3.12.15
I wrote the review of the Master & Dynamic MH40s below while I was in the Impressions phase - as indicated in my first introductory sentence below.
Since writing this piece I've had many listening sessions with my MH40s - and I still LOVE & prefer the gun-metal finish to the wildly popular brown-leather  - but that also looks great IMHO. I'm going to include some updates - and hopefully some of the original readers of the review will catch em'.
 
**I'm not sure if users receive updates because they commented or interacted with the review at some point.
I'll check w/ the good peeps at Head-Fi bout that.**
 
My updates will be labeled and appear at the END of this initial essay.
 
I'm admittedly still in the Impressions phase w/ my Master & Dynamic MH40s (gun-metal & black finish) but I felt obligated to, at the very least, get something down here and update it when I've got the MH40s totally broken-in...
 
Is that Kosher?
 
I'm just so taken w/ these cans, and haven't been so since my LCD-X & XCs arrived last year! So I thought that might warrant an on-going review (NOT forever obviously, not intending to break ANY Rules or Regulations - I'm gettin' that out in the open NOW  ) because at $399, I feel obligated to share about these smart, stylish, musically powerful headphones NOW!
I first heard em' this year in our hotel room during Rocky Mountain Audio Fest /CanJam w/ the then very new-to-all-of-us Cavalli Audio Liquid Crimson hybrid amp! And that sound was glorious - 
 
my MacBook Pro SSD/Amarra Symphony was source
CEntrance DACPort LX (same as DACPort - but just the DAC) for D-to-A
and the Master & Dynamic MH40s - in this kinda seventies brown-style that alot of peeps have. Those are cool - but when I saw the gun-metal & black that was I for me! 
 
They've shattered my expectations - which weren't low, but I didn't consider these high-end reference-quality cans. Didn't have enough time - and they sounded wonderful on the Cavalli Liquid Crimson (a funny, but the right mismatch - if you wanna test your headphones  sonic capabilities) But when I heard em on a couple other things (honestly can't remember what others people had w/ them) they just sounded like good, solid headphones, and certainly worth more in musical performance than their MSRP! So I'm psyched my boy Chris Sommovigo had that pair with him in my room at RMAF/Canjam this year!!

So I reached out to the guys there.
They seem really down to Earth and committed BTW. I was psyched when they asked me about something on the cans and I brought up the pads, the lack of a seal sometimes - but you can also use that as a sort-of Free Earth EQ ( ), if you like...  Seriously: Scott was really cool over there, and it seems like they have a solid team.
What's the result of these down-to-Earth fellas work? 
 
That's the main reason I'm pushing the limit tonight, as I should be watching a documentary w/ my darlin' wifey - but I needed to start sharing my experience with these, and not merely through social media - and I got tons of gear ahead of em in editorial too - I love Head-Fi for alot of reasons - and this is certainly one of them! Bottom-Line:
 
If my cousin Kenny or my father wanted a headphone that looks and sounds good for $399 - I'd buy both of em' a pair! That will probably mean more than ALL of my meandering prose in this review! So now, I've heard a wide variety of music at low & loud-levels, and I've heard em' on desktop gear and some of my very best portable stuff. My top references are coming NEXT in the follow-up here!! The MH40s are just the straight-dope musically, with a dash of aesthetics for the Wired-set. Their bass and lower-midrange was surprisingly controlled and extended when I got the pads all sorted (sorry, gotta admit to OCD here - not the biggest deal). Recondites new album Iffy is a thumping, hovering synths-spaced-out electronic masterpiece, and the MH40s reproduced it with clarity and attitude. The sound was sharp, but not in a fatiguing way at all. There was no overhang or sluggishness with regard to the transient attack of the 40s too - with varying genres of music; from underground tech-house, courtesy of my friend Damian Lazarus to acoustic singer-songwriters like Martin Sexton, Ani DiFranco, or Badly Drawn Boy. I especially enjoyed their sound when playing full-bodied, textural, experimental electronic music from artists like Art Department, Hecq, Recondite, and classic boundary burning artist like Aphex Twin and Bill Laswell. The 40s are also happy with tubes or solid state - which is nice. They're not picky. Of course - as the ol' skool engineering wisdom tells us:
 
Crap IN
Crap OUT
 
So you're source, as with any loudspeaker or headphone, has to be whatever best-quality is available at the time! You can't build a million dollar/Impressive stereo reference system based on crap sources! Well, the MH40s are critical enough to tell you about the sonic characteristics of the music, but they also manage to achieve a nice synergy with more systems than at least 50% of the headphones I own. It's a very jolting (positively) experience: Not having to pick certain products to go with other certain products in order to achieve audio Nirvana. Just give me straight-up, well-built, comfortable headphones that do their job - but do it WELL enough to grant me some serenity while imbibing my favorite tunes - and I'm GOOD.
 
This portable rig built around em' was ill on this mornings hike!
They're light-enough, but also feel rugged. Their mic is decent for cell calls.
So this was almost perfect this morning:
 
Master & Dynamic MH40s
AstellnKern AK240
ALL DHC cables: Comp4 mini-to-mini, Molecule Elite headphone cable
Lehmann Audio Traveler battery-powered headphone amp (CLEAN, powerful, and ran Chris Sommovigos LCD-3s for 30+ hours)
 

 
This has been my go-to system for the MH40s - aside of the Liquid Crimson in for review - but since
I don't know that amp real well yet (hence: Reviewing it) and I'm new to the MH40s - I just put em' on the Cavalli for Ear-Candy Sessions...
 
This desktop rig, below, has given me some amazing sundown-to-sunrise listening experiences:
 
Master & Dynamics MH40s
Double Helix Cables Molecule Elite
Woo Audio WA7 Fireflies w/ Upgraded Electro Harmonix Gold-tip tubes
Black Cat Silverstar USB cable
MacBook Pro SSD/Amarra Symphony as source

The MH40s are easily driven, but I prefer plenty of headroom: Straight-up power and dynamic clarity, without too much excess electro-crap affecting the signal path. I've been glued to the WA7 Fireflies and MH40s for about 10 days now...
 
Rockin' Art Department & Seth Troxlers' new EP Cruel Intentions RIGHT NOW (on WA7 Fireflies), as I type this, and the title track is BANGIN'. It's surprising, seriously, the lower-mid and bass the MH40s throw - but it takes some messin' with the earpads to get the seal right - and that's my only gripe thus far. I should say, and this doesn't count in the "Cons"  - the low-end could use more heft and velocity - as I know the Art Department EP - and there were deeper ripples to capture and reproduce, no doubt about that.  However, given their colorful (NOT-colored) midrange, open/airy highs, and fascinatingly controlled and extended lower-midrange and bass (just not a lot of sub-bass being blown into my ear-drums) the MH40s could be a new headphone Gem (that's been around for awhile I hear actually) if they play their cards right! Thus far they deliver the sonic goods, less any earth-shattering low-end, and are a pleasure to wear and walk-around with.
 
I think @grizzlybeast was right expressing their leakage concerns  (meaning, as they said, if you're on a subway - or ending up sitting close to somebody and crankin' the 40s - the people near you might hear the highs of your music). But, hey, we've all had that done to us right?!?!
 
Forbes DROOLED over em', and I'm beginning to hear why. I'll be updating this review ASAP!
I want to experience the MH40s on a few more amp/DAC combos AND, IMPORTANT  - listen to some vinyl with em'!!
 
However, as I just got up to take a break and change (I know, who cares...but) I found my original CEntrance DACport in my sock drawer,
so I decided, as I know the SQ of the DACPort very well - why not do another quick system change and see what happens:

This simple rig:
 
Master & Dynamic MH40s
Double Helix Cables Molecule Elite + adapter (2.5mm TRRS to 1/4")
CEntrance DACport Amp/DAC
Moon Audio Silver Dragon V3 USB cable for DACport
MacBook Pro SSD/Amarra Symphony as source
 
The synergy of this lil' system worked so well it sounded effortless - From top to bottom - so I threw my latest musical acid test track at the DACport + MH40s: Beacons' "Fault Lines" off their up-coming album. This track is like underground, dirty tech-house - Croydon London-style (the Brooklyn of London), broken-beat, Chicago and acid house all mixed up in this fantastic sonic onslaught of pingin' pads and transient stabs, strange sounds weaving in and out of each other, and a kick that'll have you grabbin' your n____s if you sit too close to a loudspeaker when things kick-off! The gradual build-up of the track - right outta the gate, gets my blood pumpin': A pounding kick-drum is surrounded by percussive and synth-like triggered sounds, then there's an echoey grand sense of space; the thumping continues - but it's becomes part of an electronic chorus via this minimal ping that wraps itself around the massive kick; eventually ascending into the crescendo. I couldn't help but move my damn feet to these seemingly simplistic rhythms the whole time. It's got tasteful dance sensibilities, but it's also a chugger of a track. It's the one you drop at 5:30AM, when the sun is cresting over the horizon: and everybody on the dance-floor is starting to sync up. Beacon manages to capture all these vibes in one track! I can't wait to hear the whole record. Sorry, veered off-track there for a second.
 
