[joeexp]

Got my pair in two days ago.

My first impression is awful to be frank. This is my first foray into the high(er) price bracket of hi-fi sound equipment and I have been seriously disappointed to find that in most cases I still prefer my $250 Fidelio L2's. Maybe my preferences are horribly skewed, but to me these don't perform. The more dense the music, the more egregious the issue. Listening to shoegaze, drone, or something really maximalist like Machine Girl's new album is an absolute disaster. It's not relaxed. It's just a flat mush. It's not even dark beacuse the bass can perform well but often times it doesn't because these headphones just sound confused.

With that said, some moderate eq'ing, less taxing music like Visible Cloaks Reassemblage, and curiously breaking the seal on the ear cups makes these sound a lot better. Really, really good in fact.

Like I said, I'm kind of a novice with this and I'm wondering about that last bit of breaking the seal to improve the sound. I put on a 60hz tone and moved the headphones away from my ear and found that moving them a short distance from my ears and breaking the seal made the bass louder and (to my ears) more natural and realistic. This confuses me because 1. I thought open headphones wouldn't have a seal. Doesn't sealing imply closure? 2. I thought that the more closed a headphone is, the louder the bass tends to be because it can resonate.

Anyways, I figure I'll end up selling these. I bought them at the $600 price so I'll probably be reselling them at that price.

Impossible to know what the problem is without knowing what source and amp you are using. ...
I certainly wouldn't start dismantling the LCDs quite yet -- doh!

 

[TokenGesture]

Audeze customer service have told me to push the mechanism to get the cable out of the left socket. I'm wary of damaging it though! Would you? Any advice

 

[Hifi59]

Audeze customer service have told me to push the mechanism to get the cable out of the left socket. I'm wary of damaging it though! Would you? Any advice

AND with a slight upward force.

 

[joeexp]

I had the same problem with right mini-XLR socket - brute force with a little wiggle and at the same time push at that little button.
Brutal, but works. After a few plugging in plugging out sessions you should be fine.

 

[Mitchuuu]

Impossible to know what the problem is without knowing what source and amp you are using. ...
I certainly wouldn't start dismantling the LCDs quite yet -- doh!

Sorry, I should have included that crucial bit of info. I'm using a magni + modi multibit stack.

 

[joeexp]

Sorry, I should have included that crucial bit of info. I'm using a magni + modi multibit stack.

I have a similar setup and after listening to the music that you mentioned, I can understand why you wouldn't like the LCD2Cs.
I think you should stick to the Fidelios, They are more forgiving!

Try before buy!

 

[gug42]

You can see a pin pushed forward whereas the other 3 are recessed. I believe this is the problem. I first mentioned this issue here a few weeks ago and I eventually contacted Audeze. They are sending a new one but they want this one back so they can examine it. I have to partially unscrew the connectors retainer to get it to release from the headphone connector. I don’t even use the cable anymore because I dont think it’s that good of cable audibly, however I want a working one for potential resale reasons down the line.

Same thing here ....


And well really, glued pads ?!?? Realy ? On a high end and costly headphones !?!?

 

[heliosphann]

Just acquired a LCD-2C and a pre-fazor LCD-2.2 "unicorn". Spent the last hour or so doing some A/B testing between them. I'll do a little more tomorrow and whip up a quick write up.

 

[marcan]

Cool I have a LCD2.2 and a friend will come today with a LCD2C. So I will be able to compare both as well.

 

[alphanumerix1]

Just acquired a LCD-2C and a pre-fazor LCD-2.2 "unicorn". Spent the last hour or so doing some A/B testing between them. I'll do a little more tomorrow and whip up a quick write up.

Looking forward to it.

 

[Shetzu]

I got my LCD2c delivered today. I am really impressed by the sound so far. Still listening as I write . Here are few pics

 

[knowhatimean]

Just thought I'd pass along an alternative to the Audeze Hardshell case.

