[Jonfairway]

Good Question !
 
 
I will try to answer it..
 
Firstly the LCD2 is dark sounding, you could say veiled...
 
The LCD3 isnt, its lively, faster, more fun  .. The L2 is fast fun and has good PRAT
 
The LCD2;s balance was more to bass and mids, the highs restrained..
 
The LCD3 is better balanced across the range with neither lows,mids,highs talking centre stage ( they have acheived this by making the highs much better while the bass and mids are at least just as good as the LCD2, I personally think quite a bit better IMO..
 
The soundstage on the LCD2 was quite small, personal... great for some music
 
The soundstage on the LCD3 is bigger wider, deeper, and instruments are better placed...  The L2 has a wide, deep soundstage too..
 
Muddy ?????   not sure about muddy
The sound on the LCD3 is better integrated than the L2, both cans will go loud, the LCD just a tad louder..
 
The LCD2 could have been accused of being muddled I guess having now spent time with the LCD3....in comparison between the L2 and LCD2 , that darkness could be confused with muddle
 
If i hadn't heard the 3 ... i would have said it was brilliant....
 
Both the LCD2 and LCD3 are better phones than the L2....   not £800 and £1800 respectively mind...
 
The law of diminishing returns !!!

 

[Head1]

Thanks. I kind of sensed the diminishing returns from your previous post. The thing is, Audeze, like Hifiman, is a boutique company and the customers are essentially early adopters. So you would expect them to be more expensive. Also, you have to spend more on upstream gear to get the absolute best out of them. Out of the 2 orthodynamics, I would choose Audeze as people say they are more natural sounding than the Hifimans and the fact that the LCD3 seems to be the best partner for the Chord Hugo. The L2 do seem very really good value in comparison.

 

[Jonfairway]

 Thanks. I kind of sensed the diminishing returns from your previous post. The thing is, Audeze, like Hifiman, is a boutique company and the customers are essentially early adopters. So you would expect them to be more expensive. Also, you have to spend more on upstream gear to get the absolute best out of them. Out of the 2 orthodynamics, I would choose Audeze as people say they are more natural sounding than the Hifimans and the fact that the LCD3 seems to be the best partner for the Chord Hugo. The L2 do seem very really good value in comparison.

 
Not sure about the sound of the HiFiman stuff , not heard any over here in the UK, expensive too !!!
 
The Audeze sound is pretty unique, I have modded a pair of old Pioneer Se30's with the ortho drivers from a pair of ATH-2's and it does sound typically Planar, dark, powerful, full yet detailed... and forgiving of bad recordings, and hard to drive  LOL
 
Planar/Ortho  headphones seem to have their own way of doing things in comparison to Dynamic....
 
for me they are more emersive, personal, involved and instruments are more realistic to the real things...  things go real loud too  LOL
 
But you are quite right, although they can be driven with a headphone amp like the Microstreamer to good volumes, they really come to life when driven by good separates amplifier, either tube or SS....
 
then they really sing !!

 

[Drrizzt]

  Good Question !
 
 
I will try to answer it..
 
Firstly the LCD2 is dark sounding, you could say veiled...
 
The LCD3 isnt, its lively, faster, more fun  .. The L2 is fast fun and has good PRAT
 
The LCD2;s balance was more to bass and mids, the highs restrained..
 
The LCD3 is better balanced across the range with neither lows,mids,highs talking centre stage ( they have acheived this by making the highs much better while the bass and mids are at least just as good as the LCD2, I personally think quite a bit better IMO..
 
The soundstage on the LCD2 was quite small, personal... great for some music
 
The soundstage on the LCD3 is bigger wider, deeper, and instruments are better placed...  The L2 has a wide, deep soundstage too..
 
Muddy ?????   not sure about muddy
The sound on the LCD3 is better integrated than the L2, both cans will go loud, the LCD just a tad louder..
 
The LCD2 could have been accused of being muddled I guess having now spent time with the LCD3....in comparison between the L2 and LCD2 , that darkness could be confused with muddle
 
If i hadn't heard the 3 ... i would have said it was brilliant....
 
Both the LCD2 and LCD3 are better phones than the L2....   not £800 and £1800 respectively mind...
 
The law of diminishing returns !!!

