[Francisk]

   
-I tried the LCD-2 (basically same-ish design as the LCD-X, though with a slightly higher impedance) with an O2 a few months ago; it worked a charm and had no problems whatsoever driving the headphones to way beyond comfortable listening levels without any sign of running out of oomph.
 
No discernible background noise (whether it was run from batteries or a wall wart), and overall an impressive piece of kit.
 
My one gripe with it would be that the controls feel a little flimsy - note FEEL; I have no reason to believe they wouldn't stand up to normal use for years. They just don't feel as substantial as the controls on, say, Tascam gear (manufactured for pro use and a knob will easily set you back as much as a complete O2...)
 
Bottom line - I'd buy an O2 in a heartbeat if I didn't already have the amps I need.

Thanks for the input OddE, I discovered that even my iPhone 4S is able to drive my LCD-X although not to the level of my Cayin C5. Never the less, I'm on the lookout for a decent but affordable amp to pair with my LCD-X after having spent quite a bit on the LCD-X, that leaves me with very little budget for an amp. I hope I'll be able to find a suitable affordable amp soon to squeeze more quality from my LCD-X.

 

[Francisk]

If you've got the version with the black leather pads, I highly recommend getting the Audeze leather care kit.

Thanks for the tips HiFiChris 

 

[OddE]

  Thanks for the input OddE, I discovered that even my iPhone 4S is able to drive my LCD-X although not to the level of my Cayin C5. Never the less, I'm on the lookout for a decent but affordable amp to pair with my LCD-X after having spent quite a bit on the LCD-X, that leaves me with very little budget for an amp. I hope I'll be able to find a suitable affordable amp soon to squeeze more quality from my LCD-X.

 
-IMNSHO you did the only sensible thing - spend as much as you can on getting the best transducers you possibly can, then spend whatever is left over to amp them. You get a lot more enjoyment from an excellent set of headphones driven by just about anything than you do from a pair of cheapo cans driven by a $5k amp...

 

[Arnotts]

   
-IMNSHO you did the only sensible thing - spend as much as you can on getting the best transducers you possibly can, then spend whatever is left over to amp them. You get a lot more enjoyment from an excellent set of headphones driven by just about anything than you do from a pair of cheapo cans driven by a $5k amp...

 
Personally I would rather have a more price-balanced setup. Imagine using an ODAC + O2 in your chain with HD800's (some people actually do this, and they do not realize how much performance they're leaving on the table).
 
But then again, both of us are generalizing. It really depends on the situation. The O2 does pretty well with the LCD-2 from what I've read.

 

[OddE]

  Personally I would rather have a more price-balanced setup. Imagine using an ODAC + O2 in your chain with HD800's (some people actually do this, and they do not realize how much performance they're leaving on the table).
 
But then again, both of us are generalizing. It really depends on the situation. The O2 does pretty well with the LCD-2 from what I've read.

 
-That we do, but I don't think the O2 should do too bad of a job with a pair of HD800s; given the specs of the pair, it should be able to drive them to approx. 110dB before running out of breath. (This is a seat-of-the-pants value after doing the numbers in my head, but should be within a couple of dB from the actual value).)
 
Arguably, it is not ideal - while I wouldn't want my ears to experience anything of the sort, I can see that certain genres and listeners would like sound levels exceeding what the O2 can comfortably deliver into a pair of HD800s - but in most listening situations, it would probably do just fine and then some.
 
This nitpicking being done with, though, I agree - personally I'd probably go for another amplifier _if cost was no concern_. However, if my fun fund was depleted after buying a pair of great headphones, the O2 would be very near the top of my shopping list if I needed a new amp to power them.

 

[Focker]

-IMNSHO you did the only sensible thing - spend as much as you can on getting the best transducers you possibly can, then spend whatever is left over to amp them. You get a lot more enjoyment from an excellent set of headphones driven by just about anything than you do from a pair of cheapo cans driven by a $5k amp...

+1 Im not one to spend on high dollar gear other than the headphones.

 

[SuperU]

Warning - Something to keep in mind when buying/using the LCD-X
 
I use my LCD-X probably 10 - 12 hours per day while working. This necessitates taking them on and off many times per day. I am careful to put them on their stand each time.
 
However, yesterday the left side starting working intermittently. At first I was extremely worried that a driver was going out like so many who have purchased the LCD-3 have experienced.
 
Upon closer inspection, I learned that the problem is the cable. Somehow, over the last almost 6 months of use, the cable broke right where it enters the thicker area leading to the plug.
 
And looking at the right side, is has worn similarly. 
 
$1600 headphones should not have these kinds of issues. Yes, I wear them a lot. And I'm extremely careful with them. The cables are simply low quality or the workmanship on them is subpar. 
 
I'm sure I could buy a new cable from them, but should I have to do that? I don't believe so.
 
Fortunately one of my employees is an electrician and it took him about 3 minutes to repair the cable. Now it looks like crap. 
 
Bottom line is that I am probably not going to buy a replacement since I just ordered the Cavalli Liquid Carbon (LC) and it uses the other cable that comes with the LCD-X that is balanced. 
 
Still, shame on Audeze. So many quality issues on otherwise awesome (and expensive) headphones.
 
Don't get me wrong - I love my LCD-X's. Just really resent paying this much money for something and not having it be super high quality throughout. 
 