The MH40s sonics were liquid and engrossing during the Beacon track, just so damn addictive and mesmerizing. The same went for Thom Yorke's Tomorrows Modern Boxes (which I reviewed for Positive Feedback HERE). I listened to that album many times in a row I loved the rendering so much with the Master & Dynamic MH40s and Woo WA7 Fireflies combo. That rig sealed the deal for me on the MH40s I think.
 
And MORE TO COME!
 
 
I've been working in the front of the house for a couple weeks (my wifey's sick - so I end up near her in case she needs something - my SS Lab is in the back of the house)
I have some systems set-up on this corner desk - but it's nothin' like the Sonic Satori Personal Audio Lab for putting cans like these through their paces!!

and I look forward to that ASAP!!
 
Felt I needed to give these an enthusiastic thumbs up thus far, because I can't imagine my opinion is going to change much over the next couple weeks testing period.
If it does, I know these aren't going to end up boring me, that's for sure. I'm enjoying all aspects of the Master & Dynamic MH40s right now!!
 

Another sunrise MH40s session
 
To Be Continued...
 
SO: 1/23/15:
 
I have a few more things to share with regard to the MH40s performance as they've broken-in. I've also used them on some other gear in addition to the associated gear list above, to see just how well they play with various Amp/DAC combos and sources!!
 
I will be tackling this UPDATE ASAP - hopefully this weekend!
 
I must say this:
I think Master & Dynamic have designed fantastic cans in the MH40s from an industrial-design stand-point, sonically, of course, and comfort, forward-thinking (like the mute button),
it's a great package.
 
What holds it back the most, or, what held it back the most, musically, for me before I tried other things??
MANY doubters will dismiss this - but I heard/experienced the significant sonic changes - their stock headphone cables!
 
W/ the stock cable the MH40s aren't bad. They're actually pretty good. But they are capable of SO much MORE!
 
When I installed various Double Helix Cables, and tried (for giggles - since the MH40 has a 3.5mm input) my Nordost iKable on the cans-
the timbre came ALIVE - space just GREW, and the sense of spaciousness is what I expected from the 40s, but always feel JUST short of!!
 
SO - more on my experiments SOON!
 
I know, it sounds CRAZY - but other cables have, in many systems, yielded an immediate impact that's tough NOT to hear! IMO...
  
 
Conclusions comin...
 
3.12.15
LATEST UPDATES:
 

 
Well, to be honest I'm not sure I've drawn any permanent conclusions about the MH40s! Though during the time I've spent with them since I wrote the piece above my love for the cool cans has only grown. I say I probably don't have any permanent conclusions about the Master & Dynamic MH40s because I know, in my gut, that a couple of small adjustments to these headphones could make a World of difference sonically - therefore offering greater and deeper reproductions of my beloved music! I'm NOT tryin' to knock Master & Dynamic AT ALL. Not my honest intent here. I felt obligated to share my thoughts on these small changes because I think they will allow the headphones to perform at a level they were meant to play. It's gotta be tough, for product engineers, to keep from looking back I'm sure. They wanna make leaps forward however, - usually with newer products, right? Well, hopefully somebody from M&D will hear about this 
 
- eh, what am I saying, I'll send these thoughts to Jonathan at Master&Dynamic - he's such a cool guy and his team are equally nice and helpful - and besides, I could be a complete jack __s, therefore no harm no foul! -
 
And those small adjustments are:
 
1) Better/different ear-pads. I hate the word better, and I especially hate it when somebody calls a piece of audio kit the "best" blah blah blah. There is NO best - as we all interpret things differently, as we bring our own life experiences to bear when we listen to music, look at paintings, etc. With art, no matter what the medium, we're reacting to something beyond classification - and SO sorry for that deviation/brain-dump. I should've just said "different ear-pads", but I meant to say better as in; I think other ear-pads would aid in delivering the music to our ears in a cleaner, more open and transparent way. What to do to the ear-pads to achieve this? Well, firstly I dig the magnetic attachment of the ear-pads to the MH40s headphone chassis! A nice touch. So why not offer 2, or maybe even 3 different types of ear-pads? I know if these were thicker (listening to my MH40s and new Burson Conductor Virtuoso at this moment) I would, I believe, get better bass response. Thicker and a touch deeper too. Plus - given the current ear-pads are totally flat/level, it doesn't always give me a terrific seal - because of the strange shape of my skull and jaw. However, if they do thick pads like MrSpeakers did on his Alpha Prime, or what Audeze has always provided on their reference LCD-Series headphones  - which means in addition to increasing the thickness and depth of the pads, Master & Dynamic made the pads angular, the music would arrive at our inner-ears in a more natural way. Audeze and MrSpeakers figured this out. If they are angled in a way that merely extends our outer-ears angle, I believe this definitely helps the audio signal arrive and appear more natural to our analog ears. I could be wrong... But that's tweak #1.
 
2) This is gonna attract some venim from the cables are a rip-off crowd but I don't care. I've heard what different headphone cables do to the performance of these cans on revealing systems. After discovering that I could detect changes sonically utilizing other cables, I spent a couple weeks deciding which one I enjoyed the most as part of the system. Because, this much I've always agreed to when it comes to audio cables impacting the sound of a system: All a different cable can really do is: Act like less of a filter, with lower capacitance and inductance - therefore helping the system to reproduce the audio signal in a more accurate way. The cable can also aid in lowering the noise-floor or not. If you play around with different component and cable configurations you'll find that some cables are not as good as others in a system - and that's where system synergy comes in. Now, I'm also not a guy that will ever say something like "the ___ cable sound like ____". Because, IMHO: The cable doesn't have a sound of its own - it's the interface between components - so we're always experiencing the system as a whole. Therefore - we can prefer certain cables in a system, or with a headphone - but not because of ITS sound. It's how does it help reproduce the systems sound? After sayin' all that: It was Double Helix Cables Molecule Elite cable that I thought was the best combo. When I compared that duo to the factory cable, and also included my wifey in that test (she's got great ears, worked in the music biz for many years too) we did some single-blind tests - and, NO BS: Both of us picked the DHC Molecule cable every-time! That's sayin' something - which is why I'm reporting about it here. I haven't picked the same cable every-time even with far more expensive cans and cables! Observations do not discriminate - well, if you set it u properly that is... So I think Master & Dynamic should reach out to Peter at Double Helix and speak about an upgrade path that will blow people away. The cool thing is: That's not one of Peters expensive cables. HIGHLY recommended if you already own a pair of MH40s.
 

 
Suggested tweaks/upgrades aside: I enjoy the MH40s every-time I rock em'. Whether that's because I'm headin' out and I wanna use em' with whatever portable rig I'm rockin' at that moment, or, even if I'm using one of my top reference desktop amps - they're just fun to listen to my music on. A big part of that is that they don't discriminate when it comes to all the different genres of music I play. I mean, it all depends on my mood - but I could be bumpin' Afro-Beat one minute, underground tech-house the next, and finish up the listening sesh with a bit of Roberta Flack. There have been many cans that passed through the Sonic Satori Personal Audio Lab and were terrific with classical, jazz, and soft pop music, but fell apart when it came to techno or hip-hop. I don't wanna have to choose certain cans for different styles of music! I want headphones, like terrific loudspeakers, to be able to handle anything I throw their way. The MH40s do that for me, and they play back all the music I like in an excitable, engaging, soulful way. And at their price - that's an amazing accomplishment. I was also psyched to see my peer and fellow Head-Fier @goldendarko felt the same way in his review at DAR this week. NICE one John!!
 
