was a rewarding experience, until I brought some other equally priced, high end offerings into the mix.
A good percentage of new owner say they are dark, right from the onset, and then eventually grow to love them. That doesn't
mean that the sound has changed. Our brain has accepted them for what they are, and without comparisons, they are the greatest thing since color TV. Once you compare, it becomes a different story.
This, combined with different retrofits still being offered to different order periods, make me want to wait until Audeze comes
out with a final product, that they feel is the best that they can offer. It is not fair that different monthly orders are getting different headphones. Each revision needs to be called a different model number so that the models can be distinguished from one another.
Again, these are great ortho headphones with gobs of detail and tremendous bass, but 1/3 of the equation is still missing. God's
gift to the headphone world is going to have to be allowed some more time.