 
 
These kind of considerations are very relative and personnel i think. When i upgraded my L2 to a pair of Hifiman He-500 i was blown away by the gap between them, though i expected great upgrade it was far beyond my wildest dreams to me. The jump in quality seemed to be as big as upgrading from en average pair of IEM like the Sony MH 1 to the L2.
 
The law of diminyshing return maybe applies from here to me, i'm not sure that i could feel this gap if i from from here to...let's say, Mr HD800, LCD 3 etc.
 
So, next step in order to feel i'm really upgrading: Sr-009

 

[maricius]

These kind of considerations are very relative and personnel i think. When i upgraded my L2 to a pair of Hifiman He-500 i was blown away by the gap between them, though i expected great upgrade it was far beyond my wildest dreams to me. The jump in quality seemed to be as big as upgrading from en average pair of IEM like the Sony MH 1 to the L2.

The law of diminyshing return maybe applies from here to me, i'm not sure that i could feel this gap if i from from here to...let's say, Mr HD800, LCD 3 etc.

So, next step in order to feel i'm really upgrading: Sr-009

I have yet to hear the HE-500 in a surely well powered/well paired rig. Those times I did get to demo them, I was honestly underwhelmed. I got a new DAC/amp recently, maybe I'll give the HE-500 another shot once I get the chance

 

[Jonfairway]

I find it difficult to compare Orthos with Dynamics in terms of how much better each the gap between them is, due to the very large overall sound signature differences....
 
The L2 is a good dynamic headphone, and very good value at £150 ...  My Modded Pioneer cost me £5 for the SE30 and £40 for the ATH-2 drivers , is it good now after modding for what amounts to less than £50.... damn right it is..... but it needs a good amp to make it perform well, it sounds pretty awefull straight out my pc audio jack..
 
The L2 and other easy to drive dynamics dont have that problem and scale some when going to higher level equipment, but not like an Ortho..
 
If one wants the best, then the money is not an issue, if one is looking for a good buy, and breaking the bank... then headphones like the L2 and P7 etc are good buys

 

[Jonfairway]

Have a new member to my growing Head-Fi collection a Graham Slee Solo SRG11/MC .... it makes a fantastic match with the L2, the detailed top end and speed ( PRAT ) make it a joy of a combination. how good can cymbals sound  !!
 
Bigger soundstage than the Beyer and deffo more detail.... maybe its not as refined as the Beyer, but it may need some more burn in.
 
Best I have heard the L2 so far   can't see how anyone could be left unhappy with this combination....
 
Thumbs up for Graham Slee and Philips....

 

[Daegalus]

Wow, I have had these for a week now, and they are on my head almost all day. They are my go to headphones, they feel great, super comfortable, super soft, and great sound. The semi-open works for me pretty well.
 
These beat my DT770s pretty strongly, I will be returning them shortly. They beat my Momentums slightly too. Great sounding headphones. Can't wait for the X2.

 

[maricius]

Wow, I have had these for a week now, and they are on my head almost all day. They are my go to headphones, they feel great, super comfortable, super soft, and great sound. The semi-open works for me pretty well.

These beat my DT770s pretty strongly, I will be returning them shortly. They beat my Momentums slightly too. Great sounding headphones. Can't wait for the X2.

Just wait until you get a better DAC and amp!! I doubt the pairing with the Schiit stack does the L2 justice. Not to say it doesn't sound great but the L2 really scales. It's transparent enough to easily reflect upstream gear and pairings but always unmistakably an L2.

 

[Daegalus]

Just wait until you get a better DAC and amp!! I doubt the pairing with the Schiit stack does the L2 justice. Not to say it doesn't sound great but the L2 really scales. It's transparent enough to easily reflect upstream gear and pairings but always unmistakably an L2.

 
Well, I won't be able to upgrade that for a while, this is all new. I've purchased most of this in the last month and a half. I do now have a CEntrance DacPort (can't seem to get it to work with my Android though, bummer) but maybe in a year or 2. I think these will last me for quite a while.

 

[Jakkal]

I'm also highly impressed by the L2, such a amazing headphone. IMO it is a big upgrade over L1 in terms of sound. I didn't like the sound of L1, but I love L2.
The only negatives I found so far is that the headband some times make a hot spot on the top of my head, but I move it a bit and it is fine again and the other think is that it doesn't have volume controls like L1, it has just mic for making calls.
I have heard the Momentum as well, but for me the L2 sounds better and is more comfortable.The L2 is so detailed and fun to listen to, I love it.
 
