Audeze LCD-24 Limited Edition

Introduction
I got the LCD-24 by snatching it off eBay and I've been using it exclusively for about 3 weeks. I am not a professional reviewer so I'll try to keep things simple and short. Everything I write is subjective, I'm no more than an amateur.

I only listened to the the LCD-24 with EQ, in default mode they have no treble whatsoever, it's just not there. Using the oratory profile is a must. I tried using them with my Anode Acoustics HPA#5 EL-34 amp, but these tubes are kind of warm\dark sounding, so that didn't work well. I then switched to my Anode Acoustics HPA#1 based on PCL82 tubes which is natural and has great treble, and that was a great pairing. For DAC I used it with Topping D70s.



Presentation
The LCD-24 are very special, they don't sound like you're listening to headphones, after a while they "disappear" and you just enjoy the music. You don't get that notion that the sound is injected into your ear, it's like open on another level, there's closed back, there's open back, and there's LCD-24. It's not that they have the biggest soundstage, it's more about how it is perceived. I'm sorry I can't describe it more successfully.

Bass
Audeze have great bass, the LCD-24 are no exception. The bass is very powerful and punchy it will get you moving for sure. As a bass-head and metal-head I can tell you you won't be left wanting, it's full and rich and thumpy.

Mids
Guitars sound great, top notch, but vocals are a bit lackluster. I think they are a bit better than on the LCD-X if my memory serves, but it can't match Kennerton Heartland Planar for vocals.

Treble
It's almost as if it doesn't exists if you don't match it with the right amp and EQ. but if you got a good pairing with a bright amp you'll be satisfied. to be honest I never fully understood what part of the music was referred to as the Treble until I used the LCD-24 and it went away and I noticed its absence. for me these are must EQ HPs.

Summary
The LCD-24 are more than just Bass, Mids and Treble. They are something unique, a real gem that doesn't sound like anything I've tried before. they have an exhilarating lively nature, it's a real thrill to listen to. When you listen\watch live shows you really feel like it's a live sound, like it's a real sound coming at you, like you are Infront of that stage. I don't think the LCD-24 are the best at anything, but overall they are amazing, they are more than the sum of their parts.. Rognir have better bass for my taste, Heartland much better vocals, but LCD-24 can really be your one and only, if you pair it right. It can be your only HPs and you can be very happy with it.

Comparisons

VS LCD-X
They really are better than the LCD-X everywhere, I don't see anything that the LCD-X do better than the LCD-24.

VS Kennerton Rognir
Rognir are probably my favorite HPs. Rognir sound more condense with less space or layering or air, they are more raw and in your face, and I love them for it. Rognir have better sub-bass but it also lacking in vocals as are the LCD-24. Rognir do not need any EQ and are not amp picky at all. Rognir sounds much more boxed in, even if they do sound "open of a closed back". Rognir are not good for everything, while the LCD-24 can do well with any music genera or style.

VS D8000 Pro
The LCD-24 are for me more fun oriented while the D8000 Pro are more perfection oriented. I like the way Audeze does bass better, that's not to say D8000 Pro are bass mild, they are not, but their bass is about perfection more than enjoyment. D8000 Pro do mids and vocals better. D8000 Pro are a more analytical\reference HPs with good bass and a focus on the mids that I believe aims for accurate reproduction, which can turn boring quickly for me.

VS Heartland
Heartland are a strange beast, these are flagship level in detail and have the most powerful bass I've ever heard on HPs, with a focus on mid-bass. The bass is atmospheric and the is like a canvas for the vocals to be painted on. the Vocals on the Heartland are just superb, best I've ever heard. It's hard to compare it with the LCD-24 which are lacking in vocals, and have a different style of bass. I don't have the right terms to correctly describe how they differ. I think the Heartland can complement the LCD-24, as it is best where LCD-24 is lacking, and would also satisfy any bass-head.

Music I enjoy more and less on LCD-24
Dream Theater - 10/10, I was shocked how good it sounded.
Melodic death metal - They are wonderful for that, but I think I would still prefer the Rognir.
Theatre of Tragedy - The female vocals are especially lacking for me, I prefer the D8000 Pro or the Heartland for that.
Silent Skies - Great, but not as good as Heartland or Rognir.
Blind Guardian - their music somehow does not work well with Rognir, but is perfect with the LCD-24 and D8000 Pro.
Electronic - Great
Rap - Audeze are great with the beat.

