halby cables on etsy has extremely nice cables and their new interconnects are the nicest iāve ever seen with push pull locking yc8 connectors that you can order in custom cerakote colors. for what its worth i have hart cables and theyāre nice and all but the new ones halby cables is doing is next level nice. he does custom orders so you can choose all your options and theyāre pretty cheap compared to a lot of other cables iāve seen out there.
also my older style mini xlr interconnect halby cables set is amazing and i love them.
So, I got my LCD-R in today and I have to sayā¦ they do change a bit over 12 hours. No idea on break in but Iām hearing differences.
First thing I noticed, the micro detail was too forward before but smooth. Meaning at first the LCD-R did NOT like the Spring 2 at first. The Sagra on the other handā¦ OMFG this thing has some Abyss DNA with it without any of the house sound. This headphone needs a weighted macro focused DAC at first out of the box.
Over 10-12 hours. The headphone lower mids and bass start really opening up. The detail right in bass guitar and baritone saxophone is phenomenal! After a few hours I can switch back to the Spring 2 and the bass extension is there and I donāt feel as lost in the micro detail.
Iāve never heard a ribbon headphone before and so little is known about the LCD-R. However, I think there is a bit of break in on the ribbon that I can hear over time. The crazy forward details becomes more natural over the break in period. Remember, on break in, I havenāt a clue of itās the headphone, amp, or a combination of both that are being broken in.
The bass is surprisingly nice but I havenāt pushed for full bass extension yet. The Jotunheim Aās bass boost is more of attenuating everything and let the bass stand out more. I leave it turned on and it seems to be the preferred setting. I was expecting the headphone to be a lot brighter and have that Audeze dip then shoutā¦ but so far all Iām hearing is a smoother and warmer Diana Phi with a much more natural and warmer presentation. This is one of the most interesting headphones Iāve heard in a while.
Another note on break in/warm up. Holy crap, these headphones get sensitive and past 9 oāclock spot listening starts getting painful. In terms of projecting sound and volumeā¦ itās on the level with the Ether CX. If you need to listen to loud and up closeā¦ these might be the headphones for you.
Just received my LCD-R as well , It is a bit forward straight out of the case. Glad to know it mellows out. Gonna leave the amp on the treble/mid attenuation setting unless its a dark recording. Iām also going to maybe look at the phono card add-on for the JotA on since I already have a couple DACs. Detail is very good. I canāt wait to hear it open up :). The DAC I am using currently is the Yggy-GS with latest upgraded USB card.
So with the Yggy GS, that sound is a bit dryer than the A2 (based on reading only). you will want about 12 hours of burn in before getting a better feel for the headphones.
My decent into madness continues. I just purchased some OCC cables for the JOT-A / LCD-R. I have been wanting to experiment with cables on some worthy gear and I definitely consider the LCD-R worthy. I purchased a Wireworld power cable and put in a order for some OCC XLRs to replace the regular tried and true Mogami XLRs from the Yggy-GS to the Jot-A. So far I put on the power cable since the XLR cables are on order with my local HiFi Dealer. (He only had astronomically priced silver ones in stock). I think this is crazy but Iām doing it anyway. ( I can take them back if there is no difference.) The Power cord is the Aurora7 if anyone cares. It does sound different than the stock cable so far but this may be just due to time of day in my Apartment complex. I have noticed power seems to sound worse when the whole complex is using power so the best time to listen to headphones is the middle of the night. So I will have to try this experiment out also in the dead of night to truly tell. I will post on my impressions when I fully form them. Wish me luck on my sanity.
Yep crazily enough the power cord makes a difference, I wish it didnāt. If this experiment failed I would have saved some money. The scale of the recordings gets bigger and faster. Why this happens I have no idea. Also I can turn up the volume to a higher level without it hurting. The only analogy I can think of is using a larger straw for your milkshake. This feels bad somehow like taking medicine. Wasting money on cables is not a waste ? My brain hurts. I need to try this again tomorrow because I started to listen to music instead of staying on task to evaluate a stupid power cable.
Soā¦ the LCD-R has turned into my daily driver. My Spring 2 DAC I think is my favorite even if the bass slam with the Sagra is more pleasing. The Spring 2 has the better width, on these headphones better detail (the headphones want less weighted over all I think) for overall listening.
Iām just shocked how good these headphones are overall and Iām how they sound with both DACs overall. I can say there is a break in period that is noticeable but not drastic. The details come overtime and the bass response has definitely opened up. I still say these headphones are smooth and relaxed, while detailed. Iām finding these headphones mixing so many different things I didnāt know was possible in a single unit.
I really hope Audeze comes back to selling more of these Ribbon units. Itās wonderful.
I couldnāt agree more. Iām torn between using them and keeping them pristine since there are only 70 and finding a replacement if they break will be an impossibility.
When I woke up the morning these were announced I saw the headline and thought, itās going to be way more than I want to spend, so I didnāt check out the cost (figured it would cost somewhere around what they are selling the Audeze Carbonās for.) When I checked later in the day and saw the price, I was upset as I saw it early enough and would have purchased it for the price they were selling it for. Still kicking myself for that.
