🔶 Audeze LCD-2 Classic

[Deleeh]

Yes the first impression definitely fits.
What struck me a bit is that with the volume sometimes it fits, sometimes you have to put something louder or quieter rather less.
I put it away for a moment and go into the kitchen I think oh that’s a bit too loud.

I wonder now if one is greedy for the details when listening.
Because somehow you want to dive deeper, happens rather unconsciously.
Or does it come from the 6.3 mm jack?
That is really unbalanced.

Because the Fostex tr x00 or D2000 without wanting to draw a comparison now because they are different driver designs.
I go in with the 4 pin Balacend and adjust the volume and that fits then.

Or he really still needs play-in time to settle in, even if he was burned from the factory.Or is the whole tends to be more Planar typical?

I don’t really know how else to describe it.And if anyone noticed?Maybe I’m still spoiled by the Fostex and it needs a Koknitive and subjective head adjustment.
Otherwise I find him really good, the first Planar listener I like right away without any regret or have doubts,or even doubts.

[Deleeh]

Hello,
Day 2 with the Classic and one can only say pure infatuation.
The XLR cable is ordered because he will definitely stay.
At the same time I think I have found my Fostex Lawton mod if it is feasible.
Ideally, exactly the signature with a little more bass for the hip hop area.Then I would be really happy, because for the hip hop I find him a little too weak.
Just with so songs like Ginuwine - Pony or Pussy cat dolls - don’t cha goes im just the air out.
But what is not bad you can not make it right for everyone.Besides, I still have the Fostex Tr x00 in Ebony mod here and the Denon D2000 in Rosewood mod as a balance.

But he shines extremely well in Electro music, jazz pieces like Amy winhouse or R&nb Alica Keeys yiammi better it does not go.
And rock pieces Red hot chilli peppers I have listened to and they go right in the face.
Also charts like Bruno Mars - Chunky extremely good.

The only regret I have is should have ordered it before and not be egging on the D7200.
Because even in direct comparison has it quite hard the Denon.

At the moment I still have a bit of a headache whether an Esabre dac makes it seem brighter than the Akm chip, which tends to seem darker at the expense of the musical or whether it is pure tuning of the headphones themselves.

Because I have already heard that the Audeze likes to have a brighter dac.
Is still the question of whether there might also be a headphone amplifier that acts brighter and would have a balance input.so I could leave the Singxer as it is.
Bit I’m annoyed to have given away the Schiit Vali 2.Eventually he would be just right for it.

Well, since the year is ending, everything is pushed to next year.
And one can only hope that the community remains healthy for further infectious recommendations. And there is probably no vaccine .

So still on the edge of the Classic I would not want to change anything even as a mod.
I have give him 24 h Playtime let meanwhile I perceive nothing where disturbs.
If I would change something will probably be the XLR cable for more angel bells.

[terasankka]

Have tried EQ? Applying these settings takes the LCD-2C to the next level:

Audeze%20LCD-2%20Classic.pdf

[Deleeh]

Hello,
No don’t try it,what for Eq you have used?

Iv exist one for Audirvana?

[terasankka]

I am using Roon, To my knowledge there is no EQ in Audirvana, but there is a way to use EQ-Plugins. I might wrong though as I have not used it.

[Deleeh]

Okay i will search and try it in the next days,thanks

[Coma]

Equalizer APO + Peace GUI works very well. Doesn’t work if you use asio or so.
I have used my 2C with EQ aswell and it really helped the headphone a lot imo

[eskamobob1]

anyone know of a good way to EQ USB output on andoid?

[terasankka]

Here are a few recommended EQ for different platforms:

jaakkopasanen/AutoEq

[Deleeh]

Hello,
I have looked for Eq and played around a bit in Audirvana.
It didn’t really convince me.

I am not really a fan of it.
Since I got the Singxer I never had the feeling to miss something.
Because it just plays top and on point.

With the Classic, this becomes even clearer.
Interesting I found that there were again differences between Pcm and Dsd conversion in Audirvana.
In the Dsd mode it sounds a bit more clinical and less musical.Lies probably the Nos mode.Which the Singxer can play up.And easily something unsexy.

The bass is not quite as crisp and deeper than in Pcm mode. There is simply more depth, contour and force behind it and also over the whole band from the mids to high in the mids.
And the separations and resolutions are there again much better to hear out.and the flow in the musicality, and the depth dude.
I fall only so deep goes the and the decrease is quite difficult to say for today it’s enough.
The touch of the piano at the first tap, or other instruments a dream when you flow purely without being analytical.

