[LugBug1]

My guess would be a mixture of the recordings and tubes, not dissing your amp but any tubes provide distortion and the LCD2's are sensitive and very transparent. It may be that a little glare on certain keys is being brought to the spotlight. I've just had a quick run through some old piano favorites from Argerich, Kempff and Lupu and can't pick out anything unatural. Apart from perhaps a little hardness in the upper registers but that is a trait of the LCD2.2. Theres defo no "ouch" moments.

 

[Barry S]

Quote:

I understand you're trying to help, but I have 100% confidence in the abilities of the amp.  It's output impedance is very good for an OTL, there are a number of us on the forum who have them, all made by the same person.  Several have great success driving the 25ohm D7000s and 32ohm Grados.  I realize the LCD-2 is a totally different animal for power requirements, but in my opinion my amp has simply gone from overkill to appropriate in terms of drive capability for the phones I now own.  I owned a Woo previously and this OTL wipes the floor with it in every way you could possibly compare including low impedance drive.
 
I am really starting to think the problem is just the recordings themselves, but I checked half a dozen different ones so I didn't really think that possible at first.  If I put less capable tubes in the amp that lower the detail retrieval of the system is seems to partially mask the issue, so I'm thinking overloaded mics in these recordings might be what I'm hearing and the K701s didn't have the resolution to really reveal that before.  I do recall getting a hint of it when running my best tubes with the K701, which reinforces the thought.
 
I didn't really mean to introduce myself to the LCD-2 owner community with a barrage of complaints.  I lost the headphones that were my primary listening companion for years and at the same time was having a hard time acclimating myself to their replacements so my emotions are just running a little warm in my posting behavior.  I have been really liking what I'm hearing in my last couple of listening sessions with the LCD-2 for the most part, now that they have a few hours on them to settle them down. 
 
With the exception of the piano pieces of course. 

 
It's perfectly normal to come here with your new LCD-2 issues.  It's an expensive pair of headphones and it's reasonable to expect the LCD-2s to perform at a high level.  Like you, I have confidence in my amp, a Mjolnir.  That doesn't mean I think it's a good match for every headphone.  You can hook up a bunch of high-end gear and still get something funky out of the listening end. Just something to consider.
 
I haven't heard the K701's, but have auditioned the Q701's, so I'm sure moving to the LCD-2s is a significant change.  It's easier to hear any flaws in recordings with the high end headphones, but it should still be an enjoyable experience. It's a myth that classical music is recorded better than pop/rock or other genres--I find there are plenty of superb and awful recordings in every type of music.  Keep listening, try some different recordings (and maybe another amp just for comparison). 

 

[GrowthValue]

I agree. I also experienced that my LCD2 rev2 is brighter than HD650.
 
Quote:

 
The HD650s were dark; the LCD is very open and sunny, just a little shelved. I don't find the soundstage "small" or "intimate". Quit the opposite; the LCD-2 presents to these ears a nice, wide-open soundstage with instruments spreading to extreme left and right and depth where appropriate. So I seem to be swimming upstream for the whole length of the river, perhaps not for the first time.

 

[pp312]

Quote:

Definitely a resonance issue then, on my HE500 even at quite loud volumes, the ff sections of that track are still fairly soft and unintrusive. If I replace the Jmoney pads with my pleathers, those sections become glaring and almost hurtful to my hearing. That's weird though, I've not heard before of people having underdamping issues with LCD2.

 
Jerg, this is actually the point I've been making about the HE-500 (wrong thread, I know). There's a harshness there I can't quite get to grips with, though it's not severe. It occurs with both pleather and velour pads. However, if the answer is Jmoney pads I can't afford them.

 

[Xcalibur255]

Quote:

 
It's perfectly normal to come here with your new LCD-2 issues.  It's an expensive pair of headphones and it's reasonable to expect the LCD-2s to perform at a high level.  Like you, I have confidence in my amp, a Mjolnir.  That doesn't mean I think it's a good match for every headphone.  You can hook up a bunch of high-end gear and still get something funky out of the listening end. Just something to consider.
 
I haven't heard the K701's, but have auditioned the Q701's, so I'm sure moving to the LCD-2s is a significant change.  It's easier to hear any flaws in recordings with the high end headphones, but it should still be an enjoyable experience. It's a myth that classical music is recorded better than pop/rock or other genres--I find there are plenty of superb and awful recordings in every type of music.  Keep listening, try some different recordings (and maybe another amp just for comparison). 

Thanks, everybody's input is helpful.  Once the phones settle I was planning to roll some tubes and see how that goes.  I can't see the tubes adding harshness to the upper mids or treble region as LugBug suggested, they did a great job of reducing harshness in this trouble area on the K701. 
 
I think the biggest change was the improvement in transients and definition on the leading edges of notes because of the faster response of the driver in the LCD-2.  The general window into the music isn't really all that different from the K701s aside from tone/voicing and a greater sense of transparency due to the lack of grain.  Overall I was getting very pleasing clarity from the K701s before they failed, I often was able to get those "you're in front of the microphone moments" with well recorded material. 

 

[Andrew_WOT]

K701 failed on you too?

 

[fishbone]

Count me in the big LCD-2 family. I should receive mine on monday... I'm so in a hurry to have them on my head !!!

 

[dan.gheorghe]

Quote:

Count me in the big LCD-2 family. I should receive mine on monday... I'm so in a hurry to have them on my head !!!

Welcome to the family and sorry for your wallet, but happy for your ears! 

 

[wizia]

Hi there, new happy owner of the LCDs here. I haven't tried them yet (weird, I know) but in the meantime I have a question. I see the phones come with a mini-xlr to 1/4" jack cable and another mini-xlr to 4pin XLR. Are these cables any good?

 

[Barry S]

Hi there, new happy owner of the LCDs here. I haven't tried them yet (weird, I know) but in the meantime I have a question. I see the phones come with a mini-xlr to 1/4" jack cable and another mini-xlr to 4pin XLR. Are these cables any good?

Yes, the Audeze stock cables are fine. Did you buy a used pair of LCD-2s? Because they don't come with the balanced cable (4 pin male XLR termination)--it's an extra accessory.

 

[wizia]

Brand new from an authorized dealer. That's weird you know because inside the envelope I found this little manual where it says "Congratulations on your purchase of the Audez'e LCD-3 headphone"

 

[Kendoji]

Yikes did you get an LCD-3 by mistake??

 

[Barry S]

Brand new from an authorized dealer. That's weird you know because inside the envelope I found this little manual where it says "Congratulations on your purchase of the Audez'e LCD-3 headphone"

Sounds like you received an LCD-3 for the cost of an LCD-2. That brings up an ethical question, since you likely paid less than the dealer cost. You may also have warranty issues if your receipt doesn't match your headphones.

 

[silversurfer616]

Audeze doesn't want to see paperwork for warranty issues(at least not in my case)and they have the serial number to determine whether or not it is in the warranty period.
 

 

[TheGrumpyOldMan]

It boils down to this: do the 'phones have chrome sockets or black ones? If it's chrome, congratulations you got yourself a helluva deal.