Audeze LCD-2 Over Ear Open Back | Shedua Wood Ring Headphones

I had heard many nice things about this headphone, and hadn't tried open-back yet for an extended period, but the measurements and comments online about it told me that this was definitely going to be my next headphone. After having them for almost a year, I've come back to give you my opinion, so here it is.These headphones are, in several ways, better for my tastes than any headphone I've previously used. I'm not a connoisseur of all headphones, but I've used the Sony MDR-V6, MDR-7506, the Shure E2C, Shure SE215, and various bluetooth headphones that purport to be high quality (Bose QC-35II, Airpods Pro). I listen mostly to electronic music, and often enjoy music that extends down lower than most tracks - by this I mean lower than 35Hz.If you're a fan of sub-bass frequencies, or headphones that sound like a set of speakers, you'll like these headphones. I've demoed these headphones to several of my friends, and the common remark is that "it sounds like the sound is coming from outside" or similar. The wide and spacious imaging is excellent for most/all music, and I definitely appreciate it. One reviewer (might have been InnerFidelity before they were bought out) commented that these headphones have a bit of a "back of house" feel due to the dip in the frequency response centered around 3kHz (goes from 2k up to maybe 4-5k). I consider this a benefit for the type of music and the volumes I listen at - since the ear is most sensitive to sound around 3kHz b/c of the resonance of your ear canal, and thus most vulnerable to hearing damage here - but it could be not for you if you listen at low volumes to music that has a focus in that range.The highlight of these headphones for me in particular though is the bass extension and its amenability to EQ in the bass region. The dynamic range and power handling with minimal distortion has been excellent with the amplifier I've been using (FiiO Q5s type-C, with around 1/4 watt power output at this headphones' impedance using a separate balanced connector and cable, though it seems like these can handle much more). There's a certain experience of feeling bass less than 35Hz on a real speaker system that I have not been able to replicate on headphones, that is, until I got these. The huge drivers mean that I can finally boost the bass (using DSP) enough to replicate a concert-level sound system, including bonus points for going way lower in bass extension than nearly any concert system: try playing a 15Hz test tone at -3dBFS on nearly every concert sound systems and you'll hear nothing since it's filtered out and the subs don't go that low anyway, but on these headphones, you'll feel the pressure and hear your cochlea going into the region of non-linearity, amplitude modulating any present background noise - that's how you know it's working :D.One thing you probably don't want to do with these is slap them onto your skull or put quick and high magnitude pressure changes on the diaphragms when moving them. The actual radiating diaphragms in each ear which have the aluminum traces/"coils" on them are pretty thin for sound quality purposes, which means that you probably should be careful with how much force you put on them. E.g. Jogging is probably a No, light headbanging can be ok depending on the plane of headbanging (forward/back and down/up is good, side to side not so good), heavy headbanging I would avoid.In summary, these headphones have impressed everyone I've shown them to, and they do great with EDM and most modern music. Even if you don't like the factory sound profile, you can EQ them to your liking since there's plentiful dynamic range (as long as your amp can handle it) to accommodate any boosts/cuts you want to make. They sound like speakers, but most likely dig down lower than any speaker you own.

This isn't the first pair of headphones I've purchased over $500 but it is the first pair I've opted to keep, I'm no audiophile so I'm not going to attempt to blow your mind with details defining the glory of these headphones. They don't give off an analytical energy at all, these are very warm and fluffy and comfortable headphones for pleasure listening. For me everything sounds good across the board, I have yet to find a genre that these struggle with. If I had any complaints at all about the sound it's that the vocals feel pulled back at times and the soundstage isn't nearly as good as what I was expecting, PtP the Hifiman Sundara and the iFi Zen DAC are probably a better option (combined) if you want a wider soundstage and good bass (or simply don't have the crazy money for these). Even as a collector I've pretty much capped my spending limit at $500 as it's rare for me to have that much to just drop on headphones and I'm a little annoyed (with myself) for keeping these considering they cost double that.

These headphones are a little pricey but they get the job done

Mine came directly from Audeze in April 2020. The old head-strap and pads while well made, are not comparable to the new headband suspension system and incredibly well made pads. I had an 80$ pair of ZMF pads ready to swap when these came and soon realized I preferred to stock pads which is impressive considering how well made ZMF pads are. The wooden cups are finished beautifully and the metal feels sturdy. To my surprise the old yokes which held the adjument mechanism are metal now unlike the old plastic ones. This is good because those yokes were a point of failure in the 2012s or thereabout. The metal appears to be sandblasted. It fells great in the hand though there is a small sharp bump of the sand on my headband. I sanded it off without any issues. They still have glued on pads, though the pads are good enough that you'd be hard pressed to find a decent replacement and the glue improves the seal. These headphones seal very well for me. It's actually a little unsettling because I can hear air moving through the drivers when I put them on. This equates to some pretty incredible bass performance and texture for a planarr.These are heavy. But the weight is so well mitigated by the pads and headband that these are some of my most comfortable headphones. The only pair more comfortable is my Ether CX with ZMF suede pads and the ether 2 headband modifications. The LCD2 are the most comfortable and well built stock headphone I've seen. The shedua is light than the LCDX metal.As for sound, these are warm but not dark like the HD6xx or LCDC. The detail in the highs is there but it isn't center stage. What is presented forward is the bass and lowermids. It's all flat from 20hz to about 800 but spikes a few db around 900-1100 then goes back to baseline until 3k where it dips for the majority of the highs.Beyond the warm sound signature, the imaging and sound-stage are incredible. They have decent width but better depth. Forward and behind are similar in diameter to left to right which not a lot of headphones do in this price range (cough focal). The drivers are huge and it shows. Low distortion and non fatiguing. Very low sibilance. These make most all of my music sound good but it is transparent enough to help pick out poor recordings. It won't punish you for listening to poor recordings like a DT 1990 or HD 820 would, though.They come with a surprisingly competent miniXLR to quarter inch cable. Would have liked to see a balanced termination for those who care, but Lindsay at Impact cables makes some pretty great audeze cables so I'd go there before going for audezes balanced option which is overpriced. The LCD2 come with the excellent audeze pelican case. The things a tank and honestly makes up for the cost between the LCD2c and LCD2 on its own.Overall, these are amazing and well worth the money.

LCD-2 always has beeny goto Planer headphones.I tent to move around alot but, I have always cameback LCD-2 whebever I want Plainer headphones.I owened rev2.0 rev2.1, rev fazor, and lcd-2 rosewood 2020 (latest)And they just keep getting better everytime i come back to it. If you looking for endgame headphone around $1500, this is it.Highly highly recomended.

Tragekomfort ist sehr gut. Klangqualität ist gut. Der Klang ist etwas heller und in der Räumlichkeit etwasenger als vergleichsweise der Focal Clear Mg.Das Preis - Leistungsverhältnis ist völlig in Ordnung.