Out of the TT2, with various acoustic music, I am finding the Stealth to be more detailed -- at least I'm hearing more detail in the nuances in the music. This without EQ of any sort. I find that the LCD-5 more congested in the mid-range (note here that I'm not saying that the LCD-5 is congested in general, this is a relative thing), albeit by only a small amount, which could be affecting my impressions to a degree.
Stealth are the most detailed headphone that I've ever heard (me personally, relax keyboard warriors! ). I don't know why only some people who try them come away with that impression and others don't hear anything redeeming. But, there's definitely something going on because the polarization of opinions on it are so strange. Looks like @Currawong hears what I'm hearing.
Maybe tuning or the way we hear some frequencies better than others. I can say that hearing the treble stock was not as clear or detailed sounding as when eq is applied. Whether this is actually more detailed or just more enhanced, what do I know?
Stealth are the most detailed headphone that I've ever heard (me personally, relax keyboard warriors!). I don't know why only some people who try them come away with that impression and others don't hear anything redeeming. But, there's definitely something going on because the polarization of opinions on it are so strange. Looks like @Currawong hears what I'm hearing.
Edit: I have an LCD 5 on the way to do my own comparison. I hope that I like it because otherwise I will be listing it for sale with like 10 other pairs just on this site!
The fact that there are ~10 pairs of LCD-5 for sale on this site gives me anxiety. It feels like everyone that was on the LCD-5 bandwagon has jumped off and the wagon has rolled down a steep hill into a ravine. I like the LCD-5 as an alternative to my Susvara, but reading all the "meh" and "ick" reactions on this site about them makes me feel like I own something that peaked early and is rapidly declining in value.
The fact that there are ~10 pairs of LCD-5 for sale on this site gives me anxiety. It feels like everyone that was on the LCD-5 bandwagon has jumped off and the wagon has rolled down a steep hill into a ravine. I like the LCD-5 as an alternative to my Susvara , but reading all the "meh" and "ick" reactions on this site about them makes me feel like I own something that peaked early and is rapidly declining in value.
What's the point?
If you enjoy what you enjoy you are fine, that's what only matters.
Don't over think what other people think you will be happier man - after "couple" of years in this hobby that's the most important tip that I can give to anybody.
What's the point?
If you enjoy what you enjoy you are fine, that's what only matters.
Don't over think what other people think you will be happier man - after "couple" of years in this hobby that's the most important tip that I can give to anybody.
Still my point is valid.
I owned lcd5 I switched to Stealth which is also "hated" all over the headfi. So what?
I don't care, value dropped? I can understand sadness - unfortunately it is part of our hobby. (or I should rather say: from time to time it is part of our hobby)
The fact that there are ~10 pairs of LCD-5 for sale on this site gives me anxiety. It feels like everyone that was on the LCD-5 bandwagon has jumped off and the wagon has rolled down a steep hill into a ravine. I like the LCD-5 as an alternative to my Susvara, but reading all the "meh" and "ick" reactions on this site about them makes me feel like I own something that peaked early and is rapidly declining in value.
I'm still on the wagon. Work perfectly in my mix of sound signatures. They are a very good headphone. You need the right chain to get the most out of them though.
The fact that there are ~10 pairs of LCD-5 for sale on this site gives me anxiety. It feels like everyone that was on the LCD-5 bandwagon has jumped off and the wagon has rolled down a steep hill into a ravine. I like the LCD-5 as an alternative to my Susvara, but reading all the "meh" and "ick" reactions on this site about them makes me feel like I own something that peaked early and is rapidly declining in value.
Don’t worry, it’s only because LCD5 sales were crasy after release. More headphones sold to people -> more headphones in classifieds.
I’ve A/B-ed LCD5 vs. DCA Stealth thanks to @alxw0w And while I can say a lot of good things about DCA’s flagship, but LCD5 still seems much better headphone to me. No way I’ll sell my pair.
