Audeze LCD-3 Impressions Thread

[the1andonly]

The HD 600s are not a technical headphone, they're about naturalness in timbre. I don't think it helps to compare them to the LCD-3, which is a very technical headphone.

I find the HD 600 scales a lot more than the LCD-3, since the LCD-3 is easier to drive well. Anyway, I'm not parting with either of them, they're both great for what they're for.

We can just whittle this down to different opinions and go our separate ways.
I will note, I do think the HD600 is a good headphone.

 

[akelew]

Just a heads up, Oratory1990 has updated his Harmon curve EQ preset for the LCD-3 fazor yesterday (on 26/02/2022), he corrected some mistakes in the previous tuning guide and added an extra band:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/i1hujciatpwxocb/Audeze LCD-3.pdf?dl=0

 

[the1andonly]

Z E B R A
wood on wood on wood

 

[akelew]

I am really blown away by my new LCD-3 + Soloist 3x + Bifrost 2 pairing. Had it setup for a few days now.

Switching between oratory1990 EQ with tweaks or Roon Audeze Reveal lcd-3 eq + Slight bass boost. Power-amp mode on the Soloist 3x at medium gain. All through Roon with Tidal/Qobuz using DSP Volume and Roons own parametric eq.

Some bass-heavy electronic music sounds just divine, add a +7db bass boost(+3 over Harman) and it just comes out like your at the club but with such quality, and without muddying up the rest too much. Bring that back in and switch over to some instrumental music and it sounds like I'm in the room with them. Hyper realistic. Female voices are just divine. Instruments decay and reverb and impact just really surprise me. It is much more then i was expecting out of them.
I find for it to sound best, i seem to go pretty loud. Something about getting to that sweet spot where its loud but not 'too loud' is where i really feel it shines. I mean I always hear 'louder always sound better!' but it just seems like there's this threshold where the soundstage really pops, the impact/dynamics and imaging/separation really come to life. The great thing is there's just zero breakup/distortion when going to these high levels. Even with a +11db bass boost (for that one song...) Just clean clean cleaaaan.

My ears are still burning in. And I don't know, maybe the lcd-3 and the Burson Soloist 3x are also 'burning in'. Playing with the EQ and figuring out its relationship with the LCD-3 is helping things along as well. But I am just constantly being surprised here. Blown away, really.

I'm am however finding that there's actually lots of songs that I don't really think sound great with the LCD-3, to me, even with a bit of EQ to push in direction I want. Maybe its just my preferences but I'm not liking stuff that doesn't have much body behind it. Flat/cold sounding music just doesnt get me going and don't excite me, the LCD-3F can be fatiguing at times (Reducing the treble shelf on the harman eq can address this somewhat). Combine with the ultra-revealing nature the lcd-3 beast brings to less-than-well-recorded/mastered tracks.. But with the right music, hoo boy.

I've noticed some things that i feel could be improved but this might change as my brain adapts. I'm not sure if this is lcd-3 or planar specific but,

1) Overall bass impact/dynamics. My Philips Fidelio x2's dynamic driver had an ability to just create a feeling of dynamic pressure on the ear during edm listening, every kick created this feeling on my ear (without even being too loud) of it having authority. Where as the LCD-3, this is missing a lot of the time, for example something like hardstyle with a repetitive slap/kick I feel lacks a bit of that impact and the emotional strings attached. I feel this is mostly in the mid bass. Where as the LCD-3 in sub-bass and bass impacts its just monstrous when the track calls for it, something the fidelio is just incapable of. What this means is that some EDM tracks sound unbelievable, while some sound a bit flat/uninteresting, where as on the fidelio X2, it was more like everything kind of evened out a bit, not-so-great tracks sounded better, while amazing tracks didnt sound their best, but still great. I am really liking the actual quality of the bass here though, and i think with more time my brain will acclimate to it. I've actually pre-ordered a Subpac X1 to pair up with the LCD-3 and i think this could help alleviate this to a degree.

