[marcan]

@arftech @Andrew Rieger @gLer @ShamuellJackson @franz12


Also, I compiled my thoughts a bit more and posted them as a review if you want to see it all in one place instead of scattered across this thread: Audeze LCD2 Classic Stream of Consciousness Review

NIce review. I don't have a LCD2C, but I have the good old LCD2rev2. So I think it's comparable. But I should be able to make the comparaison, a friend bought the LCD2C and he should come by soon. I'm curious to see if the fazor was the culprit to the sub bass drawback often pointed.
Anyway I have similar impressions than you.
These Audeze are crying for more. More time and more level. I think the dark sound makes possible to increase the level without being harsh, then the superb bass straight down to earth do his magic, starting to tickling your pinna and the rest of your body while keeping the ear in compression.
All this makes the LCD2 very enjoyable at confortable level on a long period without any fatigue. I never felt any tintinus or indication that I pushed it too far. I think the frequency response and the compression of the ear induced by flat down bass makes this possible. I guess that's why people like them with rock, edm,... all those music that are intended to be played loud.
I also came to the conclusion that the LCD2 benefits from a very good amp and dac. Not all dac and amp can go flat as low than the LCD's. The amp has to be very generous, neutral and fast (balanced seems to be better for me so far). When you have all this (which can cost several times the price of the LCD2C) you should enjoy a great musical journey.

 

[Murre]

Anyone know a good Equalizer to use for games/spotify mostly? I'm thinking of using them in games but I really need to remove the bass if so. Play a lot of CS and so on and the bass makes it impossible to hear movement etc.

 

[Taowolf51]

Anyone know a good Equalizer to use for games/spotify mostly? I'm thinking of using them in games but I really need to remove the bass if so. Play a lot of CS and so on and the bass makes it impossible to hear movement etc.

Equalizer APO.

 

[DiabeticWalrus]

So after doing some reading, I'm thinking of getting a Matrix HPA-2C to pair with my LCD-2C's. Can anyone else that has this or the older HPA-2 (with dac) say if it pairs well with the LCD-2C?

Thanks in advance.

 

[notsimar]

Anyone else driving these with a Schiit Valhalla2? I tried them off the Raggy and the V2 and they sound pretty decent from the V2 on low gain (volume at 10 o'clock). On medium gain on the Rag the really are special but the raggy makes a lot of heat so I tend to run the V2 more often.

 

[Pharmaboy]

So after doing some reading, I'm thinking of getting a Matrix HPA-2C to pair with my LCD-2C's. Can anyone else that has this or the older HPA-2 (with dac) say if it pairs well with the LCD-2C?

Thanks in advance.

I haven't heard the HPA-2C, but researched the 2s pretty thoroughly late in 2016. I had one HPA-1 and was about to buy a 2nd (terrific inexpensive amp/preamps...just checking to see "what's new"). Anyway, if you know the basic sound of the HPA-1, which is somewhat warm/euphonic, bassy, vague but big soundstage--I kept reading that the HPA-2 series had more power, but "reformed" the warmth, maing the amp more "accurate" & detailed. I stopped being interested, since the warm/euphonic nature of the HPA-1 was perfect for my tastes.

On the other hand... the LCD-2C apparently has warmth to spare. So the HPA-2C might be one of those lucky "lock-in" experiences, where headphone + amp make each other sound even better.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Lmao. Yeah, but to be fair she listened for a grand total of like 20 seconds. Gotta get her into headphones as soon as I get some more spare money.

I've been married a long time and learned a few things. Trust me when I say you don't want your significant other participating in certain of your hobbies (ie, headphones, audio/video, technology stuff). That would end up like watching TV together--you know, her show is bad for you; your show is bad for her; so you end up watching the knitting semi-finals on ESPN.

Rodeo riding, sky-diving, and going over Niagara Falls in barrels are totally OK to do together, however.

 

[DiabeticWalrus]

I haven't heard the HPA-2C, but researched the 2s pretty thoroughly late in 2016. I had one HPA-1 and was about to buy a 2nd (terrific inexpensive amp/preamps...just checking to see "what's new"). Anyway, if you know the basic sound of the HPA-1, which is somewhat warm/euphonic, bassy, vague but big soundstage--I kept reading that the HPA-2 series had more power, but "reformed" the warmth, maing the amp more "accurate" & detailed. I stopped being interested, since the warm/euphonic nature of the HPA-1 was perfect for my tastes.

On the other hand... the LCD-2C apparently has warmth to spare. So the HPA-2C might be one of those lucky "lock-in" experiences, where headphone + amp make each other sound even better.

Great insight! It seems to have enough power for the 2C's and is an all-in-one which is what I'm looking for. The HPA-1 sounds like a something that I'd enjoy quite a bit, but would want something new rather than used. Appreciate the info.

