[mikewr]

Sorry to barge in, but does anyone have any comment on how the mid range of the 2C fairs against other Audeze; particularly the LCD-X? I had the LCD-X for three years (which I loved) but one of my gripes was the way it presented instruments and vocals. Instruments were a bit too forward and slightly fatiguing to my tastes and vocals seemed kind of... shouty I guess?? While I'm looking to get back into the hobby with an Audeze, and while I loved and kind of regretted selling the LCD-X, I was thinking of getting a different "flavor" to maybe amend the minor grips I mentioned.

Just curious again.

 

[Pharmaboy]

I'm interested in that, too.

The only Audeze I've heard was a LCD-3 last weekend. Only had 15"-20" with it, but was very impressed. Everything (bass, mids, treble) sounded clear, refined, and detailed in a level, non-peaky way...as one reviewer put it, "back of hall" sound. The LCD-3 is big, heavy & costs silly money, so I won't be chasing that one.

Still, it made me more interested in the LCD-2C--more affordable, and going by reviews I've read of the pre-fazor LCD-2 (which the Classic supposedly emulates), might be right up my alley in terms of sonic preferences.

 

[mikewr]

Yeah the 2C is a flipping steal at the holiday price, even if you believe it's a gimmick. At least that's my opinion anyways. I'm 99% certain I'm going to end up buying it before the holiday price ends because: 1. I've been doing some research on how the LCD-2 fairs against the X lately, and it sounds like the 2 might be better in the mid range than the X for the issues I mentioned. Only reason i haven't bought it is because i have only seen maybe one in depth comparison between the 2C and the 2F, so hoping to see more before the end of January creeps up. and 2. I'm eyeing a used burson conductor Virtuoso, but it's quite expensive so i might not wanna spend too much by buying the X too haha.

 

[ArtemMoshkovich]

I ordered a ZMF cable but my LCD-2C came with defect. Right side connector has issues and I returned my LCD-2C. When I tried to cancel my order of ZMF cable, they need to have 25% cancellation fee, even though before shipping. It is rediculously high rates.

Out of curiosity, which length did you order? Thew 4.5 foot for $90? I just went to the site and was disappointed to see that the "advertised" $60 is only for the 6-inch adapter.

 

[ArtemMoshkovich]

As a continuation of my previous comment, could anyone with some knowledge on the matter offer insight on the balanced cable situation as it currently stands?

A few times in this thread, the ZMF OFC cable was mentioned, along with the Audeze-direct cable. Are these two variants ($90 or $150) really our only options?

 

[s2kPanda]

As a continuation of my previous comment, could anyone with some knowledge on the matter offer insight on the balanced cable situation as it currently stands?

A few times in this thread, the ZMF OFC cable was mentioned, along with the Audeze-direct cable. Are these two variants ($90 or $150) really our only options?

I think Periaptcables makes cheaper OFC cables. Dunno about the exact quality since they don't really list any specifications of the wires they use but they seem well built for their price.

 

[ArtemMoshkovich]

I think Periaptcables makes cheaper OFC cables. Dunno about the exact quality since they don't really list any specifications of the wires they use but they seem well built for their price.

This looks like a fantastic value at $64 for a 5 footer. Thanks for the suggestion!

The Quality section of the site seems to indicate high-gauge copper wiring used throughout, but little detail beyond that. I'm considering shooting them an email in an effort to uncover further details.
I'm curious as to how much of an impact the introduction of silver wiring/plating has on the LCD-2Cs. Hmm.

 

[Pharmaboy]

As a continuation of my previous comment, could anyone with some knowledge on the matter offer insight on the balanced cable situation as it currently stands?

A few times in this thread, the ZMF OFC cable was mentioned, along with the Audeze-direct cable. Are these two variants ($90 or $150) really our only options?

For what it's worth, I got the 9.5 ft. "OFC" cable from ZMF recently (part of a headphone purchase pkg). I've listened to it extensively through Atticus, Eikon, and Ori. IMO, this is an excellent cable...so good that I have zero urge to step up to ZMF's "OCC" cable that costs more. In the wacko world of HP cables, the OFC has to be one of the better bargains around. A 9.5 ft OFC cable costs $119 from ZMF when purchased by itself. My other mini-XLR aftermarket cable, the Forza Audio Works HCP Noir, is a bit better (somewhat different sound), but costs double the ZMF OFC.

I also owned 1 Periapt cable, a single-ended cable I bought for my E-Mu Teak (recently sold). That's another quality cable for not much money. If I priced out that same cable, balanced at the same length, I'm pretty sure it would be equivalent in price to the ZMF OFC.

 

[wazzupi]

Sorry to barge in, but does anyone have any comment on how the mid range of the 2C fairs against other Audeze; particularly the LCD-X? I had the LCD-X for three years (which I loved) but one of my gripes was the way it presented instruments and vocals. Instruments were a bit too forward and slightly fatiguing to my tastes and vocals seemed kind of... shouty I guess?? While I'm looking to get back into the hobby with an Audeze, and while I loved and kind of regretted selling the LCD-X, I was thinking of getting a different "flavor" to maybe amend the minor grips I mentioned.

Just curious again.

The dark signature reduces shouty vocals the vocals are essentially placed as if you we're sitting front row like 3ish rows back of the artist so to speak. Instruments are not forward they sit on the outside of the soundstage for the most part on some tracks like gooey by glass animals and recluse by cursive you get a resonance that come from the edges of the soundstage.

