BarDash
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My 3's sounded great from day one and keep sounding better everytime I listen to them! I don't know if it's "the break in" or "the burn in" or just my imagination running away with me...
Audeze LCD-3 Impressions Thread
- Thread starter MacedonianHero
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Alchemist007
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Psychoacoustics. The last and largest step in any setup.
BarDash
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Psychoacoustics: Probably 30% of my entire setup!
Pappas3278
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I've been a loyal Grado guy for over ten years. The 125s all the way up to the RS1s. As I've been getting older I have been getting ever increasingly sensitive to the brightness of the Grados. Like, so bad that, even at VERY low volume, I would get terrible tinnitus after only an hour. So I thought this is what my ears have come to in my relatively older age. Bummed.
Then I tried a pair of LCD-2s.
Hmm. No ringing in the ears. Turned up the volume a bit more, still no ringing. Hmmmmm.
Anywho. Now I have the LCD-3s and I can REALLY crank the volume to levels I never would have dared with the Grados and damn does that have a huge effect on listening sessions! And absolutely no ear ringing or any fatigue. Happy days!
The LCD-3s are truly phenomenal headphones.
Then I tried a pair of LCD-2s.
Hmm. No ringing in the ears. Turned up the volume a bit more, still no ringing. Hmmmmm.
Anywho. Now I have the LCD-3s and I can REALLY crank the volume to levels I never would have dared with the Grados and damn does that have a huge effect on listening sessions! And absolutely no ear ringing or any fatigue. Happy days!
The LCD-3s are truly phenomenal headphones.
analog'd
1000+ Head-Fier
got the itch to try new cans. hadn't ever been thrilled with the treble on the lcd3 (classic) that i had for a number of years, and my hd800 (sdr mod) don't cut it for a lot of rock recordings for me) so i sold my lcd3's and went hunting. in the past month i have bought and resold pairs of ps1000e, t1 gen2, elear, he560, sine and th900. i had a lot of time on my hands after some surgery. i was sitting here last night listening to chuck berry's chess singles and realized my problem: i was missing the LCD-3. i even miss the physicality of it: slipping under the weight and the lambskin in anticipation of the wonderful sound.
so i bought a pair of lcd-3f's with new drivers just installed in december. they are due to land on wednesday. i can hardly weight. er, i mean wait. freudian slip.
my soloist is also excited about it
so i bought a pair of lcd-3f's with new drivers just installed in december. they are due to land on wednesday. i can hardly weight. er, i mean wait. freudian slip.
my soloist is also excited about it
Congrats, I just got my pair last Wednesday with the new drivers and I love the things. I also have the Hifiman HE-1000's which are good cans but the LCD-3F's are my go to headphones when I want to listen to rock, rap and reggae. The HE1K are excellent for other genres of music and are musical in their right. The two offset each other very well.
ahmad-bayern
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Hello everyone!
I apologize for the inconvenience again
Does anyone try the LCD-3 and the LCD-X to tell me the best?
Better in your opinion, you?
Thanks for the help and Sorry 4 my bad ENG
I apologize for the inconvenience again
Does anyone try the LCD-3 and the LCD-X to tell me the best?
Better in your opinion, you?
Thanks for the help and Sorry 4 my bad ENG
- Joined
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I have both. Prefer LCD-3f over LCD-Xf. LCD-3 sounds more refined than LCD-X, i.e. LCD-3 is smoother overall, silkier, less harsh in the treble region. Though the SQ is very close for both.
Gamergtx260
100+ Head-Fier
Had them both but preferred the LCD 3s. To me, the LCD X did nothing right (except for the bass and vocals which the LCD 3 does better) the highs were unrealistic and they also have a unique sound signature which I didn't like.
It narrows down to your preferences, try them both.
analog'd
1000+ Head-Fier
re: the 2016 version of the LCD-3F. WOW!
i've been using a lotta high end cans for a lotta years. decades even. when i bought a 2012 LCD 3 classic i had believed tyle's rave about it being a desert island headphone. huge disappointment when i never found it to be such. i'd had more refinement, truer rock guitar voicings, better vocal reproduction, sweeter mids, tighter and more bass, and more present and transparent highs and much better dynamics in the past (and some of those things concurrently from a senn hd800 with a q silk cable that trimmed the treble peak, and more recently with an SDR mod). so i finally wearied of the let down and sold them 6 weeks ago or so. i can't afford to spend even 1500 on a pair to replace them, which rules out a few of the new big guns. but i did try the grado ps1000e (had a ps1 way back that was a LOT better), byer t1 gen 2, fostex th900 and focal elear over the last 5 -6 weeks. none quite made it . the elear would have sufficed had it not been for a "hardness" that i hear in focal's cans, and car speakers. the thx900 were a blast but too much out of control tizzy treble rearing up on some recordings, and the bass was SILLY it was so inflated when playing a white label promo of linda ronstadt's "don't cry now". so, not a single one would work as my go to rock can. damn sennheiser for ruining my ear for less refined headphones than the hd800 (as in grado rs1 in any form and the ps1000e). so by last week's end i was at my wits end. and i realized that despite it's shortcomings, i was missing my LCD-3's. i read about the fazor version, and then got excited reading about the 2016 improvements, and when i saw a used pair with 2016 drivers and total 2016 redo that i could afford, i ordered them.
they are as good as Audeze claimed they would be after the 2016 work. to my ears vastly improved over my old 2012 classic pair. like night and day.
