[eee1111]

Yeah I also don’t understand the controversy over talking about measurements

When they first came out and I listened to Jude and combined his impressions plus the measurements I made an assumption this headphone was “Susvara like” in its nature. After that I’ve been asking for impressions from anyone possible to compare the LCD5 to the susvara. He clearly states it’s a departure and the measurements agree with his words.

 

[boxster233]

Thanks for the answer. Unless it's a "trade secret", would you care to elaborate on the sort of on-head measurements Audeze performs and how it helps in the development of the headphones ?

If you read back in the thread, it was covered earlier.

 

[boxster233]

I think the issue with measurements now is the discussion has become about Harman curves and their research process and is barely related to lcd-5. If it’s pertaining directly to measurements of lcd-5, I don’t think people would be upset.

 

[BassicScience]

With respect and no intention of being argumentative, the name of this thread is “Audeze LCD-5 Review, Measurements, Interview” and it begins with Jude discussing his measurement apparatus itself at 13:35 in his video which begins this thread and then includes his graphs of measurements of the LCD 5 and compares them to graphs of LCD 4 and a brief discussion. I can appreciate that not everyone Is interested In measurements and I personally find them boring but calls to stop a discussion that Jude himself started or suggestions to take the conversation to ASR are unfair IMO. There are things which come up in threads I follow that don’t interest me and I just scroll past them. Can I request you and others who find this convo boring scroll past them, and focus on what does interest you.

Another option for the disgruntled would be to start an Impressions thread.

 

[thecrow]

Another option for the disgruntled would be to start an Impressions thread.

There’s also this one

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audeze-lcd-5-the-all-new-audeze-flagship.959763/page-8

 

[WoollyGeezer]

Silly question but I thought to ask to be safe, did you use a balanced headphone XLR connection with your Soloist? I have both on hand so I will try the combo tomorrow at some point but if memory serves me correctly you should have more current delivery from the Soloist via XLR, and current delivery I believe is what you may be referring to your LCD5 needing. Just a thougt.

XLR 4 pin to LCD5. The headphones sound FANTASTIC but I am getting the sort of flab sound that comes when an amplifier is acting up and not delivering clean power if that makes sense. I did use Burson's supplied 3.5 mic/headphone trrs splitter (during my two weeks waiting for the lcd5 headphones to arrive) to drive a few older headphones so hopefully that trrs plugin didn't short something out somewhere? It does feel very flimsy and wobbly when you attempt to move the actual plugin end. Yes please give it a try tomorrow, perhaps my soloist is having an issue.

Do you have the "super charger" on your soloist?

Currently looking into the Gsx-mini and tube amplifiers

 

[HK_sends]

With respect and no intention of being argumentative, the name of this thread is “Audeze LCD-5 Review, Measurements, Interview” and it begins with Jude discussing his measurement apparatus itself at 13:35 in his video which begins this thread and then includes his graphs of measurements of the LCD 5 and compares them to graphs of LCD 4 and a brief discussion. I can appreciate that not everyone Is interested In measurements and I personally find them boring but calls to stop a discussion that Jude himself started or suggestions to take the conversation to ASR are unfair IMO. There are things which come up in threads I follow that don’t interest me and I just scroll past them. Can I request you and others who find this convo boring scroll past them, and focus on what does interest you.

That is true. I have to concede the point. I guess rereading the thread title would have been a good idea for me before I posted previously.
Cheers!
-HK sends

PS - And it was "Oh-Dark-Thirty" when I posted so my common sense was probably asleep even if I wasn't...

 

[EMINENT]

XLR 4 pin to LCD5. The headphones sound FANTASTIC but I am getting the sort of flab sound that comes when an amplifier is acting up and not delivering clean power if that makes sense. I did use Burson's supplied 3.5 mic/headphone trrs splitter (during my two weeks waiting for the lcd5 headphones to arrive) to drive a few older headphones so hopefully that trrs plugin didn't short something out somewhere? It does feel very flimsy and wobbly when you attempt to move the actual plugin end. Yes please give it a try tomorrow, perhaps my soloist is having an issue.

Do you have the "super charger" on your soloist?

Currently looking into the Gsx-mini and tube amplifiers

This worries me with my WA3 not having enough. Not to be mean, but I hope your amp IS acting up!

I had a dream I got a message that my order shipped. Sadly waking up this was confirmed just a dream.

I made a joke on hp.com about Resolve being the one that jacked my order.

 

[HK_sends]

There’s also this one

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audeze-lcd-5-the-all-new-audeze-flagship.959763/page-8

Thanks! I had forgotten about that thread!
Cheers!
-HK sends

 

[MRHiFiReviews]

Do you have the "super charger" on your soloist?

I do have the supercharger, I listened some this morning and need to verify my findings and do some more listening this afternoon. My initial impressions are the LCD-5 sound less dynamic with the soloist than I am used to hearing from another amp I am reviewing right now, the MHA200. I suspect this could have something to do with the way the Burson delivers current. The MHA200 has a constant delivery system based on my research, not needing to ramp up or down with the dynamic shifts in the music like many other amps do. I will do some more listening this afternoon and see if I can reach out to Burson. This is all experience based; and just my impressions. It would be interesting to know current ratings for the amps that perform best with the LCD-5. I believe @Currawong may have experienced similar issues with current and the LCD-5.

 

[Empyah]

Gosh, don’t cancel your order on account of one person’s opinion, especially mine. I’m not a professional reviewer and I certainly don’t play one on TV.

It’s more of a vanilla and chocolate thing, two different flavors of headphones. One is not necessarily better than the other.