I hope you got something out of this review, I know it's not professional, but I'm not a professional, that's the best I got to offer right now.

NOTE: This review was originally published on HiFiGuides Forum on 10 March, 2021. https://forum.hifiguides.com/t/audeze-lcd-24-lcd-4-with-lcd-2-tuning/6134/43

INTRODUCTION

Well, this is exciting! I get to review a headphone that’s kinda-sorta top-of-the-line-ish. The LCD-24 planar magnetic headphone is Audeze’s attempt to bring the basic tuning of their well-regarded LCD-2 and the technical chops of their flagship LCD-4 together (hence, the name 2 4). The MSRP of the LCD-24 is $3495, which definitely puts it in the realm of the high-end, even TOTL-ish. Did Audeze succeed in this marriage of tunings? Read on to find out…

The timing of this review was quite fortunate. I have the LCD-24 on loan at the same time as recently procuring the HiFiMan HE1000V2 (HekV2) and also having the Abyss Diana Phi (DiPhi) on loan. I also have the Holo Audio Spring 2 Level 2 DAC and Headamp GS-X Mini headphone amplifier on loan. And I’ve also recently bought a used Violectric HPA-V200 headphone amp and Soekris dac1321 [reviews pending on almost all of that]. It’s fun for me to have all of those toys to play with for awhile. It’s also fun for you because at least for the LCD-24, HekV2, and DiPhi, I have multiple headphones in the TOTL-ish tier to compare, making my reviews of higher quality (hopefully, you can be the judge of that). Alright…ON WITH IT…as a famous Monty Python deity portrayal once commanded.

TL;DR

The LCD-24 is an excellent TOTL-ish headphone that does many things well, including detail retrieval, upper frequency and lower frequency timbre, macrodynamics, and stages in a way that many will find engaging. It successfully captures many aspects of the LCD-2 prefazor sound signature but drifts toward the LCD-X’s sound signature in an area that is not so much to my liking; a little too much ~1KHz energy that leads to shoutiness and honkiness too often for me, but will not be an issue for many – or even most.

KNOW YOUR REVIEWER

My preferred genres are rock/metal and classical/orchestral music. I’m getting to know jazz more and enjoying quite a bit. I also listen to some EDM and hip-hop. My hearing quirks include a high sensitivity to midrange frequencies from just under 1KHz to around 3Khz, give or take. My ears are thus quick to perceive “shoutiness” in headphones in particular. I describe “shoutiness” as an emphasis on the ‘ou’ sound of ‘shout.’ It’s a forwardness in the neighborhood of 1KHz and/or on the first one or two harmonics above it (when I make the sound ‘ooooowwwww’ into a spectrum analyzer the dominant frequency on the vowel sound is around 930Hz, which also means harmonic spikes occur again at around 1860Hz and 2790Hz). In the extreme, it can have the tonal effect of sounding like a vocalist is speaking or singing through a toilet paper tube or cupping their hands over their mouth. It can also give instruments like piano, but especially brass instruments, an added ‘honk’ to their sound. I also get distracted by sibilance, or sharp ‘s’ and ‘t’ sounds that can make ssssingers sssssound like their forssssssing esssss ssssssounds aggresssssssively. Sibilance does not physically hurt my ears nearly as quickly as shout, though. It’s distracting because it’s annoying and unnatural. Readers should keep these hearing quirks in mind as they read my descriptions of sound.

FEATURES & BUILD

The build of the LCD-24 can best be described as “Audeze LCD series done in industrial style.” It’s very similar to the build of the LCD-X with a little bit more attention to detail as one would expect for the price. It has Audeze’s carbon fiber suspension headband and the big round, LCD series ear cups that appear to be machined aluminum. It’s a big, heavy headphone…it’s an Audeze LCD headphone. It has a min-XLR jack on each earcup for the cable entry. The clamp pressure is a bit high. I’m a glasses-wearer and it would pinch hard enough that sometimes I would turn my head, my glasses would come off my nose just a little bit, and the 24’s would just hold them there, suspended above my nose. The pads are soft though. I didn’t have any comfort issues, either due to weight or clamp, but this might be an issue for some. Overall, the build quality is excellent and seems appropriate for the premium price.