 

[wazzupi]

I just got the cma600i in from questyle for testing vs my iha-6 early impressions best dac ive had in my home.. Im still a/Bing the amp so far early impressions say iha6 has better bass in every way possible and possibly bigger soundstage im still going at it i haven't had a ton of time yet.

 

[ArtemMoshkovich]

For what it's worth, I got the 9.5 ft. "OFC" cable from ZMF recently (part of a headphone purchase pkg). I've listened to it extensively through Atticus, Eikon, and Ori. IMO, this is an excellent cable...so good that I have zero urge to step up to ZMF's "OCC" cable that costs more. In the wacko world of HP cables, the OFC has to be one of the better bargains around. A 9.5 ft OFC cable costs $119 from ZMF when purchased by itself. My other mini-XLR aftermarket cable, the Forza Audio Works HCP Noir, is a bit better (somewhat different sound), but costs double the ZMF OFC.

I also owned 1 Periapt cable, a single-ended cable I bought for my E-Mu Teak (recently sold). That's another quality cable for not much money. If I priced out that same cable, balanced at the same length, I'm pretty sure it would be equivalent in price to the ZMF OFC.

Thanks for the detailed feedback on the ZMF OFC cable here, as it's obviously a direct consideration against the Periapt cable. The ZMF runs $100 for 6 feet, whereas the Periapt is 24 percent less at $76 for 7 feet.

I'm really curious as to how the two compare to one another, obvious specs aside. Does the ZMF introduce better build quality or materials? Does the fact that Periapt uses braiding matter? Tricky stuff.

I also wonder how much of an appreciable benefit OCC and silver introduce into the equation. The pains of being a Type-A audiophile, I guess!

 

[Pharmaboy]

Thanks for the detailed feedback on the ZMF OFC cable here, as it's obviously a direct consideration against the Periapt cable. The ZMF runs $100 for 6 feet, whereas the Periapt is 24 percent less at $76 for 7 feet.

I'm really curious as to how the two compare to one another, obvious specs aside. Does the ZMF introduce better build quality or materials? Does the fact that Periapt uses braiding matter? Tricky stuff.

I also wonder how much of an appreciable benefit OCC and silver introduce into the equation. The pains of being a Type-A audiophile, I guess!

Well, being an audiophile means caring about small (but meaningful) sonic differences. It's a curse, and sometimes a surprise/revelation.

if I get the LCD-2C, I may spring for the 10 ft. balanced cable from Periapt--just out of curiosity. I've been messing around w/audio gear a long time, and along the way discovered:

• I usually can hear difference between cables (particularly speaker & headphone cables)
• The better a given speaker or headphone is (construction quality; depth/innovation of design), the more likely that upgrading cables will pay off.

Not everyone agrees with that (topics like burn-in & cable upgrades tend to start opinion wars). But speaking strictly for myself, cables matter.

 

[mikewr]

The dark signature reduces shouty vocals the vocals are essentially placed as if you we're sitting front row like 3ish rows back of the artist so to speak. Instruments are not forward they sit on the outside of the soundstage for the most part on some tracks like gooey by glass animals and recluse by cursive you get a resonance that come from the edges of the soundstage.

That's good to hear (thanks for the input btw). Yeah after looking more into it today I'll probably end up getting a pair to listen for myself. EDIT: If I may ask, what amp are you using? I keep seeing you give very high praise on how your unit sounds so just curious!

Thanks for the detailed feedback on the ZMF OFC cable here, as it's obviously a direct consideration against the Periapt cable. The ZMF runs $100 for 6 feet, whereas the Periapt is 24 percent less at $76 for 7 feet.

I'm really curious as to how the two compare to one another, obvious specs aside. Does the ZMF introduce better build quality or materials? Does the fact that Periapt uses braiding matter? Tricky stuff.

I also wonder how much of an appreciable benefit OCC and silver introduce into the equation. The pains of being a Type-A audiophile, I guess!

Don't know if it applies to the 2c so take this with a grain of salt. I actually ended up buying an absurdly expensive OCC "silver/gold" (i think it was a silver cable with some gold injected into it...) cable from Toxic Cables for the LCD-X. I never thought a cable could change the sound until I got my first listen with it. It DRASTICALLY changed the sound. I'm not talking micro-dynamics or little stuff like that, rather, the way the sound was presented by the headphone changed completely, but unfortunately not to my liking. It made them sound too laid back, less oomph to the bass, and dulled the treble (EDIT: take this with a serious grain of salt because my memory of how the treble was effected isn't as reliable). The LCD-X no longer sounded like an LCD-X. Sounded too polite. Not trying to coax a more expensive cable into the mix, just wanted to add to the conversation on whether or not cable materials like silver wiring for example could make a difference.

 

[Naim.F.C]

On my 2016 Aluminum LCD-2F my right connector would always be jammed and the button wouldn't release it. It took a lot of wiggling and force to remove it each time and it never got looser or easier over time either.



They kind of did. If you remove the grill on LCD2C and flip it over you will see "LCD-3" printed on the other side as they just re-purposed LCD-3 grills. This was posted on the "other" site:

That's pretty amusing.

 

[mikewr]

Haven't seen it mentioned here so: the Z reviews guy has a kind of unboxing video of the 2C (at least for the first part of the video). Check it out if your curious: