HiFiMan Ananda vs Audeze LCD 2 Classic/LC2C

Which Headphones Are Better?

Products

HiFiMan Ananda
Audeze LCD 2 Classic/LC2C

Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Jun 12, 2023 04:26 PM

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Tested using Methodology v1.5

Updated Aug 15, 2025 07:44 PM

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Our Verdict

HiFiMan Ananda

Audeze LCD 2 Classic/LC2C

The HiFiMan Ananda are better critical listening headphones than the Audeze LCD2-Classic/LC2C. The Audeze look and feel more durable than the HiFiMan. They're a bit more compact, with thicker, softer pads, and are more forward on instruments and vocals. This is something some may prefer, although it may get a bit fatiguing during longer listening sessions. The HiFiMan, on the other hand, have slightly better bass, a more neutral mid-range, and a better soundstage. They're also slightly lighter despite their bulkier design.

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Variants

  • Ananda (Black)
  • LCD2-Classic (Black)

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Black
Ananda
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Black
LCD2-Classic
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Black
Ananda
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Black
LCD2-Classic
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Ananda
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Black
LCD2-Classic
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Ananda
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LCD2-Classic
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Main Differences for
Neutral Sound

Threshold 

0.10

Neutral Sound 

8.4
7.8

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.1
5.5

Bass Accuracy 
 

7.8
7.1

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.5
9.0

Full Comparison

Design

Style  

Design Picture 2  

Type  

Over-ear
Over-ear

Enclosure  

Open-Back
Open-Back

Wireless  

No
No

Transducer  

Planar Magnetic
Planar Magnetic
Show Text 

Comfort 
 

8.0
7.5

Comfort Picture  

Weight  

0.9 lbs
1.2 lbs

Clamping Force 
 

1.3 lbs
1.4 lbs
Show Text 

Controls 
 

0.0
0.0

Controls Picture  

OS Compatibility 
 

No Controls
No Controls

Ease Of Use  

No Controls
No Controls

Feedback  

No Controls
No Controls

Call/Music Control  

No
No

Volume Control  

No
No

Microphone Control  

No
No

Channel Mixing 
 

No
No

Noise Cancelling Control  

No
No

Talk-Through 
 

No
No

Additional Controls  

No
No
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Breathability 
 

6.4
6.3

Breathability After Picture  

Avg.Temp.Difference  

5.9 °C
6.2 °C
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Portability 
 

5.5
5.5

Portability Picture  

 

7.9" (20.1 cm)
7.2" (18.3 cm)

 

6.0" (15.2 cm)
6.0" (15.2 cm)

 

4.0" (10.2 cm)
4.0" (10.2 cm)

Volume  

190.00 in³ (3,113.53 cm³)
173.00 in³ (2,834.95 cm³)

Transmitter Required  

No
No
Show Text 

Case 
 

0.0
0.0

Case Picture  

Type  

No case
No case

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

 

N/A
N/A

Volume  

N/A
N/A
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Build Quality 
 

8.0
8.5

Build Quality Picture  

Show Text 

Stability 
 

6.0
6.0

Stability Picture  

Show Text 

Headshots 1  

Angled Picture  

Side Picture  

Headshots 2  

Front Picture  

Rear Picture  

Top  

Top Picture  

In The Box  

In The Box Picture  

Show Text 
Sound

Sound Profile 
 

Frequency Response  

See details
See details

Bass Amount 
 

-2.23 dB
-2.72 dB

Treble Amount 
 

-1.22 dB
-3.9 dB

Frequency Response Consistency 
 

8.5
7.9

Consistency L  

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Consistency R  

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Avg. Std. Deviation 
 

0.3 dB
0.41 dB
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Raw Frequency Response 
 

Raw FR L  

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Raw FR R  

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Bass Accuracy 
 

7.8
7.1

Bass  

See details
See details

Std. Err. 
 

2.93 dB
3.59 dB

Low-Frequency Extension 
 

65.36 Hz
97.92 Hz

Low-Bass 
 

-5.46 dB
-6.34 dB

Mid-Bass 
 

-2.4 dB
-3.61 dB

High-Bass 
 

0.59 dB
-0.27 dB
Show Text 

Mid Accuracy 
 

8.5
9.0

Mid  

See details
See details

Std. Err. 
 

2.06 dB
1.36 dB

Low-Mid 
 

0.06 dB
0.02 dB

Mid-Mid 
 

-0.51 dB
0.81 dB

High-Mid 
 

-2.96 dB
-0.56 dB
Show Text 

Treble Accuracy 
 

8.1
5.5

Treble  

See details
See details

Std. Err. 
 

2.87 dB
6.38 dB

Low-Treble 
 

-1.13 dB
-6.56 dB

Mid-Treble 
 

-0.71 dB
-4.25 dB

High-Treble 
 

-6.81 dB
-10.14 dB
Show Text 

Peaks/Dips 
 

7.8
7.6

Peaks/Dips Graph  

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See details

Peaks 
 

1.45 dB
1.48 dB

Dips 
 

1.01 dB
1.39 dB

Imaging 
 

9.0
9.1

Group Delay  

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See details

Phase Response Mismatch  

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Weighted Group Delay 
 

0.13
0.08

Weighted Phase Mismatch 
 

6.66
6.6

Weighted Amplitude Mismatch 
 

0.08
0.15

Weighted Frequency Mismatch 
 

1.56
1.3
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Passive Soundstage 
 

9.1
8.6

PRTF  

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See details

PRTF Accuracy (Std. Dev.) 
 

2.82 dB
2.61 dB

PRTF Size (Avg.) 
 

