[betula]

I have seen a car exactly like this today and the design immediately reminded me to my Audeze headphones.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

If you are used to an elevated mid-bass like your Sony, you might feel initially that the flat Audeze bass is 'less'. I think your Schiit stack should drive the 2C well enough, although they improve with better amps/more power. I would say, give a few days exclusively to the 2C (don't listen to any other headphones) and see if your brain adjusts. The 2C has a strong and punchy bass that extends well, but it is more linear than the bass presentation of most dynamic drivers. Dynamic drivers in general roll off in the sub-bass (below 80Hz) and have an emphasised mid-bass. Most (good) planar drivers extend to 20-30Hz without any roll off and at the same time they don't emphasise anything in the mid-bass. Some people prefer this, some people prefer that. To me in general (good) planar bass is cleaner and higher quality with better punch due to the sub-bass presence and linear presentation, but some others enjoy the extra mid-bass quantity of dynamic drivers more.

You are quoting me but @Mitchuuu is the person you should be responding to.

I am not the one with a schiit stack and my LCD-2C has plenty of bass out of the amps I drive it with.

But thanks for thinking of me

 

[betula]

You are quoting me but @Mitchuuu is the person you should be responding to.

I am not the one with a schiit stack and my LCD-2C has plenty of bass out of the amps I drive it with.

But thanks for thinking of me

My mistake, thanks for the correction. @Mitchuuu.

 

[Mitchuuu]

Most (good) planar drivers extend to 20-30Hz without any roll off and at the same time they don't emphasise anything in the mid-bass. Some people prefer this, some people prefer that. To me in general (good) planar bass is cleaner and higher quality with better punch due to the sub-bass presence and linear presentation, but some others enjoy the extra mid-bass quantity of dynamic drivers more.

If play a pure tone and slide it around 20hz-120hz the Audeze's are comparable in output and sound more even too but when playing an actual song it's like the bass just gets sucked out and it all disappears. Zero punch. When things reopen I'm going to go to my local headphone store and demo their Audeze's to double check that mine aren't dysfunctional. It's really that bad. To my ears anyways. If it turns out they're fine and that I'm just a pleb who likes cheap headphones then I'll definitely be selling my lcd2c. For me, there's no way they're worth the $1000+ for them and the amp and dac when I got the sony's for $150 and generally prefer their sound and don't even get me started on comfort or portability...

 

[betula]

If play a pure tone and slide it around 20hz-120hz the Audeze's are comparable in output and sound more even too but when playing an actual song it's like the bass just gets sucked out and it all disappears. Zero punch. When things reopen I'm going to go to my local headphone store and demo their Audeze's to double check that mine aren't dysfunctional. It's really that bad. To my ears anyways. If it turns out they're fine and that I'm just a pleb who likes cheap headphones then I'll definitely be selling my lcd2c. For me, there's no way they're worth the $1000+ for them and the amp and dac when I got the sony's for $150 and generally prefer their sound and don't even get me started on comfort or portability...

Yes, it is worth checking out another pair. This really sounds strange and unusual.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

If play a pure tone and slide it around 20hz-120hz the Audeze's are comparable in output and sound more even too but when playing an actual song it's like the bass just gets sucked out and it all disappears. Zero punch. When things reopen I'm going to go to my local headphone store and demo their Audeze's to double check that mine aren't dysfunctional. It's really that bad. To my ears anyways. If it turns out they're fine and that I'm just a pleb who likes cheap headphones then I'll definitely be selling my lcd2c. For me, there's no way they're worth the $1000+ for them and the amp and dac when I got the sony's for $150 and generally prefer their sound and don't even get me started on comfort or portability...

I don't know anything about the entry level schiit amps. Is this the amp that sells for 99 dollars that you are talking about?

Your description of how the headphones sound is textbook under-driven headphone.

 

[Slaphead]

If play a pure tone and slide it around 20hz-120hz the Audeze's are comparable in output and sound more even too but when playing an actual song it's like the bass just gets sucked out and it all disappears. Zero punch. When things reopen I'm going to go to my local headphone store and demo their Audeze's to double check that mine aren't dysfunctional. It's really that bad. To my ears anyways. If it turns out they're fine and that I'm just a pleb who likes cheap headphones then I'll definitely be selling my lcd2c. For me, there's no way they're worth the $1000+ for them and the amp and dac when I got the sony's for $150 and generally prefer their sound and don't even get me started on comfort or portability...

No you're not a pleb, you're smart and realised that $1000+ headphones aren't all they're cracked up to be, despite what people on the internet would have you believe.

 

[betula]

No you're not a pleb, you're smart and realised that $1000+ headphones aren't all they're cracked up to be, despite what people on the internet would have you believe.

The 2C is $800 and can be found for $600. I think it is a good price for what you get. But I agree, those 3-4-5K flagships are not substantially better than 1-1.5K headphones. It comes down to your budget, whether those extra subtleties are worth another 2-3K for you.

 

[Mitchuuu]

I don't know anything about the entry level schiit amps. Is this the amp that sells for 99 dollars that you are talking about?

