Hi CorvetteGarage!
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IMO, the Woo WA6SE is the perfect match for T1's. With the LCD2s, seems there is something missing? Dont get me wrong, the sound is very very good, but I cant describe in words what it is I think Im missing or not hearing.
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I'm on the other foot, so to speak - having acquired the T1 only a week ago after two years of listening to the LCD-2 almost exclusively.
I'm sure a lot of LCD-2 fans would cringe if they read this, but
I think what you're missing when listening to the LCD-2 is the T1's ability to sound far more natural and, frankly, realistic - almost to a fault, depending on your personal preference.
I'm not one to listen to a lot of classical music, though I do, on occasion, but I've been to two free concerts in the past six months, performed by the local community symphony orchestra. Having attended one of them in May and another on Sunday evening,
I'm now hooked on listening to this live 50-piece orchestra, in a 500-seat church that has great acoustics. If you've never checked out a venue like this in your area, you really should give it a shot.
I had an epiphany while seated there in the front row, listening to a live performance of Handel's
Messiah - I was no more than 25 feet from the first chair violin and there was no amplification. I was hearing the orchestra acoustically not electronically:
Listening, it suddenly occurred to me to close my eyes and consider what I was hearing as if I were analyzing headphones.
Right away, I quickly decided that this imaginary pair of headphones I was wearing sounded a lot more like the Beyerdynamic T1 than the Audeze LCD-2. It was obvious. No contest. This had me chuckling when I realized how obvious it was! The laid-back, smooth, dark sound of the LCD-2 is not what I was hearing, seated there in front of all those strings and wind instruments! Detail was through the roof, of course, but again, this is more like the T1, than the LCD-2, for sure. And there was almost no bass in the signal that I was hearing - it was there, but not with any excess energy - definitely more like the T1 than the LCD-2. And then, the treble, the sound stage and the imaging (discrimination of instruments - especially individual violins), were especially noteworthy as being much more similar to the T1 than the LCD-2 (though even the T1 is a far cry from offering the sound stage and imaging of
being there, of course).
It's a shame, because I can still say I much prefer the LCD-2. Now, this is just my personal preference, but the T1 is somewhat bland and boring in comparison, with the exception of its superior treble, sound stage, and imaging - all three of which, as I just mentioned, are much more like the live concert experience than what I get from the LCD-2. This revelation I had Sunday evening makes me respect the T1 all the more, but it doesn't make me
like it as much as I like the LCD-2.
Still, all it took was a few minutes listening to my local symphony orchestra to realize that the T1 is definitely closer to what I would think worthy of being called a "reference" - though perhaps not that good - just more so than the LCD-2. If I were going to pick one word that defines how the LCD-2 deviates from reality it would be "fullness" - the LCD-2 just has more "fullness" where reality itself sounds thin and just a little bit boring - like the T1 - like real life!
I liken this to how most people prefer turning up the color saturation of their television sets even when working hard to make the hue or tint as accurate as possible. Modern color landscape photographs are also heavily saturated - because that's what sells.
People don't want reality - they want reality on steroids. It seems I'm guilty of that in preferring the LCD-2 to the T1.
Having concluded unequivocally that the T1 is more realistic, I'm actually disappointed in myself for preferring the LCD-2. I see the LCD-2 as turning water into wine. Wine is fine, but not when it's supposed to taste like water.
I have no intention of parting company with either.
Which do you prefer?
Mike