[rsbrsvp]

Which is better- 5, or CRBN?

This is the summary as I understand:

CRBN-faster, more detail, superb bass for an electrostatic phone.
5- almost as fast and almost as much detail, more bass, much more slam, more power.

To bad they both can't work on the same amplifier..

 

[Undun]

Which is better- 5, or CRBN?

This is the summary as I understand:

CRBN-faster, more detail, superb bass for an electrostatic phone.
5- almost as fast and almost as much detail, more bass, much more slam, more power.

To bad they both can't work on the same amplifier..

We have to wait until people have ample time with both in order to gather anything meaningful. Those summaries from impressions gathered from a noisy show environment under <5 minute listening times probably don't mean much for the sake of comparison (though they may end up being generally true). We probably have to wait a few weeks at least until we have proper comparisons of the two.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Which is better- 5, or CRBN?

This is the summary as I understand:

CRBN-faster, more detail, superb bass for an electrostatic phone.
5- almost as fast and almost as much detail, more bass, much more slam, more power.

To bad they both can't work on the same amplifier..

Well there are amps that are able to power both, just not that many for obvious reasons

This one for example:
https://www.lineartubeaudio.com/products/z10e-electrostatic-headphone-amp-integrated-amp

 

[KMann]

Which is better- 5, or CRBN?

They are tonally similar but present music in very different ways, If you have not heard a electrostatic headphone before, no amount of descriptive text will help as there is no easy way to provide a frame of reference.

 

[betula]

Which is better- 5, or CRBN?

This is the summary as I understand:

CRBN-faster, more detail, superb bass for an electrostatic phone.
5- almost as fast and almost as much detail, more bass, much more slam, more power.

This is my impression too after reading all available information. Albeit, there is no better or worse, it comes down to preference at this level.
I am not ready to invest in energizers, so for me the LCD5 remains as a second-hand goal for next year.

 

[KMann]

CRBN-faster, more detail, superb bass for an electrostatic phone.
5- almost as fast and almost as much detail, more bass, much more slam, more power.

From a comfort perspective, CRBN is 300gms and I forget they are on my head, the larger earpads help. LCD-5 are very light and comfortable too but comparatively speaking.

By virtue of being a electrostatic headphone CRBN 's diaphragm is lighter than LCD5 (hence can accelerate faster) but you need to weight it against the need for a very good electrostatic amp that does not hold CRBN back.

Owing to the larger diaphragm of CRBN, the soundstage is bigger than LCD-5; LCD-5 has a smaller soundstage comparatively (still bigger than any of our LCD series), however it is quite focused.

With CRBN you can easily drift away while listening to music. With LCD-5, the visceral impact (Edit: subjective of course) will jolt you and draw your attention.

I personally like them both and find it hard to choose one over the other, it just depends on how I feel that day

 

[silversurfer616]

Just sold my Mscaler and the Lcd5 is the only headphone worth reinvesting it seems. Everything else is just a sidestep or different flavour and I had this too often in the past.

 

[betula]

From a comfort perspective, CRBN is 300gms and I forget they are on my head, the larger earpads help too. LCD-5 are very light and comfortable too but comparatively speaking.

By virtue of being a electrostatic headphone CRBN 's diaphragm is lighter than LCD5 (hence can accelerate faster) but you need to weight it against the need for a very good electrostatic amp that does not hold CRBN back.

Owing to the larger diaphragm of CRBN, the soundstage is bigger than LCD-5. But LCD-5 has a smaller soundstage (Still bigger than any of our LCD series), however it is quite focused.

With CRBN you can easily drift away while listening to music with LCD-5, the visceral impact will jolt you and draw your draw your attention.

I personally like them both and find it hard to choose one over the other, it just depends on how I feel that day

That is if money is not an issue. I am a budget audiophile (compared to most of the posters of this thread) who currently can't afford more than one 1-3 year old flagship headphones. I will probably sell my Empyrean as I prefer my D8000. Yet in an ideal world I would keep them both.

The LCD5 seems extremely attractive to me as I owned and loved several LCDs (2, 2C, X). I also extensively auditioned the 3 and 4. While I was ok with the weight (except the LCD4's 700g+), switching to a lighter headphone like my Empyrean was always a relief. I am still addicted to Audeze bass presentation, even though I own the D8000 now which has pretty awesome bass (one of the best available headphone bass actually).

A light weight Audeze with brighter and airier upper frequencies might just be my ideal ultimate headphone, as long as the linear Audeze bass punch is still there.
Perhaps the CRBN is even better, but I am not ready to venture into electrostatic and energizer realms, mostly because of my limited finances.

While I thoroughly enjoy my D8000 at the moment, I think I would love the LCD5 even more for its flat yet punchy bass and overall clarity, resolution and airiness improvements in the upper frequencies.

 

[rsbrsvp]

From a comfort perspective, CRBN is 300gms and I forget they are on my head, the larger earpads help. LCD-5 are very light and comfortable too but comparatively speaking.

By virtue of being a electrostatic headphone CRBN 's diaphragm is lighter than LCD5 (hence can accelerate faster) but you need to weight it against the need for a very good electrostatic amp that does not hold CRBN back.

Owing to the larger diaphragm of CRBN, the soundstage is bigger than LCD-5; LCD-5 has a smaller soundstage comparatively (still bigger than any of our LCD series), however it is quite focused.

