[betula]

I think it's good that Audeze is improving reliability. I think a lot of brands these days are disappointing with driver failure. I think it's embarrassing that a focal clear fails on me after 3 weeks ( tbf it was a open package deal and maybe the issue was not Focals fault but the guy's who sent them back to the seller) and that for example so many LCD4s seem to fail.

It is the first Focal driver failure I hear about, but you are right. Even one driver failure is too many when we talk about headphones that cost so much.
I was hesitant about buying Audeze for this reason, but I really read a lot how they improved QC so I trust them more now. They also give 3 yrs warranty for the drivers and a great price on the 2C.
(ZMF however offers lifetime warranty on drivers, so we still have space to improve.)

 

[DrSeven]

It is the first Focal driver failure I hear about, but you are right. Even one driver failure is too many when we talk about headphones that cost so much.
I was hesitant about buying Audeze for this reason, but I really read a lot how they improved QC so I trust them more now. They also give 3 yrs warranty for the drivers and a great price on the 2C.
(ZMF however offers lifetime warranty on drivers, so we still have space to improve.)

It really puts my mind at ease that you say you never heard of driver failure on clears, because I definitely want to keep one (tbf even if they would fail on me again xD ).
And yeah 3 years warranty and no reports of failures on the 2c is great! The quality seems to me actually already improved over the more expensive XC

 

[Suppa92]

Has anyone tried and compared LCD-2C against MrSpeakers Aeon Flow open? If a post or thread available for that, could you please provide a link?

 

[franz12]

The Auteur has beautiful mids. Neutral to warm mid and lush. They have a lot more detail and definition than the LCD 2s as they seem just smoothed over (similar to the 650 and ZMF Atticus). Treble can be extended but needs to be tweaked. The aggressive faster paced nature of the 2s has more appeal for a lot of genres than the Auteur politer presentation. Its extended but needs a good solid state amp or bright tube to bring it out.

The main reason why I think it can be a bit slow is not because its overly warm but because its overly neutral.

It doesn’t simply make sense. Neutral sounds have nothing to do with boredom. They mean it is just loyal to realism. If you’re bored, it is not beacause of neutrality, but because there are something wrong y
ou don’t like from them.

Overly smooth is not equal to overly neutral. I heard that auteur has some cup reverbs due to its semi-open nature. Probably, it may cause sounds lagging and slow to some extent. Just my 2 cents.

 

[betula]

Has anyone tried and compared LCD-2C against MrSpeakers Aeon Flow open? If a post or thread available for that, could you please provide a link?

I own both but selling the AFO.
Both are great headphones for different needs. AFO is much lighter, so if weight is a problem for you, go for the AFO. On the other hand I found the cups on the AFO too small and found myself nonstop adjusting it after 30-40 minutes. The 2C is much more spacious and comfortable on the head, until it starts to feel heavy.
The AFO is more finely tuned, much closer to neutral. A very polite sound. To me it was a bit lean tbh. Great resolution for the price though. Perhaps better for classical and jazz than the 2C.
The 2C sounds much 'bigger' and more aggressive. Better body, more space. Much more slam, impact and punchiness. Better for modern music. 2C has more sub-bass, but tbh it has a bit more of everything.

 

[Suppa92]

I own both but selling the AFO.
Both are great headphones for different needs. AFO is much lighter, so if weight is a problem for you, go for the AFO. On the other hand I found the cups on the AFO too small and found myself nonstop adjusting it after 30-40 minutes. The 2C is much more spacious and comfortable on the head, until it starts to feel heavy.
The AFO is more finely tuned, much closer to neutral. A very polite sound. To me it was a bit lean tbh. Great resolution for the price though. Perhaps better for classical and jazz than the 2C.
The 2C sounds much 'bigger' and more aggressive. Better body, more space. Much more slam, impact and punchiness. Better for modern music. 2C has more sub-bass, but tbh it has a bit more of everything.

Now that's great. What are the Dac and Amp you use with LCD2Cs?

 

[betula]

Now that's great. What are the Dac and Amp you use with LCD2Cs?

Mojo for now, waiting for a Lyr3 with multibit.