The fact that there are ~10 pairs of LCD-5 for sale on this site gives me anxiety. It feels like everyone that was on the LCD-5 bandwagon has jumped off and the wagon has rolled down a steep hill into a ravine. I like the LCD-5 as an alternative to my Susvara, but reading all the "meh" and "ick" reactions on this site about them makes me feel like I own something that peaked early and is rapidly declining in value.
I just wish I had waited an extra month so I could've picked them up for a steeper discount than the open-box price I purchased them at. But hindsight is 20/20
The fact that there are ~10 pairs of LCD-5 for sale on this site gives me anxiety. It feels like everyone that was on the LCD-5 bandwagon has jumped off and the wagon has rolled down a steep hill into a ravine. I like the LCD-5 as an alternative to my Susvara, but reading all the "meh" and "ick" reactions on this site about them makes me feel like I own something that peaked early and is rapidly declining in value.
I honestly didnt care about any of the reviews or comments/criticisms of the LCD-5 before i purchased mine. For the longest time, i wanted to listen to an Audeze hp after my sold my LCD-X due to weight/financial issue. The LCD-5 was released at ~420g and that became a trigger point for me. I needed to try it out and so I bought one.
The rest is history. If you look at all the headphones i currently own in my sig, I can without a doubt, say that the LCD-5 is the most unique of them all. The mids are to die for, the vocals are smooth, detailed with plenty of body, and the bass is just tight enough for me. With my GSX-mini, the LCD-5's mids take back seat and soundstage goes wide, all the while sounding lush and warm. When i use my LCD-5 with the MJ2, it becomes a different animal. After much tube rolling, i am currently using a pair of 60s Brimar CV455 and those tubes enhance the same old mids of the LCD-5. The MJ2 makes the LCD-5 seem more dynamic, punchy and creates a sound-stage thats more convex as opposed to concave soundstage of the GSX-mini.
Why am i telling you this??????? Its because i think it all comes down to your chain and personal taste. I can challenge anyone who says that the LCD-5 sounds bad/not flagship like because to me, it sure does not. This hp can be amp/dac picky. Also, not everyone can perceive sound elements the same was as others. After my first listen, I wasnt the biggest fan of my $4500 investment. However, after a lot of burn in (both physical/mental) and minor tweaks to my chain, I have finally unlocked to code of the LCD-5 and it sounds marvelous to me. But please dont me wrong, the LCD-5 isnt a headphone to replace all of your other cans, its a niche hp IMO. It recreates mids and vocals in a way that is unmatched by everything else i own and thats why i keep them and will do so for a really long time (or until the LCD-6 comes out LOL).
Im glad you still have your headphone. Dont let anyone elses comments deter you from enjoying the LCD-5. Some folks will always dislike somethings that others enjoy, thats just the blessing/curse of this hobby
I just wish I had waited an extra month so I could've picked them up for a steeper discount than the open-box price I purchased them at. But hindsight is 20/20
I find it really interesting that the two headphones listed in your signature are the HD660S and LCD-5.
We obviously agree on the value of the LCD-5, but I hated the HD660S for the month I owned it and returned it for a refund. That was partly due to the fact that I really liked the HD650 and didn't appreciate the new tuning of the 660S. I remember there was a big backlash when it first came out as the replacement to/upgrade for the beloved HD650, but it looks like it has since found its audience.
Perhaps the LCD-5 will follow the same trajectory from its own backlash (a lot of which seems to come from its un-Audeze-like tuning) to finding a more appreciative audience down the road.
I find it really interesting that the two headphones listed in your signature are the HD660S and LCD-5.
We obviously agree on the value of the LCD-5, but I hated the HD660S for the month I owned it and returned it for a refund. That was partly due to the fact that I really liked the HD650 and didn't appreciate the new tuning of the 660S. I remember there was a big backlash when it first came out as the replacement to/upgrade for the beloved HD650, but it looks like it has since found its audience.
Perhaps the LCD-5 will follow the same trajectory from its own backlash (a lot of which seems to come from its un-Audeze-like tuning) to finding a more appreciative audience down the road.
