Audeze LCD-5 Review, Measurements, Interview

[eee1111]

LCD-5 is simply better than most flagship like Susvara, He1000se, Abyss 1266 TC, and Utopia because of tuning. All those have something fatiguing in them that I find grating. Only thing people wouldn't like about LCD-5 is its south of neutral treble, maybe a little dark. But I'd rather listen to a headphone thats a little dark than submit myself to listening something like the he1000se that is just bright af because its really not a comfortable experience.

Come on with this. This is a bit much to take serious

 

[BassicScience]

Hello fellow Spanish audiophile!

I live in Santander, you?

Have you tried EQ on the LCD4? I can send you the EQ settings . I’m curious if the 4 can get closer to the 5 with the help of EQ.

Cheers

Thomas

FYI, @Resolve posted a recent comparison of LCD-4 vs. LCD-5, both with EQ:

https://forum.headphones.com/t/audeze-lcd-5-official-thread/14588/227

 

[adrianm]

Come on with this. This is a bit much to take serious

Well he is spot on on the HEKSE part at least.

 

[jz520]

 

[Dixter]

wonder where/how Audeze is going to be selling the LCD-4 that was traded in for the LCD-5....

 

[Blackrao]

Have you heard those seemingly bright sets in a setting aside from CanJam/at a show? It's hard to make these kind of sweeping statements if you were listening under show conditions-- in an uncontrolled, noisy environment. Reassessing in quieter conditions may change your mind, particularly on the Susvara (which I find to be the most well-tuned "uberflagship" I've heard).

haha I wish I did but I don't know people who casually have 6K headphones around that I can try :[ . I wanted to love the susvara, I own the he6se v2 and its treble is smoother than susvara at least from what I heard. I talked to another owner of susvara at show who also had a similar experience with a slight peak and he OWNED a pair himself. My friend at show also heard my he6se v2 before show and listened to susvara at the show with me and also heard a slight peak. Keep in mind we are all in our 20's soooooo lol. I heard the LCD-X at audeze booth and it has some treble shimmer too so im not saying all audeze LCDs are great, I just think LCD-5 doesn't exhibit any of these things.

 

[OneEyedHito]

haha I wish I did but I don't know people who casually have 6K headphones around that I can try :[ . I wanted to love the susvara, I own the he6se v2 and its treble is smoother than susvara at least from what I heard. I talked to another owner of susvara at show who also had a similar experience with a slight peak and he OWNED a pair himself. My friend at show also heard my he6se v2 before show and listened to susvara at the show with me and also heard a slight peak. Keep in mind we are all in our 20's soooooo lol. I heard the LCD-X at audeze booth and it has some treble shimmer too so im not saying all audeze LCDs are great, I just think LCD-5 doesn't exhibit any of these things.

You laughed about being in your 20s but that’s real, my hearing drops off at 14Khz So I’m less susceptible to it but in all of the gear I’ve swapped out in my Susvara chain it has never been too bright or siblilant or shimmery. Focal clear OG and LCDX I do hear a little bit of shimmer and brightness, I’ve also owned the HE1000SE and they are definitely brighter up top than the Susvara to me.

 

[eee1111]

Well he is spot on on the HEKSE part at least.

I’d hope so

 

[Paul Noir Culte]

I have a 2020 LCD-XC, I am very satisfied with it only the bass could be thicker, more dominant. How is the LCD 5 compared? I know you can't compare open and closed headphones.

 

[kossiewossie]

Just received my LCD-5 from moon audio (you guys are awesome, no pre-order was needed they had two in stock and sent me an email) as a long time user of the LCD-4, the lcd-5 are very different beast. First thing that hit me is how clear and forward they are, vocals are clear without harshness, the treble is slightly on the dark side but my tube amp adds good amount of warmth, the bass is actually lacking to me compared to my LCD-4, LCD-4 had huge bass and that's excellent depending on the type of music I was listening too but the lcd-5 are more subtle and the bass responses is good but not overpowering and suits a wider range of styles of music and that's actually good for me.
Soundstage is great, wide and open gives you great sense of presence and depth, I'd say they are better than the LCD-4 in this department.

so far I say the lcd-5 are a great pair of headphones but I can't directly say they are better than the LCD-4s.

I do love my custom rings on my LCD-4s, the lcd-5 are light and feel like good quality and the finish is contemporary and stylish, but my LCD-4s are just beautiful, the leather ear pads are not my favorite and the headband is tight at the moment but with some good usage I'm sure it will break them in.

I'm happy with them and as I break them in, I'm sure they will sound better!

setup is
Woo audio WA33 elite (custom tubes)
Chord Dave
Chord M scaler.
Mutec mc-3+ usb
PS audio BHK preamp (custom tubes)
Roon Nucleus
PS Audio power regenerator (power plant 20 / power plant 12)
ton of high end cables (too many to name lol)

 

[Undun]

I do love my custom rings on my LCD-4s

They look gorgeous! Good grief, that might be the most visually stunning LCD-4 I've seen.

 

[kossiewossie]

They look gorgeous! Good grief, that might be the most visually stunning LCD-4 I've seen.

Audeze upgraded them for a small fee after my LCD-4 had an accidently drop to the floor! they gave me option of some stunning rings and those were the ones I picked, the only problem is they are very delicate compared to the stock rings and they said they are one time thing, so if one gets damaged I'm out of luck but I was very lucky to get them!

 

[Undun]

You laughed about being in your 20s but that’s real, my hearing drops off at 14Khz So I’m less susceptible to it but in all of the gear I’ve swapped out in my Susvara chain it has never been too bright or siblilant or shimmery. Focal clear OG and LCDX I do hear a little bit of shimmer and brightness, I’ve also owned the HE1000SE and they are definitely brighter up top than the Susvara to me.

I'm in my 20s too (although not for long ), and I pretty much agree with your assessment. The HE1000SE are undeniably (and fatiguingly) bright, the clear a little less so. The X I found somewhat warmer in the treble. Seems to me that the LCD-5 generally follow the warmer trend in the highs as its younger brother, but that's just speculation since unfortunately no dealer near me has the 5s in .

 

[Tachyon88]

@Resolve "It [lcd5] has that recognizable ‘plucked’ quality to everything"

Ok, so when I bought my Arya it had this quality to it, but I likened the bass presentation as like a taut string or something. My diana v2 and lcd2c did not present this characteristic. Do you think me saying taut and you saying plucked is talking about the same type of characteristic ?

 

[KMann]

You laughed about being in your 20s but that’s real, my hearing drops off at 14Khz So I’m less susceptible to it but in all of the gear I’ve swapped out in my Susvara chain it has never been too bright or siblilant or shimmery. Focal clear OG and LCDX I do hear a little bit of shimmer and brightness, I’ve also owned the HE1000SE and they are definitely brighter up top than the Susvara to me.

Contrary to expectations, brightness is more a result of elevated 4kHz - 10khz region rather than frequencies higher than 10kHz