[IZONE]

Okay. since you ask, I have a whole bunch of papers to grade and return to my students this week. They are already slightly late since I have an unusually large number of them this semester. If I am not imagining it, I think I can see their impatience in their eyes, or maybe it's all in my head, which boils down to the same effect : I would hate to settle down to listen to the LCD-5 with such guilt feelings nagging me at the back of my head, because they can suck and detract from the experience.

My sense of the proper welcome would be to settle down in a dimly lit room with the LCD-5, feeling light like a feather, with absolutely no load on the brain, and with one of the substances below in my right hand for the whole 7-8 hours give or take :

So there are really no dangers to speak of, just a toss up between a hastily arranged guilt-ridden listen for instant gratification (today), and a patiently calibrated grand slam of a ride on Aladdin's magic carpet (Friday)...

I'd say that Friday is looking pretty good from where I'm sitting now so far... I hope my mind does not change before then

#FirstWorldProblems I recommend you wait until Friday as often the anticipation of something is more joyous than the actual event. It's human nature plus in your mind the LCD-5 is a reward for getting all the grading done which will motivate you to grade furiously. I say just hand out a lot of "B+"

 

[jlbb]

Perhaps its only because I was coming from the Empyreans and HD800s prior, but I would say these are a large step down in comfort.

Probably the realisation that no matter the money spent on a headphone there are inevitable compromises, but I still am somewhat disappointed from the build and comfort level compared to the aforementioned. Definite clamp force issues for myself but maybe that will change over time. In saying that, these are without a doubt the most resolving headphones I have ever heard. Probably not the most exciting tuning in the world and its likely I'll be playing with the bass region in particular with EQ but they are incredibly balanced out of the box.

 

[Terco]

Perhaps its only because I was coming from the Empyreans and HD800s prior, but I would say these are a large step down in comfort.

I'm coming from regular Audeze and I have discomfort lol, anyway day by day I'm getting used to it.

In saying that, these are without a doubt the most resolving headphones I have ever heard. Probably not the most exciting tuning in the world and its likely I'll be playing with the bass region in particular with EQ but they are incredibly balanced out of the box.

I can't agreed more with you.

 

[Benno1988]

The Empyrean is the gold standard in comfort and build fit/finish. If they could squeeze in some more performance, dammmmn.

The HD800S is just light as **** because its all plastic.

 

[MN8372]

Hi all,

It’s been a bit quiet in this thread the past few days (not even much talk about the Harman curve or shipping delays).

So I thought I should add to my initial impressions from a few days ago. Feel like it’s my duty to do so (at least until they get into the hands of those more experienced when I can go back to my lurking ways..)

I still think they are a goldilocks headphone for my tastes.

The mids (female vocals especially) are pronounced but when they sound this good I see that as a strength. And if that’s too much for your taste a modest amount of EQ should help. Although I get how some might find them a bit shouty. Personally I’m still undecided whether I need to EQ these headphones…

The treble is slightly dark compared to my HEKSE (especially) and (to a lesser degree) my Utopias. Detail is right up there with those two phones (could be better but I’ve not worked that out yet).

The timbre (whatever that means) is really good. Acoustic guitar and piano is insanely good. Vocals (male and female) are also very good. Maybe a touch shouty with higher pitched (screechy) female vocals and higher pitched (screechy) electronic guitar on some rock tracks. But I’ve not hear a headphone that does well with that type of music.

They also do a better job at separation - less congested when the music gets really complex (although I think this is where every headphone I’ve ever heard falls down compared to speakers). It’s a bit annoying really until you think how technically challenging it must be for such a small transducer! If there’s a headphone that nails this please let me know! I think it might be the main issue I have with all headphones..

Soundstage is very good but that’s not hugely important to me with headphones (as compared to speakers). Like a bigger sounding version of the Utopias.