5.87 dB
4.1 dB

PRTF Distance 
 

15.9 dB
15.9 dB

Openness 
 

9.7
9.6

Acoustic Space Excitation 
 

10
8.7
Show Text 

Virtual Soundstage 
 

0.0
0.0

Virtual Soundstage  

Head Modeling 
 

No
No

Speaker Modeling 
 

No
No

Room Ambience 
 

No
No

Head Tracking 
 

No
No

Virtual Surround 
 

No App
No App

Weighted Harmonic Distortion 
 

8.3
8.0

Weighted Harmonic Distortion  

See details
See details

WHD @ 90 
 

0.176
0.277

WHD @ 100 
 

0.074
0.089

Test Settings 
 

Firmware 
 

No Firmware
No Firmware

Power 
 

Passive
Passive

Connection 
 

Wired
Wired

Codec 
 

PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz
PCM, 24-bit, 48kHz

EQ 
 

No EQ
No EQ

ANC 
 

No ANC
No ANC

Tip/Pad 
 

Default
Default

Microphone 
 

No Microphone
No Microphone
Isolation

Noise Isolation 
 

0.7
1.0

Noise Isolation  

See details
See details

Isolation Audio 
 

Overall Attenuation 
 

-1.16 dB
-2.17 dB

Noise Cancelling  

No
No

Bass 
 

-0.09 dB
-0.32 dB

Mid 
 

0.57 dB
0.66 dB

Treble 
 

-3.8 dB
-6.61 dB
Show Text 

Leakage 
 

0.0
1.5

Leakage  

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See details

Leakage Audio 
 

Overall Leakage @ 1ft 
 

70.69 dB
64.02 dB
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Microphone

Microphone Style 
 

Integrated 
 

No
No

In-Line 
 

No
No

Boom 
 

No
No

Detachable Boom 
 

No
No

Mic  

No
No

Recording Quality 
 

0.0
0.0

Microphone Frequency Response  

Recorded Speech 
 

N/A
N/A

LFE 
 

N/A
N/A

FR Std. Dev. 
 

N/A
N/A

HFE 
 

N/A
N/A

Weighted THD 
 

N/A
N/A

Gain 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

Noise Handling 
 

0.0
0.0

SpNR 
 

N/A
N/A

Noise Gate 
 

No
No

Speech + Pink Noise Handling 
 

N/A
N/A

Speech + Pink Noise Audio Sample  

N/A
N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Handling 
 

N/A
N/A

Speech + Subway Noise Audio Sample  

N/A
N/A
Show Text 
Active Features

Battery 
 

0.0
0.0

Battery Type 
 

No Battery
No Battery

Continuous Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Additional Charges 
 

N/A
N/A

Total Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Charge Time 
 

N/A
N/A

Power-Saving Feature 
 

No
No

Audio While Charging 
 

No
No

Passive Playback 
 

Passive Headphone
Passive Headphone

Charging Port  

None
None
Show Text 

App Support 
 

0.0
0.0

App Picture  

App Name  

No App
No App

iOS  

No
No

Android  

No
No

macOS  

No
No

Windows  

No
No

Equalizer 
 

No
No

ANC Control 
 

No
No

Mic Control  

No
No

Room Effects 
 

No
No

Playback Control 
 

No
No

Button Mapping  

No
No

Surround Support 
 

No
No
Show Text 
Connectivity

Bluetooth 
 

0.0
0.0

Bluetooth Version 
 

No Bluetooth
No Bluetooth

Multi-Device Pairing 
 

No
No

NFC Pairing 
 

No
No

Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (SBC) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX HD) 
 

N/A
N/A

PC Latency (aptX-LL) 
 

N/A
N/A

iOS Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Android Latency 
 

N/A
N/A
Show Text 

Non-Bluetooth Wireless 
 

0.0
0.0

Non-BT Line Of Sight Range 
 

N/A
N/A

Non-BT Latency 
 

N/A
N/A

Wired 
 

9.5
9.5

Cable Picture  

Analog Audio 
 

Yes
Yes

USB Audio 
 

No
No

Detachable  

Yes
Yes

Length  

5.00 ft (1.52 m)
6.20 ft (1.89 m)

Connection 
 

1/8" TRS
1/4" TRS

Analog/USB Audio Latency 
 

0 ms
0 ms
Show Text 

PC Compatibility 
 

Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only (Adapter not included)

Wired USB 
 

No
No

Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PlayStation Compatibility 
 

PS4 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only (Adapter not included)

PS4 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS4 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

PS5 Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only (Adapter not included)

PS5 Wired USB 
 

No
No

PS5 Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Compatibility 
 

Xbox One Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only (Adapter not included)

Xbox One Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox One Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Analog 
 

Audio Only
Audio Only (Adapter not included)

Xbox Series X|S Wired USB 
 

No
No

Xbox Series X|S Non-BT Wireless 
 

No
No

Base/Dock 
 

0.0
0.0

Type 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock

USB Input 
 

No
No

Line In 
 

No
No

Line Out 
 

No
No

Optical Input 
 

No
No

RCA Input 
 

No
No

Dock Charging 
 

No
No

Power Supply 
 

No Base/Dock
No Base/Dock
Show Text 

Check Price

Black
Ananda
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
LCD2-Classic
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Black
Ananda
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Black
LCD2-Classic
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
Black
Ananda
B&H
Black
LCD2-Classic
B&H
Black
Ananda
BestBuy.com
Black
LCD2-Classic
BestBuy.com

HiFiMan Ananda

Audeze LCD 2 Classic/LC2C

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  1. Comparison

HiFiMan Ananda vs Audeze LCD 2 Classic/LC2C: Main Discussion

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