from top to bottom they are amazing driven by a burson soloist. extended and very present highs (no tizzyness like a tesla driver), magnificent mids delivering the best vocal reproduction i've heard anywhere (including from my kef 105.2 and b &w speakers and he6's driven by a david berning power amp), guitars that blow away anything the PS1 ever did for me, pianos that sound beautiful and "right" including on bill evans 45 rpm pressing of moonbeams and various classical recordings) etc etc etc. strings, horns et al sound incredible on my classical collection, actually more enjoyable than the 100% flat hd800's which have long been my classical kings). I don't know where to stop - these are blowing me away with everything i play through them. lousy recordings sound pretty lousy, but where there is goodness the LCD-3F 2016 model delivers the goods, in spades.
i am at last a happy man, a satisfied listener, again.
thank you Audeze!!!
i've been using a lotta high end cans for a lotta years. decades even. when i bought a 2012 LCD 3 classic i had believed tyle's rave about it being a desert island headphone. huge disappointment when i never found it to be such. i'd had more refinement, truer rock guitar voicings, better vocal reproduction, sweeter mids, tighter and more bass, and more present and transparent highs and much better dynamics in the past (and some of those things concurrently from a senn hd800 with a q silk cable that trimmed the treble peak, and more recently with an SDR mod). so i finally wearied of the let down and sold them 6 weeks ago or so. i can't afford to spend even 1500 on a pair to replace them, which rules out a few of the new big guns. but i did try the grado ps1000e (had a ps1 way back that was a LOT better), byer t1 gen 2, fostex th900 and focal elear over the last 5 -6 weeks. none quite made it . the elear would have sufficed had it not been for a "hardness" that i hear in focal's cans, and car speakers. the thx900 were a blast but too much out of control tizzy treble rearing up on some recordings, and the bass was SILLY it was so inflated when playing a white label promo of linda ronstadt's "don't cry now". so, not a single one would work as my go to rock can. damn sennheiser for ruining my ear for less refined headphones than the hd800 (as in grado rs1 in any form and the ps1000e). so by last week's end i was at my wits end. and i realized that despite it's shortcomings, i was missing my LCD-3's. i read about the fazor version, and then got excited reading about the 2016 improvements, and when i saw a used pair with 2016 drivers and total 2016 redo that i could afford, i ordered them.
they are as good as Audeze claimed they would be after the 2016 work. to my ears vastly improved over my old 2012 classic pair. like night and day.
from top to bottom they are amazing driven by a burson soloist. extended and very present highs (no tizzyness like a tesla driver), magnificent mids delivering the best vocal reproduction i've heard anywhere (including from my kef 105.2 and b &w speakers and he6's driven by a david berning power amp), guitars that blow away anything the PS1 ever did for me, pianos that sound beautiful and "right" including on bill evans 45 rpm pressing of moonbeams and various classical recordings) etc etc etc. strings, horns et al sound incredible on my classical collection, actually more enjoyable than the 100% flat hd800's which have long been my classical kings). I don't know where to stop - these are blowing me away with everything i play through them. lousy recordings sound pretty lousy, but where there is goodness the LCD-3F 2016 model delivers the goods, in spades.
i am at last a happy man, a satisfied listener, again.
thank you Audeze!!!
exsomnis
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Welcome back to the fold! I love my 2016 LCD 3Fs to bits but I still have fond memories of the original LCD3s too. LCDs used to be properly rolled off in the treble pre-fazor, which is the kind of sound that I prefer. They've become quite a bit more detailed and resolving with the fazors and I've grown accustomed to them - at least they're not sibilant like the HD800s or T1s.
Articnoise
Headphoneus Supremus
I agree the LCD-3F 2016 is a great headphone. I have own the LCD-3C 2013, the LCD-3F 2014 and now the LCD-3F 2016 and I like the sound of 2016 the most.
almo89
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Does anybody know how the 2016 version sound in comparison to the 2015? I have the 2015's and think they sound great.
Articnoise
Headphoneus Supremus
The LCD-3F 2015 has the very same type of sound as the LCD-3F 2016. Both have a full and rich sound that sounds better on higher volume and no other headphone I have heard, except maybe LCD-4, sounds like this. The difference is essentially a small change in tonal balance with a bit more upper treble in the 2016 revision. The LCD-3F 2016 also has a bit more air, less grain and a little bigger headstage than the 2015. This make the sound a bit more clear and balanced IMO. The difference between the 2015 and 2016 are real, but rather small and will not make you feel that the 2016 sounds like a different headphone.
Even the LCD-4 sound signature is very much like the LCD-3F, but here the technical difference between the two headphones are more obvious and the LCD-4 pull ahead on all account accept maybe in midrange warmth and richness.
lcd3 2016 has better damping of inner cup with less resonance witch makes sound even more open , more like listening to a speakers setup...
it also has blacker background and more detail ,its more smooth with more sub bass and less mid bass. bass is faster tighter cleaner and punch harder.
more air and soundstage is bigger, over all sound is more transparent ...
lcd3 2016 is also less warm and has less body , its thinner and drier sounding comparing to previous lcd3 models ...
i felt new lcd3 weight a little less and was more comfortable with softer pads , could be just the pair i had , with thought its handmade and some variety appears from pair to pair ...
i could hear new lcd3 is technically superior but i prefer the older version because of tonality and body of midrange , ts sweeter darker with more depth and weight to the sound.
it also has blacker background and more detail ,its more smooth with more sub bass and less mid bass. bass is faster tighter cleaner and punch harder.
more air and soundstage is bigger, over all sound is more transparent ...
lcd3 2016 is also less warm and has less body , its thinner and drier sounding comparing to previous lcd3 models ...
i felt new lcd3 weight a little less and was more comfortable with softer pads , could be just the pair i had , with thought its handmade and some variety appears from pair to pair ...
i could hear new lcd3 is technically superior but i prefer the older version because of tonality and body of midrange , ts sweeter darker with more depth and weight to the sound.
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