[johncarm]

I have an LCD-2 and a custom made cable that dates back to 2011 or 2012. I don't think it was V1. There had been some significant revisions to brighten the sound, but it was pre-fazor.

I've recently upgraded my streamer to an Aurender N100. Was previously using a Windows 11 NUC running Foobar2000. My DAC is a Gustard x20pro DAC. I'm getting more extension and life in the treble since upgrading to the Aurender, and a lot of times that is welcome and brings lots of detail, air, and microdynamics. But sometimes stringed instruments (violin, etc.) are more harsh in the treble.

I was checking measurements of the LCD-2 and it's hard to know which curve corresponds to my model, but it seems the LCD-2 classic has a peak about 4 KHz. One reviewer said he would recommend EQ with it. Maybe my LCD-2 has that peak, and that's why I'm not always welcoming that extra energy in treble.

So I'm looking here first to find out if anyone knows what model I'm using, where to get a FR curve. Secondly, has anyone else experienced Audeze headphones to be peaky in the treble and perhaps unwelcome with certain musical material?

This reviewer said the LCD-GX are much smoother in the treble. I might like to get one of those. Anyone know if the cable style has changed since then or if my cable from 2012 would work with it?

Is my problem coming from my DAC or amp? I have two amps and get this problem on both. My main amp is a highly modified Bravo (a 12AU7/FET no-feedback design). All the components have been replaced, extra shielding has been adding, and so on. My DAC is also custom modified and the guy who did it is really good, and I don't think he would have modified the sound for the worse.

 

[warrenpchi]

If you only started hearing that with the introduction of the N100, then I'm inclined to think that's the cause.

 

[johncarm]

If you only started hearing that with the introduction of the N100, then I'm inclined to think that's the cause.

I hear it with an iFi Zen Stream as well. And I've tried several configurations of a NUC driving the Gustard DAC. The general pattern is that whenever my USB transport improves in quality, I get more extension and life in the treble, and that extra treble energy seems to have some peakiness to it. Happens with another headphone amp as well. I've done everything I can to narrow it down to the LCD-2, but of course I could have missed something.

 

[warrenpchi]

Hmm, okay. To be fair, it's been quite some time since I've heard a pre-Fazor LCD-2. That said, I don't remember it sounding particular bright or peaky, hence why I'm not jumping to that as the culprit right away.

 

[johncarm]

I thought of one other possible factor.. I use RCA Clear Top 12AU7's in both of my headphone amps. I dropped another brand in there and the tonal balance changed a lot. I'll look into it.

 

[johncarm]

Okay, so I've been listening with a NOS "Radiotechnique" French military 12AU7, cryo'd, I got from Upscale Audio. It has a softer treble. Maybe even a little brighter than the Clear Top, but smoother and without that sense of peakiness.

By the way, it's not that the LCD-2 is "bright", but instead what I call "peaky".. i.e. it has some frequency range that's a bit louder or has a resonance that sticks out a bit. I saw an impedance graph for one of the Audeze LCD-2 versions, forget which, but it has a dip around 4.5 KHz, which usually means some kind of resonance. Very slight in this case, but perhaps with the wrong tube can be exaggerated.

 

[warrenpchi]

Looks like you've found the answer!