[DeadEars]

This might simply be a result of what you're used to.  My dad had a nice Stax system for 10 years or so, and that was my gold standard for years.  When I first bought headphones (mostly for listening with computer-based sources) I found every can I used disappointing.  As I upgraded sources and moved up the ladder in headphone quality, I finally found a headphone I could live with in the LCD-2's.  A couple of weeks ago I was visiting my dad and listened to his system.  Not sure which Stax model these are, maybe 007?  Anyway, I was once again thrilled with the presentation from his system and spent many hours enjoying it.  Coming home to the LCD-2's I felt somewhat the way you do, based on your descriptions.
 
But after listening to them again for a couple of weeks, I've re-adjusted, and I'm quite happy with them again.
 
Are you by any chance a Stax guy?
 
 
 
Frank

 

[Frankie K]

Quote:

Quote:

today i got the balanced black dragon for my audeze.
the amplifier is my bal. beta-22
first impression: oh my god, this headphone comes from another planet

more impression later but the lcd-2 like lots of power

aldo

I have the same impression. I can't seem to take the headphone off as I like the RF a lot.

You also have the black dragon cable's like Alota, I'm still a couple of month's away before I place My order, You Guy's are killing Me

, I'm going to have to hold My composure and bide My time

, and in the end I will get My pr. too

.
 
 

 

[grokit]

 
Quote:

I do own the Benchmark DAC1 and have ordered both the LCD-2 (payment made, waiting for shipping confirmation) and the Lyr (shipped), I could get back to you with impressions when I recieve them both if you're interested.

Please do! I think there's bound to be a few of us in the exclusive Lyr/LCD-2 club 

 

[WindyCityCy]

Just spent 4 hours rocking out to a Pandora stream (Paul Oakenfold Radio) on my WA22 with LCD2 combo.  Felt like I was at a live concert.  Can't believe it is already 6pm.  My heart is racing and my head is throbbing from the experience!  Tried switching over to the HD800 for just a moment before shutting down and the "live" feeling wasn't the same.  It seems the LCD2 love some trance and techno!

 

 

[trevorlane]

I can't wait to get my LCD-2s in for a try. My HD650s, my go-tos, need a break and I'd love to try something different. I'm hoping the SDS won't blast my ears to kingdom come, the gain is a little high, which can make my PS-1s have that needles shooting in the ear effect. I'm also getting the Hiface Evo in soon, it should be interesting if there's any difference in using coax, toslink, or fiber optic to the assemblage.

 

[visualguy]

Quote:

 
Are you by any chance a Stax guy?
 

Not exclusively... Overall, I find my Stax setup (SR-007/KGSS) to be my best-sounding headphones setup. However, I enjoy listening to the HD800 and the HE-6. Sometimes I'm in the mood to listen to something with a different presentation than the Stax...
 
I find that it's not redundant to own the HD800 and HE-6 even if you own the SR-007 - they all sound different. However, I'm wondering about the LCD-2. I listened to them only for an hour, but it was on a variety of music types, and I'm not sure what advantage they have when compared to the HE-6. The LCD-2 and HE-6 have a similar type of sound, and the LCD-2 sounded similar or worse (never better) on everything that I threw at it so far.
 
Also, the LCD-2 sound really suffers at low to mid volume - you need to play them loud, which I don't like doing because of the risk of hearing damage and fatigue. The sound of my other headphones also degrades significantly as I lower the volume, but not quite as much as with the LCD-2.
 
These are just initial thoughts after a short listening session. I need to spend more time listening to them.
 

 

[jax]

 
Quote:

 
I just spent some time listening to the LCD-2 for the first time. I'm running them balanced with a Beta 22 amp. My other headphones are HE-6, HD800 and SR-007mk1.
 
The LCD-2 are good, but not great in my opinion.
 
The bass impact is very good on the LCD-2, but bass texture/detail isn't as good as on my other headphones. Mids are good and vocals have a rich sound on the LCD-2. Highs aren't so great - seem somewhat muffled. The sound of the LCD-2 is pleasant and not fatiguing, but it's supressing some detail.
 
I find that the HE-6 has most of the nice properties of the LCD-2 (lush, non-fatiguing sound) while offering better highs and detail. In general, I like transparency and detail (I like listening to studio monitors, for example), so these may not be my cup of tea, but I like experimenting.
 
So far, I'm not sure on what music (if any) the LCD-2 wins when compared to the other headphones, but I'm looking forward to listening to them some more. I only spent about an hour listening to them so far.
 

