[Suppa92]

Hhmm....Schiit? Soekris? Mimby is a very cheap and good R2R DAC. I think Mimby alone will be enough for 90% of the people here. They just don't realize it, and go for the hyped mega-bucks DACs.

I don't know much about Denafrips. Never tried Ares.

There are good R2R DACs; there are bad ones too. Do your research before buying anything. Or just get a mimby for USD250.

And yeah, for SQ quality alone, I would choose a good R2R to a good DS. But I would choose a good DS anyday to a bad R2R.

is Multibit equals to R2R? are they same technology? I thought they are two different technologies.
I have heard that Soekris doesn't sound that good specially weak bass & harsh treble, don't know whether true. If you have listened please share the experience with us.

 

[omniweltall]

is Multibit equals to R2R? are they same technology? I thought they are two different technologies.
I have heard that Soekris doesn't sound that good specially weak bass & harsh treble, don't know whether true. If you have listened please share the experience with us.

Schiit Multibit is a form of R2R. Understand that it is a lot harder to make an R2R DAC. Mike Moffat and Soren Kristensen, for example, are both industry veterans with established reputation and many years of experience. There are other good ones. But when someone suddenly out of nowhere decides to make an R2R DAC (and sometimes slap a premium price tag), put your skeptical cap on. I am not saying they are not capable to make a good one, just that probably much less likely so. Give it a listen and do your research before buying one. Hype is craptastic in this hobby. Placebo is very real as well.

Yes I heard the Soekris 1541. I liked it a lot. To my ears, they do lean towards the lean, dry, and analytical tonality, but sounded natural and not harsh. Very good resolution, and not in DS forced kind of way. Didn't fatigue me with hours of listening. Bass sounded very good to me, though not bombastic. Very accurate soundstage and layering as well. It has excellent technicalities, but depends whether you like its flavor or not. It is kinda like HD800.

Mimby flavor is the opposite. It's more fun sounding. Bass quantity is more than the Soekris. Very very nice tonality. But resolution and overall technical capabilities is a class behind the Soekris 1541 (only because the Soekris is very good. Mimby+Eitr can still trounce many other DACs many times its price). I enjoyed both DACs equally. Kinda like HD650 vs HD800. I'm sticking with the Mimby for now only because it has better value. Both DACs sound good through LCD2C to me.

This is my personal assessment. I do NOT have golden ear. The usual YMMV apply here.

 

[Suppa92]

Schiit Multibit is a form of R2R. Understand that it is a lot harder to make an R2R DAC. Mike Moffat and Soren Kristensen, for example, are both industry veterans with established reputation and many many years of experience. There are other good ones. But when someone suddenly out of nowhere decides to make an R2R DAC (and sometimes charge a premium price tag), put your skeptical cap on. I am not saying they are not capable to make a good one, just that probably much less likely so. Give it a listen and do your research before buying one. Hype is craptastic in this hobby. Placebo is very real as well.

Yes I heard the Soekris 1541. I liked it a lot. To my ears, they do lean towards the lean and analytical, but sounded natural and not harsh. Very good resolution, and not in DS forced kind of way. Didn't fatigue me with hours of listening. Bass sounded very good to me, though not bombastic. It has excellent technicalities, but depends whether you like its flavor or not. It is kinda like HD800.

Mimby flavor is the opposite. It's more fun sounding. Bass quantity is more than the Soekris. Very very nice tonality. But resolution and overall technical capabilities is a class behind the Soekris 1541 (only because the Soekris is very good. Mimby+Eitr can still trounce many other DACs many times its price). I enjoyed both DACs equally. I'm sticking with the Mimby for now only because it has better value.

This is my personal assessment. I do NOT have golden ear. The usual YMMV apply here.

You're absolutely right.

 

[joeexp]

This is the Audeze LCD-2C Classic - Impressions Thread - right??

 

[omniweltall]

Apologize for the off topic. Let's get back on the topic.

 

[DrSeven]

I'm sorry for the hold up on the comparison between the LCD2C and the other cans but I had a Clear driver fail on me yesterday ( some bass rattle on the right driver). So I'll need to have that replaced first :/

 

[betula]

How long is your listening session with your LCD2C at once? The last two days I had it many hours on head and made my neck sore. I didn't have any problems with 1-2 hrs sessions before, but anything more than that seems to give my neck some pain. (Partly due to my listening position in the bed which I am reluctant to change.) It is a shame, because I quite like the sound, especially the bass, but it looks like I might have to send the 2C back...

 

[omniweltall]

Listening to Eagles - Hell Freezes Over (I love this album) with LCD2C and stock HD650 out of Mimby/Mogwai. This thing obliterates stock HD650 for rock.

LCD-2C:
1. Overall, there is a lot more weight to the sound. Tighter and faster. Very satisfying.
2. Sub-bass is really nice. I used Loki to EQ it up by 5 dB, affecting all the way to mid-bass. Much better punch and slam.
3. The images are bigger too. Make it sound more realistic. Very very nice.
4. Soundstage is bigger....deeper? Not wider. I'm not sure. Soundstage is a bit hard for me. Anyway, better soundstage than HD650. But then again, soundstage is never HD650's strength.
5. Clarity and resolution is equally good.
6. Looks and feels infinitely better than HD650.

@betula, I have no problem listening to this for hours. But I usually let my ears take a break after about 2 hours. I find it very comfortable. My neck doesn't feel a thing, and this is a first for Audeze headphone for me. For reference, I could only use LCD-X for about 15 mins.

Cheers.

 

[Fegefeuer]

Listening to Eagles - Hell Freezes Over (I love this album) with LCD2C and stock HD650 out of Mimby/Mogwai. This thing obliterates stock HD650 for rock.

