[commtrd]

I am scared to hear it with the LCD-5, because the FR is painful without EQ.

Wow! Certainly does NOT incentivize a a prospective buyer to select LCD5 for purchase at $4500.

 

[dude120]

How does the LCD-X overall compare to the LCD4? (have the 2021 LCDX)

I'm assuming the LCD4 is quite a bit more difficult to drive than the X?

 

[JLoud]

The 4 is more difficult. Most portable sources can’t drive it “well”. Maybe get loud enough but control suffers. Most amps that can provide 1 or 2 watts at 200 ohms are fine. Audeze recommends 500mW as a minimum. The 4 is more detailed and warmer in the mids compared to the X. I found the 4 to be a mix signature wise of the 2 and X. The detail of the X with the warmth of the 2. The 4 however is the most detailed and fastest of the lineup. The 5 not included.

If you like the signature of the X the 5 is probably more to your liking.

 

[Arcamera]

Long Live the 4.

I hope they come out with a 6 (if/when they do) that is more like the 4. Seems to be the pattern.

 

[planar shill]

Wow! Certainly does NOT incentivize a a prospective buyer to select LCD5 for purchase at $4500.

It is mostly just me. To me the LCD-5 is painfully shouty. I scoop out at 1.5kHz and add a bass shelf at 87Hz
EDIT: Also, it is not worth 4500 USD. Just like the Susvara is not worth 6000 USD.

 

[Kozwoz]

It is mostly just me. To me the LCD-5 is painfully shouty. I scoop out at 1.5kHz and add a bass shelf at 87Hz
EDIT: Also, it is not worth 4500 USD. Just like the Susvara is not worth 6000 USD.

Like everything else it’s worth what people are willing to pay for it. Price to performance is not a linear scale.

In my opinion shouty or not the LCD5 has the most resolving midrange of any headphone I’ve ever heard. Meaning it does something better than any other. That’s worth paying for. Until someone does it better.

 

[EMINENT]

It is mostly just me. To me the LCD-5 is painfully shouty. I scoop out at 1.5kHz and add a bass shelf at 87Hz
EDIT: Also, it is not worth 4500 USD. Just like the Susvara is not worth 6000 USD.

Yeah, to me too but once tamed, the mids are just so delicious that I went from basshead to midrange lover. No phone should cost that much, but it would take a serious life event for me to part with mine.

 

[Sajid Amit]

It is mostly just me. To me the LCD-5 is painfully shouty. I scoop out at 1.5kHz and add a bass shelf at 87Hz
EDIT: Also, it is not worth 4500 USD. Just like the Susvara is not worth 6000 USD.

Agree with this. The LCD5 got me into EQ. I did like the clarity of leading edges at first, but yeah, overtime, the upper mids sounded out of whack.

 

[thefitz]

If any fellow HEATHENS are interested, here are the EQ settings I'm enjoying with my Lokius:
20Hz: 2:00
120Hz: 1:00
400Hz: 11:00
2kHz: 1:00
6kHz: 2:00
16kHz: 10:00

The bottom 3 bands can be set to taste, but they are set to get that Harman shelf.

I am really enjoying it - and much like expensive upgrade cables, I am hearing a more open midrange, a purer soundstage, more present imaging, lyrics in songs that are instrumentals, and extra verses in songs that have words.

Total aside - I am keeping this damn EQ (firstly because it's controversial and secondly) because it's sort of like a mini-receiver. I hooked my phono pre to it, which converts the thing to balanced (!), and I have my Valhalla in the RCA out. I get a much stronger signal out of the Lokius than my Yggy directly, plus I can finally listen to records through the tube amp!

 

[planar shill]

There was never an LCD-4 without fazors, right? Apparently, those are the unicorn LCDs and I guess they have more bass and soundstage at the cost of clarity or something. I wonder if anyobdy has ever removed the fazors on an LCD, especially on a LCD-4.

 

[planar shill]

I kind of want to try vegan pads on my LCD-4 as well. Anyone here rocking that setup?

 

[thefitz]

There was never an LCD-4 without fazors, right? Apparently, those are the unicorn LCDs and I guess they have more bass and soundstage at the cost of clarity or something. I wonder if anyobdy has ever removed the fazors on an LCD, especially on a LCD-4.

I thought that was the LCD-24

 

[planar shill]

I thought that was the LCD-24

iirc, the LCD-24 is an LCD-4z with LCD-2 magnet structure. Which, if I had to guess, means: the magnets are weaker, spaced out further, or smaller. Possibly a combination of those. From what I understand, the new models can have bigger magnet spacing as well. This is in conjunction with the pad changes.
EDIT: I looked it up on Audeze's website, the LCD-24 is listed as a fazor headphone. It also lists the magnet structure as staggered.

 

[planar shill]

I feel like I am blowing up this thread lately, but....
1. What's the best reasonable desktop amp for this headphone? I am getting conflicting info about what's needed to drive it. I currently use a THX 789, but some people seem to think that the bass will be weakened and the staging will seem compressed because of the low capacitance.
2. Does anybody know a way to get black grilles for the LCD-4? Audeze told me no. lol

 

[thecrow]

I feel like I am blowing up this thread lately, but....
1. What's the best reasonable desktop amp for this headphone? I am getting conflicting info about what's needed to drive it. I currently use a THX 789, but some people seem to think that the bass will be weakened and the staging will seem compressed because of the low capacitance.
2. Does anybody know a way to get black grilles for the LCD-4? Audeze told me no. lol

Is used v280 in your budget? I owned the v280 for a while and demoed the lcd4 a couple of times with it and it was a great match.

Potential top end peaks were nicely managed and lower end/mids had a great richness.

plus it’s a very versatile amp almost with anything