The 660s are the only one in 6-series line up I have heard. Someone just so happened to list their pair when I was on the market for a Sennheiser can a few years back. And it changed my audio preference forever (previously I was listening to beyer cans exclusively).
The LCD-5's have similarly changed / shown my audio preference: I am a detail addict. No matter if the detail is good or bad, if it's in the recording I want to hear it. The only Audeze can I've heard before the 5 is the LCD-X. I enjoyed the sound but I found it too heavy. So I wasn't married to Audeze's house sound much like I wasn't married to Sennheiser's 6-series sound.
Without knowing how many LCD-5 Audeze has sold in total, knowing that 10+ are for sale used here is fairly meaningless. I'm going to *guess* that Audeze has sold hundreds, perhaps thousands, of LCD-5 already. So as a percentage of the total, the used market is perhaps not that big.
Edit: I also want to mention that I'm fairly certain I could get a new LCD-5 for 15% less than retail. So the price cuts on the used models might not be as big as some would assume.
When i use my LCD-5 with the MJ2, it becomes a different animal. After much tube rolling, i am currently using a pair of 60s Brimar CV455 and those tubes enhance the same old mids of the LCD-5. The MJ2 makes the LCD-5 seem more dynamic, punchy and creates a sound-stage thats more convex as opposed to concave soundstage of the GSX-mini.
Why am i telling you this??????? Its because i think it all comes down to your chain and personal taste. I can challenge anyone who says that the LCD-5 sounds bad/not flagship like because to me, it sure does not. This hp can be amp/dac picky. Also, not everyone can perceive sound elements the same was as others. After my first listen, I wasnt the biggest fan of my $4500 investment. However, after a lot of burn in (both physical/mental) and minor tweaks to my chain, I have finally unlocked to code of the LCD-5 and it sounds marvelous to me. But please dont me wrong, the LCD-5 isnt a headphone to replace all of your other cans, its a niche hp IMO. It recreates mids and vocals in a way that is unmatched by everything else i own and thats why i keep them and will do so for a really long time (or until the LCD-6 comes out LOL).
I have a similar experience with chain synergy for my LCD-5. I was running EQ to address issues like compressed soundstage, subdued bass response, and harsh upper mids on my Jotunheim 2. However, I felt these issues were alleviated when I started running my LCD-5 out of my CFA2 (shout out to @Dukei). It was one of the more surprising experiences I have had in the audio hobby.
The Jotunheim 2 didn't like low impedance load, like the Lcd-5.
Especially in unbalanced mode, the THD increases significantly, at low impedance load.
An amplifier shouldn't "sound".
It should only amplify a signal with as little distortion as possible.
The "magic of tubes" is nothing more than polluting a clean signal with a ton of distortion.
They really have nothing to do there.
But we know the phenomenon from LP: negative technical properties, can be interpreted as positive, by our brain...
The fact that there are ~10 pairs of LCD-5 for sale on this site gives me anxiety. It feels like everyone that was on the LCD-5 bandwagon has jumped off and the wagon has rolled down a steep hill into a ravine. I like the LCD-5 as an alternative to my Susvara, but reading all the "meh" and "ick" reactions on this site about them makes me feel like I own something that peaked early and is rapidly declining in value.
When I looked I saw a lot of those classifieds listened for only a few hours. Many people, including myself, have noted the LCD-5 not only benefits more from EQ than other headphones, but also brain and ear pad burn-in.
I've never experienced burn-in before, but with the LCD-5, it was rather drastic. On day 3, the whole experience transformed, god knows I can't explain why or how, but Audeze says the pads do soften and "slightly" change the sound.
It's not surprising at all that people who listened for a couple hours and didn't try EQ won't like the LCD-5. All I know is they are fantastic (with far better bass) and addressed both of the issues I had with the LCD-4: weight and a recessed nature that was lovely most of the time but also lacking a lot of the time.
I bought the HE1000v2 and HD800S to compensate for the LCD-4's small flaws; with the LCD-5, those are both gone. I have no regrets.
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- after "couple" of years in this hobby that's the most important tip that I can give to anybody.
