[Devarika Woulf]

Wow, do these headphones kick. With the V200 Amp and Rega DAC and Nordost Blue Heaven RCAs, they sound perfect to me. I am sure if I heard other combos I would hear better & worse things but for my $4000, budget I am extremely happy...blown away.
 
Any negatives seem to come from the music itself. The sound is what I expected: Like a much improved version of all the crappy earbuds I've owned. And with actual bass and kick. Details and life is added to music. Badly recorded/mixed materials are hard to listen to. Had a problem with The Beatles in Stereo? Wait till you hear them on these!

 

 

 
Connected to my EMI Shielded Creative Titanium HD Soundcard, I notice not one bit of hiss or PC noise. The Rega and V200 make no noise at all. One thing, I think, is that the Rega is only partially better than the soundcard. Fuller and more soundstage...like $500 better but not $1000. If all you had was money for the 'phones and Amp, this soundcard would get you by for a long while I think. The Rega is better for sure, though.
 
For gaming, once again, I've been blown away. FPSs now sound like movies. At first, games were incredibly harsh, to the point of pain, on my ears but the whole system burnt-in and is nice and warm now.
 
The only negative, and it is a big one, is that they hurt my head and neck after having them on about 3 hours. I must then put on my Ultrasone PRO 550 (with PRO 750 Velvet Pads - Super Comfy) which are nicer and lighter on the head. They are louder but not the same quality so I end up watching YouTube for about an hour or so. Of course, I rarely listen for 3 hours straight but it's a fact. I think my head is getting used to it as well but it still hurts. Granted, I am using them at my desk on an Ergonomic chair without a headrest.
 
Also, the slider to keep the length in place keep moving on me despite me tightening the screws. Not a big deal, I guess. Sound leakage is fine for a private room. Would disturb someone next to you.
 
This is with the stock cable and power cord. I will update this when I upgrade. This is all a great pair that will run you around $3500 but it is worth it. These simply sound like great headphones and you well rock out with them.
 
PS: Woo Audio's HPS-T Headphone Stand are awesome for both these headphones.
 

 

[weipim]

Nice review ! Lcd2.2 is growing on me I think I will buy it over he500
But weight is a concern

 

[swbf2cheater]

Did Audeze change and redesign their drivers to support good positional accuracy?  I ask because you said something about now being good for gaming.  Did you mean great for just the experience, or for pinpointing sounds?

 

[NinjaSquirt]

Colour me jealous. I heavily considered the Rega DAC for my speaker and headphone set up but in the end with a Benchmark DAC-1 for it's sonic signature, headphone outs, and 24/96 USB input. Have you heard any high-end setups on the other end of the spectrum? I can't imagine you went the detailed route going with the LCD-2 + a fairly warm Rega DAC.

 

[Devarika Woulf]

Quote:

Nice review ! Lcd2.2 is growing on me I think I will buy it over he500
But weight is a concern

They are heavy. Both are, though. I've heard people say either one was more comfortable. I have a feeling I may prefer the velvet of the HE500 over the heavy leather but I don't know about the sound 'cause, for me, these are perfect. I do wish they were velvet.

 


Quote:

Did Audeze change and redesign their drivers to support good positional accuracy?  I ask because you said something about now being good for gaming.  Did you mean great for just the experience, or for pinpointing sounds?

Both. It sounds so exciting to listen to the sounds around you and you get so involved with it. And I know exactly where sounds are coming from. I use the Audio Creation Mode on my Creative Titanium HD, and not the Game mode with CMSS-3D, as I feel it messes with the sound too much, though, I used to with the PRO 550s. Now, a whole new world has opened up to me while I play and I can hear all around me, powerfully. It's like a movie, man. I play Day of Defeat: Source, and Killing Floor, and they are great. I've yet to try it out Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3. Though I own both, I haven't played them yet.
 

 
Quote:

Colour me jealous. I heavily considered the Rega DAC for my speaker and headphone set up but in the end with a Benchmark DAC-1 for it's sonic signature, headphone outs, and 24/96 USB input. Have you heard any high-end setups on the other end of the spectrum? I can't imagine you went the detailed route going with the LCD-2 + a fairly warm Rega DAC.

I have not; This is my first Hi-End combo. I just went from advice and asking. I was trying to go with a "Warm, like Vinyl" sound. I am VERY satisfied. Old Beatles Mono, Led Zeppelin, Rihanna... everything is great on here. Treble gives me the headaches/creeps, so, I wanted to stay as far away from that as possible.