2) I feel like some things lack body. Maybe this is part of the LCD-3's 'laid back' sound, but i just feel like some sounds are just a bit too laid back and lack body/definition. It's really track dependent, for sure. On many tracks its a complete non issue, but on others some things just feel a little bit flat/empty. Combine this with a little bit of sibilance or brightness in the track and it makes it very un-engaging for me. I havent figured out how to address this with EQ yet, but ive found adding 1.5db around 600hz, or 2500/3500 hz seems to help on tracks that really call for it.

Perhaps these two points could be addressed with an upgrade to LCD-4 down the line....

I will list some songs that i have found to sound ridiculously good on the LCD-3, especially with oratory1990 EQ And a bit more bass:
Electronic:
Fading Sun - Terje Isungset
Hourglass Infringement - Tipper
Eclairage - Kimyan Law
Black Shoes - Felix Laband
Perceiving All - Symbolico
Movement - ATYYA
Satsang - Sumiruna
Bubbles - Yosi Horikawa
True Affection - The Blow
Willow - Viken Arman
Power of God - Berg/skazi

Normal/instrumental:
Raindance - Tony Elman / Joe Craven / Darol Anger / Todd
Cocteau - Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra
Keith Don't Go (Ode To The Glimmer Twin) - Nils Lofgren
Breath Into Me - Marian Hill
Poem of Chinese Drum - Yim Hok-Man
Kiss In Blue - Yellow / Heidi Happy
Drum Solo - Gojira
Dacoit Duel - Matt Dunkley
Fanfare for the Common Man - Copland: Super hits
Crazy - Daniela Andrade
Birds - Dominique Fils-Aime

 

[the1andonly]

I am really blown away by my new LCD-3 + Soloist 3x + Bifrost 2 pairing. Had it setup for a few days now.

Switching between oratory1990 EQ with tweaks or Roon Audeze Reveal lcd-3 eq + Slight bass boost. Power-amp mode on the Soloist 3x at medium gain. All through Roon with Tidal/Qobuz using DSP Volume and Roons own parametric eq.

Some bass-heavy electronic music sounds just divine, add a +7db bass boost(+3 over Harman) and it just comes out like your at the club but with such quality, and without muddying up the rest too much. Bring that back in and switch over to some instrumental music and it sounds like I'm in the room with them. Hyper realistic. Female voices are just divine. Instruments decay and reverb and impact just really surprise me. It is much more then i was expecting out of them.
I find for it to sound best, i seem to go pretty loud. Something about getting to that sweet spot where its loud but not 'too loud' is where i really feel it shines. I mean I always hear 'louder always sound better!' but it just seems like there's this threshold where the soundstage really pops, the impact/dynamics and imaging/separation really come to life. The great thing is there's just zero breakup/distortion when going to these high levels. Even with a +11db bass boost (for that one song...) Just clean clean cleaaaan.

My ears are still burning in. And I don't know, maybe the lcd-3 and the Burson Soloist 3x are also 'burning in'. Playing with the EQ and figuring out its relationship with the LCD-3 is helping things along as well. But I am just constantly being surprised here. Blown away, really.

I'm am however finding that there's actually lots of songs that I don't really think sound great with the LCD-3, to me, even with a bit of EQ to push in direction I want. Maybe its just my preferences but I'm not liking stuff that doesn't have much body behind it. Flat/cold sounding music just doesnt get me going and don't excite me, the LCD-3F can be fatiguing at times (Reducing the treble shelf on the harmon eq can address this somewhat). Combine with the ultra-revealing nature the lcd-3 beast brings to less-than-well-recorded/mastered tracks.. But with the right music, hoo boy.

I've noticed some things that i feel could be improved but this might change as my brain adapts. I'm not sure if this is lcd-3 or planar specific but,

1) Overall bass impact/dynamics. My Philips Fidelio x2's dynamic driver had an ability to just create a feeling of dynamic pressure on the ear during edm listening, every kick created this feeling on my ear (without even being too loud) of it having authority. Where as the LCD-3, this is missing a lot of the time, for example something like hardstyle with a repetitive slap/kick I feel lacks a bit of that impact and the emotional strings attached. I feel this is mostly in the mid bass. Where as the LCD-3 in sub-bass and bass impacts its just monstrous when the track calls for it, something the fidelio is just incapable of. What this means is that some EDM tracks sound unbelievable, while some sound a bit flat/uninteresting, where as on the fidelio X2, it was more like everything kind of evened out a bit, not-so-great tracks sounded better, while amazing tracks didnt sound their best, but still great. I am really liking the actual quality of the bass here though, and i think with more time my brain will acclimate to it. I've actually pre-ordered a Subpac X1 to pair up with the LCD-3 and i think this could help alleviate this to a degree.