I have trusted the Lcd 2 Classic a lot, but not like this.
It plays brutally when the amplifier fits and the Dac.
Especially with the Singxer Sda 2 C I am quite at a loss for words, the Lcd 2 fits without rewords to him.I did’t see that coming.
He is really a cream piece Made in America out of the box.

[eskamobob1]

@Deleeh

He is really a cream piece Made in America out of the box.

Its funny, I actually have the opposite feeling. I am not a fan of super analytical headphones at all (why I got the LCD-2C), but they were honesly just boring and made me fairly regret the price stock. It was when I played with the EQ that they seemed to realy come to life. My biggest problem was the dip in the base response and the (imo) poor stock handling of treble. While things like french horns, trumpets, more basey vocals (amy whinehouse, caro emerald, bing crosby), etc where nice, lush, and full, if you ever had an upright base or base sax play at the upper end of base or a clarinet/trumpet get just a bit too high into the treble range or maybe a jazz piano interlude they just felt extremely flat lifeless. In these areas I immediately and happily take my galaxy buds over the stock LCD-2Cs. The big problem was that i felt it handled treble, mids, and base all quite well, but it handled those transitions (and the upper treble) like shit.

Now move onto the EQ and all of a sudden they are completely transformed. The first thing I tried was wavelet’s curve (a fairly stock Harmen correction) and they opened way up. The sound stage was better, the imaging was better, and I could actually appreciate all of the song (even if they weren’t the best for the piano parts, they still did it well and the warmth down low made up for the slight lack of sparkle since they did still have good definition up top, just no ‘soul’)

Once i found out that was pretty good, I moved onto TheHeadphoneShow’s recommended parametric EQ on my laptop and that was even a step further up. The straight Harmen correction, IMO, lost a dash of the life LCD-2Cs have stock, but that EQ profile retained it while still giving good defeniton across the frequency range.

My only real complaints now are

1. I have to listen to the headphones louder than I prefer to get the lush sound I like from them
2. Honestly, I don’t feel like the sound stage is really all that wide. This may be down to me just not understanding the limitations of headphone sound stage or possibly my dac/amp (micro iDSD BL), but for a headphone where reviews rave about sound stage I was very underwhelmed.

[Deleeh]

Hmm,
I took a look at the micro iDSD BL from them purely from stats, the Singxer from me drives just about twice the performance.
But I do not think that it is due to that alone.
The Burr brown chip I found on the Fostex Hp A4 BL already not so great.
He sounded compared to the Fostex Hp A3 the old Akm chip has installed significantly livelier, more agile.

I think in that case it’s almost similar that the Lcd therefore comes across with the micro iDSD bland for you.
If you have the opportunity to test him times on another Dac / amp I would try it.

If the Lcd 2 c suddenly opens you know what to do.
I think the pairing is more important with the planar than the dynamic driver.
That is usually mentioned over and over again.
Surely performance is not always everything, the rest usually also plays a role.

I enjoy the lcd 2c at the moment extremely over the holidays and I like it more and more.

[M0N]

IMO the 2 classic with the micro bl is a good match, but only if you really want something super relaxed, it is nice but it might lack some dynamics at lower volumes and might be a bit too dark in the treble (but the lcd 2 classic isn’t great in the treble to begin with). The sound signature issues and transition problems are inherent in the headphones themselves and most amps you can throw the 2 classic on aren’t going to fix that, so if those bother you eq is the right way to go (will bother some, won’t bother others).

@Deleeh

I think in that case it’s almost similar that the Lcd therefore comes across with the micro iDSD bland for you.
If you have the opportunity to test him times on another Dac / amp I would try it.

I can see it being too overly relaxed in this case as @Deleeh mentions, as both are going for warmer more relaxed sound signature which can come across as dull. Just wondering what modes are you running the BL at @eskamobob1? I would set it to turbo mode and mess around with the dac filters on the micro bl and see if that changes anything for you, but I have a feeling that the 2c + bl just ends up being too relaxed for your preferences

[Deleeh]

At the moment, I don’t miss anything about the Lcd 2 C.
It is just right at least for me.
I’ve been listening since this afternoon and can’t get it off my head.
In the time I have heard pieces from the collection where I thought please what is going on?

Great R&nb pieces that I have not experienced with the Fostex phone so.
And I can not complain about the lack of highs currently.
The only thing I noticed a bit is a delicate thin hiss.Where I think but that it is gone with the Xlr cable then.And a slight weakness comes from the Singxer, I had noticed on the Fostex also.
And where I do not find so good is when listening to hip hop where bass is asked, which is much better implemented at R&nb since it is just sufficient.
Otherwise Jazz, R&nb, Elcectro and 50% of the charts he is really good.

