So I finally had a chance to hear the LCD5 and the CRBN. I went to the Capitol Audiofest this morning for an hour (going back again on Sunday when I can spend a lot more time). I wanted to sneak in before the crowds and got lucky the Audeze table was empty, they had 2 LCD5, LCDX, and CRBN. So I was able to listento each as long as I wanted and the 2 Audeze reps were super nice and when I told him I was coming back Sunday he told be to bring my LCD4 so I could do some A to B comparison which I plan to do. When I was leaving their both he tossed me a tee-shirt and said thanks for stopping by.
So I am more a home audiophile but appreciate quality headphones that sound close to high end speakers and although I now have a dedicated room with my audioequipment its nice late in the night to be able to use headphones. I am no expert reviewer, but I have owned LCD2, X, and my LCD4 so I am familiar with Audeze.
Everyone has different tastes so IMHO these are my observations:
Appearance - they are high quality like all Audeze headphones, but I think the LCD4s looks more expensive as the chrome and gloss finish on the carbon fiber have shiny bling to it
Weight - I am 6FT 220 with an 18 1/2 inch neck (former D1 strong safety) so you could add another 2 pounds to the LCD4 and I would not notice LOL! you can physically feel that the 5 is lighter but weight was never an issue for me
Fit - I have a medium sized head so I could feel a tad more clapping force but was comfortable and no issue for me
Sound - Subjective, but definitely more unveiled then the 4 and vocals (Diana krill) were very clear and cymbals shined a bit more but I was not overwhelmed to the point I felt I was hearing notes and sounds that I never heard before (also there was a good bit of background noise in the room), Bass is there but I think the 4 have better bass to as it has more weight to it, but the 5 had tight and fast bass.
CRBN - wow that was overwhelming, just really nice smooth sounding headphone and when you increased the volume it never got shouty just a louder smooth sound and the bass does kick a bit. I see why people love them. I wish the investment wasn't so expensive for the HP and power supply (and I have to much money in my home audio) but its worth the price from what I heard in 20 minutes
Audeze was using a Hugo II, but I went to another HP station that had the 5 playing through a RAAL PDA1 and i though it sounded better then the first pair I heard. Cant wait to go back and listen so more. From what I heard so far today, not sure I am ready to get rid on the 4 and having both would be ideal, cant wait for Sunday....