2) I feel like some things lack body. Maybe this is part of the LCD-3's 'laid back' sound, but i just feel like some sounds are just a bit too laid back and lack body/definition. It's really track dependent, for sure. On many tracks its a complete non issue, but on others some things just feel a little bit flat/empty. Combine this with a little bit of sibilance or brightness in the track and it makes it very un-engaging for me. I havent figured out how to address this with EQ yet, but ive found adding 1.5db around 600hz, or 2500/3500 hz seems to help on tracks that really call for it.

I will list some songs that i have found to sound ridiculously good on the LCD-3, especially with oratory1990 EQ And a bit more bass:
Electronic:
Fading Sun - Terje Isungset
Hourglass Infringement - Tipper
Eclairage - Kimyan Law
Black Shoes - Felix Laband
Perceiving All - Symbolico
Movement - ATYYA
Satsang - Sumiruna
Bubbles - Yosi Horikawa
True Affection - The Blow
Willow - Viken Arman
Power of God - Berg/skazi

Normal/instrumental:
Raindance - Tony Elman / Joe Craven / Darol Anger / Todd
Cocteau - Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra
Breath Into Me - Marian Hill
Poem of Chinese Drum - Yim Hok-Man
Kiss In Blue - Yellow / Heidi Happy
Drum Solo - Gojira
Dacoit Duel - Matt Dunkley
Fanfare for the Common Man - Copland: Super hits
Crazy - Daniela Andrade
Birds - Dominique Fils-Aime

I have found the LCD-3 is surprisingly picky actually, for some reason I prefer it on the HDV 820, instead of the smoother Oppo HA-1, and whenever I use it with tubes I HAVE to run my iFi Micro BL as pre-amp with bass boost on or I find it does kill the bass.

Also been without my LCD-3 the last 3 days , new pads started to crack... like badly due to weather where I live and AC unit in my room, got the conditioner, and with 3 coats literally looks good as it did new!

EQ-Someone needs to make an EQ that is literally just a bass-boost button... actually I am sure this exists, link, anyone?

 

[akelew]

I have found the LCD-3 is surprisingly picky actually, for some reason I prefer it on the HDV 820, instead of the smoother Oppo HA-1, and whenever I use it with tubes I HAVE to run my iFi Micro BL as pre-amp with bass boost on or I find it does kill the bass.

Also been without my LCD-3 the last 3 days , new pads started to crack... like badly due to weather where I live and AC unit in my room, got the conditioner, and with 3 coats literally looks good as it did new!

EQ-Someone needs to make an EQ that is literally just a bass-boost button... actually I am sure this exists, link, anyone?

Sorry to hear!
In terms of bass-boost. All you need is to add a 'low shelf' parametric eq band. It will just reduce or increase all the frequencies below the point you mark, as opposed to a wave like your typical parametric bands. Play around with the crossover and gain. I find i like my bass shelf positioned at somewhere between 90-115hz (so affecting all frequencies below that), and gain anywhere up to +11 in extreme electronic music cases, but usually between +4 and +7db. You can also play around with the Q which is just the slope of the crossover, but default is probably fine.

 

[the1andonly]

Sorry to hear!
In terms of bass-boost. All you need is to add a 'low shelf' parametric eq band. Play around with the crossover and gain. I find i like my bass shelf positioned at somewhere between 90-115hz, and gain anywhere up to +11 in extreme electronic music cases, but usually between +4 and +7db. You can also play around with the Q which is just the slope of the crossover, but default is probably fine.

