Audeze LCD-5 Review, Measurements, Interview

[Benno1988]

How much do they cost? Also could these be easily applied in Roon? I’m not too familiar with convolution filters.

200USD. Transferable to someone else if you sell.

And yes. Very easy in Roon.

Its essentially a very high res EQ profile with the pregain inbuilt.

 

[Benno1988]

Assuming Harman is off is the weird thing to say.

It isn't. Its saying "I don't like Harman, it sounds off".

You may love Harman. Good for you. I'm not saying you're wrong or Harman is wrong.

 

[801evan]

It isn't. Its saying "I don't like Harman, it sounds off".

You may love Harman. Good for you. I'm not saying you're wrong or Harman is wrong.

If you read what he said about Harman, that's what I'm trying to say. To have a HP tuned to Harman is a better starting point to tweaking the rest of the chain than EQ the HP to be out of Harman.

 

[Sean_MR]

200USD. Transferable to someone else if you sell.

And yes. Very easy in Roon.

Its essentially a very high res EQ profile with the pregain inbuilt.

I just read the article and saw that, thanks for the response though! So you don’t need his convolver to make the FIR eq work? I remember reading in the article how his convolver has like 32,000 filters; can you essentially just “copy and paste” those into Roon, or would you have to manually input them?

 

[Benno1988]

I just read the article and saw that, thanks for the response though! So you don’t need his convolver to make the FIR eq work? I remember reading in the article how his convolver has like 32,000 filters; can you essentially just “copy and paste” those into Roon, or would you have to manually input them?

No, dont need it. That is just so you can On/Off seamlessly to compare.

Roon will load it in just fine, just choose the file to match what you have your bitrate set to and you're good to go. No need to copy and paste stuff in.

Its a ".wav" file. @barbz127 used it with Roon, I'm sure he can help you.

 

[shwnwllms]

Purchased Mtich Barnett's (Accurate Sound Canada) convolution filter for the LCD5.

Loaded into Equaliser APO.

He has nailed it. Much better. Better balance. Much better timbre on vocals too. I was running a modified version of Resolves EQ. But this is better again.

Anyone tried loading these in HQPlayer? (I know its possible to load convolution filters in HQP but I’ve got no experience with them so hesitant to drop $200 as that is where I apply my EQ)

 

[eee1111]

200 dollars for EQ settings?

Am I reading this right?

I have roon and I play around with EQ all the time. There is so much you can do to get the sound to what you personally like without paying for presets

I dunno I guess that’s just me.

 

[801evan]

200 dollars for EQ settings?

Am I reading this right?

I have roon and I play around with EQ all the time. There is so much you can do to get the sound to what you personally like without paying for presets

I dunno I guess that’s just me.

And someone else doing EQ is only making an EQ that's only good for their system. Especially if it's an EQ that veers away from a good target curve like Harman and isn't doing a proper compensate or calibration.

A friend sends me convolution files and we both understand he has to adjust 2 or 3 points to compensate for the different sonic signature between his chain /ear pads over mine.

 

[tutetibiimperes]

Assuming Harman is off is the weird thing to say.

I'm a big fan of the Harman target, but it's just a preference curve, albeit one that does have a lot of research behind it. It's not going to be a fit for everyone, and the upper midrange and above are frequencies where individual inner-ear shapes can have a pretty big effect on how sound is perceived. What's shouty to one person will sound just right to another, and what's perfect for one person will sound dull and dead to another.

I'm a big fan of the Oratory1990 EQ presets for the LCD-5, which closely follow the Harman curve, they just sound right to me. I personally like that his presets fill out the rest of the upper midrange and lower treble instead of lowering the peak that's already there - broadening out so that it sounds smoother.

I can completely accept that some people don't prefer that much energy up there though, as seen by the popularity of some of the other EQ presets out there that lower the peak to smooth things out.

 

[Benno1988]

200 dollars for EQ settings?

Am I reading this right?

I have roon and I play around with EQ all the time. There is so much you can do to get the sound to what you personally like without paying for presets

I dunno I guess that’s just me.

Yep.

But. I can't achieve what this is doing with Parametric EQ. And I EQ everything and have for a long time.

It isn't cheap, but neither is the LCD-5. I took a punt on it and it has paid off for my ears, may not for others. Make your own decisions etc etc

You can still PEQ over the top of it too to nudge to preferred tonal balance. But in its stock form, I'm pretty content.

 

[chargedcapacitor]

Yep.

But. I can't achieve what this is doing with Parametric EQ. And I EQ everything and have for a long time.

It isn't cheap, but neither is the LCD-5. I took a punt on it and it has paid off for my ears, may not for others. Make your own decisions etc etc

You can still PEQ over the top of it too to nudge to preferred tonal balance. But in its stock form, I'm pretty content.

So is this convolution filter just a plug-in for EQ APO, or is it just EQ settings? I'm trying to wrap my head around what I would be purchasing, should I purchase it. Is there a trial?

 

[pippen99]

No, dont need it. That is just so you can On/Off seamlessly to compare.

Roon will load it in just fine, just choose the file to match what you have your bitrate set to and you're good to go. No need to copy and paste stuff in.

Its a ".wav" file. @barbz127 used it with Roon, I'm sure he can help you.

This confuses me. Does this mean I have to pause playback and choose a different file every time the bitrate changes. What happens when I have a playlist with multiple tracks with different bitrates?

 

[ra990]

This confuses me. Does this mean I have to pause playback and choose a different file every time the bitrate changes. What happens when I have a playlist with multiple tracks with different bitrates?

You setup the filter by specifying the 44.1k and 48k waveforms. Once the filter is setup in your software, all your playback bitrates get derived from these two files typically. Everything happens automatically. Roon will automatically select the correct file and not require any further intervention.

 

[Benno1988]

Yeah. Don't have to change each song haha

 

[Benno1988]

So is this convolution filter just a plug-in for EQ APO, or is it just EQ settings? I'm trying to wrap my head around what I would be purchasing, should I purchase it. Is there a trial?

So in Equaliser APO, not Peace GUI, you click the little plus, filters, convolution filter. Then select the file. It'll load a 16,000 or so "resolution" EQ essentially. He derived this from measuring a bunch of different LCD5 models. So its a monster set of micro adjustments.

The graph below will then show a very smoothed line depicting the EQ being applied. You could just replicate this with PEQ, and it'll be close, I would think.

But I'm not chasing close or good. I wouldn't spend or take a punt like this on cheaper headphones.

You can ask him for a trial, unsure if he does that or not. Might do, nice guy!

To my ears, I'm hearing everything I want. If the song has it, the LCD5 plays it with complete balance. And transitions throughout the range is perfect. My ears. My brain. You do you.

I decided to take the plunge based on people's love of the SR1a filters, and the filters has has made for my mates specific Stereo System.