In a break from many TOTL-ish headphones, the LCD-24 is very easy to drive. It’s rated at 15Ω impedance with a 96dB/mW sensitivity. It really does not require much power to do a lot with it, and I was consistently setting volume knobs lower to get the same SPLs then I had to when I was driving other planar cans like the HekV2, DiPhi, or even LCD-2 prefazor.

SOUND

Test Gear – With a Caveat

I said some of this in the Introduction, but the 24 arrived in chronological proximity to a lot of new source gear, making this review take a bit longer as I had to figure out what was doing what. At any rate, I listened to the 24 on combinations of amps and DACs including, Schiit Bifrost 2, Soekris dac1321, Holo Audio Spring 2 Level 2, Monolith Liquid Platinum (with Amperex PQ Gold Pin 6922 tubes), Violectric HPA-V200, Headamp GS-X Mini, and Cayin HA-1AMK2. The caveat mentioned in the subheading is that the GS-X Mini is the only true ‘hi-end’ amp I had on hand to make the 24 go. Unfortunately, those who have experienced pairing tend to think it’s not the greatest match. I tend to agree, preferring the V200’s synergy with the 24. The V200 is a great amp, but is not quite on the same level as the GS-X Mini in some technical areas (I think, I’m still working on that, but odds are good this statement is true). It could be argued I wasn’t able to wring the most out of the 24. Keep that in mind as you read the rest of this review. But, also keep in mind – when the comparison with other headphones sections comes along – that similar statements could be made with the other headphones that I discuss there.

Signature

Audeze appears to have gone for a neutral-warm tuning here. To my ear they mostly nailed it…mostly. A recurring issue I had with this headphone was that it was too forward in the 1KHz range which led to shouty vocals and honky horns/strings/pianos and hollow drums a bit too often for my liking, especially at this price. I have not heard the LCD-4, so I can’t say if Audeze successfully brought in its technical abilities here, but I can say that much of what makes the LCD-2 prefazor’s signature appealing is here, though, even if some of the shoutiness I noticed on LCD-X (or even LCD-3 prefazor) creeps in.

Let’s start at the top and work our way down…the treble on this headphone is excellent. There is plenty of sparkle, air, and lots of detail without being aggressive or sharp. The timbre in this range is also outstanding. Cymbal hits sound amazing. There is a well-defined sound of a drumstick impacting a cymbal followed by some of the most natural cymbal tones I’ve heard out of a headphone to date. There is an amp-pickiness here, however. When I matched the 24 to a brighter amp (like the GS-X Mini) it could become sharp and sibilant at times. It certainly doesn’t have anything resembling ‘Beyer highs’ in this regard, but careful matching to an amp is important here because that treble can be magical when it’s not sharp.

Bass…ok I said work our way down, which means mids would be next, but I want to talk about more good stuff first. The LCD-24 has a bass response that is nearly horizontal on a FR graph all the way down to 20Hz. There is essentially no subbass roll off. The bass is also not elevated relative to the rest of the frequency range, but the overall sound comes across as warm and somewhat bassy because of the technical prowess in the low end here. The bass is very quick, tight, detailed, punchy, and has solid texture. If you like slam, it’s here – even tactile at times. If you like great pitch definition in the low end, it’s here. There’s even a fair amount of bass texture, too, which I’m learning is a very difficult thing to pull off well in headphones. Some of the qualitative aspects of bass guitar strings being plucked are resolved quite well. I’m a basshead, and for the most part the low-end on the LCD-24 leaves me quite satisfied. There is some music where I wish it had a touch more bass quantity, but those are the exception.

