You are nit paying 4500$ for "your" LCD5, but for the first that was built.The silver cable i'm using sound better across the board than the stock cable (which is silver plated copper, not that it matters). I chalk it down to better construction and conductivity (thicker gauge ), not magic materials.
Way to rise above demonizing .I could say the same thing about people buying 4.5k headphones with 200$ dacs and claiming their EQ settings "improved the soundstage and bla bla" and that anyone getting anything more expensive than a Schiit stack is an idiot. Though those people also buy expensive cables .
It's photoshop for audio, any monkey can move some sliders around. And most people have absolutely no idea how it works, they're just copying people on the internet. The way you trust some reviewer's EQ profile, i trust the company that designs my products and i choose to give my money to
I find it hilarious that you think spending 4.5k on a pair of headphones isn't as much in the "snake oil" department as expensive cables.
Audeze LCD-5 Review, Measurements, Interview
- Thread starter jude
- Start date
Second impressions from last night on the WA7.
Really couldn't tell much difference stock from the M15 prior night. It was just as good. Volume at 12 o'clock. Guess I have to A/B to make a better judgment. But, nothing stood out given the difference in power output. Both balanced with 4.4. I don't know how much each is outputting though.
I was able to try @Resolve's eq and it pretty much balances everything out exactly as it looks. Brings the bass up to how I like it and adds a touch more treble. Excellent. Pretty much my i4 but supercharged! Will see what peq does with M15 tonight. Hopefully just as enjoyable.
Btw, no issues with clamp at all here. Average head though. I am 6' 190lbs.
Really couldn't tell much difference stock from the M15 prior night. It was just as good. Volume at 12 o'clock. Guess I have to A/B to make a better judgment. But, nothing stood out given the difference in power output. Both balanced with 4.4. I don't know how much each is outputting though.
I was able to try @Resolve's eq and it pretty much balances everything out exactly as it looks. Brings the bass up to how I like it and adds a touch more treble. Excellent. Pretty much my i4 but supercharged! Will see what peq does with M15 tonight. Hopefully just as enjoyable.
Btw, no issues with clamp at all here. Average head though. I am 6' 190lbs.
Chain is Spring 3 KTE > GS-X Mini. Heard them for 5 minutes at Canjam LA and that impression + the hype was enough for an order. Took about 3 weeks from ordering direct from Audeze to arrive.
LCD-5 Impressions
Very First Listening Impressions
Honestly, underwhelming. I thought there was something wrong with them at first. Part of it was the level of the bass where I'm used to higher levels. Took about 10 minutes for things to start getting better. Adding a bass shelf closer in line with my preferences helped here.
Comfort
Clamp is definitely noticeable, especially after some time on your head. Hoping they will soften with use as others have reported. Not too bad though and not a dealbreaker.
Bass
Neutral. Extremely low distortion, clean, fast. To my preferences, not nearly enough bass. Adding a bass shelf with EQ makes it wonderful though. Takes EQ really well without distorting the bass.
Treble
The details are all there but it's not pushed forward in your face. I wouldn't really call it dark but it's definitely not bright. I really like this tuning.
Vocals
I don't think I've heard better vocals on a headphone. Super clear, detailed, lovely timbre. Especially female vocals - wow!!! After testing with my sibilance test tracks, I think these might be the least sibilant headphones I've ever heard. And sibilance is a dealbreaker for me so this is great.
Dynamics
Really great. Not quite at Focal levels, but close. Audeze has managed a close to "reference" tuning while still being musical and engaging.
Detail Retrieval
Among the best I've heard in non-electrostatic headphones. Part of it is the tuning which allows everything to shine through and part of it is the raw technical prowess of the headphone. Really black background.
Soundstage/Imaging
Soundstage is great, not huge and definitely not small. No complaints there though soundstage is not too important for me. Imaging is really pinpoint, just excellent.
Genres
Not enough bass for electronic (my main genre) and OSTs but a simple bass shelf fixes this perfectly. Everything else is just great.