With CRBN you can easily drift away while listening to music. With LCD-5, the visceral impact (Edit: subjective of course) will jolt you and draw your attention.

I personally like them both and find it hard to choose one over the other, it just depends on how I feel that day

I would love the CRBN but I cannot afford a BHSE. I will live with the LCD-5- probably happily- but wish I could have both. I can afford both headphones but not two world class amplifiers. That Z10E mentioned earlier sounds impressive but I doubt it is BHSE level...

 

[sp33ls]

You could also make some analogies to the auto industry transition to electrification.

Electrostatics == Electric vehicles

Neither one is new technology... They've been around for a long time. However, only recently has there been any real focus, R&D, marketing, etc.

However, this means that any EV or electrostatic you buy now will likely become more "obsolete" compared to planars/dynamics. This is only because you're paying the cost of being an early adopter while they rapidly iterate and make improvements. Internal combustion engines and dynamic drivers have already experienced a ton of R&D and iteration, so we're unlikely to see the same level of advancements.

TL;dr -- LCD-5 could very well be my last traditional open back. Anything else is likely not "better" just a different flavor.
The CRBN may still have room to grow (despite how good it is now), as Audeze learns how to further harness the technology, and nanotechnology improves in parallel (carbon nanotubes).

I'm going to wait a little while longer before investing into estats and energizers.

 

[phthora]

I would love the CRBN but I cannot afford a BHSE. I will live with the LCD-5- probably happily- but wish I could have both. I can afford both headphones but not two world class amplifiers. That Z10E mentioned earlier sounds impressive but I doubt it is BHSE level...

Exactly this. Personally, I've never been tempted by the electrostats I've heard to invest in a separate front-end. So, even though the CRBN seems like a good fit for me, it's hard for me to justify that expensive of an amp for one pair of headphones.

 

[sahmen]

Without having heard both, I'd probably try the CRBN first, since I am curious about electrostats, and there are first impressionists who report that the LCD-5 might sound somewhat close to the hifiman susvara, which I already have (this may not necessarily be a dealbreaker, if the resemblance is not too close, and if the Audeze retains enough its own "personality" and the original Audeze house sound to present a sonically interesting and different enough presentation as compared to the Susvara, but that sounds like a judgment call I can safely make with a first hand audition of the LCD-5, which I do not have any access to at the moment)...

One thing working in favor of the LCD-5 is the extra TOTL Electrostatic amp that the CRBN might require, which would stretch my budget a lot more than I can handle at the moment, especially since I have purchased two TOTL headamps less than 6 months ago. Still, if I could hear the CRBN and actually determine at first hand that I like it better than the LCD-5, I would not mind buying the CRBN now, and spending the next 1 to 2 years saving up for a suitable matching amp up for it. Yet this decision too rests on my ability to hear one CRBN first hand, which presently seems like a less likely possibility than my getting a chance to audition an LCD-5, which does not require long wait times like the quasi "unobtainium-like" CRBN.

If the present conditions prevail, I could wind up caving and buying the LCD-5, and then spend the rest of the time looking over my shoulder and wondering whether I did the right thing by not fighting to get "Mr quasi-unobtainium CRBN" instead, and that will not be an ideal situation to be in...

That is my current situation, however sad it might sound... To be continued, if something changes.

 

[EMINENT]

That is if money is not an issue. I am a budget audiophile (compared to most of the posters of this thread) who currently can't afford more than one 1-3 year old flagship headphones. I will probably sell my Empyrean as I prefer my D8000. Yet in an ideal world I would keep them both.

The LCD5 seems extremely attractive to me as I owned and loved several LCDs (2, 2C, X). I also extensively auditioned the 3 and 4. While I was ok with the weight (except the LCD4's 700g+), switching to a lighter headphone like my Empyrean was always a relief. I am still addicted to Audeze bass presentation, even though I own the D8000 now which has pretty awesome bass (one of the best available headphone bass actually).

A light weight Audeze with brighter and airier upper frequencies might just be my ideal ultimate headphone, as long as the linear Audeze bass punch is still there.
Perhaps the CRBN is even better, but I am not ready to venture into electrostatic and energizer realms, mostly because of my limited finances.

While I thoroughly enjoy my D8000 at the moment, I think I would love the LCD5 even more for its flat yet punchy bass and overall clarity, resolution and airiness improvements in the upper frequencies.

Same. Already spent $6k more than I was wanting.

 

[sp33ls]

One thing working in favor of the LCD-5 is the extra TOTL Electrostatic amp that the CRBN might require...

Just a heads up before you purchase anything or in case you're not familiar, electrostatic headphones do not work with traditional headphone amps. Instead, estats use something called an Energizer.

I would not mind buying the CRBN now, and spending the next 1 to 2 years saving up for a suitable matching amp up for it.

Hey, it's your money... But, I could think of many other ways to park money besides a pair of headphones you can't use for a year or two...

 

[adrianm]

I would love the CRBN but I cannot afford a BHSE. I will live with the LCD-5- probably happily- but wish I could have both. I can afford both headphones but not two world class amplifiers. That Z10E mentioned earlier sounds impressive but I doubt it is BHSE level...

It sounds like you might benefit from a step back from the forum. I've been that deep down the rabbit hole as well. And then i remind myself i barely have time listen to music for a few hours a week anymore and i have other hobbies to fund