 

[Taowolf51]

Anyone else driving these with a Schiit Valhalla2? I tried them off the Raggy and the V2 and they sound pretty decent from the V2 on low gain (volume at 10 o'clock). On medium gain on the Rag the really are special but the raggy makes a lot of heat so I tend to run the V2 more often.

I tried it out last night (just got home), not sure how I feel about it compared to my oooooooollllllllllllldddddddddd M-Stage (first gen I think). I'm not going to comment until I've had more time to compare the two, but I think I may prefer the M-Stage.

 

[BLacklWf]

...
I wish I’d had more time to listen, and a wider variety of tracks, but my girlfriend was unimpressed and wanted to leave haha. She couldn’t tell the difference between any of them.

My wife is a pianist/doctor of music/golden ear. She picks up any difference in a few seconds. But, it's just so hard to make her listen.. I literally have to knee and bag.. lol

 

[scoopbb]

anyone know if the old ribbon balanced cable from Audeze is discontinued? Will the new ones be the braided style like the SE one from the 2C?

 

[2323]

Great insight! It seems to have enough power for the 2C's and is an all-in-one which is what I'm looking for. The HPA-1 sounds like a something that I'd enjoy quite a bit, but would want something new rather than used. Appreciate the info.

I won't have my LCD-2C till Saturday (I can test it then) but I can say that the M-Stage HPA-1 (unmodded I think but I want to try) does work pretty well with an HD 800 (unmodded) where the lows emphasis adds some needed warmth and the treble roll-off takes away some of the fatigue; it even works pretty well with the HD 650 adding more bass impact. The trouble is that I did find that there was some loss of detail with both, especially in the high frequencies due to roll-off, compared to the 6.3mm out of the DAC (Grace Design m9xx) I was using with it (but perhaps the trade-off is reasonable for the HD 800)

Two things to keep in mind: the HPA-1 has an output impedance somewhere around 10 ohms which might make it less usable for lower impedance loads (e.g. BA IEMs sound pretty terrible with it) and not sure how this would affect a 70 ohm LCD2c. For the HPA-2 using some rough calculations using the power measurements on the 300 ohm & 600 ohm specs, it should be around 9.8 ohms, but the 32 ohm 110 mW limit doesn't make sense unless 59 mA (it would be 1.88V) is the maximum current and I would wonder whether it is a problem for low impedance, low efficiency headphones. The other thing is I found with the HPA-1 that I would always use 0 dB gain switches with the line-in from the m9xx since extra gain was too much for any of my headphones (I use little of the dial at 0 dB), but the HPA-2C seems to only have only low = +6 dB or high = +15dB.

 

[jksoon]

I have good results on the LCD-2 with my Audio GD NFB-12 DAC/AMP. Plenty of power, fairly neutral sounding and tight bass. It can even drive the 600 Ohm vintage AKG headphones of which my other DACs/Amps run out of steam.

 

[DiabeticWalrus]

I won't have my LCD-2C till Saturday (I can test it then) but I can say that the M-Stage HPA-1 (unmodded I think but I want to try) does work pretty well with an HD 800 (unmodded) where the lows emphasis adds some needed warmth and the treble roll-off takes away some of the fatigue; it even works pretty well with the HD 650 adding more bass impact. The trouble is that I did find that there was some loss of detail with both, especially in the high frequencies due to roll-off, compared to the 6.3mm out of the DAC (Grace Design m9xx) I was using with it (but perhaps the trade-off is reasonable for the HD 800)

Two things to keep in mind: the HPA-1 has an output impedance somewhere around 10 ohms which might make it less usable for lower impedance loads (e.g. BA IEMs sound pretty terrible with it) and not sure how this would affect a 70 ohm LCD2c. For the HPA-2 using some rough calculations using the power measurements on the 300 ohm & 600 ohm specs, it should be around 9.8 ohms, but the 32 ohm 110 mW limit doesn't make sense unless 59 mA (it would be 1.88V) is the maximum current and I would wonder whether it is a problem for low impedance, low efficiency headphones. The other thing is I found with the HPA-1 that I would always use 0 dB gain switches with the line-in from the m9xx since extra gain was too much for any of my headphones (I use little of the dial at 0 dB), but the HPA-2C seems to only have only low = +6 dB or high = +15dB.

The general consensus for what I've been reading on the HPA-2C from around the web (no personal experience obviously) is that there is a buzz for low impedance/low efficiency headphones. I'm guessing (and hoping) that with the LCD-2C's that this wouldn't be an issue considering they are 70 ohms.

 

[Elyfantman]

IIRC, the headphones make a seal between the ear and the driver, and doesn’t let much or any air pass through the baffle.
I definitely feel negative pressure on my ear drums if I take them off too quickly.[/QUOTE]

I see. I'll have to test this out when I get back to the office.[/QUOTE]

I had a chance to test it today. I do indeed feel a suction when pressing the pads on my ears. However, I do not hear any of the popping or crinkling others are reporting.