The mid-range…this is the hard one for me. There is an increase in the frequency response beginning somewhere around 800 or 900 Hz and reaching about +3 db above the level of the 100Hz region at 1KHz. That is too much for my ears. I really struggled with shouty vocals and honky/hollow instruments with this headphone, even to the point where I would involuntarily cringe at certain moments. In my notes I have a couple of examples of this recorded. One is the track “Straws in the Wind” by King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. The chorus lyrics begin with the phrase “Straws in the wind, is it all ending?” The vowel sounds in “straws” and “all” hit right in the shout range for me and became almost painful when I had the 24 running at about 75dB average. Similarly, at 1:45 on the track “Cocainium” by Baroness a synthesizer comes in and was straight up painful in that 1KHz range. Unfortunately, it’s all over in my notes that this shouty/honky/hollowness came up A LOT and with a wide variety of music styles, vocalists, and instruments. And it’s really a shame. Equally present in my notes is that when material isn’t hitting in that range too much the midrange timbre and detail retrieval is similarly outstanding as the bass and treble on this headphone. When a bow is dragged across a violin string in a quiet passage of classical music, the resinous-ness (that ‘zizzy’ sound) is resolved beautifully. The clicking of saxophone keys can also be heard. It can be quite amazing. Many (most?) listeners will find this mid-range detail and timbre excellent and I’ll be right there nodding my head that it’s probably true for them. But for me, oof, it can all go out the window when the music puts some energy in that 1KHz range. It’s quite distracting and disappointing when it all collapses.

Resolution

I touched on some of this in the frequency response section – the ideas are connected. In the treble and bass the LCD-24’s ability to resolve subtleties is truly outstanding. The same is also true in the midrange…some of the time. It emerged from my listening that the LCD-24 has similar strengths and weaknesses to the ZMF Eikon. When the music isn’t particularly busy – and for the 24 this is almost exclusive to the midrange – the 24 can sound breathtaking. The individual sounds it can produce can be truly spectacular with amazing tonal balance, timbre, and resolution of details that make it sound almost stunningly natural at times. Like my comment with the Eikon, the 24 can be amazing for music that is best savored. Where its resolution chops fall off a bit in comparison with similarly-priced competition is when music gets busy. With big, loud, aggressive, or complex music – hard rock, metal, big classical symphonies, etc. – the 24’s ability to separate sounds from each other – both spatially and timbrally (did I make up that word?) – decreases. To my ear its soundstaging, layering, and ability to distinguish a voice from a guitar from a piano, etc. can suffer in these situations. To be fair, some of this could be that my own 1KHz sensitivity gets in the way and my ears are just overwhelmed, but I don’t think that’s all there is to it. Even with the volume down to 60dB average, some of the struggles to separate sounds from each other in a busy mid-range passage was not quite up to the level of the other hi-end cans I have on hand at the time of this writing. Two examples that come to mind are “The Poet and the Pendulum” by Nightwish and the 1812 Overture by Erich Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops orchestra.

Spatial Performance

I found this aspect of the LCD-24 to also depend on what’s going on around 1KHz. When there isn’t too much going on there the spatial presentation can be very engaging. Imaging is very accurate with a very coherent lateral sense of space. The soundstage is also wide, but not overly wide. The depth of stage is where things get interesting. The LCD-24 doesn’t sound particularly deep, but it has a wrap-around effect to its soundstage. It consistently felt like it placed me in the band rather than putting the band on a stage in front of me. From a technical standpoint this effect is well done. It sounds very coherent with good layering to the depth, but it is at times unnatural. I don’t know of too many listening cases where the players/singers are all around me. However, some listeners will really like this effect, and I enjoy it too in the right circumstances. For chamber music it can feel like you’re in one of the seats in the bands half-circle seating arrangement, which is cool. But, I have to come back to that 1KHz range. When a lot happens there, to my ear the staging flattens again and puts a wall of sound just in front of my face.

What About EQ?

