[Terco]

Have ANY dealer orders been fulfilled yet?- or only direct from Audeze?

This is what I got yesterday from Bloom Audio

 

[jaboki]

For anyone following the rollout of the Empyrean Elite, the problem is basically identical: demand vastly outpacing available stock, only one review.

 

[dcguy73]

Last night, as I continued to burn in the LCD-5 on my system, I listened to the headphone for an hour straight before switching back to my daily driver, the HE-1000SE. After experiencing a forward midrange and hearing every vocal so clearly on the Audeze (which is the best part of the midrange forwardness, being able to make out lyrics of songs for the first time), the midrange on the Hifiman headphone sounded recessed, the bass less extended, and the treble seemed too loud in the mix in comparison to listening to music on the LCD-5. Once I was conditioned to the sound of the LCD-5, the HE-1000SE that I’ve been using for two years sounded “wrong” in comparison. I’ve never had that experience switching between headphones before, so Audeze has definitely tuned its flagship headphone in a unique way.

While I have been impressed with the technical abilities of the LCD-5 so far, it’s certainly not a warm or lush-sounding headphone. I’d say the LCD-5 is very neutral-sounding with solid extension in bass and treble. It’s very competent and confident-sounding, but doesn’t romanticize the music in any way.

Soundwise, I like the default LCD-5 audio profile, but I’m not in love with it. I’ve never been fond of software/hardware EQ per se, but I do like to use cables to make adjustments to the sound of my components. I’m expecting to get the Black Dragon Premium Cable for Audeze today from Moon Audio. My hope is that it does for the LCD-5 what it did for my Senn HD800S — warm up the midrange and tame the forwardness a bit.

If I compare the two headphones comfort-wise, the Hifiman wins easily. The HE-1000SE is a supremely comfortable headphone with thick and wide earpads that cushion your ear versus the Audeze, which has earpads that don’t compress but sit on top of your ears instead. Maybe Dekoni will make some aftermarket LCD-5 earpads in the future that are softer and compress a bit. I understand why Audeze designed the earpads to sit on your ears for sound purposes, a la the Abyss Diana, but I really like the old-school type of earpads that are more like pillows for your ears.

Also, after an hour of wearing the LCD-5, it was a relief to switch to the much-less-clampy HE-1000SE. The LCD-5’s pressure will take some getting used to. I’m looking forward to when Audeze has their less-clampy headbands available in the future and I can trade in the current headband for it. In the meantime, if anyone knows how to reduce the clamping pressure of the LCD-5 without damaging the headphone, I’d appreciate some advice.

 

[adrianm]

Have ANY dealer orders been fulfilled yet?- or only direct from Audeze?

At least one has in Europe so i would expect so.

 

[KMann]

It is hard to perfectly time a release, anticipate expected demand and hold the right inventory. Sometimes we do have that luxury, sometimes we don't. We wanted to make the announcement in time for Canjam so that there was an opportunity for those who could make it to Canjam to give them a listen. Direct orders were prioritized (if you ordered directly from us and have issue with your order, we will be happy to resolve them). While ordering from dealers, we do inform them of possible delays on a initial release, so it is not the same as directly ordering from us. That said, we have ramped up production and plan to ship all the orders we have on hand for LCD-5 by end of this month.

 

[alishafai]

I think wood may have added significantly to the weight. The LCD-5 are certainly not heavy and lighter than even the LCD-4Z.

My limited impressions were - Bass was well controlled without being overly boomy or excessive. Refined but present. But not overemphasised. Which is exactly where my preference lies.

I'm not a headphone reviewer per se. So will defer to others more experienced in their descriptors.

I think going away from wood was deliberate and effective in reducing weight. But, they could have done veneers of wood, instead of the whole cup being wood. That would have kept the weight down and provided a more elegant look, IMO.

 

[boxster233]

I think going away from wood was deliberate and effective in reducing weight. But, they could have done veneers of wood, instead of the whole cup being wood. That would have kept the weight down and provided a more elegant look, IMO.

Wood and supply chain difficulties, cost, weight, it’s also the first release…lots of probable reasons why they didn’t go with wood. The wood picture looks too much like Susvara wood IMO. Might also be more economical to make acetate.

But like you said on weight, if they released an lcd-5 without a massive weight reduction, this community would have burned them at the stake and we’d have a 100 pages of people claiming Audeze does not listen to people and people being done with Audeze.

