Being pretty new to hifi, I had been pretty curious about the LCD-2C (and planars in general), so I was super stoked to purchase a pair of these from the recent Black Friday B-stock sale. What initially caught my attention was the description of these as presenting the stereo image in a "huge" way, filling up the sonic spectrum with the planar "wall of sound" that is often mentioned. Further piquing my curiosity were the many conflicting conclusions about their bass: on the hand, there was so much talk about the epic "planar bass" and its high resolution/quality; on the other hand, there were those who expressed disappointment or caution in how "bass light" these were (despite all the talk of a flat or neutral bass presentation). For me, I was fascinated by this question of bass quality vs. quantity -- what would a headphone that had amazing bass quality but less perceived quantity sound like (especially if the sonic images were actually as huge as has been described)? Would it be satisfying or revelatory for a listener like me, who had thus far only been trolling around in warm(er) dynamics?
This isn't meant to be a comprehensive review at all, but I wanted to share a couple of things that struck me upon listening to the LCD-2C (through a Lyr 3 with the stock Tung-Sol tube) for the past few days:
- These cans are SMOOTH. I never really understood what "smooth" meant until I listened to the LCD-2C (and a planar in general, I guess). It's eerily seductive: it's almost like the sound waves have no edges as they hit your ear. To put it another way, it's almost like the sound is a crystal clear pane of glass that just comes at you all at once as a single, coherent, unbroken image (perhaps this is what people mean by these being "plasticky"?), instead of having the sound waves feel more jagged, textured, dirtier, tactile. While the latter presentation is what I've gotten used to in dynamics, and lends to a more visceral, organic, albeit dirtier (possibly grainier) sound, there is something also remarkably pleasing about the planar presentation. It paradoxically feels both artificial and high-fidelity at the same time -- a fascinating paradox. It's not unlike the difference between watching a movie on film vs. watching on Blu-ray with motion-smoothing. This of course works better for certain things and not necessarily for others...
- Upon first listen, the bass quantity was indeed light. For those who are used to flatter sound signatures, or who aren't bassheads, this might be fine and seemingly "accurate," but I've discovered just how important a mid-bass hump is to my personal sense of realism and naturalness (to say nothing of the Harmon response curve). Bass slam was lacking: e.g. bass drum kicks sometimes sounded like a tap instead of a more visceral thud or boom. For this reason, switching between these cans and my HD650 (through Valhalla 2), I found that the latter had a more engaging, compelling, and somewhat romantic bass presentation -- though in quantity only. Once I turned up the bass dial on my Schiit Loki Mini, the bass of the LCD-2C came alive: you were rewarded with a deep, thunderous, and sometimes overwhelming sense of the sub-bass rumble, as well as mid-bass punch (though to a slighter lesser degree than sub-bass rumble). I don't think I've ever heard a sub-bass-centric presentation like this before -- an extraordinary combination of quality and quantity -- and it was truly a revelation and deeply satisfying. The low distortion levels really lets the LCD-2C be EQ'ed to one's own tastes, which is a huge plus in my book.
- The mids were very pleasing, and the treble was sufficiently tame for my own tastes. And all throughout the spectrum, I think you get a very clear and surprisingly detailed sound (at least, from someone who is a bit treble-phobic). The only thing that really bothered me was a bit of shout in the vocals, which are popped out or pushed forward a bit so that they're rather in-your-face, almost uncomfortably so. This makes for a rather strange sense of soundstage: the main/center vocals are pushed forward while everything else feels sufficiently and comfortably stepped back. The "three blob effect" that some have mentioned seems to play into the sense of soundstage, but because of the large sonic images, this wasn't too much an issue, since any potential holes in the soundstage were all filled in with sound. As for the vocal forwardness, I couldn't really find a good dial on the Loki Mini to remedy this, but I imagine this could be taken care of rather easily with some parametric EQ.
Despite how much these headphones blew me away, however, I decided they were ultimately not for me -- for one reason in particular: comfort. I am very sensitive to weight and pressure, and the LCD-2Cs eventually got the better of me, leading to headaches and even nausea (which I think was due as much to the headband as the big boost I had to give to the bass).
But the silver lining for me is that this experience with the LCD-2C also gave me a newfound appreciation for my Atticus and HD650 as well. The Atticus (at least through the Lyr 3) has some of that smooth planar magic in the midrange while still providing that deeply satisfying bass slam. The LCD-2C rivals the Atticus in giving body and richness to vocals, especially in the former's very linear transition from bass to mids -- this is quite a feat, since the Atticus has made most headphones sound thin to me (even the HD650!). But moreover, the Atticus also has a really nice soundstage (especially being a closed back), while still producing very large sonic images as well. And the HD650? Well, through the Valhalla 2, it simply remains the most natural sound I've heard so far...
All in all, I can't emphasize enough just how much I enjoyed these headphones -- they've opened my eyes to the possibilities and pleasures provided by planars. Sad it didn't work out this time, but I really hope I get a chance to hear some more!
