Audeze LCD-5 Review, Measurements, Interview

[dleblanc343]

From my subjective experience spending a few weeks with the LCD-R and the susvara side by side, the LCD-5 only needs to slightly nudge the LCD-R out in sound quality to beat the susvara.

Couldn’t agree any more, as an owner of both those phones as well.

My LCD4 were good but I found myself eq’ing the upper mids. If out of the box these are closer to the EQ’d target, this is a huge win.

Add to that that eq’ing UP the mids is more detrimental than eq’ing DOWN.

The biggest question mark is - Can we get the same visceral bass that the LCD4 is known for? If yes, it’s a game changer

 

[musicday]

What a beautiful time to be an audiophile and to afford all the great high end headphones that have been released recently.

 

[CaptainFantastic]

I find it meaningful that in the head-fi interview, Audeze's CEO led with (1) lower weight and (2) total physical redesign, yet was pretty reticent to talk much about technical innovations. The interview felt pretty awkward, with Jude trying to keep the energy up, but was given little to work with, lol.

And strangely, all this talk of the a lighter and brighter LCD-5 is making miss having an LCD-4.

Spot on and all the more strange given that Jude gave us that intro on how Sankar is very interested in technological developments, etc. I got the feeling that there wasn't much for him to say about the LCD-5. I felt awkward just watching that segment. And if it was just a bad take, this being recorded, they could have done a second take, gone for a coffee... but no, apparently that is all he had to say about this new flagship model.

 

[VandyMan]

And strangely, all this talk of the a lighter and brighter LCD-5 is making miss having an LCD-4.

You can visit your old LCD-4 sometime, if you like. And you can checkout my LCD-R too.

 

[llamaluv]

You can visit your old LCD-4 sometime, if you like. And you can checkout my LCD-R too.

Oh hey nice! Glad you (and it!) are doing well.

 

[fugimax]

Looks like they come with a new special unbalanced cable. Will a similar balanced cable be offered for sale? I see they sell their existing cables separately, but this one appears unique?

 

[KMann]

Are these pads still attached in the same fashion as the LCD-4 ?

They are not 'clip-on' but they are attached, and user replaceable without voiding warranty.

 

[ThanatosVI]

They are not 'clip-on' but they are attached, and user replaceable without voiding warranty.

I really hope that you consider a mechanism like Meze uses on the Empyrean and Elite.
Now that you reinvented the headband.

Btw the Design of the LCD-5 is great.

 

[Tex Irie]

@Audeze, Good Job! Can't wait to try them out. That headband and yoke rod are spiffy and I hope it will be available for all the other LCD models in the future.

 

[ufospls2]

Oh well. I’ve been watching the headphone releases roll out, and decided to wait to see if Audeze released the rumoured LCD-5.

Order placed, thanks to the awesome crew @headphones.com (thanks dudes!)

Basically, I’m hoping for sonics I like, in a comfy weight/design, that isn’t as hard to drive as the Susvara. On paper, the LCD-5 seems to fit the bill. Of course, I’ll have to wait until hearing it before I can know for sure. Full review incoming etc… in time.

And thus, the wait begins

 

[PROblemdetected]

Oh no, here we go again

 

[KMann]

I find it meaningful that in the head-fi interview, Audeze's CEO led with (1) lower weight and (2) total physical redesign, yet was pretty reticent to talk much about technical innovations. The interview felt pretty awkward, with Jude trying to keep the energy up, but was given little to work with, lol.

And strangely, all this talk of the a lighter and brighter LCD-5 is making miss having an LCD-4.

You guys are a tough crowd Sankar, myself and our CTO are all electrical engineers with Masters or Doctoral degree, but we need to wear different hats depending on the audience. If you have followed Audeze over the years, we do not wait for a series of technical innovations before a we release a new model. It is always a culmination of what we have learned and some more.

For example LCD-4 was about nano scale diaphragm, we already had the Fluxor magnets and Fazors. LCD-5 uses all the technology but also adds the Parallel Uniforce traces which we teased via LCD-R. Trying to explain the technology in a interview without a white board will feel like watching inception. Our focus with LCD-5 was ergonomics, improved midrange and clarity. Of course we could come up with a series of fancy names for every aspect of research that went into the design: Three years of acoustic research that went into how we designed the earpads with focus on reducing reflections and also retaining the natural response the drivers are capable of delivering and we have a graveyard of earpads that did not make it. How we optimized the magnetic circuit and trace pattern with parallel uniforce technology (using genetic programming for nonliar constrained optimization to equalize the force on the diaphragm). Sweating over every aspect of the design to shave as much weight as possible without compromising quality. The magnetic circuit and fazors were also redesigned to reduce reflections and we also use a new mesh that both protects the diaphragm and also remains completely transparent.

 

[Undun]

Oh well. I’ve been watching the headphone releases roll out, and decided to wait to see if Audeze released the rumoured LCD-5.

Order placed, thanks to the awesome crew @headphones.com (thanks dudes!)

Basically, I’m hoping for sonics I like, in a comfy weight/design, that isn’t as hard to drive as the Susvara. On paper, the LCD-5 seems to fit the bill. Of course, I’ll have to wait until hearing it before I can know for sure. Full review incoming etc… in time.

And thus, the wait begins

If I get even 90 percent of the resolution and staging capability of the Susvara with something that doesn't require speaker amps to sound its best, then the LCD-5 will be a huge win in my book.

 

[ufospls2]

If I get even 90 percent of the resolution and staging capability of the Susvara with something that doesn't require speaker amps to sound its best, then the LCD-5 will be a huge win in my book.

I agree. It's going to be interesting doing a bunch of back to back listening.

The only thing that seemed strange to me was that they are only available with a 1/4" terminated cable. For a flagship model, at least the option for 4pin XLR would have been cool. Maybe they feel people will just replace the stock cable anyhow, I'm not too sure. Oh well. It's not the end of the world.

 

[Undun]

I agree. It's going to be interesting doing a bunch of back to back listening.

Absolutely! Would be great to get your impressions once you have both side-to-side to A/B. Throw in the TC and you have the triumvirate .