Audeze LCD2C Great Expectations

Yes, but NO.

 

I got my LCD-2C in yesterday. I've been interested in an LCD-2 (well, a "good" LCD-2) for quite a while, so I finally decided to chance it.

It's been all of a day, but here are my impressions so far. Running from computer-> Lynx AES16e -> Gungnir Multibit -> Dragon Inspire IHA-1. Tube only so far. Haven't tried listening out of the Cayin iHA-6 yet.

The bullet point version:

• Clean. I don’t think I’ve really heard bass this distortion-free before, and knowing what it can sound like will color my impressions of other headphones. HE-6 definitely has more IMPACT, but this has cleanliness and great extension.
• Laid back. Chill. Dull…ish. Real instruments can be kind of boring at times, cymbals aren't as present, but this feature is also my savior on many songs that are unlistenable on HD800. It takes the edge off, and purists may hate that, but sometimes that's what you or the song needs. It helps that the upper mid dip doesn’t feel crazy deep to me. Vocals sound a little forward.
• Narrow. My first listen felt very claustrophobic coming right after time with HE-6 and HD800. A quick break, some more time listening, and it’s not a problem at all. Imaging isn’t the most precise in the world, although it doesn’t feel as blobby as HE-6 to me
• Competent. I don’t find myself especially wanting for more resolution, although it’s not quite to the level of HD800 or HE-6 to me. It does well with layering of voices, maybe partially owing to it sounding slightly forward. Dynamics are fine, but it doesn’t especially jump out to me.

Overall, I’m happy. A great “put some music on and chill out” headphone. The stock cable is also surprisingly nice, and the headband distributes weight pretty well (havne't had fatigue after wearing them most of the day today). Packaging is very barebones, if you care about that type of thing (no case, no extra box, just foam cut out in shipping box).

 

Agreed, sadly. I ordered the 2C before I knew the $600 was just the holiday pricing and I didn't feel like my moral compass was strong enough to warrant a cancellation once I was made aware of this but if I'd known prior to the fact I most likely wouldn't have purchased a pair.

I love my rev1 LCD-2s, I got them just as they came out even though I'm in Europe, risked a lot as obviously no one (or at least I didn't) knew their driver QC would be so poor - I've been lucky, coming up on what, 8 years now? Still haven't had a problem, granted they've gotten very little use the past 3-4 (much due to how worried I am the drivers will blow up). That's also the biggest reason I've yet to own another one of their headphones since then, there's not a single store/retailer in my country that deals with Audeze and I rather not risk getting a shit unit from an online store (be it theirs or one of the many in the UK/France/etc) and then having to deal with shipping back and forth.

 

Audeze website now showing these at out of stock. Wonder if the price will now go up.

Edit: Although price still shows as $599,just out of stock.

 

I posted a review of the LCD2 Classics on Basshead.Club. It is primarily my stream of consciousness impressions from SBAF, so if you've read those, you've read almost the entire review.

http://www.basshead.club/audeze-lcd2-classic-review/

 

I suppose this explains why, despite ordering days ago, I still haven't heard anything about shipping...

 

Long shot but does anyone have a Fiio X5 iii to give impressions with the lcd2c? Preferably in balanced turbo mode

 

Called Audeze, they are pretty backordered on the LCD-2C. Weren't even taking orders from dealers yet on them.

 

I'm still loving my soft-foam headband LCD-2.1 with 2015 updated (the same?) thicker Audeze lambskin pads - but, that new headband and a new flavor of this lovely & sweet sound makes me think about the C's. I know there was lots of variance in the early Audezes especially with FRs, but has anyone compared 2.1s with these?

Good to see some more love & understanding towards LCD-2s! For a lover of subs and lack of mid-bass bloominess these really were/are the super-HD650 Metal, rock and pop just bounce with these, especially the fast-paced stuff.

One thing to mention though, the updated fatter pads made my oldies clearly bassier compared to the old pads, which didn't create nearly a good enough seal because of their shallow profile and that humongous driver size.

 

Oh balls. Australian stock was supposed to arrive in mid-January, according to Mini-Disc.

I hope that the delays aren't too long. I've really been itching to hear a good LCD-2.

 

Audeze is a funny large but large company, might be USA supply are all funky until the middle of January to fill out foreign distributors orders. The LCD-2C have certainly become the talk of the town at least for us, I am probably getting 1-2 calls a day from customers wondering if we got in ours yet.

 

I was told the same thing. I placed an order late last week.
I'm looking forward to hearing these and comparing against my HD6XX and HD800's - should be fun.

 

I just saw them for $799 on Moon Audio. Still $599 on Audeze, that is if they have any in stock

 

I bought a pair directly from Audeze a week ago, and they shipped right away.

 

Last I checked they were showing in stock. Worst case you lock in at cheaper price and it takes some time to ship.

 

Apologies for the horrible picture, but I grabbed some parts to reterminate my LCD2Cs to balanced (in this case, I just built a cable because I wanted extra length as well).

Parts List:

• Sennheiser HD650 cable #092885 (already had an extra and they're great for the price)
• 2x Switchcraft #TA4FX Tini-QG "Mini XLR" 4 Pin Female Cable Mount, Silver Pins, Nickel
• Switchcraft #AAA4MZ AAA Series 4 Pin XLR Male Cable Mount, Silver Pins / Nickel Metal

The wiring pinout that can be found here is still accurate for the LCD2 Classic: http://www.diyaudioblog.com/2011/11/custom-audeze-balanced-headphone-cable.html

 

luckbad are those lcd-mx4s? they don't look like the 2c Lol

 

I just received my LCD2C yesterday, and I wasted no time in putting them into service as part of my work rig:



A few comments from two days of listening:

• The bass and sub bass on these headphones is awesome! Definitely the best low end I have heard from a pair of headphones.
• These are my first Audeze headphones. I’m not saying anything new here, but please be advised that these are very large and heavy headphones. They are much heavier than the HD650 or even the HD800 (though not as large as the HD800). However, the suspension strap is very comfortable, and I had no problem wearing them for almost the entire workday two days in a row.
• As described by others, the sound is clear and laid back. Definitely not as refined as the HD650 that I also run out of this amp/pre/dac setup, but I think that they are more fun and hard hitting.
• These headphones are an excellent value at $599!

I will report back if anything changes about my experience with these. So far so good!

Thanks very much to prior reviewers and forum members (particularly @Marvey) for recommending the LCD2C!

 

@Carlos CPA as a europleb I was distracted from your impressions by crushing black schiit envy

Ok, back on topic, have you tried them out of pure Jot as well as Sagaheim? Which did you prefer?

 

Thanks, @Taverius! The black Schiit components are a better than expected match with the finish of the LCD2C. I am very pleased with how they look together.

I have not yet run these headphones out of only the Jot. My experience running the HD650 first out of only the Jot and eventually the Sagaheim led me to prefer the Sagaheim, but not by a huge margin.

As others have stated, the Saga does seem to soften the Jot’s harder transients. I would be surprised if this didn’t also hold true with the LCD2C.