[Gadget67]

My LCD X has arrived and I am letting them "warm up" after coming in from the cold Fed Ex truck. I did receive both sets of cables with mine so apparently Audeze now has the balanced cable back in stock. Listen in and comparing to my LCD 2 rev. 2 will begin shortly...

What kind of Dac / Amp do you have?

My main stack is the Mjolnir/Gungnir but I also have a Wadia 121 and a Burson Ha-160D. I am also using the Gungnir as the DAC for my NAD 356BEE.

 

[jaywillin]

My LCD X has arrived and I am letting them "warm up" after coming in from the cold Fed Ex truck. I did receive both sets of cables with mine so apparently Audeze now has the balanced cable back in stock. Listen in and comparing to my LCD 2 rev. 2 will begin shortly...

congrats !

 

[Articnoise]

 
I think so too about midrange. I've been listening LCD-X for about a week now (after few weeks of burn-in) and comparing it to Beyerdynamic T1. Since Björk was mentioned, can't listen to that at all, midrange is too "shouty" like there is a narrow peak at some frequency. In general, I think the sound is a little more dry and grainy than with T1, but overall frequency balance is better with LCD-X. T1 is too bright.
 
I'm really disappointed since I had high expectations. Amp is Graham Slee Solo ULD which should be neutral and I hear similar midrange problems with HRT Microstreamer.
 
Any ideas? Is it my ears and sensitivity to midrange or could it be a technical problem?

I’m sorry to hear that you aren’t happy with the sound on your x driven by the solo. I don’t have LCD-x but have the LCD3 and Hifiman He 500 and the sound from Graham Slee Solo ULD has never been shouty, dry and grainy, not even close.
 
The amp is smooth, a little tub sounded (in a good way), pretty neutral and have a nice mid. Better mids then the Soloist IMO. It isn’t very powerful thought, so not the best synergy with the 3. I don’t know how it par with the x, but I find it hard to believe that it should sound shouty if you don’t play very loud. So do you have the same problem then playing on lower volumes and what’s your setup?  
 

 

[Miksu]

 
I think so too about midrange. I've been listening LCD-X for about a week now (after few weeks of burn-in) and comparing it to Beyerdynamic T1. Since Björk was mentioned, can't listen to that at all, midrange is too "shouty" like there is a narrow peak at some frequency. In general, I think the sound is a little more dry and grainy than with T1, but overall frequency balance is better with LCD-X. T1 is too bright.
 
I'm really disappointed since I had high expectations. Amp is Graham Slee Solo ULD which should be neutral and I hear similar midrange problems with HRT Microstreamer.
 
Any ideas? Is it my ears and sensitivity to midrange or could it be a technical problem?

 
Well it seems that my amp doesn't like to be switched on for too a long time. It was off last night after being on for several days and midrange peeking has tamed noticeably. Still there though.

 

[Articnoise]

Now I’m confused, the solo sounds smoother after been let on for long time. Graham’s advice is to let it be on and only switch it off then not to be used for long time. Your problem seems very strange to me. Do you have any other amp you can try it with or a hifi dealer nearby?

 

[migasson]

Hey!

Saw Bjork mentioned, and my ears popped up...

No, midrange isn't shouty at all. With the exception of "Oh so quiet" but I haven't heard anything able to tame that!! Is the GSP about 150mw? I know they're damn good watts, so maybe it's not that. Funny, I heard "Post" through my 5th gen ipod, amped by a Fiio E12. Now I don't much about comp. audio, but that particular ipod has a Wolfson DAC, as does my Audio GD, which I know it's all about implementation, but there may be something in that... Also my Fiio puts out about 850mw and the Audio GD punches out 3200 mw. Again, I know it's more then that. Just pointing out the differences in setups....

 

[Gadget67]

 
One of the things I love about these is that they perform extraordinarily well at low volume levels. I keep finding myself turning the volume down, and down. Amazing. 

I already listen at low volume levels. Everyone who listens to my gear turns the volume up significantly so this is high praise indeed . 

I never thought I would find myself recommending anyone to buy a pair of 1700 dollar headphones for any reason hehe. But these I would have no problem doing that.

Agree for sure. That's a big difference between these and the LCD-2s (one of many)...the Xs definitely sound good even at lower volumes. I also agree about the price. The law of diminishing returns seems to kick in with headphones once you break that $1k mark, and I really figured that the Xs wouldn't be worth the premium over the 2s. But in this case it's more than just a marginal improvement...it's a better headphone in every way that I've been able to tell. The only area I can really give the nod to the 2s would be with aesthetics, cause I really love the way the bamboo looks. But aside from that, the X is worth every single penny. 

I spent a couple of hours listening to my new LCD X's and agree completely with the comments in the above quotes. My LCD 2's are very nice, for sure, but the LCD X is a completely different experience. I now know what wider soundstage means and the experience is just killer with my Mjolnir/Gungnir pairing. As good as the LCD 2's are, the LCD X is a big bump in just about every way. If they actually improve after 20-30 hours, I'll be on cloud 9. Worth EVERY penny and then some, hard as that might be to believe. I'll be doing lots more listening just to make sure it's not some initial euphoria, but I'm REALLY impressed so far.

