Audeze LCD2 Review

Am I late to the game? Of course I am, but better late than never right?
Managed to lay my hands on a set of LCD-2 Rev 2 and WA6 SE through a loaner program by D & A International and here are my mini review of LCD-2.

The LCD-2 weighs a hefty 500+ grams, and though I felt the weight of this hot babe when it was on my head, it felt relatively comfortable. At no point did it felt like slipping off my head. The clamping force was acceptable and is definitely not as tight as the HD600 that I own. The LCD-2 may not be as sleek or futuristic looking as HD800, but it definitely rocks me the right way through its classic and retro look, and believe me, it is very solidly built. The leather headband completes the look of LCD-2 as a high end headphone; I have always felt that for the price that LCD-2 commanded, the foam headband in Rev 1 was simply unacceptable and a very bad joke. The earpads are thick and extremely comfortable.

I listened to the LCD-2 on both my Burson HA-160 and a loaner WA6 SE amps and the playlist that I played contained male & female Jazz, Pop and R&B alongside instrumental tracks from Yoyo- and Chris Botti. So I guess one can call it a rojak playlist as I wanted to hear how the LCD-2 handles various genres. In short, the LCD-2 is an outstandingly versatile performer capable of handling both vocals and instrumental tracks, though I personally felt that it excelled with vocal tracks.

LCD-2 is not a pair of neutral headphone but it is one of the most natural and organic pair of headphone I have ever heard. T1 and HD800 introduces listening fatigue over long hours of listening through their overly accentuated treble, but with LCD-2, I feel that I could listen to it all day and not feel tired (though I did not have the luxury of 5 hours of it on my head) with its extremely creamy smooth signature.

Its bass is punchy and extends extremely low, yet it is by no mean overly bassy nor dark. Though the bass extends very low, it has got some of the best clarity to accompany it. The combination of clarity and the level that it manages to extend to simply astounds me, and this balance is usually only present in high end headphones and is so difficult to achieve. Not even HD800 manages to hit the low notes as low as LCD-2, though it also has clarity in oodles to compete with LCD-2.

The mids of LCD-2 is the creamiest and lushest I have ever heard, and is only outdone by you guessed it, LCD-3. Though LCD-2 has the best mids I have ever heard, again like its bass, the amount of clarity that accompanies the lush sound is astounding. Now, I have experienced that with Westone ES5 (I compare the 2 because they both have glorious mids to die for), sometimes when the mids are too lush, it adds a thin veil that just covers the clarity and transparency. Not so with LCD-2. Clarity and transparency are ever present and the mids simply does not bleed into the bass or treble. How about that for amazing?

Alas, the treble might be the Achilles heel of LCD-2. Though the treble of Rev 2 is more pronounced and evident than in Rev 1, personally, I could do with a bit more sparkle, but that would be nitpicking. The treble of Rev 2 already extends further and is smoother than Rev 1. Rev 2 is also noticeably brighter than Rev 1.

Soundstage width on LCD-2 is also not particularly wide, though its depth performance is excellent. I could hear the soundstage depth as if it is a layered onion. But, LCD-2 can never hope to match HD800's width in soundstage. Being an open headphone, LCD-2 sounds very open and rather airy. As mentioned earlier, the transparency and clarity of this pair of headphone is also amazing. Next up, the imaging and separation of LCD-2 is also right up there with the best. With my eyes closed and LCD-2 on my head, I could easily pinpoint where the drummer, guitarist, pianist and Chris Botti were on the stage when listening to the album Chris Botti in Boston. Also, I could hear the individual instruments coming together to form a great blend of music.

In conclusion, the LCD-2 Rev 2 is right up there among the current flagships of HD800 and T1 (I have not heard of Ultrasound's headphones, so I am unable to form an opinion on their products). To me, other than the minor annoyance with the treble and not so wide soundstage , both of which I can easily live with in view of how spectacular the rest of LCD-2 Rev 2 is, it takes clarity, transparency, the great bass and simply peerless mids and marries them with musicality to form one of the best sounding headphone I have heard; it is simply balanced and breathtaking.

Synergy rating:
With Burson HA-160: 9/10
With Woo Audio 6 SE: 8.5/10