It’s a natural question as my issue with this headphone seems to be in a specific range. I tried the free Sonimus EQ VST 3.0 plugin that I used for the LCD-X to good results. I set the 1Khz region down about 3dB with a Q of 1. Here, the resolution of the LCD-24 appeared to be an issue as the mids got slightly grainy. Some of the shout disappeared, yes, but there was grain and distortion that was distracting. So, I pulled up Audeze’s Reveal+ EQ – I have the free version – and looked for the LCD-24 preset…but there is NOT one. Just about every other headphone and IEM in their lineup seems to be there, but not the 24. Is it too new? Do they think it doesn’t need one? It’s odd… Anyway, because my issues with the 24’s mids were similar to the LCD-X I tried the LCD-X preset with the Reveal+ EQ and queued up “Straws in the Wind” to check. It was better, but not cured. The “aw” sound in “straws” was still unnaturally forward. It didn’t get painful as it could without the EQ but was emphasized enough that timbre was adversely affected. It sounded like the vocalist had his hands cupped over his mouth. Additionally, I detected a sharper peak around 8KHz which added some extra sibilance that wasn’t there before. That sharpness likely is an artifact of the LCD-24 and LCD-X having slightly different frequency responses, but it happened nonetheless. I don’t know if the paid version of Reveal+ has an LCD-24 preset. I spoke to a Roon user and LCD-24 owner who says that Roon does not have an LCD-24 EQ preset either. The results with the LCD-X preset suggest that my issues with the 24’s 1KHz energy could be fairly well rectified. But, I don’t like messing with EQ and the ensuing system complexity that often results from it. I understand and respect that for some EQing a headphone is solving a puzzle. I prefer describing what I hear with words more…which you may or may not have noticed, lol.

SIGNAL CHAINS

My favorite combination of for the 24 that I have access to is the Spring 2 DAC feeding the Vio V200 amp. The Mini amp got more detail out of the 24, but also pushed it into shouty and sharp territory more often than the more relaxed and smoother V200. The Bifrost 2 feeding the Mini was almost as good. The Mini still pushed the 24 toward shouty and bright on occasion – but oh that detail can be stellar – and the Bifrost 2’s more relaxed sound reined that in some. The Bifrost 2 + MLP did a respectable job, but that’s not really a signal chain that would likely be driving most 24’s. Still, I enjoyed that setup. The dac1321 + V200 was also very good. It had similar character as the Spring 2 + V200 but not quite as resolving or as precise in the imaging – close though.

COMPARISONS WITH OTHER HEADPHONES

Let’s stick with Audeze for a moment because this is the 4th Audeze LCD headphone I’ve had a chance to spend some quality time with. I own an LCD-2 prefazor (revision 1), reviewed the LCD-X, and had the LCD-3 prefazor on loan for awhile, too. It’s been awhile since I’ve listened to the LCD-X or the LCD-3, but I can say confidently there is an Audeze house sound in these LCD headphones. All four I’ve heard have similar timbral characteristics over the entire frequency range. They vary to the level in which each segment of the audible frequency range is presented relative to the other segments, but it’s apparent they are siblings. The LCD-24 has most of the signature of the LCD-2. It’s a tad brighter but has the warmth and overall relaxed presentation of the LCD-2. The LCD-2PF has the fantastic party trick of being rather detailed while still being relaxed, and the 24 does that to an even greater extent. It’s worth repeating that the LCD-24’s ability to extract subtle qualities from individual or small numbers of instruments and vocals playing at once is remarkable. The LCD-2 hints at that, the 24 delivers. The 24 is also quicker and punchier in the bass than the 2, but the 2 has slightly more rumble. The imaging and staging of the 24 also is much tighter, more accurate, and more coherent than the LCD-2. As I was writing this review I was listening to Bob Seger’s greatest hits. I took a break and listened to “Like A Rock” all the way through on the 24 and then on the 2. The 2 imaged reasonably well but the 24 definitely separated sonic images more clearly, creating a more coherent sonic image. The 24’s midrange presentation is closer to the LCD-X, though. The LCD-X is much more forward in the mids than the LCD-2PF. In fact, my chief complaint about the LCD-X was that it mids tended toward shout and honk. From memory, the shout/honk was a bigger problem on the LCD-X than the 24. At the same time, I’m more forgiving of that flaw (or any flaw) at $1200 than I am at $3500. Also, to be fair, the LCD-2 does not never shout or honk. Here, the double negative is intentional to illustrate it’s rare on the LCD-2 but does happen. The LCD-3 comes closer to the LCD-24 in technical abilities but still doesn’t catch it in its ability to resolve those subtleties of individual instruments. I also don’t remember the LCD-3’s bass being as quick or punchy or extended as the LCD-24’s, either. The soundstaging of the 24 is also unique among these LCD models in its ability to put the listener in the soundfield as opposed to being presented the soundfield. The 24’s wrap-around effect is unique where the other 3 models put the soundstage in front of the listener.