 
I was having very similar observations of the LCD-2 using my Woo WA6SEm with them.  I thought it was the headphones until I listened to them with different amps (Apex Peak Volcano and V181) - the recessed extremes, especially in the highs, were gone. The bass also seemed to have a bit more punch and detail.  I did a scattered review in the Apex Peak Loaner thread that goes into some of that.  I'm surprised that the Beta 22 would render a sound like this thought (I used to have one, though didn't have it at the same time as the LCD-2).  Anyway, have you given them a try with a different amp at any point?
 
 

 

[visualguy]

Quote:

 
 
I was having very similar observations of the LCD-2 using my Woo WA6SEm with them.  I thought it was the headphones until I listened to them with different amps (Apex Peak Volcano and V181) - the recessed extremes, especially in the highs, were gone. The bass also seemed to have a bit more punch and detail.  I did a scattered review in the Apex Peak Loaner thread that goes into some of that.  I'm surprised that the Beta 22 would render a sound like this thought (I used to have one, though didn't have it at the same time as the LCD-2).  Anyway, have you given them a try with a different amp at any point?
 
 

I haven't tried them with other amps yet, but I can try them with my DAC1, m903, and Gilmore Lite. I doubt the Beta 22 is at fault, though - it drives even the HE-6 fine which is much harder to drive than he LCD-2...
 
 

 

[pigwave]

I find the LCD2 has a unique sound as a headphone, but it provides the most similar sound to what I heard at concert hall ( or real life)
Other high end headphones may make the details more obvious, while unnatural.
I would rather love the music to be present as a whole picture, while you can see the details if you pay attention to, which is why I think the LCD2s are so great.
Just my opinion. 

 

[grokit]

I've found the LCD-2 to excel at shuffle play, where you never know what's coming next from a large music server library that features varying quality from a wide variety of genres.

 

[visualguy]

Quote:

I find the LCD2 has a unique sound as a headphone, but it provides the most similar sound to what I heard at concert hall ( or real life)
Other high end headphones may make the details more obvious, while unnatural.
I would rather love the music to be present as a whole picture, while you can see the details if you pay attention to, which is why I think the LCD2s are so great.
Just my opinion. 

I believe that if you are seated at a good location in a good auditorium, you will hear details which are supressed by the LCD-2 (unless you run them at really high volume). For example, about midway through the first movement of Beethoven's 9th symphony, there's some serious drum playing. I have a very good recording of LSO playing this symphony. I can hear rich details of this drum playing on my other headphones (and speakers), but not on the LCD-2 unless I really crank up the volume on them. The drums are actually played really loud in that section, and I'm pretty sure you would hear them well in an auditorium.
 
Regardless, my opinion is that headphones and speakers should ideally reproduce the music as mixed and mastered by the recording engineers. It is their job to record it in a way that would sound right (sitting in the auditorium, or on stage, or however they decide they want it to sound.) It is not the job of the headphones or speakers to change the presentation from the way it was recorded to something different.
 

 

[visualguy]

Quote:

I've found the LCD-2 to excel at shuffle play, where you never know what's coming next from a large music server library that features varying quality from a wide variety of genres.

I can believe that, and this can be useful, but I'm not sure it's really praise...
 

 

[pigwave]

According to the test result from this thread,http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/482386/building-a-headphone-measurement-lab
LCD2 is one of the most accurate headphone out there, and this is exactly how I feel after my audition,  and I didn't know of this test at the time
I think the main argument is on the high frequency roll off with the LCD2. And I think the roll off theory on hearing is pretty fit with my ears too.
So I guess people do have different hearing. 
 
Sorry for my English, I'm not a native speaker.

 

[K3cT]

Interesting, visualguy. I found the LCD2 to be closest presentation-wise to the 007MK1/KGSS sans the treble details which would explain why I love them so much. I do have to say that if you listen to primarily classical then the LCD2 is not a very good choice though.

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

According to the test result from this thread,http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/482386/building-a-headphone-measurement-lab
LCD2 is one of the most accurate headphone out there, and this is exactly how I feel after my audition,  and I didn't know of this test at the time
I think the main argument is on the high frequency roll off with the LCD2. And I think the roll off theory on hearing is pretty fit with my ears too.
So I guess people do have different hearing. 
 
Sorry for my English, I'm not a native speaker.

It is not really a HF roll off, is is a shelved reduction around 2kHz.  All the HF is there but intentionally reduced in level to match the majority of listener's HRTF properly.