 

[saer]

I spent a couple of hours listening to my new LCD X's and agree completely with the comments in the above quotes. My LCD 2's are very nice, for sure, but the LCD X is a completely different experience. I now know what wider soundstage means and the experience is just killer with my Mjolnir/Gungnir pairing. As good as the LCD 2's are, the LCD X is a big bump in just about every way. If they actually improve after 20-30 hours, I'll be on cloud 9. Worth EVERY penny and then some, hard as that might be to believe. I'll be doing lots more listening just to make sure it's not some initial euphoria, but I'm REALLY impressed so far.

 
Glad to hear that you've received your X and can't wait to find out your final impressions comparing the X to the LCD2.2 on the mojo/gungnir stack. I was a bit concerned that since most ppl consider the mojo/gungnir stack as being on the bright side of neutral, that it wouldn't pair very well with the X, if you're saying that there is no sense of it being bright at all then I am sold.

 

[Gadget67]

I spent a couple of hours listening to my new LCD X's and agree completely with the comments in the above quotes. My LCD 2's are very nice, for sure, but the LCD X is a completely different experience. I now know what wider soundstage means and the experience is just killer with my Mjolnir/Gungnir pairing. As good as the LCD 2's are, the LCD X is a big bump in just about every way. If they actually improve after 20-30 hours, I'll be on cloud 9. Worth EVERY penny and then some, hard as that might be to believe. I'll be doing lots more listening just to make sure it's not some initial euphoria, but I'm REALLY impressed so far.

Glad to hear that you've received your X and can't wait to find out your final impressions comparing the X to the LCD2.2 on the mojo/gungnir stack. I was a bit concerned that since most ppl consider the mojo/gungnir stack as being on the bright side of neutral, that it wouldn't pair very well with the X, if you're saying that there is no sense of it being bright at all then I am sold.

To me, it is "neutral" but someone else may call it slightly bright. Theses are subjective terms so I don't want to mislead in any way. In my opinion the LCD X pairs well with my Mjolnir/Gungnir stack. The X is more revealing than the 2 but I'd still call it neutral.

 

[Barry S]

The LCD-X isn't bright at all with the Mjolnir/Gungnir stack--there's not even a hint of treble glare or graininess. However, the mids run on the lean side with the M/G stack compared to a neutral or warmer amp of similar quality. The Mjolnir offers great dynamics, refinement, and a very large soundstage, so I think it's a reasonable choice with the LCD-X. It's all a matter of how you want to shape the voicing of the LCD-X.  I can't find any faults with the Mjolnir, and there's no amp I know that delivers comparable technical performance for the price, but I think the LCD-X sounds a bit nicer with slightly richer mids.

 

[Timmyw]

Hi Timmyw,

Which amplifier are you using with your LCD-X? Just curious.

Hey,
 
Sure I am at the moment using a SPL Phonitor. But I have been running the Xs out of the headphone out of my MDAC the last few days as well, as the Phonitor was in getting looked at as I am thinking of selling it. The MDAC isn't as good and it still performs at low levels. Even out of my portable amp it does the same. 

 

[Focker]

I spent a couple of hours listening to my new LCD X's and agree completely with the comments in the above quotes. My LCD 2's are very nice, for sure, but the LCD X is a completely different experience. I now know what wider soundstage means 

 
I think that is probably the most impressive aspect of the Xs so far - the sound stage. It's a huge improvement over the 2s. Often times I come across speakers/headphones with a nice big sound stage, but they lack proper imaging. Or they image pretty well but the overall stage is limited. The Xs are exhibiting BOTH, and every time I watch a movie or listen to music, I'm really, really impressed. There are three dimensions to the sound stage and the imaging is such that I can identify exactly where in space the sound is originating. I've been going back and forth between these and my T1s, which I've had for two years and love...it's weird to see/hear them being outclassed like this. The T1s are solid, but just can't compete. 

 

[MacedonianHero]

   
...... The T1s are solid, but just can't compete. 

Completely agreed!

 

[Red Jacket Mike]

I've been going through a lot of recordings that I formerly only listened to on the HD800s; most of these are classical and/or jazz; lots of solo piano.  So far the LCD-X has been up to the task with all of these.  The one area where I did not think any headphone could outperform the HD800 would be with contemporary wind ensemble music.  In particular, thick, dissonant brass chords have not sounded correct to me with any phone other than the HD800.  
 
Until tonight, when I played through one of my favorite recordings:  Percy Grainger's Lincolnshire Posy, along with other Grainger works, performed by the Dallas Wind Symphony.  (Downloaded from HD Tracks).  I played this music in a college wind ensemble many years ago, and I know every note.  It's difficult to play, challenging to listen to, and the combination of a really good recording of it along with the gear to reproduce it properly is elusive.
 
Listening to it this evening on the LCD-X was amazing.  Instrument separation and staging was perfect.  And to my ears, slightly better than the HD800.  
 
I'm now thinking that the LCD-X is as close to being the single all-rounder as any headphone I've owned or heard.

 

[eantala]

Sheet man I need a way come up with $1699 pronto