1 Hour In
I've gone from thinking there's something wrong with these to knowing I'll be staying up really late tonight.
sorry for all the edits, had accidentally posted before having finished writing
LCD-5 Impressions
Very First Listening Impressions
Honestly, underwhelming. I thought there was something wrong with them at first. Part of it was the level of the bass where I'm used to higher levels. Took about 10 minutes for things to start getting better. Adding a bass shelf closer in line with my preferences helped here.
Comfort
Clamp is definitely noticeable, especially after some time on your head. Hoping they will soften with use as others have reported. Not too bad though and not a dealbreaker.
Bass
Neutral. Extremely low distortion, clean, fast. To my preferences, not nearly enough bass. Adding a bass shelf with EQ makes it wonderful though. Takes EQ really well without distorting the bass.
Treble
The details are all there but it's not pushed forward in your face. I wouldn't really call it dark but it's definitely not bright. I really like this tuning.
Vocals
I don't think I've heard better vocals on a headphone. Super clear, detailed, lovely timbre. Especially female vocals - wow!!! After testing with my sibilance test tracks, I think these might be the least sibilant headphones I've ever heard. And sibilance is a dealbreaker for me so this is great.
Dynamics
Really great. Not quite at Focal levels, but close. Audeze has managed a close to "reference" tuning while still being musical and engaging.
Detail Retrieval
Among the best I've heard in non-electrostatic headphones. Part of it is the tuning which allows everything to shine through and part of it is the raw technical prowess of the headphone. Really black background.
Soundstage/Imaging
Soundstage is great, not huge and definitely not small. No complaints there though soundstage is not too important for me. Imaging is really pinpoint, just excellent.
Genres
Not enough bass for electronic (my main genre) and OSTs but a simple bass shelf fixes this perfectly. Everything else is just great.
1 Hour In
I've gone from thinking there's something wrong with these to knowing I'll be staying up really late tonight.
sorry for all the edits, had accidentally posted before having finished writing
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chargedcapacitor
500+ Head-Fier
Pretty much spot on with my initial impressions. For me, the clamp did ease over time. Now I can go 5 hours+ with out noticing any discomfort.
+1
I was one of the first person complaining about the clamp, now I have not discomfort at all, also the sound improve a lot! after 4 days and two weeks later I feels like improve even more.
Decisions, decisions. Whether to back the 5’s as my conventional cans or concentrate on the X9000 e stats.
adydula
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2010
- Posts
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Currawongs review didnt make me want to go and spend $4500 for these....need more input....
I have several cans, and one is the HD650 and if these are a super HD650 with more resolution for $4500..well
I will just have to do with what I have....
:>)
I have several cans, and one is the HD650 and if these are a super HD650 with more resolution for $4500..well
I will just have to do with what I have....
:>)
jlbrach
Headphoneus Supremus
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hard to imagine any HP changing sound as described in an hour...for those who swear by break in I cant imagine many would suggest an hour...that has to be brain break in to the character of the sound...happens to me each time I change my HP ..at first it sounds almost odd and takes some time to get reacclimatedChain is Spring 3 KTE > GS-X Mini. Heard them for 5 minutes at Canjam LA and that impression + the hype was enough for an order. Took about 3 weeks from ordering direct from Audeze to arrive.
LCD-5 Impressions
Very First Listening Impressions
Honestly, underwhelming. I thought there was something wrong with them at first. Part of it was the level of the bass where I'm used to higher levels. Took about 10 minutes for things to start getting better. Adding a bass shelf closer in line with my preferences helped here.
Comfort
Clamp is definitely noticeable, especially after some time on your head. Hoping they will soften with use as others have reported. Not too bad though and not a dealbreaker.
Bass
Neutral. Extremely low distortion, clean, fast. To my preferences, not nearly enough bass. Adding a bass shelf with EQ makes it wonderful though. Takes EQ really well without distorting the bass.
