[Wedge]

 
Leesure owns the Lyr.
 
Quote:

I'm not sure if I missed it elsewhere, did you try the Lyr at the meet?
 

 

 

[elnero]

Quote:

 
Leesure owns the Lyr.
 


 

Sorry, I thought I had read that he was expecting it but I don't remember reading any impressions, I was curious how he felt it fared in comparison to his Woo.
 
 

 

[daveDerek]

Quote:

I'm not sure if I missed it elsewhere, did you try the Lyr at the meet?

 
that was Lee's Lyr @ the meet.  he received it just the day before. i'm sure we'll be hearing from him in the coming weeks as he lives with that pairing.

 

[sunneebear]

Anyone know how to remove the ear pads on the LCD2.  The new leather smell is driving me crazy, nausious even.  I want to try some of the methods to dry, age or deodorize the leather.

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

How do I have bias and preconceived notions of that context? I gave sources a chance... I bought the VDA-2 and external power supply expecting a big difference. (a bias in the opposite way you are suggesting) For what I paid, I should have heard one... but I didn't. Like I said in my previous post, I thought I heard one being slightly brighter than the other one. Yet I had to change the volume level on my amp every time I changed source, so... it wasn't an accurate comparison at all.

What is 'detail' though? And 'presence' for that matter... People throw around a lot of flowery words around here. To some people detail is the presence of high frequencies. To me, real detail, is the absence of what I call "masking" frequencies. As I found frequency spikes in my DT-880's response and equalized them out, I found them to be MUCH more detailed. When the emphasis of particular frequency ranges is gone, you more easily hear what was already there, because you are no longer picking up this massive spike of 6khz or whatever was completely coloring the sound. That thread about EQ that used to be stickied (might still be) explained this really well.
 
Now that I know how much the Isabellina costs, I understand why you can't fathom the idea of getting high class sound from a cheap PCI sound card.

If we could all use the terminology as defined in the "glossary"wiki, I think that might help.  If a term is not in the wiki, add it.
http://www.head-fi.org/wiki/glossary-of-terms
 
 

 

[fiver]

 
Quote:

If we could all use the terminology as defined in the "glossary"wiki, I think that might help.  If a term is not in the wiki, add it.
http://www.head-fi.org/wiki/glossary-of-terms
 

 
Who gets to do the write up for "Synergy" ?  
 
I'd offerer to do it myself, but I think too many cages would be rattled and I'd become an instant pariah.
 

 

[jamato8]

The pads are stuck on with a type of glue. You have to carefully peel them off but then there is no guarantee that you will get them to stick good. 

 

[leesure]

Quote:

Sorry, I thought I had read that he was expecting it but I don't remember reading any impressions, I was curious how he felt it fared in comparison to his Woo.
 
 

I've only had it for a few days and heard it for a very few hours...I'm forming early impressions and will fill you in in a few days.  The very short and sweet of it so far is amazing bang for the buck. 
 

 

[sunneebear]

Thanks John.  Guess I will just have to do it attached to the housing.

 

[zilch0md]

Hi sunnebear,
 
Quote:

Anyone know how to remove the ear pads on the LCD2.  The new leather smell is driving me crazy, nausious even.  I want to try some of the methods to dry, age or deodorize the leather.

I don't know how to remove the LCD-2 pads, but I highly recommend that you (and even people who don't have a problem with the smell of the leather) try a leather cleaning and conditioning product that I have twice applied to my LCD-2 lambskin pads - once when I first received the LCD-2s in February, and again a couple of days ago.  I'm really happy with how it softens and protects the leather without making it sticky, oily, or in any way unpleasant - including the fragrance, which is almost nonexistent. 

 
I just use my fingertip to rub about an 1/8th of a teaspoon onto each pad - without removing the pads.  I work it into the stitching, but I'm careful not to touch the fabric that can be seen inside the cups, and I coat the entire pad inside and out, just by spreading this tiny amount with my finger.  Setting them aside for about twenty minutes, they dry without any evidence of a residue, stickiness, etc.  And, as they claim in their literature, it doesn't irritate my skin (or my nostrils).  It just leaves the leather nicely rejuvinated, without sealing it the way some products will do.
 
I researched leather treatments for about three hours one night before deciding to try this product on my LCD-2s.  Along the way, I read all kinds of horror stories about products that have ruined everything from leather gloves to jackets, but I've read nothing but good reviews about this stuff.
 
Here's one way to order it:
http://www.leathercpr.com/leather-care/leather-oztube-p-32.html
 
As little as I'm using, I think my 4-oz tube will last "forever," unless I start using it on other leather goods.
 
Mike
(I have no relationship with the manufacturer - I'm just a very satisfied customer.)

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Who gets to do the write up for "Synergy" ?  
I'd offerer to do it myself, but I think too many cages would be rattled and I'd become an instant pariah.

Done.
 
 

 

[sunneebear]

Hello Mike,
 
Think I'll try it out because I have some other  leather stuff too.  Did it remove the new leather smell?  If not I will try some of the "how to" tips while I wait for my Leather CPR.  Many seem to say diluted vinegar works.
 