Some years back I was in the Pro Audio section of a Guitar Center when I happened to see a similar sized ABS Hardshell case being sold a "flight case" for microphones by a company named SKB. I believe it was designed to carry 2 professional microphones & for all intent & purposes it appeared to be the ideal size to carry a set of full sized Headphones & accessories , For (I believe at the time) the $50 price was well worth this case.

You have the option of using the easily customizable foam lining or just remove the lining & using the foam insert that came with your Headphones.. I don't know what the cost of this case is today, but I can't imagine the price going up by $100. (Unless of course the company making these cases "Caught On" to this alternate usage !), This case worked out so well I went back & got another (which I am using also)

 

[chef8489]

Still in love with these. Might pick up the flight case but not decided.

 

[heliosphann]

Pre-fazor LCD-2.2 "unicorn" vs LCD-2C

I'm pretty familiar with the entire LCD lineup as I've owned or extensively home demoed every LCD except the pre-fazor LCD-3 (and some other minor updates like the 2016 LCD-XC's). For my A/B testing, I used the same cable for both headphones (Norne Solv-X) and tested on 2 different rigs (Cavalli Liquid Gold/Yggdrasil and a Audio-GD Master 11). I used 30 or so different lossless tracks of a wide range of genre's.

Overall this was a pretty easy (and enjoyable) comparison. It's been several years since I've heard an LCD-2, which was the first high end headphones I ever purchased. I owned an early LCD-2F and a pre-fazor LCD-2.2 at the same time and ended up preferring the LCD-2F. However, I was pretty new to headphones and didn't have the knowledge (and ears) that I do today. Plus I didn't have anywhere near the quality gear to properly drive either of them. That can make a big difference.

Cutting straight to the chase, the 2C is technically better than the 2.2 in almost every facet. Better bass (quality/impact), wider soundstage, better imaging/instrument separation, easier to drive, more extended treble, and the drivers are faster (they have a thinner diaphragm). BUT, they're missing that midrange magic that the pre-fazor 2.2's are known for. I find that the 2.2's more closed in soundstage helps create a bigger, lusher presentation that really envelopes you in the music. They also seem to have a more overall cohesive, natural sound compared to the 2C's.

The bottom line is, the LCD-2C and the pre-fazor LCD-2.2 are 2nd cousins at best. Yes, they do share some similar traits and looks, but for the most part they're two different sounding beasts. There's a lot to like about these headphones and I quite enjoy both for different reasons. That being said, my personal preference goes to the 2.2's. Overall I found myself enjoying them more on a track-to-track basis, and many times listened to the test tracks longer than intended. I'm also listening to them as I'm writing this. In the end though, it'll probablybe a toss up to the listener's preference.

I do think the 2C is a very solid performer in today's market, especially for the initial intro pricing. In the next few weeks I'm going to be doing a $500-800 planar review round-up (2C, Sundara, Aeon Flow Open, AR-H1 and possibly a few others) and I'll have a more in-depth review of them. One thing I will mention is that I did notice some slight shoutiness in the upper-midrange of the 2C's. I didn't find it that bad, but noticed it nevertheless.

 

[Shetzu]

Just thought I'd pass along an alternative to the Audeze Hardshell case.

Some years back I was in the Pro Audio section of a Guitar Center when I happened to see a similar sized ABS Hardshell case being sold a "flight case" for microphones by a company named SKB. I believe it was designed to carry 2 professional microphones & for all intent & purposes it appeared to be the ideal size to carry a set of full sized Headphones & accessories , For (I believe at the time) the $50 price was well worth this case.

You have the option of using the easily customizable foam lining or just remove the lining & using the foam insert that came with your Headphones.. I don't know what the cost of this case is today, but I can't imagine the price going up by $100. (Unless of course the company making these cases "Caught On" to this alternate usage !), This case worked out so well I went back & got another (which I am using also)

I got the following case. It fits the LCD2c perfectly.