Got me a pair of LCD-3s, and I gotta say, I'm very impressed by them. They're basically what I was expecting the LCD-2C to be.
I never really loved the LCD-2C; while I eventually grew to like it, it felt like a compromised headphone, which ultimately lead me to trade it on. It felt like kind of a sleepy, dull headphone due in large part to its mediocre bass response. Extension wasn't great, and it was somewhat down in level. I could forgive that if it had other strengths, but I felt the treble was too recessed, which had a knock-on effect of dropping the soundstage and imaging out. Mid range was great, and I had an appreciation for the headphone's ability to take the edge off certain albums, but in the end it just wasn't enough to justify holding on to them. When I got my HE-500, the LCD-2C's fate was sealed, as it was exactly what I was looking for in a planar magnetic.
Months after that, I grabbed a Sundara; I can't even really remember why. I think I just wanted to try it out. While not up to par with my HE-500, I feel it's a damned good headphone in its own right, and kind of further upset my perception of value in headphones. I never had a chance to compare it directly to the LCD-2C, but impressions were far more positive right out of the gate. It felt closer to the HE-500 in terms of bass extension and quantity, so it immediately fixed the biggest issue the LCD-2C had. While not as smooth as the LCD-2C, it isn't bright to my ear, so it captures some of the magic of the Audeze. Being less than half the price it made the LCD-2C look even worse in comparison.
With a relatively low opinion on the 2C, why on earth would I roll the dice on the LCD-3? I really have no idea. I have a terrible habit of getting headphones on a whim, or against general consensus, or even against my better judgement. Oddly enough, it usually pays off, and this is no exception! These are absolutely lovely sounding, and in the long term I think they'll prove to be a nice complement to my HE-500. This is pretty much the perfect example of slight tunings having a profound effect on the overall sound of a headphone. Treble is up in level slightly, bass is up a bit, and extension goes a little lower. It sets the sound
just right, and suddenly there is imaging and soundstage to speak of. While maybe not the biggest soundstage ever, the imaging is on point, and may be the best of my headphones. These headphones have woken up a bit compared to the LCD-2C. Rather than being sleepy, I would describe these as being mild. There is some energy in there, it's just subdued, even compared to my HE-500, which I consider to be about neutral. One of the albums that I absolutely love to listen to, but is a little too hot on basically all of my headphones, is Beastie Boys' Licensed to Ill. Not sure what was going on in the mastering of that, but there is waaay too much treble energy. The LCD-3 basically knocks it down to about where it should be, making me able to crank it when I really feel like jamming.
They're also super easy to drive. Running them off my Woo Audio WA2 sounds just fine, and no matter how much I push the volume I can't get them to break up. Even my Sundara can distort out of this when I push the volume too hard.
These have really made me curious about the LCD-X; they've gotta be better than the LCD-2C, right?
Main system is 300 kms away.