I’m not about to sell the HE-1000SE on account of owning the LCD-5. I think they complement each other nicely. If I want to be closer to the sound and have it be softer and more romanticized, I pick up the HE-1000SE. If I want to step back a little from the sound and hear music in a more balanced way, I pick up the LCD-5.

You’ve got the Lokius, so you’re good. The LCD-5 responds extremely well to EQ.

Listen to him, the HE1000SE for example, is to my ears, the worst sounding headphone I have ever heard, and I prefer the HD6XX, Utopia or Verite over it strongly.
Everybody hears different. And every headphone will sound different with different cables, sources, DAC's and AMP's.
The trick is to try different things and find whats sounds good to you.

 

[WoollyGeezer]

I do have the supercharger, I listened some this morning and need to verify my findings and do some more listening this afternoon. My initial impressions are the LCD-5 sound less dynamic with the soloist than I am used to hearing from another amp I am reviewing right now, the MHA200. I suspect this could have something to do with the way the Burson delivers current. The MHA200 has a constant delivery system based on my research, not needing to ramp up or down with the dynamic shifts in the music like many other amps do. I will do some more listening this afternoon and see if I can reach out to Burson. This is all experience based; and just my impressions. It would be interesting to know current ratings for the amps that perform best with the LCD-5. I believe @Currawong may have experienced similar issues with current and the LCD-5.

I was thinking it had something to do with the current as well. The volume is there but the sound is not "thick and dynamic". It sounds like an underdriven speaker to me.

I have a bit better luck on lower volumes with high gain enabled on the Burson but still not ideal.



My local dealer has a MHA200. How is it with the LCD5? I could pick it up tomorrow :X

 

[MRHiFiReviews]

I was thinking it had something to do with the current as well. The volume is there but the sound is not "thick and dynamic". It sounds like an underdriven speaker to me.

I have a bit better luck on lower volumes with high gain enabled on the Burson but still not ideal.



My local dealer has a MHA200. How is it with the LCD5? I could pick it up tomorrow :X

From my experience, the LCD-5 is very transparent to the DAC and AMP, so it could be different with your DAC vs. mine as far as sound impressions. I have very much enjoyed the pairing of the LCD-5 and the MHA200. Again this is going to depend on your preferences, the source material/recording as the MHA200 has a fairly neutral, drier, dynamic sound with an enjoyable midrange and just a hint of tube flavor making it good for my preferences. I also enjoy more tubey wet-sounding amps as well so my preferences range some as long as something isn't bright and fatiguing. I have a 300B Agartha tube amplifier coming from @ampsandsound sometime next week and that could be a very special pairing with the LCD-5. I would go down to your local dealer and give the LCD-5 and MHA200 a listen and bring your DAC if they don't have one in the shop.

 

[WoollyGeezer]

From my experience, the LCD-5 is very transparent to the DAC and AMP, so it could be different with your DAC vs. mine as far as sound impressions. I have very much enjoyed the pairing of the LCD-5 and the MHA200. Again this is going to depend on your preferences, the source material/recording as the MHA200 has a fairly neutral, drier, dynamic sound with an enjoyable midrange and just a hint of tube flavor making it good for my preferences. I also enjoy more tubey wet-sounding amps as well so my preferences range some as long as something isn't bright and fatiguing. I have a 300B Agartha tube amplifier coming from @ampsandsound sometime next week and that could be a very special pairing with the LCD-5. I would go down to your local dealer and give the LCD-5 and MHA200 a listen and bring your DAC if they don't have one in the shop.

The wife said it sounds like she is listening to a morning radio through these headphones(which is a bit exaggerated) so I believe the Burson is a very poor amplifier for the LCD5. The dynamics are very poor compared to even a few cheaper amplifiers I have laying around. 0 bass through the Burson on low and medium settings.

It is significantly better sounding on high gain low volumes on the Burson. I mean entirely different. Faster, more dynamic, punchier. She agrees it sounds like a completely different headphone compared to medium on the amplifier. These are some superb cans. I am going to bring them into my audio shop this week and try them on the MHA200. These things are very transparent to your entire system.

Give it a try @MRphotography

 

[cAsE sEnSiTiVe]

The wife said it sounds like she is listening to a radio through these headphones so I believe the Burson is a very poor amplifier for the LCD5. The dynamics are very poor compared to even a few cheaper amplifiers I have laying around

I have a Burson Playmate 2 in my office rig that powers an LCD-2 and an HD650. In stock form, although the treble was sweet and quite extended, the overall signature was thin sounding in nature, noticeably recessed in the upper bass / lower mids. In other words, distinctly lacking in punch and impact when called for. I was ready to bail out of it, but I decided to see if I could make it listenable to. So, in went the V6 Vivid opamps.....which improved things somewhat, but still short of what I'd hoped. Then I went for the Supercharger 3a power supply. Let me just say, that Burson should include this as a stock item, and charge accordingly. It completely transformed the unit. Plenty of body and impact now, yet retains that excellent treble portrayal.

Yes, the cost of the mods start to approach the price of the stock unit, but in the end, I have a smaller sized Dac/Amp combo that works perfectly in a compact space, and will competently drive all but the most stubborn of headphones.

As the innards of most of their stuff are similar, I'd wager your Soloist would be transformed in a similar manner. Whether or not they can extract the most from the LCD-5, well...that's hard to say. I'd guess they are pretty revealing of what comes before, therefore YMMV.

Again, I do not recommend the Playmate 2 in stock form. But if you willing to invest a bit of expenditure, you just might find a diamond in the rough.

My $.02