[betula]

Apparently an early prototype before Audeze ditched the wooden cup idea on the LCD5.
Sadly Audeze said they have no plans of limited runs with different cup materials.
I personally do not mind the cup material much as long as they sound awesome.

 

[HK_sends]

I would think that some folks that are expressing their disappointment over a lack of reviews would be equally or more disappointed that those "review headphones" could have been used to fill the backlog of orders in this resource deficient time...
Just sayin'
Cheers!
-HK sends

 

[boxster233]

I would think that some folks that are expressing their disappointment over a lack of reviews would be equally or more disappointed that those "review headphones" could have been used to fill the backlog of orders in this resource deficient time...
Just sayin'
Cheers!
-HK sends

This 1000%.

 

[HK_sends]

Apparently an early prototype before Audeze ditched the wooden cup idea on the LCD5.
Sadly Audeze said they have no plans of limited runs with different cup materials.
I personally do not mind the cup material much as long as they sound awesome.

I'd buy that for a Dollar!
Cheers!
-HK sends

PS - Go Robocop!

 

[jaboki]

We are always listenin , and yes we are on it. Longer rods and optional carbon headbands with even less clamping for those endowed with above average cranium. This way, seal is not compromised for folks with less wide heads.

Logistics are quite insane now, making it hard to provide any ETA but we are talking 1-2 months, don't have any more information than that.

Honestly, this is why Audeze is awesome.

 

[Currawong]

Looking forward to your next video. I bought the D8000 Pro based on your review and it's everything you said it was. I'm really lost in terms of whether to spend the money on a Susvara or wait patiently for the LCD-5 to become available. Given that your Susvara review is several years old, I think it would be great if you can make an update or comparison video

I've shot an LCD-5 vs. Susvara video. As is only appropriate, people who are supporting my video reviews get to see it first.
That being said, I don't think that you're missing anything much more than a different flavour of excellent if you already have the D8000 Pro, and you already have one of the best all-rounders as far as listening goes.

We've all been served. Audeze has dropped the ball. Head-Fi, get on the phone to Stereophile right meow!

I think that impressions from regular customers are better.

Seems like a stretch to call it a "botched launch" when orders are vastly exceeding their production capacity in spite of a dearth of in-depth reviews. The one thing I could fault Audeze on was not having three or four LCD-5 stations at CanJam with identical electronics and full access to Qobuz or Tidal. This would have allowed attendees to spend more time with the headphones, with their personal music choices. I'm not telling Audeze how to showcase their product(s), but that's what I would have arranged had I been in charge.

I had wanted to come to CanJam, and would have brought the review pair with me if I could have.

 

[betula]

I think that impressions from regular customers are better.

Exactly.
YouTubers are also regular customers, they just get more attention therefore folks think their opinion is more valid. It is not.

 

[jaboki]

Would you have preferred they announce them for release next June so they had time to build a couple thousand so they could pre-position them to other vendors?

Actually, yes.

Some people want transparency on iteration changes (not me)
Some people want transparency on product release dates (me). Why? Because a pretty penny is being held for an undefined period of time, which I could be using for something else in the meantime.

 

[sahmen]

I have never seen the LCD-4s in the flesh but I just noticed that they also have a carbon fibre headband. Lcd-4 owners, did you find that they stretched out or loosened at all over time?

My LCD-4 (or I should say the right ear cup of the LCD-4) had the tendency to get loose, at times too loose for my liking. It had something to with the weight of the ear cup and the pressure it exerted on the Yoke and the screw holding it in place, but I found a way to tighten the Yoke's screw and adjust its holder on the cup in a way that could restore the cup and its clamp force to normal. I do not expect he LCD-5 to have that problem since the ear cups are not heavy enough to weigh down the yoke and its support structure to the point of causing looseness and "dangle" in how any of the ear caps fit, but I do hope that frequent use will diminish the tightness of the grip that first users are talking about, because I also have a larger than usual head. Or I hope my head gets used to that tightness, soon, whichever comes first. The legendary weight of the LCD-4 never really bothered me, and, at least for now, I do not want to develop any premature anxieties about clamp force of the LCD-5 before getting my hands on it,

 

[ufospls2]

Thats super cool news about the less clamp force size headband. I'll probably need it when it become available sadly due to my large noggin (which sadly isn't filled with equally large brains.)

 

[HK_sends]

Actually, yes.

Some people want transparency on iteration changes (not me)
Some people want transparency on product release dates (me). Why? Because a pretty penny is being held for an undefined period of time, which I could be using for something else in the meantime.

Not to sound crass, but why don't you cancel you order, use the money for something else right now, then purchase again in June when the chance of them being in stock is probably going to be much better than it is at the moment? It's not like they're going to be a limited run item like the LCD-Rs. They will still be there.

Why don't I do the same thing? Because I want them NOW!...NOW!...NOW!!...(while still taking reduced resources and logistics issues into consideration)...
Cheers and (Im)patiently Waiting!
-HK sends

 

[jaboki]

Not to sound crass, but why don't you cancel you order, use the money for something else right now, then purchase again in June when the chance of them being in stock is probably going to be much better than it is at the moment? It's not like their going to be a limited run item like the LCD-Rs. They will still be there.

Why don't I do the same thing? Because I want them NOW!...NOW!...NOW!!...(while still taking reduced resources and logistics issues into consideration)...
Cheers and (Im)patiently Waiting!
-HK sends

I could, but I have a good relationship with my dealer.

 

[HK_sends]

I could, but I have a good relationship with my dealer.

That makes sense. That's not something you want to mess up.
Cheers!
-HK sends

 

[WoollyGeezer]

What’s your headphone audio chain?

D70s and Burson Soloist 3X

 

[jlbb]

I can't understand why people are getting so upset over the LCD-5 launch. There are parts shortages all over the world for all kinds of materials (including *Gasp* electronics) and folks are grousing about the trickling of hand-built headphones coming out of a not so large business. Of course they are going to look towards their own orders first...easiest logistics. Then, slowly build up small inventory for distribution to authorized sellers. Would you have preferred they announce them for release next June so they had time to build a couple thousand so they could pre-position them to other vendors?
Yes, it's a mess. But go buy a new car, or a video card in a store at MSRP. At least Audeze isn't fighting scalpers and having people sell their headphones for 300% over retail. Unfortunately, it's the times. I hope things will get better (they usually do). Unleashing impatient vitriol against Audeze, who is trying their best, isn't helping anyone...
Keep Calm and Cheers!
-HK sends

Usually I don't like resorting to "first world problems" as an insult because it tends to seem a little virtue signally and reductionist, but I really think if someone is more than vaguely annoyed over not being able to immediately receive a headphone they can afford at a full $4500 then there is something a little bit wrong with them. Must be nice to be born into so much wealth that the problem isn't money itself for a flagship headphone, its the (shock horror) waiting a month for said flagship.

In saying that as someone who has ordered the headphone, I personally can't quite understand why Audueze didn't just keep this under wraps for another month or two and get supply in order (because clearly it isn't) before releasing this to the public. One of my assumptions is that with a bunch of new flagships like the Stealth, Empyrean elite and X9000 coming out Audeze just rushed it to market as a preorder before they could even get a steady supply to reviewers simply to avoid losing sales to sooner-to-market competitors. Which from a business perspective makes sense, but also makes for an undeniably ugly release. Its possible that if Audeze had made these public more than a month after they did I'd have ended up purchasing the Empyrean Elite.