Thanks for the input.
Go Lone Star

 

[FH123]

Quote:

That's because people who have experienced it know that tiny improvements are big and small changes are HUGE.  BIG changes rarely, if ever, happen beyond the earliest upgrades...ie iPod-only to 1st amp or copmputer stock sound card to 1st DAC.

 
I read this as saying people, including yourself, are prone to hyperbole when, at higher price levels, they discover a component that makes any sort of improvement. I have no problem with that and it's great when you share your excitement, but it makes buying decisions based (in part, inevitably) on forum posts so very, very difficult. What are people's yardsticks? What were their expectations, what mood were they in and what did they have for breakfast when they gave that rave review? In light of this, would you like to rephrase your assesment of the RWA Isabellina, of which you wrote "a jaw-dropping revelation with my LCD-2's. It was spectacular." as:
 
(A) A tiny improvement, compared to your previous reference.
(B) A small improvement.
(C) A big improvement, in the same league as iPod-only to 1st amp or computer stock sound card to 1st DAC?
 
I joined HeadFi recently, because I found the LCD-2s. They have been, to me, an unambiguous big improvement over my previous phones, the Sennheiser HD-650. Yet they are clearly in a price class beyond the first amp or first DAC. I agree with you that there is a curve of diminishing returns. I have been burnt by that curve and stopped trying to improve my HiFi for many years. On the other hand, if you have the time, money and inclination to experiment at the upper end of the curve, I can see how you might be legitimately excited about finding tiny and small improvements. It seems to me like you have accepted that, whereas myself and vkamicht haven't. If I had accepted it previously, the LCD-2 and Behringer DEQ2496 have changed my mind. I'm looking for the truly big improvements, because the LCD-2 was one.
 
There have been just a few components in the past to which I had a similar positive reaction. Those were expensive ones that I didn't buy. A Wadia 302 (or 301, I forget) CD-player impressed me with it's sound-stage. The pinpoint accuracy and space around the performers clearly came across even through my not-so-good Polk LS50 speakers. Ultimately I felt this was a bit unnatural and accompanied by an exaggerated, if smooth treble. At the same time I had to tip my hat and acknowledge that this unambiguously and clearly set the component apart from the competition. I see how you would value it for that in the same way I value the LCD-2 for being so resolved about instrumental timbres.
 
Let me rephrase what I'm looking for. Yes, it must be a truly big improvement to me. It might not be one for you, but it should at least have some clearly noticeable, unambiguous quality that sets it apart from the competition or from the lower priced stuff. A quality that can be readily heard by anyone and that is not so subtle as to be marginal. A quality that is simply valued differently by different people. The effect of an equalizer most obviously falls into that category. To me the LCD-2s clearly do to, certainly when you pit them against lower priced phones.
 
Red Wine Audio products do seem to fall into that category as a whole. They're renowned for having a clear identity. I haven't heard the RWA Isabellina. I am interested, but must confess I have issues with what I read. It has been mentioned as a great match for the LCD-2s numerous times in these forums. On the other hand the 6moons review was less complimentary. I've followed Srajan Ebaen's writing for some years and admittedly I think his preferences have shifted. He likens the Isabellina sound to the Zu Audio line of speakers, which he reviewed highly at an earlier time in his life. It's a sound he seems to have moved away from and he now flat out prefers the cheaper Burson HA-160D, although it seems he got the LCD-2s after he sent the Isabellina back, so hasn't heard the combination.
 
Another thing that puts me off is the advertising at the 6moons site. Now all RWA products have LifePO4 technology and a tube stage, it proclaims. I can appreciate the battery improvement, but he modified the circuit of all RWA products to add a tube stage? Seriously? I have two problems with this. One, it seems a cynical, marketing based decision, rather than an engineering one. I guess it lets people roll tubes. Two, if it really makes a difference then it invalidates all previous reviews of all his products carrying the same name. There's nothing wrong with that I guess, but it's confusing.
 
I guess you're going to counter that the proof of the pudding is in the listening. Unfortunately I don't have the opportunity, so inevitably you take other factors into account.
 
From all I've read RWA products as a whole are renowned for their warm, ballsy but ultimately less resolved sound, so as to perhaps compensate for the innate harshness of digital media. Much like the LCD-2, in a way. This is where I'm puzzled how it's reported as such a good match, because I basically think the LCD-2s need a bright-ish amp. Again, I'm back to talking about frequency response, when I've said myself there are other things...
 
What would really help is if you could elaborate why the Isabellina is such a spectacular match ... but please tick option (A), (B), (C) above first, to put the magnitude of the synergy in perspective .

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

 I basically think the LCD-2s need a bright-ish amp. Again, I'm back to talking about frequency response, when I've said myself there are other things...

I basically think the LCD-2s need a neutral, transparent amp.  
 
 

 

[MacedonianHero]

Quote:

I basically think the LCD-2s need a neutral, transparent amp.  
 
 

x2

(dac/source as well).