 

[betula]

But like you said on weight, if they released an lcd-5 without a massive weight reduction, this community would have burned them at the stake and we’d have a 100 pages of people claiming Audeze does not listen to people and people being done with Audeze.

You are correct.

This audiophile community is the hardest consumer community to satisfy. They are also the most critical and most easily upset by the smallest thing that is not to their liking. They are also ready to condemn anything and everything in general, based on their subjective, one off experiences.

I am part of this audiophile community, but often feel embarrassed reading some comments. Customer service of high-end audiophile manufacturers must be considered as one of the hardest jobs.

 

[Undun]

You are correct.

This audiophile community is the hardest consumer community to satisfy. They are also the most critical and most easily upset by the smallest thing that is not to their liking. They are also ready to condemn anything and everything in general, based on their subjective, one off experiences.

I am part of this audiophile community, but often feel embarrassed reading some comments. Customer service of high-end audiophile manufacturers must be considered as one of the hardest jobs.

This ^.
Also: Customer service of high-end audiophile manufacturers must be considered as one of the hardest jobs.
In the age where we expect to have things shipped to us in 1-2 days and meet all perceived hype/advertisement, customers are extremely hard to please regardless of industry.

 

[jaboki]

This ^.
Also: Customer service of high-end audiophile manufacturers must be considered as one of the hardest jobs.
In the age where we expect to have things shipped to us in 1-2 days and meet all perceived hype/advertisement, customers are extremely hard to please regardless of industry.

Thank you Amazon (2day) and Trader Joe's (CS) for leading the way. We're now conditioned a certain level of luxury, lol.

 

[Benny030]

Honestly i think it is a Standard when you buy High End Products that you can expect high End Service. Why should such an expensive Product have an average Service?

 

[betula]

Honestly i think it is a Standard when you buy High End Products that you can expect high End Service. Why should such an expensive Product have an average Service?

You are right, such expensive products should not have less than exceptional customer service. And to be fair, high-end headphone manufacturer customer service has come a long way in the past 5 years.

At the same time I think we should remember, that high-end headphones is the niche of a niche market. And we should appreciate every manufacturer trying their best to create something new and unique.
Many of these boutique firms focus on sound and during the process forget to improve their customer service.

As I said, the improvements on this field are clearly obvious and welcomed. At the same time as the niche of the niche in my opinion sometimes we just need a little more patience than average.

 

[qboogie]

This just reminds me of the sadness I felt when I was packing my LCD-4 into the box in order to return it for the LCD-5 upgrade. Strangely, that wood finish was the only aspect of the 4 that I was feeling that sadness about. That wooden finish gives it a certain polish and an air of gravitas that I think I am going to miss a lot, although I had never considered myself to be much of a stickler for any headphone's cosmetic aspects--that is, until the time came to say goodbye to that LCD-4. It was also when I formally realized and admitted to myself--for the first time, after more than 2 and 1/2 years of ownership-- that it was the best looking headphone in my stable--better looking than both the Susvara and the 1266 TC, at least to my eyes. I completely understand why Audeze decided to ditch the wood concept in order to lighten the weight of the LCD-5 but for purely selfish reasons, i am now wishing they had offered an optional real wood-cupped version of the LCD-5 for those among us who did not mind the weight of the LCD-4. Oh well.

I think the replacing the acetate rings with custom wood rings or even cooler acrylic designs could potentially be something worth pursuing. All you would need is a silicon mold of the disassembled rings, UV activated acrylic and some creative use of dyes, for example.

 

[Benny030]

You are right, such expensive products should not have less than exceptional customer service. And to be fair, high-end headphone manufacturer customer service has come a long way in the past 5 years.

At the same time I think we should remember, that high-end headphones is the niche of a niche market. And we should appreciate every manufacturer trying their best to create something new and unique.
Many of these boutique firms focus on sound and during the process forget to improve their customer service.

As I said, the improvements on this field are clearly obvious and welcomed. At the same time as the niche of the niche in my opinion sometimes we just need a little more patience than average.

In my Mind the headphone Company's should appreciate Customers who buy Headphons for 5k without testing the headphones. Most of us just read a few beautiful reviews.

 

[betula]

In my Mind the headphone Company's should appreciate Customers who buy Headphons for 5k without testing the headphones. Most of us just read a few beautiful reviews.

That is called utopia. And I do not mean the Focal headphones in this case.