Honestly I am a anti-EQ'er or EQ-denier, whichever sounds worse

But I like honestly, agree with you, don't get me wrong the LCD-3F has ALMOST converted me to dead neutral bass, but literally my HD800 has more punch and slam(it's a late model, sennheiser said they never added bass to HD800S because they added to later revisions of the HD800) so the LCD-3 needs a harman shelf to get close to there, I think for raw terms of enveloping you the LCD's are all crazy but not bass tuned....

But yeah I over volt or whatever(run everything at like 90% window volume), I think I am going to just EQ for bass, I hate the thought of having to "switch eq" when switching cans but everything I own I wouldn't mind more bass on.

Also the BL's bass boost is 10db at 20Hz so right on with you there

 

[akelew]

Roon and Peace/APO easily allow you to save presets of different EQ. Peace even allows you to set windows hotkeys so you dont even need to open the app to swap between EQ profiles.

It will be interesting to see what the Subpac does to the perceived impact/frequency response of the LCD-3. It's an audiophile grade bass transducer that is flat from 1hz-250hz. Can either strap it to your back or your chair. Recreates that festival/club bass sensation. Apparently they jive really well with headphones in terms of the sensations melding together. Some of the sound goes through your body and bones like bone conduction headphones and your brain connects the two sounds/vibrations together as the same source.

 

[chesebert]

The HD 600s are not a technical headphone, they're about naturalness in timbre. I don't think it helps to compare them to the LCD-3, which is a very technical headphone.

I find the HD 600 scales a lot more than the LCD-3, since the LCD-3 is easier to drive well. Anyway, I'm not parting with either of them, they're both great for what they're for.

If you throw $20k worth of electronics behind HD600 and LCD-3 they both sound very good. Heck even porta pro sounds amazing with that kind of electronics.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

If you throw $20k worth of electronics behind HD600 and LCD-3 they both sound very good. Heck even porta pro sounds amazing with that kind of electronics.

I'd like to try

 

[chesebert]

I'd like to try

Yeah. Everything sounds good. You throw on HD650, they sound great. You throw on LCD3 they sound great. You throw on hek, they sound great. You throw on grado they sound great. You throw on Koss KPH30, they sound great. And you can listen album after album and everything sounds great, even badly recorded music sounds decent.

 

[Sam Spade]

If you throw $20k worth of electronics behind HD600 and LCD-3 they both sound very good. Heck even porta pro sounds amazing with that kind of electronics.

My LCD3, 4 and LCDxc all sound great on my AK SP1000M (AU$4500). That's a lot less than $20k. And they respond well to the upgrade of my Burson Conductor 3x (AU$3299) in my lounge and in my home office a Sparkos Aries (AU$4120) and Chord Qutest (AU$2500) at home. That's still a lot less than $20k.

 

[chesebert]

My LCD3, 4 and LCDxc all sound great on my AK SP1000M (AU$4500). That's a lot less than $20k. And they respond well to the upgrade of my Burson Conductor 3x (AU$3299) in my lounge and in my home office a Sparkos Aries (AU$4120) and Chord Qutest (AU$2500) at home. That's still a lot less than $20k.

That’s great you found a sound you like at those prices. Some of us weren’t happy until we hit 5 figures. There are other poor souls who can’t stop until they hit 6 figures. You are one of the lucky ones.

 

[Sam Spade]

That’s great you found a sound you like at those prices. Some of us weren’t happy until we hit 5 figures. There are other poor souls who can’t stop until they hit 6 figures. You are one of the lucky ones.

I used to sell top end hifi in the '90s and some of the stuff i messed around with was amazing. The gear at hifi shows was always sensational. Dabbled a bit in pro gear then. I've assembled myself a couple of good speaker based systems too. You can always spend more but it's diminishing returns. Then there's questions of how much you spend on music. And going to gigs and concerts.

 

[chesebert]

I used to sell top end hifi in the '90s and some of the stuff i messed around with was amazing. The gear at hifi shows was always sensational. Dabbled a bit in pro gear then. I've assembled myself a couple of good speaker based systems too. You can always spend more but it's diminishing returns. Then there's questions of how much you spend on music. And going to gigs and concerts.

I agree. I am looking to support my local orchestra more this year given I have not gone to a single concert in the last few years. The most important thing is being able to enjoy your gear and music without any feel of lacking.