The MH40s aren't difficult to drive, but they do like headroom. I noticed this when I was using them with my AK240 often. I ended up adding the Lehmann Audio Traveler to the AK240 - as it's such a clean amplifier with an insane amount of power and battery-life! It ran my fellow Audio360.org teammate Chris Sommovigo's Audeze LCD-3s for over 30 hours! Besides, I think the dual-DACs in the AK240 are fine, all it needs is some more power now and then - for my needs. So I was using the AK240/Traveler combo for my LCD-2s, 3s, XCs, and HD800s  - also using all DHC cables for that portable rig - and I decided, just for the hell of it - to try my MH40s on that rig. I knew it was overkill, power-wise, but f___ it! The resulting sound was totally beyond my expectations. The midrange was so luscious, but pristine and wide-open as well. The bottom end was extended, givin' me bass that I didn't know the MH40s were capable of! And, the highs were gloriously transparent with no trace of listener fatigue. As a matter of fact, that became one of my all-time favorite portable combos:
 

 
So I guess I could safely say that one conclusion is that I kept them for a reason - NOT merely to be able to say:
"I like it so much I bought it". But because I genuinely love everything about the MH40s. I dig their industrial design. Hell - I even love the mute button! I think that's a terrific little feature. It also has a good click to it - the mute button. That's sounds crazy maybe - but I mean it doesn't feel cheap. That's important to me. Most importantly I love how they translate my music, and how easy they are to deal with. S__t, even the headphone bag M&D provides is better than the average can sack.  I hope these guys continue to grow.
I can't wait to hear what's up next!
 
 

 
I feel obligated to share out-of-the-gate that I am no CIEM expert! As a matter of fact, I don't even particularly enjoy IEMs - I love over-ear or on-ear headphones. That said: Experiencing JH Audio's JH-13 Pro (now Freqphase) IEMs at Canjam 2009 was nothing short of a revelation for me. As a matter of fact, the experience was so far from anything I had to compare it with that I ended up being fortunate enough to write the first formal review of the JH-13 Pro for Positive Feedback! That was an intimidating task to say the least. There I was, at the time, a music and high end audio two-channel writer/reviewer, and I had to try and paint a sonic picture of how amazing these in-ear-monitors were! I decided to approach the review like I did with all Hi-fi gear: from the experience of listening to the music through the component. I didn't have the technological acumen to write a technical review anyway. So, I took a chance, and I am very lucky that it paid off. The review was effective. I ended up hearing back from many readers - and many of them took a leap of faith and purchased the JH-13 Pros as the result of my down-to-Earth style in that IEM review. It was then that I realized the potential for headphones as high fidelity playback systems! I haven't looked back since.
 
The really crazy thing is: I wasn't even looking for headphones for myself! I was shopping for my cousin, Kenny Gould. Kenny works on Special Projects for Stevie Wonder, and he sent me on a mission to check out different IEMS from Westone, Ultimate, etc. Now - I knew Jerry Harvey for years. When I worked at Atlantic Records I used to go to Jerry to handle all the on-stage in-ear-monitors for our top artists. So, needless to say, I/we entrusted him with the ears (and so livelihoods) of some of the labels top multi-platinum selling artists! That's not a small thing to entrust somebody with. So when I saw him at Canjam 09 with a new company, he asked if I'd take a listen to his latest design. Jerry also knew I wasn't fond of in-ear-monitors - so I think this presented a cool challenge for him. Could he convert me? Well, here we are! He blew my brain back then, and he and the JH Audio team have done so again with the Roxannes. Just when I thought the air and dynamic contrasts of the JH-13 Freqphase couldn't be beat, the Roxannes have come along and re-defined, once again for me, what's possible in a CIEM when it comes to sonic integrity and musical engagement (actually - the word engrossment might be more accurate here). I honestly didn't believe this kind of bass response and extension that I experience with the Roxannes was possible at this time! That was the only thing missing for me with the JH-13 Freqphase. As a guy with his roots planted firmly in high end two-channel audio, and, now, over-ear or on-ear headphone playback, the bass weight and impact of the JH-13s always impressed me, but I've been yearning for a CIEM that delivers bass like my Audeze LCD-XC or LCD-3 w/ Fazor ever since I started listening to Audeze headphones! Well, this may sound strange, but the Roxannes did not present themselves to me, sonically, as a pair of CIEMs at all during my first listening sesh with my own custom molds. When I demo'd the Roxannes at Canjam 2014 I could tell there was some magic there - but I could never quite get the seal right. We all know, especially when it comes to bass and lower mid-range performance, a good seal in an IEM is everything. I tried all sorts of tips that I brought to the demo - and with triple-flanges I finally got a glimpse of the potential for these amazing earphones. I could tell I was missing something, that the Roxannes could do even more than what I was experiencing at the time - but I was still blown away by their silky mids, big bass (not exaggerated, but weighty) and mid-range clarity. I knew I had to hear em again. Luckily my friend Andy Regan (who was at Cardas for years) was there with JH Audio. Andy's running the company now, and is very much at home. It was great to see him all smiles - so much that he flipped the bill for our Head-Fiers breakfast at Newport! Thank you Andy and JH Audio by the way! Luckily, JHA was also a vendor in our Audio360.org event at T.H.E Show Newport this year (at T.H.E Headphonium) so I got to give em another shot. After hearing them again, just knowing there was something was out there far superior to my JH-13 Freqphase drove me insane. 
 
I admit being a professional reviewer has its perks. I didn't pay near full-price for these. But if you think that's some kind of payola, or that it drove me to write a positive review, well, lets just say that assumptions are the mother of all f_____ups. I've been an outspoken evangelist for JH Audio since I traveled the world with my JH-13s, especially after my review at Positive Feedback (and subsequent Writers Choice Award that I gave em that year). My advocacy for the brand did not stop at my review like so many other writer/reviewers. I share about my JH Audios often in my social media chain and any other place where I think people need to know about JH Audio. Believe me, I was perfectly content with my JH-13s! I didn't wanna have to upgrade! Actually, if I can approach a level of honesty bordering on stupidity here: You know what I said to Jerry Harvey when I heard the Roxannes for the first time at Canjam 2013? He can back this up: My exact words were (as I was using my own Astell&Kern AK120 as the source for the demo, so I knew the source material as well as a man can): F___ You! Meant as a compliment of course, as strange as that may sound. I meant it! There I was, now unfortunately armed with the knowledge that when I got on the plane to leave Denver after RMAF, and put on my JH-13 Freqphase, for the first time I'd be thinking: Damn, now I gotta get those freakin' Roxannes! I never thought of anything while bumpin' my JH-13 Freqphase before that! I was more than content, I was happy! Jerry disrupted that contentment. Damn you Jerry! 

 
So, they arrived and I began throwing everything at them that I could think of...

I was also very impressed with the job they did using our Audio360.org logo! I didn't want the logo on both ears. That would be overkill (I think anyway). Since I'm a lefty the left ear was the best spot. I stuck with the JH Audio angel for the right side. I wasn't concerned with carbon-fiber or anything uber-pimp like that. I just wanted the CIEMS in all their sonic glory. After all, who cares what they look like as long as they fit snug and comfortably (which these do) and I can listen to em for hours. I also feel it's necessary to share that these are the only IEMs (even CIEMS, including my JH-13 Freqphase) that I have fallen asleep with em in my ears! Normally its not a matter of discomfort that prevents me from listening to in-ear-monitors when I sleep - especially since we always fall asleep listening to some form of meditative music - whether it be experimental electronic grooves or Dr. Wayne Dyer self-awareness LPs (yes, we listen to that lunatic sometimes - he's actually got some empowering tools to offer in his aural toolbox - I suggest you check him out) I have woken up with the Roxannes in my ears a bunch of times at this point. My cousin wondered why that was the case. After all, the fit is practically the same as my JH-13s! I told him I honestly don't think it's a matter of better fit. I think the improved sonics allow my brain to let go of the fact that foreign objects are sitting in my ears as I fall asleep! The Roxannes have this sense of three-dimensionality that's uncanny in a pair of CIEMs! That seemed nutty to me the first time I started jotting down notes about this concept, as the things sit in your ears! How can they create an actual sound-field? To be brutally honest: I don't know, and I don't care - it happens! The Roxannes are the one and only IEM I've experienced that paint a holographic image like an open-back over-ear headphone when I'm listening to tunes! Playing Fhloston Paradigm's "Light on Edge" from The Phoenix LP for example: There are these panning, transient synth stabs that travel in and around the sound-stage, encircling the airy vocal samples and hovering atmospheric sounds. I get the same spacial effect via the Roxannes that I get when rockin' this track with my Audeze LCD-3 w/ Fazor! How's that possible? I don't have a clue - I just know what I hear and it's mesmerizing. I can't get enough of this effect. I often play tracks like this over and over with the Roxannes, and, to me, that means there's something magical happening during playback and I want more of it every time I listen. The same thing happens while playing Eno & Hyde's latest album: High Life. I feel like I'm listening to large, over-ear headphones! On "Time to Waste it" off High Life there are also vocals being encompassed by breezy guitar-work and airy synths. This track is a little more stripped-down however, so the presence of space is infectious, especially considering I'm talking about listening to this with IN-ear-monitors! It's Eno & Hyde's use of the space between the notes/triggered sounds on this record that help make it such a captivating listening experience. I didn't know an IEM could be capable of translating that spacial quality. The Roxannes pulled it off with style, grace, and ease!
 