Treble
The details are all there but it's not pushed forward in your face. I wouldn't really call it dark but it's definitely not bright. I really like this tuning.
Vocals
I don't think I've heard better vocals on a headphone. Super clear, detailed, lovely timbre. Especially female vocals - wow!!! After testing with my sibilance test tracks, I think these might be the least sibilant headphones I've ever heard. And sibilance is a dealbreaker for me so this is great.
Dynamics
Really great. Not quite at Focal levels, but close. Audeze has managed a close to "reference" tuning while still being musical and engaging.
Detail Retrieval
Among the best I've heard in non-electrostatic headphones. Part of it is the tuning which allows everything to shine through and part of it is the raw technical prowess of the headphone. Really black background.
Soundstage/Imaging
Soundstage is great, not huge and definitely not small. No complaints there though soundstage is not too important for me. Imaging is really pinpoint, just excellent.
Genres
Not enough bass for electronic (my main genre) and OSTs but a simple bass shelf fixes this perfectly. Everything else is just great.
1 Hour In
I've gone from thinking there's something wrong with these to knowing I'll be staying up really late tonight.
sorry for all the edits, had accidentally posted before having finished writing
bfreedma
The Hornet!
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2012
- Posts
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- 2,645
Agree with the additional possibility of pad conformation, which is rarely mentioned yet is far more likely to be the source of actual audible changes than any mechanical breakin of the drivers.
Correct, it's "brain burn in" not the actual headphone's sound changing in an hour.
chargedcapacitor
500+ Head-Fier
The headphone did seem to get more comfortable and wearable over time, perhaps this pad break in is the real burn in?
Chill iLL
100+ Head-Fier
Comfort is highly preferred over the LCD 4 for me. I have a smaller head, and though the weight wasn't a problem- my ear touching the driver was. It annoyed the hell out of me. That issue is altogether gone with the pads on the LCD 5. Clamp force also isn't an issue for me (again, small head). I'm using Resolve's EQ because I found the bass light out of the box. Been listening for a total of about 10 hours the last couple days and the transparency/resolution/clarity are all incredible. Currently using the Meze silver cable and the Norne S4. I wouldn't call the LCD 4 muddy, but there were times when if I was listening loud, things could get a little congested (which was probably more of a volume thing rather than a LCD 4 issue). Either way, that issue is altogether gone in the LCD 5, regardless of how loud it gets.
When I listen to more modern genres (hip hop/rap, pop, electronic) I do add a little more bass shelf, and they sound incredible. Soundstage also feels bigger than the LCD 4 with all the music flowing around you. Imaging on vocals as well as busy guitar work are also big shifts. There are bands I listen to that have not great recordings and busy/effect-laden guitar work (bands like Brand New, Glassjaw or Stars) and though it's cheesy, I've definitely heard things I have never heard on some of my other headphones Including the Utopia. I haven't A/B'd, so now that I've heard it, I could probably go back to the Utopia and pick it out, but those are my early impressions so far. The "creaminess" of the LCD-4 is missing, but it is replaced with a liquid-like clarity that is very euphonic.
When I listen to more modern genres (hip hop/rap, pop, electronic) I do add a little more bass shelf, and they sound incredible. Soundstage also feels bigger than the LCD 4 with all the music flowing around you. Imaging on vocals as well as busy guitar work are also big shifts. There are bands I listen to that have not great recordings and busy/effect-laden guitar work (bands like Brand New, Glassjaw or Stars) and though it's cheesy, I've definitely heard things I have never heard on some of my other headphones Including the Utopia. I haven't A/B'd, so now that I've heard it, I could probably go back to the Utopia and pick it out, but those are my early impressions so far. The "creaminess" of the LCD-4 is missing, but it is replaced with a liquid-like clarity that is very euphonic.