 

[DrSeven]

I own both but selling the AFO.
Both are great headphones for different needs. AFO is much lighter, so if weight is a problem for you, go for the AFO. On the other hand I found the cups on the AFO too small and found myself nonstop adjusting it after 30-40 minutes. The 2C is much more spacious and comfortable on the head, until it starts to feel heavy.
The AFO is more finely tuned, much closer to neutral. A very polite sound. To me it was a bit lean tbh. Great resolution for the price though. Perhaps better for classical and jazz than the 2C.
The 2C sounds much 'bigger' and more aggressive. Better body, more space. Much more slam, impact and punchiness. Better for modern music. 2C has more sub-bass, but tbh it has a bit more of everything.

That's very interesting because I've been playing with the thought of getting the AFC later this year as some warm, relaxed closed cans but that sounds like they don't fit the bill.
I also would really like to see what happens when you put XC Cups on the 2C

 

[betula]

That's very interesting because I've been playing with the thought of getting the AFC later this year as some warm, relaxed closed cans but that sounds like they don't fit the bill.
I also would really like to see what happens when you put XC Cups on the 2C

Try to audition yourself, everyone has different hearing and needs. The AFC however is even more neutral than the AFO. AFO has more (mid)bass than the AFC. After the more full-bodied Audeze sound I just can't find the Aeons satisfying.
Cups on the 2C would be an interesting experience, however making a headphone closed is not as simple as putting cups on them. It requires different tuning and many other modifications to sound good.

 

[DrSeven]

Try to audition yourself, everyone has different hearing and needs. The AFC however is even more neutral than the AFO. AFO has more (mid)bass than the AFC. After the more full-bodied Audeze sound I just can't find the Aeons satisfying.
Cups on the 2C would be an interesting experience, however making a headphone closed is not as simple as putting cups on them. It requires different tuning and many other modifications to sound good.

Ok thanks for the comparison! That sounds indeed like I need to look elsewhere ( especially as it's hard to try them out here in Germany). But maybe the Meze99 classic could be a candidate.

On the other thing: youre right and generally speaking I would agree with you but the thing that made me curious was some people swapping cups of XC and X and came to the conclusion that the drivers are identical and hence I am very curious if similar cups would work on a 2C to some degree.

 

[betula]

Ok thanks for the comparison! That sounds indeed like I need to look elsewhere ( especially as it's hard to try them out here in Germany). But maybe the Meze99 classic could be a candidate.

On the other thing: youre right and generally speaking I would agree with you but the thing that made me curious was some people swapping cups of XC and X and came to the conclusion that the drivers are identical and hence I am very curious if similar cups would work on a 2C to some degree.

Let us know the results if you change cups.

If you are looking for affordable closed headphones beside the Meze have a look at the NightOwls. They are also on sale now, bargain for the money IMO.

 

[DrSeven]

Let us know the results if you change cups.

If you are looking for affordable closed headphones beside the Meze have a look at the NightOwls. They are also on sale now, bargain for the money IMO.

I unfortunately can't change the cups because out of clear, 2c and xc I'm only going to keep one ( the rest is getting sent back after comparing them for almost one month now).

Thanks then I'll order the night owl probably at some point at least to try it! Heard a lot of great stuff already about them so I've been curious about them anyways

 

[hikaru12]

It doesn’t simply make sense. Neutral sounds have nothing to do with boredom. They mean it is just loyal to realism. If you’re bored, it is not beacause of neutrality, but because there are something wrong y
ou don’t like from them.

Overly smooth is not equal to overly neutral. I heard that auteur has some cup reverbs due to its semi-open nature. Probably, it may cause sounds lagging and slow to some extent. Just my 2 cents.

Have you ever heard super neutral? It's the coloration that adds character to a headphone and makes it fun. If your goal was to hear the music exactly as intended then it would have no character and that's why a majority of high end headphones have gone for a different sound characteristic. The cup reverbs play into account which is why the mids sound more open and warm without souning as "tin can" like as the Eikon.

 

[franz12]

Have you ever heard super neutral? It's the coloration that adds character to a headphone and makes it fun. If your goal was to hear the music exactly as intended then it would have no character and that's why a majority of high end headphones have gone for a different sound characteristic. The cup reverbs play into account which is why the mids sound more open and warm without souning as "tin can" like as the Eikon.

Clear sounds very neutral and super fun. But I will stop here as I can’t really understand what you are saying.

 

[nicknack40]

What is the LYR 3 like with the LCD2-C anybody got this combo at the mo?