Associated equipment:
 
Sources:
* Astell&Kern AK240 DAP - via 3.5mm standard stereo output

 
* CEntrance / Glove Audio A1 DAC/Amp for Astell&Kern AK120 & 100 (I'm using my AK120 for storage) - the A1 is a DAC/amp for older A&K models: Essentially turns your old player into a whole new DAP! - By means of turning the AK120 or 100 into the storage - and the A1 takes over duties as DAC + Headphone amp  - via via 3.5mm standard stereo output

 
*ALO Island DAC/amp (w/ Amarra as source for the Island) via 3.5mm standard output

 
* Ernestolone Carot One tube/hybrid DAC/Amp
 

 
Music:
As indicated in the review
 
Another album that's been getting tons of spins over here is Recondites Hinterland. This record is pure ear-candy. Drivy kick-drums pound with abandon, floating synths weave in and out of other elements, and while each track has its own distinctive feel, there's a rhythmic pulse to this record that doesn't let up. For fans of underground electronic music - it's like a gorgeous, early-morning intelligent tech-house LP. One of my favorite tracks on the record is "Riant" - which, once it's in-motion, the forward progression doesn't halt until the end of the track, even during the breakdown. The wifey and I had our own lil' silent raves in my home office, dancing to this track. Usually she's wearing my Audeze LCD-3s, and me the LCD-2s (using my Cavalli Audio Liquid Gold as the power source behind it all). When I dropped this track using the Roxannes and Glove Audio A1 by CEntrance (currently two months out), a DAC/Amp for Astell&Kern's AK120 and 100 - the sound was so silky-smooth it sounded like water that'd been spilled on a pristine glass table - the beads of water moving along the glass until they trickled off.

The kick-drum was heavy, yet tightly controlled, the airy synths were like waves of sand. The overall effect was enrapturing. I couldn't stop listening to this track! I'd hit the play button over and over again. It was like being at an after hours party, when the 4AM DJ is just hitting his stride, and the beat is constant but also moody. The crowd, while over-tired, can't help but get up and move to the rhythm. That was me, dancing in my office at 5:30AM (oh, wait, that's happening right now...). I've never been so overwhelmed by the sheer power of music through CIEMs like this before. The track after "Riant": "Stems" kicks off with a pounding four-on-the-floor bass beat. The sound on systems that aren't resolute can be quite sterile, as there's a textural quality to the bass that's akin to that wonderful resonance you get when hearing a Funktion One club system, or the early Fazon systems in places like Club Twilo in the mid-90's. It's not merely a kick, its got a tonal quality that seems to ebb and flow, and the Roxannes captured and reproduced this is such glorious fashion. I swear these don't behave like IEMs at all when I'm lost in the music. It's just like listening to some of my better over-ear cans! The frequency spectrum is full-bodied and extended. From the lows to the highs I can almost feel the colorful timbre, the dynamic contrasts are extremely well-rounded. That is not to say there's any shading or muffling of any sound to make it so: The contrasts are wide and deep, almost opaque. The breath of sound is far greater than anything I've come to expect from IEMs or CIEMs! And the detail retrieval? That's another area where the Roxannes jump out at me. On Hecq's new Conversions LP (a remix compilation album) he re-works tracks of such musically diverse artists such as Bersarin Quartett, Bong-Ra, and TechDiff to Ruby My Dear and Anodyne! The sounds and styles are as varied as the artists names. The record's choc full of different sounds and effects, and it goes from chill-room atmospheric to slamming dub step in zero-to-sixty! It makes for entertaining listening and system tests (highly recommended btw)! The Roxannes did such an amazing job of reproducing the magical sonic variants of this album. That's no easy task. The transducers were getting worked, and they sound better the more worked-over they get! I can't wait to re-visit this review in a couple months. My JH-13s got better for at least 500 hours. I believe that. I heard it happen. 
 
I'm going to recommend Hecq's Conversions to the crew over there for demo purposes! That's another thing you hear in the Roxannes: that the Harveys of Jerry Harvey Audio are into all sorts of music! I know it, as Jaime-Harvey Penrod and I share a passion for The Dirty Projectors, and turning each other onto new music. If they weren't fellow music addicts their earphones wouldn't be able to handle such a wide variety of sounds. Some of us have been hearing this happen to a few high end loudspeaker designers over the years. Since we know the designers musical taste: Lets say jazz, classical, and about as pop as they go is Janice Ian - than it's no surprise when their speakers play back Stravinsky's The Fire bird Suite heavenly, but crumble under Eskmo, Amon Tobin, Foreign Beggers, and artists like Goldie! While I'm no audio designer, I can say straight-up part of my goal would be to make a product that's capable of reproducing (as we're deep in the music reproduction end of it here) the depths of the audio spectrum that humans can react to. What lives on that system? There are so many different artists/people out there - I think people should strive to make a product that's only discrimination pertains to audio quality of the source! Your headphones or speakers should, IMO, if I'm forking over scratch to buy them, play back my music too, as well as whatever you're listening to. JH Audio gets this at a fundamental level. Jerry's a monitor mix engineer for bands like Van Halen! That's as close to doing what we do as listeners as you can get in the live music world. It's a boatload more work, and just about everything comes down to your mix! But Jerry has to be a professional discriminating listener to nail it live! Plus: he's also about getting the most music out of his products! He told me to get Drew's Silver Dragon IEM cables from Moon Audio for my JH-13s years ago. Now Jerry's company had cables, but he tested Drews and it was better so he didn't waste any time in an ego-battle about who's getting what. He was about getting the most out of his work, his art, and Drew's art complements his! I still rock Silver Dragon as a must-have today, especially at Meets and shows! Then they started offering them online with their IEMs. That's a man who wants you to connect with music like he does That's salt-of-the-Earth kinda-thinking we need in this community. Well, we have more of that here than any other tribe in the audio hobby. I believe that, but we must keep that outlook alive. The great thing here is, Jerry also makes the world's most musically exciting IEMs on the planet as far as I'm concerned. I don't like the word best when it comes to describing gear on the reproduction end. We're all reacting to an art-form: Music. That's being translated by someone Else's art - the gear! And to that end, we're all human and therefore all unique in our reaction to things. The Roxanne, however, is not something that I'll bother arguing with someone over. It's a great in-ear headphone. It does such a grand job that the best compliment I can give it is that while I was typing this, I heard this bizarre effect mixed into Hecq's Conversions, where the gain wasn't merely adjusted in the mix - it was brought down and they introduced the vibe of a three dimensional space, where a car travels from one end of the soundstage to another, and when the change occurred, I thought something was going on outside the headphones, I took em out and looked for Alexandra! There I am, like "honey, you OK? - and she's on the side porch with our cat. So, whether Hecq's new brilliant record is in fact a headphone album, and I believe it is, after hearing things like that get me a few times... 
 
The best thing about the JH Audio Roxannes was, through that whole mix,
I didn't realize I was wearing in-ear-monitors! I went to grab a headphone off my head. No s___.
When I pulled em out I thought to myself, damn, these are amazing.
 
Sorry if I don't have anything to hate on.
These made my month, knowing I can travel with sound this big and powerful
without a couple cases! I'll only bring one headphone case when traveling personally now - YES,
it's a problem... I'm workin' on it.
 
The Roxannes could be Jerry's biggest challenge as he's reached such a high point in the in-ear-monitor arts!
Meaning: what's he gonna do to top this?

