LCD-2 Classic

Overall quality: sound, comfort, build, aesthetics, everything. The 490 are incredibly comfortable, but not the most comfortable (that's the Meze Empyrean II and 109 Pro). They've got really solid sound quality, but aren't the best sounding in my collection by a long shot (Empy II, LCD-2.2 pf, Focal Elex/Clear, etc.). And so on. They're a really good headphone, at a relatively great price if you can get them for around $350.

Flat bass through midrange, recessed 1-3k region (upper mids), neutral treble. Love the tuning on all four of my headphones (DCA Closed X, Audeze LCD-2 pre fazor, Houma HE1000 Stealth, ZMF Bokeh Closed).

It doesn't compete with most planars that are usually 2x the price. And screw Rtings and their paywall BS. I sold my Audeze LCD2C's because of their boring sound that needed way too much EQing. The 490's are really good headphones, especially for gaming at their price. Not many people can or will pay $2k for some HD800s'.

My current endgame is Arya Unveiled. I tried a lot of cans and this was the best one for me. Next up, I might get HEKU or SUSU but not this year. Other option I really liked was ZMF Caldera and Focal Utopia. Until then I think Arya Unveiled will do nicely. P.S. I tried Audeze LCD-X, LCD-2C (open), LCD-2C (closed), LCD S20, LCD-3, LCD, 4z, LCD-5 and CBRN2. The two I really liked were LCD-2C open and Audeze Maxwell 2. I walked out with Audeze Maxwell 2 which sounded even better than CBRN2 to me. I know it might be a nub thing to say but I don’t have any popular opinions and in my experience after trying over 100 cans is that money doesn’t mean better sound to me. And most audiophile recommendations are not for me. YMMV.

Went to an audio store to try out the 3 planars that I short listed after lots of trial and error. Tried everything from ZMF cans to Meze to Fostex and beyond. Ended up with head to head of LCD-X vs Arya Unveiled vs HE1000 Unveiled LCD-X Pros \- Great impactful bass (reminds me of my Audeze Maxwell 2 post EQ) \- Surprisingly vocals didn’t feel as recessed as FR would have you believe \- Sparkle up top \- Good low end, never felt muddy or boomy \- Planar that felt it was in between Planar and Dynamics \- Organic sound with body Cons \- Those 612 g destroyed my neck within half hour. And I already daily an Audeze Maxwell 2 which is 560 g almost \- Pads got hot \- Can be shouty for some higher pitched vocals \- Layering and separation was less than what I expected; I felt Audeze Maxwell 2 does it better \- Small soundstage Arya Unveiled Pros \- Amazing organic smooth sound \- Great warm vocals \- Beautiful timbre \- Bass is clean and fast \- Top end is fantastic and never fatiguing \- No comfort issues Cons \- Some tracks can get shouty \- Soundstage smaller than HE1000 Unveiled \- Piano black plastic \- Exposed driver (though not bad like Susvara Unveiled) HE1000 Unveiled Pros \- Amazing organic smooth sound \- Most resolving and (hot take) felt even better than Susvara to my ears \- Best timbre \- Vocals are lush and smooth \- Holographic stage \- Best imaging I have heard \- No comfort issues \- Mid was never shouty \- Top end is ethereal Cons \- Exposed driver \- Bass impact was slightly lower than Arya Unveiled (might be source also as it was Astell & Kern DAP) \- Price At the end of the day, I wish someone would make a can with bass of LCD-X, weight of Unveiled, price of Arya Unveiled, Mids and top end of HE1000 Unveiled and resolution of HE1000 Unveiled. Here are some pictures of the planar wars.

I have tried LCD - X, LCD - 2C (Open), LCD - 2C (Closed), LCD - 3, LCD - 4z, LCD - 5, CBRN2, Audeze Maxwell and Audeze Maxwell 2 (own this one). I liked LCD - 3 but the soundstage was still small to my liking. It definitely is a good can but not 2K good IMO. I actually really liked LCD - 2C (Open) as it has slightly less weight and is a bit more relaxing to my ears (less sparkle than LCD - X).

Beast headphones with right EQ

I love my headphones, although I found what I loved some time ago and have stuck with them, so I'm not with the times on the latest models. For at home, I use open back headphones. Best sound quality, but they don't isolate from the environment, so these probably aren't what you're after if you're looking for noise cancelling. But they can drown out the environmental noise while the headphone sound feels like it's coming from the room (rather than closed headphones that feel like a speaker projecting right into your head). For this purpose, I have Audeze LCD-2C classics, but also enjoyed Hifiman HE400i (with a ZMF earpad swap for extra ear room), Phillips X2 Fidelio (good value, but heavy). Audio Technica R470X were also good, but a bit dry or plain for my taste. For closed back/noise cancelling, Audio Technica M40X and M50X have always been solid value, especially if you're ok to swap the earpads for better comfort. When I go flying, I have Bose QC25s. Wired but compact, and my ears are comfortable with the stock pads and they do an incredibly good job of drowning out the droning noise of an airplane cabin. I don't believe they're in production anymore, but they are good value on the used market, and you can still buy earpads from Bose if you need to replace old/worn ones.

I have $1000 Audeze LC2C and I also have Sony XM5s… as well as other nice headphones. In comparison the Audesze sound better but it’s not $700 better. Maybe $200-300 better in sound and the rest for build quality, design. Is it worth it? Hmm.. that depends on you. I would say it’s like buying expensive electric guitars over mid range guitars. Splitting hairs in sound quality alot of times. I think there are really good sounding headphones for under $500 that 95% of people would be happy with over really expensive headphones. .