It's like getting into a Mercedes and seeing a broken knob. An eyesore and completely not expected on something in that price range.

 

[514077]

  Warning - Something to keep in mind when buying/using the LCD-X
 
I use my LCD-X probably 10 - 12 hours per day while working. This necessitates taking them on and off many times per day. I am careful to put them on their stand each time.
 
However, yesterday the left side starting working intermittently. It first I was extremely worried that a driver was going out like so many who have purchased the LCD-3 have experienced.
 
Upon closer inspection, I learned that the problem is the cable. Somehow, over the last almost 6 months of use, the cable broke right where it enters the thicker area leading to the plug.
 
And looking at the right side, is has worn similarly. 
 
$1600 headphones should not have these kinds of issues. Yes, I wear them a lot. And I'm extremely careful with them. The cables are simply low quality or the workmanship on them is subpar. 
 
I'm sure I could buy a new cable from them, but should I have to do that? I don't believe so.
 
Fortunately one of my employees is an electrician and it took him about 3 minutes to repair the cable. Now it looks like crap. 
 
Bottom line is that I am probably not going to buy a replacement since I just ordered the Cavalli Liquid Carbon (LC) and it uses the other cable that comes with the LCD-X that is balanced. 
 
Still, shame on Audeze. So many quality issues on otherwise awesome (and expensive) headphones.
 
Don't get me wrong - I love my LCD-X's. Just really resent paying this much money for something and not having it be super high quality throughout. 
 
It's like getting into a Mercedes and seeing a broken knob. An eyesore and completely not expected on something in that price range.

I'm thinking that some of the higher-priced HPs believe that some people may invest in after-market cables.  Therefore, they might save on overhead by including middle of the road cables to get started?

 

[SuperU]

 
I'm thinking that some of the higher-priced HPs believe that some people may invest in after-market cables.  Therefore, they might save on overhead by including middle of the road cables to get started?

I'm one of those guys that doesn't buy into the cable voodoo nonsense.
 
I expect quality when I pay $1600 for headphones. And I don't think that's unreasonable. Quality doesn't mean, voodoo special sauce, it just means solid performing, well connected parts - in this case.

 

[barid]

I've been very lucky with my LCD2.2's and have had no problems in years.  However the stock 1/4" cable that came with it did have a bent plug right out of the box and was pretty annoying for that price point.
 
Really been tempted to get a pair of the LCD-X's or 3's lately as I love the sound, yet and every time I consider it I read so many quality issues.  There must be at least one post a day on the X or 3 threads about drivers randomly failing, and not even on older models...like stuff that's 1 month old.

 

[FredrikT92]

The stock cable is garbage, its really annyoing rubber. I used to not buy into the cable voodoo after I bought a Q Audio cable. But then I bought Norne Solv X, and it actually made a tiny difference and its a extremly nice cable 

 

[514077]

I definitely believe in the cable voodoo; no apologies.  Had two AM cable updates both with improved clarity with my 846's and Xs. 
As for quality issues, I haven't noticed any with mine.  I've heard of more incidances of -3 drivers being replaced compared to Xs.  But that's only me.

 

[SuperU]

  I've been very lucky with my LCD2.2's and have had no problems in years.  However the stock 1/4" cable that came with it did have a bent plug right out of the box and was pretty annoying for that price point.
 
Really been tempted to get a pair of the LCD-X's or 3's lately as I love the sound, yet and every time I consider it I read so many quality issues.  There must be at least one post a day on the X or 3 threads about drivers randomly failing, and not even on older models...like stuff that's 1 month old.

Yes Audeze really does have a lot of quality issues.
 
Between the X and 3, the X's seem to hold up better - at least driver wise.
 
And as to voodoo cable stuff, I have no issue with those that want to buy into that sort of thing. Takes all types to make the world go around. What I'm talking about here is just solid, good quality and workmanship for this kind of money. Hell, I have a pair of cheap $95 headphones that still work great, quality wise. 
 
I don't know where you will find a better sounding headphone. But quality wise, they have a long ways to go.

 

[money4me247]

-IMNSHO you did the only sensible thing - spend as much as you can on getting the best transducers you possibly can, then spend whatever is left over to amp them. You get a lot more enjoyment from an excellent set of headphones driven by just about anything than you do from a pair of cheapo cans driven by a $5k amp...

i wld strongly agree with this. you wld want to max out ur transducers prior to getting to crazy with external components. transducers will be the limiting point and is responsible for any 'scaling' factor.

 

[Francisk]

Personally I would rather have a more price-balanced setup. Imagine using an ODAC + O2 in your chain with HD800's (some people actually do this, and they do not realize how much performance they're leaving on the table).

But then again, both of us are generalizing. It really depends on the situation. The O2 does pretty well with the LCD-2 from what I've read.

You have to be aware that the LCD-X is only at 20 ohms and pretty easy to drive unlike the rest of the Audeze LCDs or even my Sennheiser HD600 therefore I didn't just decide on the LCD-X based on the price but rather because of it's sound quality. Having this in mind, I went ahead and purchase the LCD-X since it already sounded so good with my humble Cayin C5 amp. However, I've got a little money left to purchase a desktop amp which I believe is going to be able to squeeze a little bit more sound quality out of my LCD-X. Btw my preference of sound signature is on the neutral side with as little coloration as possible.