When I finally got to sit down with Alex Cavalli and hear his Liquid Lightning and Liquid Gold I had unreasonable expectations. I love a combination of tubes and solid state in my reference systems. The sonic pairing of the body and warmth of tubes with the speed and precision of solid state, when executed properly (or just the right complementary components) have delivered some of my favorite, most musically transparent listening sessions of my life, period. I'm talkin' from six-seven foot speaker towers and amps the size of lobster traps to the smallest of portable solutions: I'm a music freakin' addict. And while I don't always understand people who aren't as deeply into music as my friends and I are (which is obsessive I'm sure, to say the least, but...)  I don't necessarily have a a definitive answer for my preference either: Why I always prefer, when available, the combination of tubes and solid state in systems. My in-room stereo system has always had a combination of tubes and solid state - it sounds right. It sounds more natural to me. So, knowing that Dr. Cavalli had the Liquid Lightning at CanJam at RMAF last year, I wanted to hear that before anything else on his tables, but a couple were busy having fun with it, tube-rolling with someone working for Alex. So he asked if I wanted to hear the Liquid Gold. No! C'mon, of course I will! I had my trusty Audeze LCD3's with me in their road case, and he had the powerful Abyss headphones and LCD-3's as well. Unfortunately I only had a WyWires prototype cable with me that was terminated 1/4" - I forgot my Moon Audio Silver Dragon cable with adapter system in California! What can I say, I'm a dumb a__. Luckily Alex got a pair of Moon Audio cables (don't remember which ones - I think they were Black Dragon) with a 4-pin XLR, and I was cookin'. Now, the tubes are inside the enclosure/chassis of my E.A.R HP4 and 868 pre-amp, and I didn't know anything technically regarding the Liquid Gold. All I knew was that a couple of good friends, here and elsewhere, told me to give it a shot. And please pardon the pun: A freakin' shot in the arm is exactly what it was!

 
I thought it was a hybrid amplifier. I assumed there were a couple of tubes hiding in that brushed-black finished hood. It was modern beauty, simple and elegant. I loved it within 5 minutes. Now, having done this for twenty plus years, I also know you can't judge anything (or at least I can't) entirely on a first impression. The Liquid Glass sounded terrific too by the way, I shouldn't minimize that. Even Alex Cavalli told me "you were really lost in it there for a lil' bit". He was right. But when I heard the Liquid Gold was a differential solid state amp, I had to hear it again. Alex was gracious in getting a review unit out to me as soon as the guy before me sent it back. Now, I feel obligated to tell you that loving another expensive desktop reference amplifier was actually something I was trying to avoid! I got my dream gear last year: My E.A.R HP4 and ALO Studio Six (and been through lots of tube-rolling) - and admittedly I got industry accommodation pricing on those, but they're still expensive for me! Loving the LAu (Liquid Gold) has been a blessing and a curse. It's a blessing because it transports me elsewhere when I'm listening to it. This happens with most of the headphones in my collection, my two favorite DACs right now, and my analog front-end in the home office/Sonic Satori Personal Audio Lab! I'm thankful for the RCA unbalanced inputs for that. My Unison Research Simply Phono tube phonostage has single-ended outputs. Since it's been installed and running everyday (since late February) it continues to break-in and wow me. I've used the following associated gear during my time with the Cavalli Audio Liquid Gold Thus far:
 

 
Sources:
MacBook Pro Retina SSD running Amarra, Audirvana, MOG and Spotify Premium +
McIntosh D100 DAC (w/ balanced and SE input)
Mytek Digital Stereo192-DSD DAC
 
VPI Traveler turntable w/ 2MBlue Ortofon cartridge +
Unison Research Simply Phono tube phonostage
 
Headphones:
Audeze LCD-3, X, and XC (balanced)
Audio Technica AD900X (SE)
B&O H6 (SE)
Grado 325i (SE)
Mr. Speakers Alpha Dogs v1 (SE) & Mad Dogs (balanced)
Sennheiser HD800's (balanced)
 
Cables:
for the Audeze's:
Double Helix Molecule w/ Fusion 4-pin XLR
Double Helix Complement 2 prototype (dual XLR) - Silver Peptide (pure OCC Silver litz cable)
Moon Audio Silver Dragon with adapter system (4-pin XLR)
WyWires 4-pin XLR 
 
for Sennheiser HD800's:
Cardas Audio/Headroom FatPipe Dual-XLR
Double Helix Complement 2 prototype (dual XLR) - Silver Peptide (pure OCC Silver litz cable)
w/ Sennheiser adapters from Double Helix
 
ALL other headphones have stock cables
System wired with Nordost Heimdall 2, from USB to analog interconnects.
 

 

 
This suckers' got juice for days. It's also, as I stated above, as solidly built as any other solid state headphone amp I've spent time with. It also comes with a nice dust-cover. A very nice choice, especially for places like my office, which is an older addition on the house, and while the dedicated power is great, the people driving up and down the dirt paths at the nearby winery fields tends to leave a layer of dust sooner than I'd like it after I dust. Thank you Dr. Cavalli for that nice touch. It's the little things... The great thing about this amplifier however is far from anything little. It's the LAu's huge and powerful sound that shot through all the cans mentioned above and performed beautifully whether mated with my McIntosh D100 or Mytek Stereo192-DSD DAC. It also sounded as soulful as I've heard in a headphone amp when playing artists like Joni Mitchell , Dusty Springfield, or Ani DiFranco on vinyl. It actually reminds me of my E.A.R HP4 in that way, and indescribable way. How can you quantify soul? I'm not sure I can, but those two amps ooze it. The Liquid Gold also seems to play nicer with a wider variety of headphones than other reference amps I have, which can, at times, be more finicky when pairing them with different styles of cans. Now, out of all the headphones I tried with the LAu, my three favorites were my Audeze LCD-X, XC, and Sennheiser HD800. Using these headphones with the LAu reminded me of why I got so deeply into personal audio in the first place: The immediacy and fluidity of the sound, the power, the realistic dB levels, the dynamics and soundstaging brought me back to listening to giant loudspeaker systems with Harry Pearson at The Absolute Sound! Everything is huge, and I don't mean exaggerated, so perhaps I should say things seemed life-like in size and scope. There is also a textural quality, and sort of roundedness to the sound of this amp, the dimensionality (that is: the presence of space between sound/instruments in the soundstage) in my system was sublimely executed. It continues to be so - as I'm listening right now, to Recondite's new LP: Hinterland - via Audeze LCD-X's/Wywires 4-pin XLR cables, and McIntosh D100 DAC, MacBook/Amarra rig and it's breathtaking. This album is a drivy, kick drum-heavy atmospheric underground tech-house monster. It's also recorded beautifully. I can't stay still as I type this. I'm moving around in my office chair like I'm sitting on something near a Funktion One speaker stack in a club bangin' away. My heart and my body have to follow the beat. This is, what I believe Hp (Harry Pearson) used to refer to as the "twinkle dust factor" or "TDF" as they used to call it at The Absolute Sound until the mid-nineties. The sound transcends the system, and I'm caught up in this flowing, meditative sort of head-bobbin', body-moving rhythm that only special components like this grant me! It's like being at DC-10 in Ibiza at 9:00AM and Damian Lazarus of Crosstown Rebels is gettin' nasty on the 1's and 2's...
 
Using Digital front-end:
 
While using my Audeze LCD-X + Wywires cable the sound was nothing short of hypnotic. Recondite's kick and wavy bass on "Leafs" bumped so fluidly I couldn't help myself: I had to get up, grab the Sennheiser HD800s, Double Helix Cables Complement OCC Silver litz prototype (dual-XLR) and grab my wife. She put on the headphones and danced next to me like the time we spent in Ibiza I mentioned above. And we're both rockin headphones! Realize this is something I never imagined a few years ago. Admittedly we've done this before: had our own silent rave in my home office, but this could possibly be the closest I've felt to dancing in a club. The momentum of the sound is so powerful, so enrapturing, I couldn't sit down anymore. Now if that's not an indication of the magic of this amplifier than I'/m not sure what is! I'm not sure what else could possibly trounce that feeling. This may seem like a cop-out. But wholeheartedly: It isn't often that I feel that compelled to actually get up and move to the music via my digital front end. I mean I've also had wonderful listening sessions in the chair, who hasn't? But this sound grabbed me do deeply in the gut I had to cut loose and get my wifey dancing with me. She's been sick for so long, I knew this sound would get her moving. That also beats my musings about the soundstage and the tonality and all that: Alexandra has been battling a still un-diagnosed auto-immune disease for a year. The most she can do is work in the garden to get some relief from the pain. But music, played on the right system, can get her movin'. The Liquid Gold and Audeze LCD-3's (what she was wearing, as I rocked the LCD-X) had us entranced. Sorry, but f___ audiophile vernacular right now. This is what it's all about for me. Take that as subjective garbage if you want. Me, I'm havin' a blast dancing with my wifey right now, rockin' the Liquid Gold and Audeze's...
 