Edit: I think this tread should be into Full size Headphones forum. 

 

[maricius]

  I'm also highly impressed by the L2, such a amazing headphone. IMO it is a big upgrade over L1 in terms of sound. I didn't like the sound of L1, but I love L2.
The only negatives I found so far is that the headband some times make a hot spot on the top of my head, but I move it a bit and it is fine again and the other think is that it doesn't have volume controls like L1, it has just mic for making calls.
I have heard the Momentum as well, but for me the L2 sounds better and is more comfortable.The L2 is so detailed and fun to listen to, I love it.
 
Edit: I think this tread should be into Full size Headphones forum. 

 
We need some moderator/admin to move the thread if such a thing is possible

 

[suryahalim]

Hi i just purchased L2 recently and im thinking to use it for my PC i would like to ask which amplifier Schiit Asgard or Valhalla is better match for L2, i cannot find shop that sell Asgard2 or Valhalla 2 in my country
my setup Going to be PC (Creative X-FI Titanium Fatality Pro) -> Amplifier ->L2, the cable that im using is Silver Coated cable

Thanks
Surya Halim

 

[Jonfairway]

 

1. [img]http://cdn.head-fi.org/8/81/100x100px-LS-81cc36ee_avatar-120-5.jpg[/img]

1. suryahalim

Hi i just purchased L2 recently and im thinking to use it for my PC i would like to ask which amplifier Schiit Asgard or Valhalla is better match for L2, i cannot find shop that sell Asgard2 or Valhalla 2 in my country
my setup Going to be PC (Creative X-FI Titanium Fatality Pro) -> Amplifier ->L2, the cable that im using is Silver Coated cable
Thanks
Surya Halim

 
 
Hi Surya
 
I cannot say which of the Schiit amplifiers would be better, as they are not easy to get hold of in the UK either !
 
However they make a really good match with the smooth sounding Graham Slee SRGii, it is more expensive than the Asgard I think, but there is a cheaper amplifier called the Novo from Graham Slee that I think would make a good partner to the L2, also a good valve amplifier would suit, as the treble on the L2 has to be carefully matched, You don't want a bright amplifier !!!
 
I also have a Dared EF99 Valve amp that One can roll tubes with easily that can be tonally matched to the L2 very easily, it also has a good built in USB DAC
   costs around £299   the Novo is about £200 if You shop around... 
 
Good luck

 

[suryahalim]

   
 
Hi Surya
 
I cannot say which of the Schiit amplifiers would be better, as they are not easy to get hold of in the UK either !
 
However they make a really good match with the smooth sounding Graham Slee SRGii, it is more expensive than the Asgard I think, but there is a cheaper amplifier called the Novo from Graham Slee that I think would make a good partner to the L2, also a good valve amplifier would suit, as the treble on the L2 has to be carefully matched, You don't want a bright amplifier !!!
 
I also have a Dared EF99 Valve amp that One can roll tubes with easily that can be tonally matched to the L2 very easily, it also has a good built in USB DAC
   costs around £299   the Novo is about £200 if You shop around... 
 
Good luck

hi thanks for the reply. i have tried with Novo but decided to look somewhere else since i find it too bright for my taste. the price of amp here is quite expensive, Used Graham slee SRGii is priced at around $390 USD and while Schiit Valhalla is around 370USD and Schit Asgard is around 330 USD. and my budget is around 350 to 450 USD. and it expensive to buy from overseas since i have to pay around 20 to 30 % of the ampli price + shipping cost for import duty + tax.
 
after i listen music from my pc by directly connecting L2 to my soundcard i find it that my soundcard signature is to bright for my taste. now im thinking of following scenario for my computer audio 
1. Current Soundcard (Creative Titanium Fatality Pro) -> Schiit Asgard /Lyr or Used Graham Slee SRGII(Standart PSU) -> L2
2. Asus Essense STX -> Schiit Asgard /Lyr or Used Graham Slee SRGII(Standart PSU) -> L2
3. Modded ASUS Essense STX -> L2
4. External DAC like Sony PHA-1 or Asus Essense One or Fostex HP-P1 or AK10 -> L2
 
my usual music genre is Jpop, Acoustic, Soundtrack,Pop and little rock and rnb
 
which one is the better option for me
 
thanks
Surya Halim