The HekV2 is a $3000 headphone and is the TOTL model in HiFiMan’s warmer-tuned line [different from HiFiMan’s TOTL model period – which is the Susvara – unless you count their electrostats, which I’m not]. The HekV2 and the LCD-24 are similar in that they both tend more toward warmth and being relaxed, and then most of the differences stop. The HekV2 throws out that absolutely enormous soundstage that those big egg-shaped HiFiMans are known for, and it throws it out in front of the listener. If the LCD-24 puts the listener on the maestro’s stool in a symphony performance, the HekV2 puts the listener in the 3rd row of the audience. The HekV2 has a slight V shape to its signature with the recess coming around 1KHz, which my ears are thankful for. I have yet to hear the HekV2 get shouty or honky, and I’ve put lots of hours on it lately. The HekV2 has a bit more treble energy than the 24 but maybe not quite as much tonal balance. I think the 24 fleshes out treble timbre a little better but it’s close. The HekV2 also has a subbass boost below 50Hz. I’ve never heard or seen that before, but it’s there. That extra deep bass gives it more rumble and the extra quantity at times masks some of the bass detail and texture. The bass detail and texture are still there on HekV2, but I think they’re easier to pick out on the 24. The key difference between the two headphones though is how the handle aggressive and/or complex music. There’s a flip-flop here. The 24 is slightly more resolving with slightly better timbre when there are a small number of voices/instruments played softly (again, savor), but when things get busy it flips. The HekV2 is significantly better at holding together its timbre, separation, resolution, and staging when things get complex or chaotic. With “The Poet and the Pendulum” or “1812 Overture” the HekV2 just yawns and asks what’s next. But play a soft track from a string quartet and it’s 24 over HekV2 comfortably.

I’ve had less time with the Diana Phi so this comparison is initial and more subject to change than the HekV2 comparison. The DiPhi is a detail monster that takes the 24’s excellent detail retrieval, ups it, and holds it together when things get busy. It also has a more mid-forward signature and more aggressive low end (depending on pad positioning – I’ll explain this more in my eventual review). The DiPhi doesn’t get shouty as often to me as the 24 does (not never, but much less frequent) because it’s entire midrange comes across as elevated rather than a ramp up to a +3dB relative level like the 24, maintaining better tonal balance through the region. However, there is no relaxing with the DiPhi. It is relentlessly and aggressively firing every last detail down the ear canals all the time. That can be its own magical experience at times, but means it has a fundamentally different approach to headphonery than either 24 or HekV2.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Overall, I want to like the LCD-24. I recognize that it is really, really good. But that 1KHz range is a fatal flaw for me. I know several listeners who swear by the 24 and I get it. It does some truly amazing things. If the 1KHz energy isn’t a problem, then it definitely warrants an audition for those on the hunt for a headphone in this class. My understanding is that warmer tunings are not very common in the range of $3K+ headphones, and these TOTL-ish cans are usually harder to drive. So, the LCD-24 certainly has its place in the market, being both easy to drive and having a warmer signature. I love its treble and bass timbre. I love its bass slam and texture. I love how it makes individual instruments sound in musical passages where individual instruments are the focus. But oof, that 1KHz region is a dealbreaker for me, especially at $3500. And 1Khz is a really important region in most music.

OK, thanks again for reading everyone. Enjoy the music!

Ready to provide some initial comparisons..... First, a few unboxing photos

As usual, Audeze has done a nice job on the shipping box. The internal pelican case is completely isolated from all 6 sides of the box. You would be surprised to know not everyone does this. If you look up my unboxing of my Meze Empyrean's you will see that they left a bit to "chance". Should also note that even though this is an all-plastic case (vs. Meze metal, or Focal wood) it feels and looks significantly more substantial that many of my other cases. Maybe one day I'll do a side by side case review....