 
I also tested the single-ended outputs of the LAu. I love the fact that he chose to use the dual Neutrik outputs that accommodate XLR and 1/4", as well as the 4-pin output. I believe he's also added additional outputs on an updated version of the amplifier. For the 1/4" output I chose Grado 325i's, B&O H6, and, thanks to the suggestion of a fellow Head-Fier (will post user name ASAP) my Audio Technica AD900X. Some people expressed concern over a hiss in the amplifier with different impedance's, and so a few asked me to try other cans than my top two references (Audeze and Sennheiser) and this particular user asked me to try the 900X because people reported hearing awful noise with it on the LAu. I'm not sure if it's because I've got clean power in my home office, or if the Nordost Quantum power products I have underneath the whole system kept the noise level down - but while I heard a slight hiss with the 900X with no signal playing, the moment I fed a signal through the amp it became inaudible. So that issue didn't bother me. I also came up in the home stereo era, so a lil noise when no music was playing was sometimes part of the game unfortunately. As I said in my response in the thread regarding the reported noise with the 900X and LAu: I'm not concerned with the noise or the performance of the amplifier on a bench or when there's no music being pumped through it. I care when the music plays! And with the music pumpin', the AD900X was airy, dynamic, and magnificently spacious. The Grado's were fantastic with singer/songwriter stuff, rock-n-roll, and even ambient electronic. The B&O H6's displayed extension in the lower frequency extremes with the Liquid Gold that I've never experienced before with those headphones. When playing albums like Shlohmo's Bad Vibes on the H6's the bass was far more impressive, with regard to detail and transparency as well, than I've given these cans credit for in the past. Nothing like the power and clarity of a new amp to show you what your cans can really do! By the way: I used high gain for the Audeze's, HD800's, 900X and Grados. Low gain on the others.
 

 
 

Using Analog Front-End:
 
Man, playing underground dance music on this rig was scrumptious. Especially with the Audeze LCD-XC's and Double Helix Cables Complement OCC litz prototype cable (dual XLR) and the Wywires 4-pin XLR cables! The HD800 was also thumping and smooth as silk. One of my favorite albums to listen to on this rig was Nosaj Thing's Home LP on 12". The sound was liquid and wide-open at the same time. Like water spreading out evenly over a sheet of glass. The audible ripples moved seamlessly, it was aw-inspiring. One of my favorite tracks on the record is "Glue" a track that's got terrific depth of field on a killer sound system. There are these synth stabs and pads that are seemingly triggered all over the soundstage. It's like sonic popcorn going off occasionally in this black background. The sound is captivating. I've heard systems that aren't resolving clog up the dimensionality of this effect. No such worry with the Liquid Gold. There was tons of room, tons of space, and the elements all had space to breath and exist apart sonically, while remaining within the musical composition, keeping the rhythm flowing. For a change of pace I pulled out my James Blake 7" UK single pressing of "Limit to Your Love". The man does things with the Roland TB-303 on this track that truly boggle my mind. This track has become well-known for its bottom-end power in the two-channel audiophile space. Listening to it on LCD-X and XC's was like hearing some of the most musically engaging two-channel in-room systems I've heard: Especially when they pressurize the room nicely. The weight and velocity of the 303 wobblies in the bass-line were over-powering, but not aggressively so. There was a smoothness and continuous-ness to the bass that made it resplendent. I couldn't get enough. It slammed with authority and control. What a sonic treat.
 

 
Then I had to check things out with softer, singer/songwriter material. I wanted to feel the emotive capabilities of the amp in the system. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say I wanted to test if the amp, playing music that gets to me emotionally, would help make that magical connection. I grabbed my LCD-X and Double Helix dual-XLR cable for this one. The first thing I had to hear was Ani DiFranco's "Hearse" of What Side Are You On? on 12". This record is a wonderfully stripped-down, splendid showcase of DiFranco's poetic and musical talents. "Hearse" has become our song: Alexandra and me. It's a drop-dead gorgeous love song. It's got everything you need in a great love song: A Big heart; through minimal elements. There's plenty of space between the notes, allowing for my mind to wonder, considering great memories, and not-so-great ones, while listening to the song at the same time. It's beautiful. Honestly, and you can call me a lil' b____ for admitting it: But sometimes I tear up listening to this song. But only with a resolute system that's also got soul - that intangible thing I mentioned above: The sparkle in the system that connects you so deeply to the music you forget about analog vs. digital, and technical specifications and all the BS, and it's just you and the music left. With my trusty Audeze LCD-X, the Liquid Gold pulled off, perhaps, the most emotively charged presentation of Ani DiFranco's "Hearse" that I've ever heard (I haven't heard her do this one live yet). Again, there I was, calling in the wifey. She put on the LCD-3's (via Wywires 4-pin XLR cables) and we both sat there, eventually laughing through tears - as we watched each other start to lose it, we laughed our asses off. It was an awesome moment. You don't get much better than that.  I had equally engrossing experiences using Mr. Speakers Alpha Dogs (via single-ended- I need a balanced cable for these suckers) and Mad Dogs (balanced). In fact there wasn't a headphone mentioned above that didn't marry well to the Cavalli Liquid Gold. That's another knotch for the LAu: As mentioned above - it plays well with others! From DAC or phonostage - to various musical genres! It just goes about its business and does its job better than almost every other amplifier I've heard. Perhaps the most musically engaging of them all actually - but I'm still figuring that out!
 
Overall, I can't find a single thing to gripe about with the Cavalli Audio Liquid Gold. And for the objectivists: Sorry, we just experience things differently. I'm a music addict, no-joke. I need it on all the time. Especially if the TV's not on or I'm not reading something. Yeah I'm OCD, mixed with a bunch of other weirdness believe me. But I love music. I can say that with all of my heart. With the Liquid Gold, listening to music was (and is: I'm listening to it right now - back to Recondite's Hinterland LP through Audeze LCD-X's) as pleasurable and exciting as it gets for me outside of the dance-club. As a matter of fact, at times I thought I was in the dance club listening to this work of audio art! If you wanna hear the bleeding edge of solid-state in personal audio, check out the Cavalli Liquid Gold. I mentioned that loving this amplifier was a blessing, and a curse above, but I never mentioned why it's also a curse. It's a curse because I have to figure out a way to buy it now!
 

 
 

The Audeze LCD-XC has, again, redefined what's possible for me in a headphone, in terms of sonic integrity and musical engagement. In this case I'm talking about music playback through closed cans. My favorite way to experience music via headphones is through open-back designs. They've always been more immediately able to transcend my thoughts about a band on my head and drivers hugging my ears when trying to lose myself in the music. Perhaps I never considered the notion of using closed headphones for anything more than DJing or gettin' on the road because that's what they always were to me: Utilitarian. But Mr. Speakers Mad Dogs changed all that for me, then the Alpha Dogs, and now the LCD-XC from Audeze.
 
The experiences I've had (and am having as I type these words) with this headphone obligates me to say forget about the senseless "subjectivists" vs. objectivists" debate for a few moments if you can. Ultimately, we're all reacting to music playback. Nobody can argue over whether music is an art form right? Well, we're chasing the music and the sound we love through technology that's also an art form! So all of this is in the ear of the beholder. It doesn't phase me if somebody dismisses this as poetic musings and hyperbole. God, I'm so sick of seeing that word tossed around insulting people trying to express themselves. But it's products like this that help me forget about bit-rates and sample-rates, async and Direct Stream Digital. Sure, I'm pretty certain Audeze's engineering leap with their Fazor technology is responsible for much of the magic I hear in the XC. I've been living with their LCD-3 as my top reference (next to my HD800's) headphone since its release, so I have little doubt that Audeze's technological advancements have rendered a new reference for me. The music through the cans transcends the numbers for me. Now you can do with that what you will, but as much as I love to geek out, I really don't care how I achieve happiness when it comes to hearing my music the way I love it through my cans! That said: I believe it's important to shine the light on two techy aspects of these new closed headphones from Audeze that helped seal the deal for me. Firstly, their increased sound-staging capabilities. The one thing I've always longed for in my LCD-3's was that out-of-you-head soundstage projection of my Sennheiser HD800's. That incredible sense of being surrounded when the sound-field exists far beyond my head. The experience can be akin to listening to loudspeakers in a room. That presence is captivating to hear, and it feels more natural, as that feels closer to experiencing live performances