Bass is really good to my ears - running a modest low bass shelf is a lot of fun. They seem to take well to it without the bass becoming bloated. Really good with EDM but also tonnes of detail with proper instrumental music. But then I’ve never heard the Abyss headphones and my Utopias are currently out of action due to a left driver failure after 4 years solid use/abuse…

They are very different to the HEKSE. Swapping between the two doesn’t work well at all. Too different. The HEKSE has been my main driver for 2 years (and HEK v2 for a further 2 years before that). The air and wide soundstage of the Hifiman phones is great and the LCD5 can’t match them in that regard. But the Hifiman phones really lack the punch and tactile aspects of the LCD5 (bass seems bloomy in comparison and even the middle registers seem to lack weight). They just don’t sound as “real” to my ears. And the transparency of the LCD5 is still top notch - just a bit restrained in the treble (which I’m ok with). The treble of the HEKSE is a bit ragged in comparison (especially cymbals etc..) which is part of the reason why I ended up with an R2R dac, tube amplifier, copper cables and upsampling to DSD512 in HQ Player..

The LCD5’s are great allrounders. Whether it’s modern indie rock (Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire, The National), jazz, soul, electronic music (Four Tet, Darkside, Jon Hopkins etc..) or my guilty weakness for trashy modern female Scandinavian pop music (Astrid S and Sigrid ahem..). Like all headphones I’ve heard they sound better with “simple” less complex
music (or at least very well recorded/produced tracks). Old school guitar Rock is good but can still sound a bit congested in the louder moments (but still better than my HEKSE and Utopias). Not sure how to explain this but I struggle with rock on headphones.. And maybe that’s where the shoutiness in the upper mids/lower treble doesn’t help either..

And they are really comfortable now after 4 days solid use. Not even noticing the clamp. It’s there if I think about it but not if I don’t.

Keen to hear the views of those more experienced than I with a wider collection of headphones to compare against..

And once again humble apologies for snagging one of these ahead of those who ordered well before I did. It wasn’t planned!

Cheers

 

[ThanatosVI]

The Empyrean is the gold standard in comfort and build fit/finish. If they could squeeze in some more performance, dammmmn.

The HD800S is just light as **** because its all plastic.

The Elite is even more comfortable for smaller heads (probably less for big heads)

 

[boxster233]

Hi all,

It’s been a bit quiet in this thread the past few days (not even much talk about the Harman curve or shipping delays).

So I thought I should add to my initial impressions from a few days ago. Feel like it’s my duty to do so (at least until they get into the hands of those more experienced when I can go back to my lurking ways..)

I still think they are a goldilocks headphone for my tastes.

The mids (female vocals especially) are pronounced but when they sound this good I see that as a strength. And if that’s too much for your taste a modest amount of EQ should help. Although I get how some might find them a bit shouty. Personally I’m still undecided whether I need to EQ these headphones…

The treble is slightly dark compared to my HEKSE (especially) and (to a lesser degree) my Utopias. Detail is right up there with those two phones (could be better but I’ve not worked that out yet).

The timbre (whatever that means) is really good. Acoustic guitar and piano is insanely good. Vocals (male and female) are also very good. Maybe a touch shouty with higher pitched (screechy) female vocals and higher pitched (screechy) electronic guitar on some rock tracks. But I’ve not hear a headphone that does well with that type of music.

They also do a better job at separation - less congested when the music gets really complex (although I think this is where every headphone I’ve ever heard falls down compared to speakers). It’s a bit annoying really until you think how technically challenging it must be for such a small transducer! If there’s a headphone that nails this please let me know! I think it might be the main issue I have with all headphones..

Soundstage is very good but that’s not hugely important to me with headphones (as compared to speakers). Like a bigger sounding version of the Utopias.

Bass is really good to my ears - running a modest low bass shelf is a lot of fun. They seem to take well to it without the bass becoming bloated. Really good with EDM but also tonnes of detail with proper instrumental music. But then I’ve never heard the Abyss headphones and my Utopias are currently out of action due to a left driver failure after 4 years solid use/abuse…

They are very different to the HEKSE. Swapping between the two doesn’t work well at all. Too different. The HEKSE has been my main driver for 2 years (and HEK v2 for a further 2 years before that). The air and wide soundstage of the Hifiman phones is great and the LCD5 can’t match them in that regard. But the Hifiman phones really lack the punch and tactile aspects of the LCD5 (bass seems bloomy in comparison and even the middle registers seem to lack weight). They just don’t sound as “real” to my ears. And the transparency of the LCD5 is still top notch - just a bit restrained in the treble (which I’m ok with). The treble of the HEKSE is a bit ragged in comparison (especially cymbals etc..) which is part of the reason why I ended up with an R2R dac, tube amplifier, copper cables and upsampling to DSD512 in HQ Player..