Not a lot to write home about in the case contents. Audeze leather conditioner, stock cable (more on that later) user guide, and serial number (I'm within the first 20 manufactured)





I work from home a few days a week, and when I do, I spend most of the day wearing one of my headphones. I've settled into a rhythm of switching between Hifiman HE 1000 V2's, and Audeze LCD3's (with a little modification) as both are very comfortable for long periods of time. One of the primary reasons I was really interested in the LCD-24's is the prospect of getting TOTL open back performance in a lightweight package that I could wear all day. Thus, many of my comparisons will be against the Hifiman HE 1000 V2's, as they are my go to everyday phones.

Audeze LCD-24 vs. Hifiman HE 1000 V2




The system used for the test:

Music software: Tidal
USB out to Chord HUGO 2 acting the DAC (thus, not true MQA output, so all songs are played non-MQA lossless)
Auris Headonia 2a3 headphone amp

Each headphone used it's supplied stock 1/4 chord. Only modifications I made between headphones was to dial in the proper impedance and modify the amp volume to provide a consistent measured SPL out of the headphones.

Tidal test songs - playlist available here: https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/ffa5b190-5f3a-44c8-aae8-8bd21e7136a3

Bass:

First thing I want to know.... what does the bass sound and feel like.

I wanted to see how well the 24's resolve flooded bass vs the Hifiman's.

There is no better track than Alexandre Desplat's "Jupiter and Oracle+Aboriginal Dogs" from the Isle of Dogs soundtrack. It's a rich weaving of western-influenced gregorian like chants infused with saxophone, bassoon, and a few other instruments, overlaid with Japanese Taiko drums and clappers for good measure.

The Gregorian like intro to the song sounds good on almost any headphone with basic bass capabilities. When the other layers start to get added, one can quickly hear the resolving power and true bass credentials a pair of headphones bring to the table.

Besides being very light on my head, the Hifiman headphones have always provided a very tight bass response. The 24's matched the tightness and speed of the Hifiman's, but brought with it the impact and bass attack Audeze has become famous for. There was a three-dimensionality to the presentation that wasn't lacking in the 1000's, but WAY more apparent in the lcd-24s. The sound stage is much wider. We are not talking about Abyss levels of bass response - still slamming, but much more controlled and refined. As the complexity of the track increased, the LCD-24 started to pull away from a quality perspective (tightness, speed & 'slam' ) Never became muddled or distorted, and each bass instrument (voice,sax, drum) was clearly articulated. The staccato like taiko clap between drum hits isn't a bass note, but I couldn't help hearing a definite difference in speed "quality" between the HE1000's and the LCD-24's, and frankly, I wasn't expecting this. Maybe there was a resolving power issue. I swear with the 24's, I could picture and hear in my mind the independent sound of the drum stick and how it integrated into the sound of it hitting the Clapp side of the drum. I put the HE's back on, and I couldn't hear it.

To make sure my brain wasn't playing tricks, I pulled out my Focal Utopia's, and sure enough, there was that subtle drumstick "tap". Now that I found a little nugget, I started pulling out other headphones to see if I could hear this supper subtle detail.

HD800's - no, HD820's - yes, but subtle. Meze Empyreans - no, LCD-3's - no. 64 Audio A18T IEM's - yes. Stax 007's - yes (although the rest of the bass was so diminutive, I was a little startled by the sound...) LCD-4's - No!


second song: These Bones by the Fairfield Four

This is an all-bass a capella group, whose lead singer in the song, Joe Thomson has the most incredible bass velvety pipes you likely ever hear. As a funny side note, He' a full-time special needs school bus driver, and does this on the side with his church. He won a Grammy a few years back (when he was 80!) and thanked all his friends at the transportation department.


The divergence in tonality and quality was so large between the HE1000's and the LCD-24's in this song, I had to recheck the impedance and volume settings to make sure there wasn't something wrong. In this song, the deviation between the two was like the difference between listening to a great recording (HE1000's) and being in the room (LCD-24's). The sound was significantly more articulate and expansive. I *think* what I'm hearing with the LCD-24's is a much more expansive sound stage with a harder-hitting bass with the same quality speed and tonality of the HE1000's. I had a Cheshire grin listening to this on the LCD-24s.