The LCD-X and XC, thanks to Audeze's newly developed Fazor technology, throws a much deeper and wider soundstage. While listening to atmospheric album's like The-Drum's Contact, Brian Eno's LUX, Radiohead's Kid A and Shlohmo's Bad Vibes the sound is enveloping and open with window-like transparency and holographic imaging. I get so transfixed when I play some of my favorite ambient records through my best tube rigs (ALO Studio Six & E.A.R HP4) and the XC's, it's just like listening to my two-channel in-room system when I close my eyes! I can't wait to hear these on the Cavalli Liquid Gold tube amp! The other new techy change in the XC's is their efficiency. This is pure joy for me. I was always impressed with how well the lil' HRT microStreamer could drive my LCD-3's - but there wasn't much headroom. And as my good friend and fellow Audio360.org scribe @warrenpchi says: "Mercer likes headroom." "That's just how he rolls." Sorry if that sounded like I was talking in the third-person there for a second - but I do like headroom! Less possibility for noise if you don't have to push your amplifier so hard. Now, when I rock the XC's on the microStreamer I barely have to push the amp and the sonic pairing is glorious. I've also enjoyed listening to lots of acoustic recordings with the XC's, specifically singer/songwriter stuff. I love the spaciousness in a bare bones singer/songwriter recording. One of my favorite artists who sits in that genre is Ani DiFranco. I've seen her a few times, and she's never disappointed live. Her albums usually sound great too, as she's into Hi-fi. So I'm sure her reference system kicks serious a__ . I don't know what it is now - but she used to rock Maggies. "Hearse", off her 2012 back-to-folky-roots masterpiece Which Side Are You On? has become one of our songs: My wifey Alexandra and I. It's a powerful and beautiful love song. It encapsulates our love for each other perfectly, with lyrics like "I will always be your lover, even after our atoms have dispersed" and a gorgeous and poetic chorus "and I will follow you into the next life, like a dog chasing after a hearse" - simple, and poignant. When Alex and I play that on our in-room system we just get all choked up and sappy. Well, the same thing happens when I listen to it through a solid source and the LCD-XC's, which is something I probably shouldn't admit here - but I'm listening to XC's as I type this, and the music gets my blood pumpin' when I experience it through em. I feel charged. I get the same feeling when listening to experimental electronic music, which is probably what I listen to most these days. Though my playback is always varied, I've definitely been leaning towards that sound lately. The XC's bring dynamics galore when I'm rockin' Alix Perez's Chroma Chords, Burial's newly released Rival Dealer EP (man it's great) and his first two albums. James Blake's "Limit to Your Love" on the limited 45rpm 9"  is lush, airy and delivers wicked sub-bass. That deep warbly Roland TB-303 bassline drips out with abandon, and the XC's handle it with grace and precision.
 
 
 
 
The better efficiency of the XC's enticed me to try the headphones on a number of amps and DAPs, from the battery-powered ALO International, Pan Am, and Island, to the also battery-powered (AC-powered in my case for this eval) CEntrance HiFi-M8, Audioquest Dragonfly (if you're gonna spend your whole budget on these cans - that lil' beauty can be had for $99 right now), Audioengine D3, MYTEK Stereo-192 DSD DAC/headphone amp, and my Oppo BDP-105. My sources ranged from my iPhone 4S to my Astell & Kern AK120, MacBook Pro/Amarra, and various DAP/DAC/Amp configurations, like my iPod Classic & CEntrance HiFi-M8, Astell & Kern AK100 & ALO International, ALO Island, and iPod Touch & Sony PHA-1: My favorite combo with the XC's, next to the iPod Classic & CEntrance HiFi-M8. So I put them through alot of rigs. After all, being labeled a "Audeze Jihadist" by a commenter on another audio site, I had to be sure I really loved em this much to preach the Audeze gospel (and if you believe that I gotta bridge to sell ya). As I stated in my Writers Choice Awards for Positive Feedback - where I gave the LCD-X and XC awards this year: Since when did brand loyalty in an audio writer become a bad thing? When Audeze builds a product I don't like I'll let ya know. In the meantime, I'm having a blast listening to these cans, and when all the BS has faded away, and you're alone with your music and your gear, isn't that what this all boils down to? I've taken trips with these already, and when I sat down to listen in my hotel room it was as if I brought a high end stereo system with me, but I didn't disturb anybody! Admittedly, that's something I never envisioned caring about years ago when it came to my Hi-fi, but life calls for those situations these days! The XC, especially when accompanied by a capable source, defies every assumption I made about the sonic capabilities and claustrophobic aspect of closed-back headphones. They sound wide open, are dynamically engaging, and damn addictive. Wait a minute, you sure these are closed?
 
Lookin' for the edge of the audio arts in closed-back headphones?
Check out the Audeze LCD-XC.
  
 
Update 7/12/14
 
I've travelled with my LCD-XCs now, a few trips, and they're continuing to open up! These also continue to sound frighteningly open-backed some times too. As the soundstage expands with real-life break-in/usage, these cans have evolved into quicker, sharper (as in micro and macro detail retrieval capabilities) conduits to my music collection: both vinyl and digital. They have become one of my top five all-time reference cans - for recreational listening, and even studio-monitoring (w/ the LCD-X).
 
The captivating sound of the LCD-XC continues to grow in scale, in depth, and in emotional transference (their ability to draw me in, and make me forget about the gear) as I journey through more records!!
 
UPDATE: 10.19.14
 
I just wanted to share some pictures of the various rigs I've used w/ the LCD-XC since I wrote this review. It's been on my mind since I have another Audeze Sonic Satori column coming up. These headphones continue to astonish me - and yes, I don't care if that's sounds too heavy.
The LCD-XC, like no other closed-back planar-magnetic cans I've experienced, manage to (especially after proper break-in, which, admittedly, followed this review) almost disappear. By that I mean I sometimes forget I'm listening to a closed headphone (and more often than not these days)! Their ability to reproduce a palpable sense of air and space around the instruments/triggered sounds in the music just floors me! Sure - I also believe their low-end has more overall gestalt and punch because they are in fact closed - but it doesn't take away from their sonic accomplishments.
 
I end up listening to my XCs more than any other Audeze - simply because I work up in the front of the house sometimes (where I have a couple systems set up at a desk) because of my wifeys illness - so I can be close to her if she needs something, AND I don't disturb her! It's been a spectacular sonic journey with the LCD-XCs! 
 
And - for the record - I've found that, IMO, Double Helix Cables - from Comp2 to Comp4 - have the most magnificent synergy with the Audezes!!!!
The Nordost Heimdall 2 comes in behind them...
Believe me, I've tried LOTS of cables.
 
So, check out some of the recent rigs I've been using w/ the LCD-XCs:
  
 

and my friends boy - 8-year old Dominic said, after this:
"Uncle Mike, can I have these?" "Now my Beats are goin' to sound like garbage!"
 

I just experienced one of the most incredible listening sessions I can remember with the ALO Studio Six!  I'm still in a sort-of sonic shock.
I haven't experienced that sensation since I first heard the Genesis One Loudspeaker System (250k) in Harry Pearson's house (Founder of
The Absolute Sound magazine) for the first time.
 
This is a single-ended triode amplifier that utilizes 6SN7, 6V6, 5AR4 and OB2 (2) tubes with an over spec'd power supply.  The beefy power supply is important here, as this amp delivers such velocity and authority that it's gestalt reminds me of some of the best in-room single-ended triode designs (like the OG Antique Sound Labs Hurricanes for example (but in smaller form).
 
I've driven my Audeze LCD3, an Audeze LCD1 on-loan, Sennheiser HD800, and V-MODA Crossfade M-100's at the same time without any noticeable loss in harmonic structure or overall gain!! I ran different lengths of cable so I could hear each headphone individually and not be interfered by the sound coming from the other cans.
 
My Audeze LCD3's were equipped w/ Moon Audio's latest Silver Dragon LCD3 cable w/ new Furutech connectors for this (formal review coming ASAP). This cable brings out the emotion in music playback like no other on the LCD3's that I've heard- and I've been using Cardas Clear as my reference (and have heard most ALO cables - which are also very good).
 