LCD-2C:
1. Overall, there is a lot more weight to the sound. Tighter and faster. Very satisfying.
2. Sub-bass is really nice. I used Loki to EQ it up by 5 dB, all the way to mid-bass. Much better punch and slam.
3. The images are bigger too. Make it sound more realistic. Very very nice.
4. Soundstage is bigger....deeper? Not wider. I'm not sure. Soundstage is a bit hard for me. Anyway, better soundstage than HD650. But then again, soundstage is never HD650's strength.
5. Clarity and resolution is equally good.
6. Looks and feels infinitely better than HD650.

@betula, I have no problem listening to this for hours. But I usually let my ears take a break after about 2 hours. I find it very comfortable. My neck doesn't feel a thing, and this is a first for Audeze headphone for me. For reference, I could only use LCD-X for about 15 mins.

Cheers.

1. Definitely. For Rock and Pop LCD-2C beats the HD-650 handily. It's almost the ideal "fire and forget" headphone if you know what I mean.
2. LCD-2C really takes EQ very well without rattling soon and since the bass is so clean it pays off to boost it.
3. It actually doesn't play in my head as I remember the old LCD-2 but since gear changed alot since then that's the factor/difference. Using HeSuVI and the SBX preset you can take the LCD-2 to gaming and to the movies and live with them happily. They are no HD 800 in terms of soundstage size, definition, height, imaging and sharpness but still competent. Yes, no need to take them off because you want to smash Draugr and trolls in God of War (which has excellent sound) or scare off druglords in Bolivia (though not so good sound design).
4. Yes. Where the LCD-2C shines in comparison to the HD 650 is clearly depth. Width imo not really much but depth: no contest.
5. HD 650's treble is superior to me, more refined, less "rough". It's my favorite out of all headphones.
6. no contest. LCD-2 is sexy and sleek.

 

[DrSeven]

@betula no it's no problem for me especially compared to the heavier XC.

 

[franz12]

How long is your listening session with your LCD2C at once? The last two days I had it many hours on head and made my neck sore. I didn't have any problems with 1-2 hrs sessions before, but anything more than that seems to give my neck some pain. (Partly due to my listening position in the bed which I am reluctant to change.) It is a shame, because I quite like the sound, especially the bass, but it looks like I might have to send the 2C back...

That seems natural. I also use headphones for many hours on a daily basis. Neck pains usually come after 2 hours of listening. From my experience, neck discomfort increases exponentially, not linearly with weight. Even 50g results in quite difference in a long run.

 

[betula]

That seems natural. I also use headphones for many hours on a daily basis. Neck pains usually come after 2 hours of listening. From my experience, neck discomfort increases exponentially, not linearly with weight. Even 50g results in quite difference in a long run.

I am still hoping my neck can get used to it. I will give it some more time. I quite like the 2Cs. Good value for money, great sound that's perfect with my music... There are not many alternatives in this price range. I could go back to AudioQuest headphones like the NightOwl which is much lighter and more comfy, but would feel like loosing too much resolution and overall sound quality after the LCDs. Still quite nice option though that's worth a thought. The Clear is a very different headphone but I loved them too at an audition recently. Weight-wise that sits in-between the NightOwl and the LCD2C with its 450g. Bit of a stretch financially though. Any other suggestions between £500-1000 that sounds similar to the 2C (especially good bass) but is lighter? While I do like the 2Cs sound sometimes I wish it was a tad more laid back..

 

[franz12]

I am still hoping my neck can get used to it. I will give it some more time. I quite like the 2Cs. Good value for money, great sound that's perfect with my music... There are not many alternatives in this price range. I could go back to AudioQuest headphones like the NightOwl which is much lighter and more comfy, but would feel like loosing too much resolution and overall sound quality after the LCDs. Still quite nice option though that's worth a thought. The Clear is a very different headphone but I loved them too at an audition recently. Weight-wise that sits in-between the NightOwl and the LCD2C with its 450g. Bit of a stretch financially though. Any other suggestions between £500-1000 that sounds similar to the 2C (especially good bass) but is lighter? While I do like the 2Cs sound sometimes I wish it was a tad more laid back..

Good sub bass of lcd2c is partly due to its large driver. It won’t be easy to reduce its weight without compromising some of it.

 

[DrSeven]

I am still hoping my neck can get used to it. I will give it some more time. I quite like the 2Cs. Good value for money, great sound that's perfect with my music... There are not many alternatives in this price range. I could go back to AudioQuest headphones like the NightOwl which is much lighter and more comfy, but would feel like loosing too much resolution and overall sound quality after the LCDs. Still quite nice option though that's worth a thought. The Clear is a very different headphone but I loved them too at an audition recently. Weight-wise that sits in-between the NightOwl and the LCD2C with its 450g. Bit of a stretch financially though. Any other suggestions between £500-1000 that sounds similar to the 2C (especially good bass) but is lighter? While I do like the 2Cs sound sometimes I wish it was a tad more laid back..

Id recommend saving up for the clear then but maybe give the Denon AH-D7200 a try. It's similar to the 2c sound signature and extremely low weight BUT it's not nearly as good as the 2c so don't even consider it if it's not sub 500$

 

[betula]

Id recommend saving up for the clear then but maybe give the Denon AH-D7200 a try. It's similar to the 2c sound signature and extremely low weight BUT it's not nearly as good as the 2c so don't even consider it if it's not sub 500$

Thanks. To be honest I got quite addicted to the more resolving sound of higher-end cans. It is hard to go back now to AudiQuest or Denon sound even though they are awesome for the money. I did own a TH-X00 at some point (same family as the Denons) while I loved the bass, I found the treble too harsh.
The Clear will come at some point to my desk, no doubt about that. It is just a matter of time.