Again, for a quick gut check, I pulled out the LCD-4's and listened again. The LCD-4 definitely have a more impactful bass "slam". The speed and tonality seem indistinguishable, but the soundstage on the LCD-24's seems wider, yet tighter at the same time. What do I mean by that? that the musicians within the larger soundstage were locked in. The larger soundstage is really coming from the ambients (reverb, etc...). I pulled out the HD-800's, my usual go to for a wide soundstage, and the LCD-24's were not quite that wide, but in the ballpark. I wonder if this is something Audeze was trying to accomplish, or if it's just a byproduct of the design. Either way, it's the widest soundstage of any Planar I've used, and I've used a lot of them.

Mids

I choose one song, "Hunting Wabbits" by Big Phat Band

This is a tongue-in-cheek tribute to old school Saturday morning cartoons played by some of the best studio musicians in the business. Sax's, Trumpets, Trombone's, percussion, Piccolo's play multiple interweaving leads in a ridiculously fast staccato playing style. I've played instruments most of my life, and I don't think I could play any part in this piece.

Wow! The LCD-24's have the same full-bodied midrange of the LCD-4s. Very well balanced. When returning to the 1000's, I detected a bit of sibilance and the subtleties I heard in the lcd-24 (musicians taking in breaths, piccolo valves tapping) was still there, but much less obvious. Again, there is a resolving power difference between the two. I had a hard time just comparing the LCD-24's to the LCD-4's on this piece of music, as there are certain passages that bring in big slamming bass notes which are much more pronounced on the LCD-4s. I have to say though, that I *think* I like the presentation better on the LCD-24. How the bass melts into the mids seems more natural and pleasing to my ear. Both the LCD-24 and the LCD-4' were amazing at separating and articulating all of the layers of sound when this piece gets going.

Just a quick vs on the Meze Empyreans - While I love these headphones, and they are the best looking of the bunch, they sound downright muddy on this particular track vs. the LCD's, HD8XX's and Focal. I wish I could explain the difference a little more, but it's like looking out of a window with a screen, vs one without. Everything was there, it just didn't seem to have the chops to keep up.

From an articulation perspective, the LCD-24's were no match for the focal utopia though. I don't think there are many headphones that are. Given how fast this piece is played, the Utopia's incredibly stiff beryllium driver seems to reproduce every nuance better than the LCD-24's, but only noticeable when A/B testing.

High's

Song - "Sleepless" by Cazzette

Sleepless is an all-synth dance song, with the main singer's voice going through a treble tuned vocoder. Lot's of highs, a good thumping bass halfway through the song and lots of layers as the song goes on.

hmm... Well, the Hifiman's held there own pretty good on this song. There isn't a lot of subtlety to the instruments or the singing (it's a vocoder) so my mind wasn't 'alerted' to hear those differences. In fact, I would say this is an excellent song to show off the 1000's. Once the bass line comes in, it's a bit of a different story. LCD-24's start to slam in a way that just forces my head to start bopping back and forth. 1000's still did well here, and this was like the difference between the 24's and the utopia's as I'm not sure I could call out big differences without doing back to back A/B testing.

Meze Empyreans also did well here, but I think both the Hifiman and the LCD-24's extracted a bit more resolution and had a bit more musicality to them.

You may have noticed at this point I haven't thrown in many comparisons to the LCD-3's. Honestly, they were just outgunned here, and once that became obvious after the first playing, I thought the LCD-4's would be a better comparison.

For good measure, I'll add one more song - Haydn: String Quartet in D off the Nordic Sound album.

Both the HE1000's and the LCD-24's resolved a lot of detail in the piece (bow hits, slight vibrato fingering, etc...). The LCD-24's were a little more transparent, a little "richer" with a superior soundstage. Did a quick A/B with the LCD-4's and this may be the one song where the LCD-24's sounded better to my ear. Maybe the soundstage might be the overlapping lows to mids which were just a little less dramatic.


As I get more time with the headphone, I'll post some more specific info, and maybe more detail on some specific head to head comparisons.

From my perspective, these are keepers.Very comfortable and lightweight on the head. I do have a bit of an issue with long-term wear, as my ears felt a bit like they were sweating after a few hours. This is something I would normally feel in a closed-back headphone like the Senn 820's. Again, I don't have a lot of time with them, so we'll see how this goes after I get used to them.

This review was originally posted in this thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/aud...including-impressions-and-comparisons.914571/