[milosz]

My LCD-2's have a color that I'd describe as being similar to milk chocolate, with maybe a slight tilt in chroma to the yellow, as in milk chocolate with a hint of the yellowish color of raw wood.  And they have black grain swirled through, along with some figuring.
 
It's a nice color.  But I would have preferred a redder color, the color that speaker cabinets used to come in when they were labeled as "rosewood."  Like the true Brazil rosewood I saw on a pair of Infinity Servo-Statik I's I saw in 1973.
 
Minor point.
 
 

 

[jamato8]

The rosewood of old, the wild, isn't available legally, as far as I know. Most all rosewood is farm grown now and has been for a number of years. It differs in color and grain due to the change in soil and general growing conditions. A redder stain could be used (clear stain or tint) to bring out the grain and a different color but the true dark brownish red is something you only see on old tools and rosewood for various purposes. It does have a beautiful character. 

 

[notThinking]

Quote:

The rosewood of old, the wild, isn't available legally, as far as I know. Most all rosewood is farm grown now and has been for a number of years. It differs in color and grain due to the change in soil and general growing conditions. A redder stain could be used (clear stain or tint) to bring out the grain and a different color but the true dark brownish red is something you only see on old tools and rosewood for various purposes. It does have a beautiful character. 

Yes, both look and in sound. Guitars build with this old wood are priced just ridiculous.
Lumbers arability today comes from old buildings and constructions and if LCD-2 was build from this kid of wood they're cost us 4 or 10 times what they do now. And I'm not sure if they sound as good as this rosewood really sings.

 

[orkney]

^^^
 
Does this type of rosewood change (darken, etc) with time? I've had a vintage pair of LS3As for a while now and they have grown darker and richer over the years -- more so when out of their boxes and exposed to light, I expect.
 
Still finding the LCD-2s on the heavy side for long sessions (weight and clamping) and have been scanning the threads on ways to stretch the headband out safely. Soundwise they're pretty much exactly what I was after. Absolutely love 'em.
 
best,
 
o

 

[notThinking]

I know it's OT, but since we are talking about rosewood and sound reproduction equipment listen from 3:45 in this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRTRhwDprjY

 

[Frank I]

 
Quote:

^^^
 
Does this type of rosewood change (darken, etc) with time? I've had a vintage pair of LS3As for a while now and they have grown darker and richer over the years -- more so when out of their boxes and exposed to light, I expect.
 
Still finding the LCD-2s on the heavy side for long sessions (weight and clamping) and have been scanning the threads on ways to stretch the headband out safely. Soundwise they're pretty much exactly what I was after. Absolutely love 'em.
 
best,
 
o

I think after a bit your head wil adjust to the headband. I never stretched mine and now they are fine except I need to tighten the screws from time to  time so the cup does not swivel

 

[zilch0md]

 
I received my payment request on January 22nd and made the payment on the 23rd.  The package was shipped on the 25th, but I had to have it held for me at the local FedEx facilty because... 
 
I was out of town - causing a further 5-day delay!  I would have had them on the 27th otherwise.  Ahhhh... 

 
So... today, finally, I have received and unpacked my LCD-2's.
 
Gush, gush, gush!   

  
 
They have the new, large pads and glossy wooden box, as others have reported recently.
 
No problems to report other than having to find a small allen wrench with which to loosen the set screw on the left-side headband adjustment block.  As shipped, it was absolutely impossible to slide the block up and down on the left side.   A minor annoyance, remedied, thanks to having the tools I needed to fix it.
 
Here's my chart:
 

 
Mike

 

[chronomitch]

I have been listening to my new LCD-2 for almost a week now, and I have not come to a clear verdict yet as to whether or not I will keep it. It presents a very different sound signature than what I am used to.
 
On the positive side, the LCD-2 sounds much more natural than any of my previous headphones, such as the Sennheiser HD650. This is especially true when it comes to vocals, fluted instruments, and percussion. The tone and quickness of such musical elements are far more realistic than what I have heard before. The speed of the LCD-2 also helps deliver more transient detail. For example, I now notice an extremely quick strike of a hihat in one song which I did not hear before. Surprisingly, the LCD-2 also sounds amazing on death metal, which I did not expect at all.
 
On the negative side, the LCD-2 does not have as much high frequency treble "bite" as I would like. For better or worse, I have come to expect a certain sound signature when it comes to hi-fi (speakers or headphones), which includes a certain level of brightness and transparency. Although my previous headphones (HD650) are not exactly what most would consider as bright, given my source (Wyred4Sound DAC-2) and amp (Beta 22), they were nowhere near having a veiled sound, IMO. I would be happy if the LCD-2 had at least the same level of brightness, but this is not the case. Days of the New, an acoustic rock band, sounds better on my HD650. The sound stage is also better on the HD650, I think.
 
Additionally, the LCD-2 is not as comfortable as I would like, given its weight and clamping pressure. Although comfort seems to improve the more I use it, I am still unable to forget that it is sitting on my head when I am listening to music, which is one of my main goals.
 
IMO, the LCD-2 is amazing in the areas where it excels (natural tone, quickness, mids, and bass), but I'm not sure those advantages outweigh the costs. I'm going to keep listening for now, though, and see if my mind changes. If not, I think I will look into the HD800.

