They sell both on their website afaik and this is exactly the cable that came with my LCD-5
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I second this. I ordered a Norne Drausk Lite Cable last year and it took 3 months to receive it. I sent 6 emails and it took Trevor 5 weeks to even respond to me. I love my cable, but that experience will most likely prevent me from buying from Norne in the future.
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I think that Norne, DHC and Arctic are at the same level of quality (having tried all of them) but Arctic has the best customer service IMO.
The biggest drawback of Arctic is that they have a million different cables, and it’s very confusing to figure out which one to get, but they’re very good at replying to questions. If you email them with your budget and questions on which cables sound warmer, more neutral etc, they will narrow down the selection for you.
I went through this with them a few months ago, explaining the sound that I was looking for, and gave them my budget, and they recommended the Gladius, which was not the most expensive cable within my budget, so they didn’t try to upsell. I even pushed back, asking if maybe I should get one of the pricier cables, and they told me the Gladius was perfect for my requirements.
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I found plussound to have a nice full range on their normal copper cable and it helped keep the glare out of the radiance. This is compared to stock and norne/dhc where their big cables sounded a bit darker on their own. I have the x8 but have not tried other PS cables.
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I think Norne is marginally better in quality than DHC, I haven’t tried arctic, but it’s at the level of no one would notice. I order mine without splitters, and Trevor didn’t attempt to hide the split at all, it was basically seamless, DHC thought it needed some heat-shrink to keep it tidy.
But they are both stellar.
If you want a cheaper silver cable, Lavri ships insanely quickly, and at the price point they are very good. I ordered an adapter from them, and received it shipped from Europe, before Amazon managed to deliver the placeholder one I ordered.
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I emailed him too…
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I pulled the trigger on LCD3 pf…
Finally gonna compare them to the LCD2pf (from memory as I had to sell them to pay bills :/)
In my mind the lcd2pf are godlike with my ath-bha100 amp, so godlike I thought I needed to upgrade all the way up to 24 or 4 for a real improvement.
But I went for 3pf regardless, because they are wooden and rare. I hope these are my final audezes and I dont end up missing the fuller midrange of the 2pf
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I think the 2pf is more laid back, very relaxed, almost with a pleasant “haze” or unfocused sound. Which full transparency, I enjoy a ton. The 3pf is clearer and more resolute, while sporting a more forward upper-mid range. Both have PF liquidity.
I look forward to your impressions as I think youll enjoy them.
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Looking forward to your impressions!
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Was talking to @M.J about the differences between LCD-24 and Diana v2 (warehouse sale version in my case) and decided to do a comparison since I haven’t spent much time with the 24 recently.
The system for this comparison is Bricasti MC1 → Holo Serene KTE → Firstwatt SIT-3. All the cabling is the same and I’m using prion4 speaker amp to headphone adapters and headphone cabling. I have some ultrashort adapters for the Diana which you’ll see below.
Here are the tracks I used for this comparison. I don’t mention the specific track in the comparison below but you can at least get an idea for the music I enjoy on them. It’s mostly a mix of pop, electronic, and jazz.
The LCD-24 and Diana v2 are way more similar then I thought. Basically the 24 sounds a bit faster and more clear overall but lacks some tonal density. The v2 (with suede ported pads) is smooth and thick sounding. The bass is maybe a bit slower but has more quantity overall. I really like vocals on this headphone, they are intimate and full. But everything sounds smooth, but not in a way that sacrifices any detail it just helps with the harshness of vocals or cymbals and is more forgiving of bad recordings.
The v2 has more detail and seems to image a little bit better. I think the less intimate vocals on the 24 give the impression of a deeper stage but going back and forth on a few tracks and the v2 stage seems wider in all directions. But if the track is lacking depth or width you’ll hear it.
The v2 wins for me on this system. On a leaner amp I think the 24 might sound a bit too thin or sterile. I like the SIT-3 since it adds weight and richness to the sound. The Tyrs which I also enjoy are a faster more percussive amp but lack some of the tonal density that the Firstwatt has.