The ALO Studio Six is in a class all it's own. This from a proud owner of an E.A.R. HP4, which I considered THE reference for me in high end personal audio. The reason? Not the bass response, or clarity, coherence, and transparency (all the audiophile buzzwords it possesses). Nope. I loved (and still love) the E.A.R because it was the only headphone amp that brought me to tears when listening to music, until now... The Studio Six handles everything from Miles Davis to Daft Punk, Ella Fitzgerald, Aphex Twin, James Blake, Burial and Shlohmo with finesse and authority. It's quiet, allowing for the music to shine through. Even the tactile experience of the amplifier is satisfying, like your money really went to something substantial. Also: With this particular selection of tubes - I suspect Ken Ball and his team experimented on perfecting this design for as long as they deemed necessary to convey music transparently.
 
After nearly twenty years listening to high end audio I can say that using the ALO Studio Six headphone amp with these components (UPDATED): My Audeze LCD3 magnetic planar headphones - Studio Six - MYTEK Stereo192-DSD DAC - MacBook Pro SSD running Audirvana - is like experiencing my good friend Dan Meinwald's (importer of E.A.R, Marten Audio Loudspeakers, Townshend, and more) incredible high end, full-range in-room stereo system! The only difference? His system, in its current iteration, cost in upwards of 250k!!
 
I'd say this system has far more dynamic velocity than my room reference system, especially in terms of it's impact on all my senses. If I close my eyes while crankin' this amp and my Audeze LCD3's (or HD800's) I can imagine myself at club Twilo in New York in the mid-nineties (w/ the right underground DJ mix) or in the Hamptons rockin' to Bob Marley in the Summer with some of my best friends since the first grade. The system connects me to the music in ways I've only heard in stereo systems all costing over 100k!
 
Now, I know the headphones, wire, and amp are all contributing their own sonic characteristics, which is why I always describe the experience of the music with the addition of a new component. But here, in personal audio, with an amplifier this robust, I can say with confidence that old school high end stereo rules apply here: The amp is half the system. In that case, if you can afford this (in life some of the better things cost more money - my Beemer costs more than my Kia) I believe the ALO Studio Six provides the greatest musical experience in personal audio today - because it sounded terrific across all my cans!
 
That's something special indeed.
I am never giving this amplifier up. I haven't quite figured that out, YET.
 
A Class-Defining product! Nothing less.
 
MY LISTED PRICE MAY NOT BE ACCURATE - CURRENTLY ON-LOAN****

While I'm a known advocate for Audeze's LCD3 I've shied away from writing anything official about the cans because Alex Rosson, CEO and co-designer, has become one of my closest friends.  So there's an obvious conflict-of-interest, but I figured if I share that here I could maybe stop some of the vitriol in the commentary that might follow in our wonderfully strange world of high end audio, both personal and in-home. I've also experienced a handful of events over the last two years that have literally forced my hand. Some of my most intense listening sessions have occurred using my Audeze LCD3's. How, as an audio journalist, can I neglect to share about these incredible times listening to music? I couldn't hold out any longer, pure and simple.  An official review for one of the websites I write for is coming.  In the meantime:
 
 
Some audio journalist will undoubtedly attack me for writing this. I just hope you trust my intent. I'm trying to share my excitement when I use these sonic marvels. Audeze currently designs and builds the only hi-fi product in the world where I do admittedly use the term “best” when people ask me “what do you think are the best headphones on the planet”? I say, knowing my best differs from their best and ultimately we are all reacting to art (so the truth is always in the ear of the beholder) that Audeze make the best headphone “experience” I know of. I haven't been this captivated while listening to music since I walked into Rm #3 at Harry Pearson's place in Sea Cliff, NY, in 1994 (the original home of The Absolute Sound magazine). That was a turning point in my life. I never actually heard the sheer magic that can be created using two channels until that day. I had nothing to judge it against, nor did I care to! The music just washed over me, and I remember walking around the room wondering how the hell these giant loudspeakers (the 150K Genesis 1 Loudspeaker System) were creating a three dimensional soundstage. I could discern where first and second violins were, the horn section, etc. The audible experience was opaque, like a giant movie theater screen. It was so intense it actually become a visual experience as well as an audible one. From that day forward I've been chasing great sound like the greatest drug.
 
 
I stayed up all night a couple nights ago, listening to my ALO Pan Am (running on it's Gateway power supply) and my Audeze LCD3's, now fitted with their “leather free”/super-suede headband, which I prefer to the leather because of the heavier padding. The headphones feel so much lighter on my head. This combo is glorious, including my MacBook Pro w/ SSD running Amarra 2.5 as the source. It's a fusion that's been sounding so seductive and enrapturing I've literally skipped meals and lost sleep because of its hypnotic sonics! Alexandra (my wifey) has been complaining about my time at the computer far more than usual lately because of these damn headphones.
 
--If you want a terrific technical review of the LCD3's check out Chris Marten's review in Playback. In my opinion, Chris nailed that review, and as a fellow audio scribe I have to give him props for that piece.--
 
Some consumer products level cultural boundaries; financial and social status, geography, politics, things that consume us as much as we do them. Music, as an art form turned commercial, does all that. No matter what the playback mechanism, music itself touches us on a deeply human level. It transcends all that ultimately divides us. It's the world's only universal language. How can you not love it? I can't imagine a life without it. I fell in love with hifi because it strips away all the ******** between me and the music. I lived (and still do) for the wide-open spaciousness of Pink Floyd in Dark Side of the Moon and the spirit of my generations angst and rebellion in Nirvana's “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” When I first heard a large-scale high end audio system I knew I wanted to be involved with this world in some way forever, whether it be working in the audio or music side. I've dreamed of owning an obnoxiously large, jaw-dropping reference system since I was 18. With Audeze LCD3's I take one with me everywhere I go! Thanks to their sturdy travel case I've listened to my pair all over the states, even beachside in Kona, Hawai'i! That was a magical experience: I would sit on our lanai overlooking the ocean after sunset, cranking Burnt Friedman's Secret Rhythms. Since the headphones are magnetic planar transducers I loved listening while the waves smashed against the sand. It was a purely meditative experience. You don't achieve this level of sonic integrity by accident, or by chasing someone else's product.
 
Audeze's freakin' earcups show they know whats going on: how they direct the sound of the transducer into your ear at an angle, like a continuation of the outer-ear. Most companies just give you an even circular pad that doesn't aim sound at you naturally, and your brain knows that believe it or not. It's why these headphones maybe a little big and makes us look like Mighty Mouse, but it feels good to be Mighty Mouse, doesn't it?
 
Now, I don't think I can identify the actual sonic signature of the Audeze LCD3, as I'm not sure what they necessarily “sound like”. I say this because, when I listen, I'm not concerned with the headphones. They connect me to the music in such a deep way that I always feel like I'm hearing my records for the first time, and that is an amazing gift. That sound nuts I'm sure, but after 20 years in high end audio I can honestly say these wonderful cans provided me with new sonic territory to explore, and that's a treasure to behold! I find I'm listening to records I'd forgotten about. The greatest thing about that is re-discovering things I may have missed in albums that have great significance in the soundtrack of our lives (meaning my life with Alexandra)! That's another precious gift the LCD3's have given me.
 
I'm not going to dive into the classification bit here, and I'm sorry if this review in this spot is not technical enough for you. I (when writing for places like Positive Feedback or HPSoundings) write about the experience of listening to a component rather than spit specifications at you that you can easily find on a companies website. I'm also admittedly saving most of my review for PFO.
 
However, I have to admit that legendary Grammy-Award winning producer Frank Filipetti (look him up) offered up some of his thoughts on the LCD3's during one of our phone calls that say more than I ever could in a couple of sentences, and he gave me permission to share them. Now, before I share them I must preface this by saying that I asked Audeze to send a pair to Frank because I knew he “hated headphones”! But I also knew that he is one of the best engineers/producers this world has ever produced. Arif Mardin considered him not only a dear friend, but part of his “A-Team” list. That says it all about Frank. Plus he's like Bob Ludwig or Ted Jensen – he knows good audio! When I called him to ask what he thought of the LCD3's here are some of his thoughts:
 
“to call these the best headphones on the planet would be doing a disservice to Audeze, because these are not headphones at all, they're actually head-speakers” “they have given me a new frame of reference, and I'm using them about thirty-percent of the time now when I'm engineering”!
 
Frank also told me he was using them (and his trusted monitors of course) to mix the recent 50^th anniversary of PBS special! His words will always carry far more weight than mine. I'm just excited to get into different headphone amplifiers with him for our LCD3's! These headphones have blown things wide open. There are other great headphones out there. There's no doubt about it. The Audeze LCD3 is the Ferrari 250 GTO of it's time.