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sahmen
Headphoneus Supremus
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Visual parable of LCD-5 "burn-in" journey (also the process of my brain creating a fully synergistic "hand-shake" with the LCD-5)
Chain Metrum Ambre (Roon w/LCD-4 presets enabled) ==>> Sonnet Morpheus ==>> Niimbus US4
Day 3 --48-72 hours
Day 5 (Today 96 - 120 hours)
In other words, the improvements I am hearing are richly textured and layered on many different levels. They're also so "organic-"sounding, and yet so "dynamic" that when I took a break to give my Susvara a brief 10 minute listen, it's usual smoothness was sounding, for the first time ever, sooo (Blasphemy Alert!!) boring and lifeless that I almost did not recognize it...
That said, this last detail about the Susvara ought to be taken with a large grain of Salt, since the this LCD-5 burn-in phase is beginning to feel and sound like a hot honeymoon, with all the intoxicating and mind-bending implications that this expression might invoke. IT IS also rather hard to be completely "objective" under these circumstances. Besides, certain further optimizations of this same chain that usually play to the strengths of the Susvaras were not in place... So Susvara owners, rest easy! I am not announcing any Susvara overthrow here (at least not yet
Still, I admit that I am kind of thrilled with the LCD-5s, especially with the relative extra dynamism I feel in the mids/lower mids area, which have retained some of that honeyed, milky liquidity of the old LCD-4, while retaining a sense of transparency and a sensitivity to micro-details that the 4 cannot match...
Ordinarily what I am hearing should more then satisfy my expectations--But since I am an insatiably greedy person when it comes to audio goodness, I have a menu listing pieces of extra goodies I am expecting to appear in this idyllic island parable, with even further burn-in, so the show must go on...
Here are a few of the items on my LCD-5 parable island fantasy wish-list:
***Of course, there'll be a more sober, "level-headed", and fantasy-free review of the LCD-5 after about another 100 hours when I expect the "burn-in" process to end. In the meantime, I am off again to burn-in honey moon island.
Chain Metrum Ambre (Roon w/LCD-4 presets enabled) ==>> Sonnet Morpheus ==>> Niimbus US4
Day 1 First 24 hours
Day 3 --48-72 hours
Day 5 (Today 96 - 120 hours)
In other words, the improvements I am hearing are richly textured and layered on many different levels. They're also so "organic-"sounding, and yet so "dynamic" that when I took a break to give my Susvara a brief 10 minute listen, it's usual smoothness was sounding, for the first time ever, sooo (Blasphemy Alert!!) boring and lifeless that I almost did not recognize it...
That said, this last detail about the Susvara ought to be taken with a large grain of Salt, since the this LCD-5 burn-in phase is beginning to feel and sound like a hot honeymoon, with all the intoxicating and mind-bending implications that this expression might invoke. IT IS also rather hard to be completely "objective" under these circumstances. Besides, certain further optimizations of this same chain that usually play to the strengths of the Susvaras were not in place... So Susvara owners, rest easy! I am not announcing any Susvara overthrow here (at least not yet
Still, I admit that I am kind of thrilled with the LCD-5s, especially with the relative extra dynamism I feel in the mids/lower mids area, which have retained some of that honeyed, milky liquidity of the old LCD-4, while retaining a sense of transparency and a sensitivity to micro-details that the 4 cannot match...
Ordinarily what I am hearing should more then satisfy my expectations--But since I am an insatiably greedy person when it comes to audio goodness, I have a menu listing pieces of extra goodies I am expecting to appear in this idyllic island parable, with even further burn-in, so the show must go on...
Here are a few of the items on my LCD-5 parable island fantasy wish-list:
***Of course, there'll be a more sober, "level-headed", and fantasy-free review of the LCD-5 after about another 100 hours when I expect the "burn-in" process to end. In the meantime, I am off again to burn-in honey moon island.
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No Days Off
New Head-Fier
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Please..the images are incredibly annoying.
sahmen
Headphoneus Supremus
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Okay, they were meant to entertain, not to annoy, so off they go now, to the "spoilers" department. All better now, I hope
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