For build and comfort I prefer the v2. The 24 pads are deeper but it’s a much larger thing to have on your head and I notice it more when listening. The v2 is more compact but fits nicely although I’ve heard of some who’s head shape just isn’t really compatible with the diana so best to demo a pair if you can at least to see if the fit works. Side by side you can see how much smaller the Diana is but the sound is anything but small
Overall if you like what the 24 does, I think the v2 is a little bit better but is a tad slower and thicker sounding. I don’t think it’s worthwhile to own both which is why I’m trying to sell the 24. But I can’t recommend the Diana v2 without the ported pads. In that case the low end just isn’t there enough to be enjoyable for me. The v2 reminds me of the LCD-4 in some ways which I no longer own. It has a similar weight and slowness to the bass but in a really pleasing way. It’s a smooth and lush sounding headphone sort of like a ZMF but with planar detail and imaging. If you can find a Diana v2 through the warehouse sale that’s an excellent value and in some ways I prefer it to the 1266 just because it’s easier to use.
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Nice comparison. I need to try the suede ported pads then. I find the new stock pads adequate for bass vs the leather ported.
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I find this comparison interesting. I love my Diana V2, but when I borrowed an LCD-24 from a friend for a week, I absolutely hated it. Mainly, the LCD-24 has a narrow band peak in the treble that was a dealbreaker for me. It was extra annoying because the mids and lows were much less prominent in comparison to the treble… so I had to turn up the volume more than I normally do, but that exacerbated the treble issue.
It was actually one of the biggest disappointments I had experienced in the hobby because I was eyeing the LCD-24 as a potential purchase. Thankfully, this was a rare case where I had the ability to audition something prior to purchase.
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The Suede Non Ported pads really cut the treble and upper mids and warmed up the signature, to my ears. I havent tried the ported suede pads, so Im definitely curious if they behave similarly to the non ported suede pads…
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Yeah it is adequate. I just have not adjusted back to the stock sound after using the ported for awhile. The ported sound more fun to me but maybe not as accurate. The bass response on the 24 sounds more linear and extended whereas the v2 is a bit more punchy but rolled off with the ported pads.
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Interesting, could be a synergy thing or just a sensitivity you have 
. I don’t find the treble to be over emphasized on the 24 but it does sound more forward next to something like an LCD-4 or ZMF Atrium. However I did do this comparison on a very warm amp, the SIT-3, it definitely helps tame harshness in any headphone but can be too much of a good thing at times.
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My listening was done on a Soekris dac2541 > Violectric HPA V281 and a Schiit Bifrost 2 og > Quicksilver.
For me, I felt that the narrow band peak somewhere between 8 to 10 kHz (going off of my hearing, not a graph) was just too much too quickly. I don’t have any problems with boosted treble if it is linear and well distributed…but I do end up having problems with sudden shifts/peaks. That was definitely the case in my experience. It was disappointing, but at least I didn’t buy blindly in this case…that would have been bad. I’m sure manufacturer variance was to some degree a factor as well (knowing Audeze).
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I had similar feelings about the 24 but perhaps in a different FR range. Female vocals and the high end of male vocals felt “squished against the glass”. Like it all hits a limit then it starts to squish together. Kind of glare-y. It also felt like music was being pushed at me vs free flowing. I was hoping it would be the upgraded 2pf I have fruitlessly been chasing but it feels much different. The 2pf has that much looser laid back feel, like the music is playing and youre just there taking it in.
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The LCD-24’s are picky, super picky. The Neve gives me that peak @Hazi59 is talking about but the Cavalli amps don’t, and it also depended on which cables I put where, it’s nuts how sensitive they can be! Also Audeze did a big pad change revision a couple of years back, mine are much thinner than those @Christof has in the picture, which was a much talked about fault in the frequency response and resonance in a lot of their cans…
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There is a significant peak in the 1 to 3 K region, which I would assume is what push vocals much more forward. That bump exists in most of Audeze’s headphones (at least the ones I’ve heard). Some are worse than others though.
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My 24s are a b-stock pair from a sale in November last year. I’d assume the pads are up to date but maybe not. You’re saying the latest pads on the 24 are not as thick? When I had the 4, the pads were the same thickness but the material was much squishier whereas the pads on the 24 are stiffer and remind me of the pads on the 4z.
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