The LCD5’s are great allrounders. Whether it’s modern indie rock (Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem, Arcade Fire, The National), jazz, soul, electronic music (Four Tet, Darkside, Jon Hopkins etc..) or my guilty weakness for trashy modern female Scandinavian pop music (Astrid S and Sigrid ahem..). Like all headphones I’ve heard they sound better with “simple” less complex
music (or at least very well recorded/produced tracks). Old school guitar Rock is good but can still sound a bit congested in the louder moments (but still better than my HEKSE and Utopias). Not sure how to explain this but I struggle with rock on headphones.. And maybe that’s where the shoutiness in the upper mids/lower treble doesn’t help either..

And they are really comfortable now after 4 days solid use. Not even noticing the clamp. It’s there if I think about it but not if I don’t.

Keen to hear the views of those more experienced than I with a wider collection of headphones to compare against..

And once again humble apologies for snagging one of these ahead of those who ordered well before I did. It wasn’t planned!

Cheers

Really appreciate you mentioning the music you listen to because I can connect with that.

 

[Ciggavelli]

The Elite is even more comfortable for smaller heads (probably less for big heads)

I have a big head, and the clamp for the Elite was a little more than I’d like, but I didn’t find it to be a problem

 

[KMann]

As for me? I'll keep hitting the refresh button on their site, looking for the longer LCD-5 Yoke Rods to appear.

The longer yolk rods are helpful only if you are already on the last click and the headband is still resting on your head.

They inferred (Audeze, please correct me if I'm wrong), that current owners can trade their excessive clamping headband for the newer, low-clamping force headband for no charge...at least at the beginning.

Yes this is true.

 

[HK_sends]

The longer yolk rods are helpful only if you are already on the last click and the headband is still resting on your head.

Yes this is true.

I needed the longer yoke rods with the LCD-2 through LCD-R. We'll see about the LCD-5.
Cheers and Thanks!
-HK sends

 

[phthora]

I own the Audeze SINE. I fear no clamp.

 

[arrakian]

I own the Audeze SINE. I fear no clamp.

Same..

 

[catscratch]

For anyone who has these who also found the Utopia too fatiguing: how's the level of fatigue with these? I could listen to the Utopia maybe 15-20 minutes at a time, then I had to take them off. This was true on just about everything I used the Utopia on, and it was also true whether or not I equalized them or not. I also had this reaction with basically every other Focal headphone, though to a lesser extent. But at the same time, there wasn't much that was audibly wrong with them - they weren't excessively bright, they were maybe a little sibilant but some EQ took care of that. So I still have no idea why I found them as fatiguing as I did. Unfortunately, this is one thing that will absolutely make or break an otherwise great headphone for me, so I'm wondering.

 

[Benno1988]

For anyone who has these who also found the Utopia too fatiguing: how's the level of fatigue with these? I could listen to the Utopia maybe 15-20 minutes at a time, then I had to take them off. This was true on just about everything I used the Utopia on, and it was also true whether or not I equalized them or not. I also had this reaction with basically every other Focal headphone, though to a lesser extent. But at the same time, there wasn't much that was audibly wrong with them - they weren't excessively bright, they were maybe a little sibilant but some EQ took care of that. So I still have no idea why I found them as fatiguing as I did. Unfortunately, this is one thing that will absolutely make or break an otherwise great headphone for me, so I'm wondering.

Might just be anyhting with decent 3k region. Try EQ that down a touch and see

 

[DivergeUnify]

For anyone who has these who also found the Utopia too fatiguing: how's the level of fatigue with these? I could listen to the Utopia maybe 15-20 minutes at a time, then I had to take them off. This was true on just about everything I used the Utopia on, and it was also true whether or not I equalized them or not. I also had this reaction with basically every other Focal headphone, though to a lesser extent. But at the same time, there wasn't much that was audibly wrong with them - they weren't excessively bright, they were maybe a little sibilant but some EQ took care of that. So I still have no idea why I found them as fatiguing as I did. Unfortunately, this is one thing that will absolutely make or break an otherwise great headphone for me, so I'm wondering.

1khz peak on Utopia/Clear can definitely be quite fatiguing. If the LCD5 is fatiguing, it will be a different cause