Where I also find it good is when pianos, harp, violin, trumpet samples that fly through the room from the locating.
Pieces of Alica keys,Amy winehouse,the one song from Fifty shade of grey,jenifer Hudson,Blu cantrell and many more really delicious to listen.

I think Mon is also right about the micro iDSD.
I think the Lcd2c does not like that so much.
From a personal point of view I found the Burr Brown the worst of all the chips.
Because it colors the sound too much for my taste.
It has life in it but is too soundet for me.

And I think again from a personal point of view for the where he is not high enough in the treble should times a Dac / amp with Esabre chip and listen again purely whether it is then better.I found the Esabre for me top out too pointed.Purely from the taste.

This also confirms a bit the statements of Audio Gd Nfb 28 owners who say with the Lcd 2 c runs great.

[M0N]

@Deleeh

From a personal point of view I found the Burr Brown the worst of all the chips.
Because it colors the sound too much for my taste.
It has life in it but is too soundet for me.

I think ifi does a good job at not going overboard, but it’s still pretty noticeably colored (but imo with the ifi it maintains good technicalities as well)

@Deleeh

And I think again from a personal point of view for the where he is not high enough in the treble should times a Dac / amp with Esabre chip and listen again purely whether it is then better.I found the Esabre for me top out too pointed.Purely from the taste.

Generally I would have gone with a bit brighter setup myself if I was buying for a lcd 2 classic around 500, something like an asgard 3 + allo revolution dac but with the 3rd harmonic adjusted a bit higher to get a bit more treble bite and sharpness

@Deleeh

This also confirms a bit the statements of Audio Gd Nfb 28 owners who say with the Lcd 2 c runs great.

Personally I’m not a fan of the audio gd, mainly because it’s fairly colored and warmer but also oddly harsh and unrefined at the same time from my experience

[Deleeh]

Hello,

My XLR 4 pin cable has finally arrived from where I ordered it.

In the meantime I have been able to listen to it a bit.
And it makes the Lcd 2c a little bit better.
The bass range has not increased much, but it is audible and has more contour and crispness.
The mids and highs have improved a bit, the treble has a bit more presence and doesn’t feel like it’s falling off, but rather stays up.
The mids and vocals have become a little more focused.

My first impression was that the Audeze cable was discoloured compared to the cable I ordered.
I can’t say 100% if this is true or not.

Because point 1 is the difference between symmetrical and asymmetrical connection at the output.

Point 2 on the Singxer Dac I always had the impression that the balanced connection was better than unbalanced.

Point 3 A clear test would provide more clarity. I would be interested just for fun if I were to rebuild the Audeze cable with an XLR connector and then pit it against the purchased cable to see if that is really the case. Could I say with certainty which one “would” be better.
Or would it really be purely down to the output.
I will think about it later if I do that.
And also see what the pin assignment is.

Otherwise, I can fully agree with the dealer’s description, with which he advertises.
I am currently quite satisfied with it and happy about it.
And it don’t cost me a lot of money.

Here is his description:
Highest quality upgrade headphone cable for Audeze headphones with 2x mini-XLR/4pin connector.
Suitable for: LCD x, 2, 3, 4, MX4, XC

More brilliant representation of the entire treble range
Optimally staggered low bass precision

Crisper overall reproduction

Approx. 2-3dB volume gain

No signal interference, as the audio signal is transmitted fully balanced

OCC pure copper cable with a purity of 99.999998% !
High-quality Pure-Silver coating of the entire conductor surface
Exquisite connector quality
Black lacquered die-cast XLR/4pin connector

Finally I can say that after 2-3 weeks I still enjoy the Lcd 2C since I unpacked it.
It’s really hard for me to take the headphones off.
Every time I put them on and the playback starts, I want to pour a glass of whisky, light a cigar and just enjoy. If I didn’t have any obligations, I would do it immediately.
I have also often done longer sessions for hours on end during the holiday season.
And I can’t complain about the comfort.
After 2-3 hours no pressure or pain at all.
I can only repeat it is worth the money.

I ordered the cable in Germany and it might be interesting for Europeans.
The cable is not annoying when it hangs through and through the colour it also signals something before removing the headphones and also fits visually well together.
The price is also reasonable.

Here is the link: Unfortunately, it is only in German which is a pity, at least I have not found an English version. Alternatively, he still has an Ebay page which is certainly in English.

