It's been a long, long time since I've been on head-fi. And really for no real reason except that I had settled on my endgame headphones the LCD-X driven by a liquid carbon and an Oppo105D. With my portable setup as the PM3 and the HA-2 . But as any PM3 owner will attest the leather starts peeling after a while and having replaced the ear pads I couldnt find a good aesthetic solution for the headband and so the search began for the replacement. And lo and behold there was a sale for the A stock Mobius and Bstock LCD1. Each for $299, So $598 later here I am.
After three weeks of listening I have the following conclusions: The LCD1 sounds better than the PM3, so mission accomplished. As far as the bass is concerned it is all there without being over emphasized. Kinda like the PM3. But Oppo had built a bass boost for that very purpose on the HA2. So if I feel like it I cranks that up but invariably I turn it off since I prefer their default presentation. They are more resolving, with natural mids and open highs. Yes the soundstage is narrow, but its tight and precise. And less closed than the closed back PM3. For the full shebang I still have the LCDX which obviously sound like in another league. The LCD1s are therefore relegated for my home office and the LCDX for my bedroom, where I am not multitasking as much.
Now the Mobius, I had gotten this since I couldnt decide between the two with the intention of returning one after the comparison. But I like it enough to actually keep it for work calls and video watching in the home office. They sound more V shaped and have the cool 3d and head tracking feature that is great for watching video. They have now replaced my Sony 1000XM3 as my travelling and work call headphone, my Sonys have now gone to my wife who is not so finicky about SQ. The Mobius is clearly the best sounding bluetooth headphone I've heard. Between the LCD1 driven by the HA2 amd the Mobius via LDAC, I still do prefer the LCD1 but barely. The mobius are very good indeed and have more convenience and features. Now if I can get that PM3 headband fixed with some real leather I'd have a worthy backup as well.
With Audeze's return policy, it's a no brainer to audition both headphones if you're in the market. LCD1 would appeal to more traditional audiophiles where the Mobius is more future-fi (to borrow from John Darko's vocab). I would encourage anyone to audition these. The Mobius for a more "exciting" sound and the LCD1 for a more resolving and neutral one. I mainly listen to jazz, vocals, 80s pop and some electronic music.
Happy hunting.