[amsync]

seems the headphone mfg have raised the price of admission... wont' be long and a HD800s will be $3K ..... ah the good old days when you could buy a electrostat for $500 are gone forever

Someone in the Stax thread made a point about a comparison between the launch price of the SR-009 (I think in 2011) compared to the increased price ($6200) of the new Stax flagship X9000 that just came out and calculated that based on the CPI (consumer price index) the X9000 launch price is equivalent in inflation-adjusted price of the 009 launch price... Combine that with the (electronics) parts shortages we have seen in the past year and the fact that the CPI doesn't reflect real inflation (which can be up to 2x as much) across many industries, I think it is actually not much of an adjustment.

The problem is that we expect electronics to get cheaper over time because of improved techniques, methods, etc. This has been mostly true for consumer mass-produced products like an average/normal TV, but we are actually buying products here that are at the cutting edge. For each new flagship we are funding the research that had to go into it (as Audeze mentioned, the graveyard of headpads for example) which will eventually make its way back into consumer graded products once the development costs have been refined and research recuperated.

Reading Audeze's reactions it seems like really quite a lot of new R&D has gone into this major release that might not have been obviously from the Headfi video, to me at least. I really hope these new cans are going to be a winner. I am getting more excited.

 

[cwoo]

No. We found out that when we shipped LCD4s (and 3s) with balanced cable, over 95% of the users never used them. So we made it optional. Anyone who wants a balanced cable, just needs to contact sales and it is usually shipped with the headphone.

I guess I am in the 5% that never used the 1/4" cable that came with the LCD-3. At the time that headphone came out, balanced inputs weren't the norm and it was still included. It would be nice to offer the option for each termination type and let the consumer select.

Also, Thank you and Schiit for providing a balanced cable for the LCD-R.

 

[John Massaria]

This, too, is a little underwhelming. Welp. Meh.

yup not Harmon like in bass region at all

 

[amsync]

No. We found out that when we shipped LCD4s (and 3s) with balanced cable, over 95% of the users never used them. So we made it optional. Anyone who wants a balanced cable, just needs to contact sales and it is usually shipped with the headphone.

This is surprising to me also. My entire setup from transport to amplifier is focused around using balanced outputs, but then again I only started that evolution several years into being a audiophile as my initial setups were lower grade and simpler. Maybe this tells us more about the fact that there are many more people than I expected buying these to run them off of simpler setups?

 

[cwoo]

This is surprising to me also. My entire setup from transport to amplifier is focused around using balanced outputs, but then again I only started that evolution several years into being a audiophile as my initial setups were lower grade and simpler. Maybe this tells us more about the fact that there are many more people than I expected buying these to run them off of simpler setups?

I'm a big fan of Hifiman using a balanced cable and including a balanced to 1/4" adapter. I really like that move.

Other than that... I don't have anything else nice to say about Hifiman's cables

 

[pippen99]

I am 3rd on the TTVJ Empyrean Elite Loaner Tour. If the audio gods smile on me I will have both at the same time but honestly do not expect the LCD-5 to be here by then considering Audeze's inability to get the CRBN shipped in a timely manner. In the meantime I am reduced to my iems as I got antsy not knowing how many LCD-4s would hit the For Sale forum and priced them to sell. I got 3 buyers in 2 minutes. There is a market for used 4s if you really want to move them.

 

[Alcophone]

For each new flagship we are funding the research that had to go into it (as Audeze mentioned, the graveyard of headpads for example) which will eventually make its way back into consumer graded products once the development costs have been refined and research recuperated.

I doubt Audeze's first battery powered Bluetooth headset with built-in microphones and, oh, 3D spatialization was trivial in terms of research and yet it costs less than 10% of the LCD-5.
I think in principal some companies could disrupt the entire market and sell a flagship for $1000, and still make a profit - provided they can scale production accordingly. If you can't make many, you need to charge more for the few you can make, of course.
But as a company you also shouldn't start a race to the bottom unless you want to drive some competition into bankruptcy.

This is surprising to me also. My entire setup from transport to amplifier is focused around using balanced outputs, but then again I only started that evolution several years into being a audiophile as my initial setups were lower grade and simpler. Maybe this tells us more about the fact that there are many more people than I expected buying these to run them off of simpler setups?

As I'm moving past the ~$1000 price bracket, I'm encountering multiple highly respected headphone amps that are single ended only, like the SparkoS Aries and the Pass Labs HPA-1. And the pro audio world is predominantly 6.35mm TRS as far as I know. Then there are the entry level amps, of course.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

I look forward to meeting many of you at the Audeze booth. Hopefully I'll get some time for myself to hear the LCD-5.

 

[KMann]

Thanks for all of the responses, I love hearing about the details of the design decisions!

I have an engineering question, if you don't mind. Since the LCD-5 is going to be a single sided magnetic array, and the parallel uniforce traces allow for uniform force over the diaphram, what's stopping the headphones from just having the magnets on the outside-side of the diaphram, and ditching the ear-side fazors all together?

There are limited benefits (slightly more open sound) but cons outweigh the pros, a major issue is protecting the ultra thin diaphragm from damage, you will still have reflections from the magnets on the back, the whole assembly and manufacturing gets more complex. There is a reason you do not see such designs with planar headphones.

 

[amsync]

I doubt Audeze's first battery powered Bluetooth headset with built-in microphones and, oh, 3D spatialization was trivial in terms of research and yet it costs less than 10% of the LCD-5.

Yes but isn't the market for these much bigger? I agree that maybe the bigger part is actually that this (audiophile headphones) is such a niche market and its numbers game.

 

[HK_sends]

So please take this with a grain of salt as I've only put Rush's 2112 through these amazing headphones and they seem to hit the "sweet-spot" for me tonally speaking. The LCD-4 were on the warmer/enveloping side of things, but I preferred the treble response of the LCD-4Z for it's more energetic approach. But at times, that energetic approach (especially with Geddy Lee's vocals) could be a tad too much, so I preferred Rush with the LCD-4. The LCD-5 hit the target dead-on...his vocals are outstanding and near-perfect. Sound staging has been elevated over the already impressive LCD-4s too...both front-to-back and left-to-right. Neil Peart's drumming is super-quick...LCD-R/SR-009 quickness. Hard to say which is quicker with only an hour on them and I'll need more time but so far I am quite impressed.

For anyone thinking the previous LCD models were too heavy? Boy, oh boy will you be impressed with the 420g that these headphones come in at. One hour down and absolutely ZERO comfort issues. They seem to melt away on your head. They are smaller too and don't feel as big on my head:


This is gonna be one seriously fun review!!!!

So you are saying they sound 'okay'...
Bass presence?
Cheers and Thanks!
-HK sends

 

[Alcophone]

Yes but isn't the market for these much bigger? I agree that maybe the bigger part is actually that this (audiophile headphones) is such a niche market and its numbers game.

I'm sure it is, though many will skip it because it doesn't have active noise cancelation, which everyone thinks they need.
I'd think the market for the LCD-5 at $1000 would be substantially bigger than at $4500, but yeah, the $400 Mobius market is bigger still, no doubt.

 

[arrakian]

Make no mistake about it, these are Audeze LCD headphones and they bring the bass...seriously good!

Quality or quantity? That graph shows no elevation at all.

 

[chargedcapacitor]

yup not Harmon like in bass region at all

I'm betting audeze expects the owners to EQ the bass to taste. Adding a bass shelf to planars would likely create trade offs in other frequency ranges, which audeze has been vocal about avoiding in the past.

 

[Bimbleton]

I really want to know if it is bright. The frequency graph makes it seem a bit bright, but that doesn’t always tell the full story.