KOPFHÖRER KABEL AUDEZE LCD 2xMINI-XLR-4POL AUF XLR-4POL 6N-OCC HEADPHONE...

[Deleeh]

Hello,
Still a fan of the Lcd 2c even after weeks from buying it.
Especially in jazz, blues, R&n B and not too bass-heavy music a pleasure.
In hip hop or where more bass is in demand, he unfortunately falls through especially if you have a Fostex Purpleheart at hand is noticeable.Since I remain with the statement, the bass is too thin for my feeling in hip hop.

Between times, a small old known playing partner came into play.
First of all in my defense why a Singxer Sda2 c the actually 4 watts to 32 ohm down castrate?
Quite simply, the Dac section of the Singxer is simply a dream and musical in that regard.
And yes the Lcd 2 c needs power even there I had doubts whether that will go well.
And goes the Lcd 2c really well on a hybrid amplifier like the Little Dot Mk 1+?
Many said määhhh no…is yes a Planar headphones, I am of a different opinion.
.
Yes that goes with a good tube set I was surprised myself although the performance could be too moderate.
But nothing is to be felt of it quite on the contrary.
With the pairing goes the Lcd 2c again a corner better and ignites properly like a firework of accuracy to and to its limits what he can play.

With the EF92 CV131 Brimar tube which is excellent for jazz, blues, rock, R&n B.Is the so what on the point, precise, transparent and tempo full without exaggerating or that somehow something would be missing.
I didn’t know where to listen at first,every corner comes out,whether it’s instruments that are just starting or finishing.And the separation is great.
Hmmm and the vocals whether female or male voices flawless.

I still also have a matched pair of
EF92 Mullard Valvo NOS since the is also not bad at fast music like pop, charts, can some jazz and blues more the all-rounder I would say.
Still I have not warmed up with the so.

As soon as I switch the tubes, I ask myself where is that to and why that, and deepen more in thought why.That it is still difficult for me to differentiate that.
Somehow it is right then again not.
Probably I still need a little time.
And the Poti remains mostly at 1/4 sometimes a bit higher. Until twelve o’clock I will never come as it looks and had not been necessary since the receipt.
Because from 1/4 position he starts to sound just right that one has rather tendencies to go a tick higher but then is enough.
Even under 1/4 quarter everything still fits, the Little Dot mk 1+ has a slight channel imbalance which is hardly disturbing. If I turn to zero and slowly turn up the right side comes rather than the left and equalizes.

I already had a hard time taking the Lcd 2c off my head in the beginning,even more so now.
Finally, I can say that Eq fans who generically adjust their music on the PC will probably crucify me.
I think a direct Eq with a hybrid amp over tubes that fit is the Autehentic EQ.Sure it costs instead of a program.Only the Eq offers me nothing.
It is in the end the little things where the tubes may bring as a bonus where it matters.
I have tried with Apo,Audirvana plugins which were kicking in the bucket.
Maybe I’m too stupid for it or just too analog from my human.

Setup: Singer Sda2 c Dac/Amp via Rca to the Little dot 1+
Streamer: Tidal
SoftwarePlayer: Audirvana sampled to 32 bit and 96 khz.

[simple_tan]

I have a decent local deal I could get on the LCD 2 Classic and I’m really interested in getting a high-end planar. My best headphone right now is my Denon AH-D7200, but I also enjoy my 58x Jubilees.

I saw someone on Reddit describe LCD 2 Classic’s as an HD650/DT 1990 tonality hybrid, with less treble and a planar driver and it got me really interested. My only planar experience so far is Dekoni Blues, which I enjoy a lot, but don’t enjoy the buzz that seems to come and go on them. I also saw that someone on here said the LCD 2C’s are not very different from my Denon, which I’m not sure would be an issue for me, because then I would have an open and closed with similar sounds.

My main concerns are some things I have heard about the imaging on these and how there seem to be gaps in the imaging (like around the 45 degree left and right areas).

[RMD120]

To piggyback on the previous post, I was trying to get a feel of how the LCD-2C sounds. It is probably not a good comp but I hear the Fiio FA7 (IEM) and LCD-2C described in similar ways (warm, dark, bassy). Do they sound alike? I have a Sundara and I want more of the planar bass but I was definitely not a fan of the FA7 and if they sound alike I can scratch it off my list and consider the LCD-X.

[ShaneD]

I find the sound of the LCD-2 Classic’s to be very full with some noticeable bass. They ended up replacing my Sundara’s.
I am not sure if they will ever rise to favourite status in my collection.

While they have more bass than a Sundara, they are not a bassy headphone, IMO.