Your description of how the headphones sound is textbook under-driven headphone.

It does, doesn't it? More reason to go cross-reference at the headphone store. And yes, it's the $99 magni amp but I read many people were satisfied with this amp paired with Audeze headphones.

The 2C is $800 and can be found for $600. I think it is a good price for what you get.

Yes and as an earlier purchaser I got mine for $600 but adding in the amp and dac and things quickly get to the 1k range.

No you're not a pleb, you're smart and realised that $1000+ headphones aren't all they're cracked up to be, despite what people on the internet would have you believe.

 

[betula]

Yes and as an earlier purchaser I got mine for $600 but adding in the amp and dac and things quickly get to the 1k range.

To my experience if you want the 2C to be driven properly you will get closer to 2K overall. Not to mention a silver or silver plated cable that can add some more clarity.

 

[xRaptorxPunisher]

I've never found the 2C difficult to drive at all, in-fact I find them rather easy. You can reach their potential rather early, a basic magni 3 stack is enough, it grips the bass nicely giving you the dynamics. Amp parings are important though you gotta learn how to pair, I like paring the Classics with something like an Asgard 3, Black Widow.

That said Audeze phones are not impactful in the sense of sounding slamming, they have very well extended sub bass, they have heft, when a bass note hits you feel weight, they round off the sound where as something like the HD600 or HD650 feels like it cuts off. If you find the Audeze too weak, consider something that has a bit more midbass punch but I find the naturally grainy, coarse texture of dynamic drivers bothersome(unless it's biocell) Planars do, inherently have this body to them music that is hard to find in dynamics. Something like a TH900 which has monster impact and sub bass might appeal but then you have messed up mids and treble, it's hard to get it right.

 

[Kbeau]

To my experience if you want the 2C to be driven properly you will get closer to 2K overall. Not to mention a silver or silver plated cable that can add some more clarity.

SERIOUSLY TOO.. its not placebo, i switched to a simple Newfantasia Silver plated cable and its way more open and natural sounding now.. https://www.amazon.com/newfantasia-...ords=audeze+newfantasia&qid=1589919066&sr=8-2

 

[gimmeheadroom]

It does, doesn't it? More reason to go cross-reference at the headphone store. And yes, it's the $99 magni amp but I read many people were satisfied with this amp paired with Audeze headphones.

Well a lot of people don't have any basis for comparison and not all Audeze headphones have the same power requirements. Still, I think expecting a 99 dollar amp to make your 600 dollar headphones the best they can be is unlikely to happen.

If you can try a much better amp at a friend or shop with your headphones I suspect you will find the problem is not the headphones.

 

[Vvnz100]

My LCD 2C driven by MassDrop THX 789 (balanced) is not shy at all, even in the bass! Now I'm listening the Manchester jazz trio GoGo Penguin: bass and drums are very present!

It was different with my Pioneer U-05, not bad but the Audeze is really better driven by the THX amp. For my Fostex TH-X00, it's really different, it's easier to drive and it's better with the Pioneer (SE)...

 

[Tuneslover]

I've never found the 2C difficult to drive at all, in-fact I find them rather easy. You can reach their potential rather early, a basic magni 3 stack is enough, it grips the bass nicely giving you the dynamics. Amp parings are important though you gotta learn how to pair, I like paring the Classics with something like an Asgard 3, Black Widow.

That said Audeze phones are not impactful in the sense of sounding slamming, they have very well extended sub bass, they have heft, when a bass note hits you feel weight, they round off the sound where as something like the HD600 or HD650 feels like it cuts off. If you find the Audeze too weak, consider something that has a bit more midbass punch but I find the naturally grainy, coarse texture of dynamic drivers bothersome(unless it's biocell) Planars do, inherently have this body to them music that is hard to find in dynamics. Something like a TH900 which has monster impact and sub bass might appeal but then you have messed up mids and treble, it's hard to get it right.

I think it's largely due to the recordings themselves. Certain songs are recorded with more sub bass than other songs. I have the RME ADI-2 DAC which has a screen where you can call up a spectral anlayzer which shows the amount of output through the entire frequency range. I am currently running it in the standard mode (no bass, treble or parametric equalizer enhancements). Some songs that are lean sounding is so exhibited with the RME's spectral analyzer. Conversely when a song with plenty of sub bass comes on you can see those sub bass frequencies are more elevated.

I pair that DAC with a Schiit Jotunheim and the LCD2C. Those songs that have ample sub bass (and revealed as such with the RME's spectral analyzer) comes through with very good bass on the LCD2C. It's a very nice sounding bottom end with deep and tight bass so I know the LCD2C can deliver it when called for.

I also have the Meze 99 Noir headphone and all songs have a great deal of bass, even lean bass songs. The problem is when a song with plenty of sub bass comes on it's ridiculous how much bass there is...completely ruins the song. I have a pair of Yaxi headphone pads coming tomorrow which are suppose to tame the excessive bass. If you're looking for more bass get the Meze 99 headphones.