 

[ninjikiran]

If you want to stick to orthos you might want to check out the HE-6 threads which might have that bite your looking for.
 
Quote:

I have been listening to my new LCD-2 for almost a week now, and I have not come to a clear verdict yet as to whether or not I will keep it. It presents a very different sound signature than what I am used to.
 
On the positive side, the LCD-2 sounds much more natural than any of my previous headphones, such as the Sennheiser HD650. This is especially true when it comes to vocals, fluted instruments, and percussion. The tone and quickness of such musical elements are far more realistic than what I have heard before. The speed of the LCD-2 also helps deliver more transient detail. For example, I now notice an extremely quick strike of a hihat in one song which I did not hear before. Surprisingly, the LCD-2 also sounds amazing on death metal, which I did not expect at all.
 
On the negative side, the LCD-2 does not have as much high frequency treble "bite" as I would like. For better or worse, I have come to expect a certain sound signature when it comes to hi-fi (speakers or headphones), which includes a certain level of brightness and transparency. Although my previous headphones (HD650) are not exactly what most would consider as bright, given my source (Wyred4Sound DAC-2) and amp (Beta 22), they were nowhere near having a veiled sound, IMO. I would be happy if the LCD-2 had at least the same level of brightness, but this is not the case. Days of the New, an acoustic rock band, sounds better on my HD650. The sound stage is also better on the HD650, I think.
 
Additionally, the LCD-2 is not as comfortable as I would like, given its weight and clamping pressure. Although comfort seems to improve the more I use it, I am still unable to forget that it is sitting on my head when I am listening to music, which is one of my main goals.
 
IMO, the LCD-2 is amazing in the areas where it excels (natural tone, quickness, mids, and bass), but I'm not sure those advantages outweigh the costs. I'm going to keep listening for now, though, and see if my mind changes. If not, I think I will look into the HD800.

 

[zilch0md]

 
Following K3cT's idea of stacking curves, here's a comparison of my LCD-2 chart to K3cT's and Red Jacket Mike's:
 

 

[Pale Rider]

Quote:

I have been listening to my new LCD-2 for almost a week now, and I have not come to a clear verdict yet as to whether or not I will keep it. It presents a very different sound signature than what I am used to.
 
On the positive side, the LCD-2 sounds much more natural than any of my previous headphones, such as the Sennheiser HD650. This is especially true when it comes to vocals, fluted instruments, and percussion. The tone and quickness of such musical elements are far more realistic than what I have heard before. The speed of the LCD-2 also helps deliver more transient detail. For example, I now notice an extremely quick strike of a hihat in one song which I did not hear before. Surprisingly, the LCD-2 also sounds amazing on death metal, which I did not expect at all.
 
On the negative side, the LCD-2 does not have as much high frequency treble "bite" as I would like. For better or worse, I have come to expect a certain sound signature when it comes to hi-fi (speakers or headphones), which includes a certain level of brightness and transparency. Although my previous headphones (HD650) are not exactly what most would consider as bright, given my source (Wyred4Sound DAC-2) and amp (Beta 22), they were nowhere near having a veiled sound, IMO. I would be happy if the LCD-2 had at least the same level of brightness, but this is not the case. Days of the New, an acoustic rock band, sounds better on my HD650. The sound stage is also better on the HD650, I think.
 
Additionally, the LCD-2 is not as comfortable as I would like, given its weight and clamping pressure. Although comfort seems to improve the more I use it, I am still unable to forget that it is sitting on my head when I am listening to music, which is one of my main goals.
 
IMO, the LCD-2 is amazing in the areas where it excels (natural tone, quickness, mids, and bass), but I'm not sure those advantages outweigh the costs. I'm going to keep listening for now, though, and see if my mind changes. If not, I think I will look into the HD800.

Couple of thoughts:
 
1. As an HD800 owner, waiting for his LCD-2s to ship, I will be interested to hear what you think of the HD800. I am looking forward to comparing the two side-by-side.
 
2. I actually do think of the HD650s as bright, aggressively so, especially in comparison to my former HD600s, which I think tonally are more similar to the HD800s than the HD650s are. 
 
3. Thanks for the reference to Days of the New; always looking for new stuff to try out.
 
Cheers!
 

 

[jamato8]

Quote:

^^^
 
Does this type of rosewood change (darken, etc) with time? I've had a vintage pair of LS3As for a while now and they have grown darker and richer over the years -- more so when out of their boxes and exposed to light, I expect.
 
Still finding the LCD-2s on the heavy side for long sessions (weight and clamping) and have been scanning the threads on ways to stretch the headband out safely. Soundwise they're pretty much exactly what I was after. Absolutely love 'em.
 
best,
 
o

Yes, the wood will richen in color and depth, if it has a good finish or a natural one as in waxed or oiled, though oiled might darken more than you want. 
 
I have a bad neck but thankfully have gotten used to the LCD-2 weight and it isn't a problem for me. 
 
I find the HE-6 a little bright on some music, and the LCD-2 a good match on this music. I guess it is nice to have a choice. 
 

 

[debitsohn]

any pictures of these on someones actual head? i cant seem to find any.

 

[Frank I]

Quote:

any pictures of these on someones actual head? i cant seem to find any.

Dave go check out the Local Meet section in our Philly mini meet plenty pictures with them on heads

 

[debitsohn]

thanks Frank!