[paulrbarnard]

I am using a Woo WA33 EE. It' s a small slice of heaven but I am not sure you can use my experience to extrapolate to tubes in general. It is a very expensive slice of heaven!

I’m using a Woo WA7 so a much less expensive slice of heaven but the LCD-5 seem to like it very well.

 

[Blinq9]

I come from Audeze LCD-XC. I use them primarily for music production, mixing, and mastering. However, I have been reading as much as I can about the LCD-5, and I thought I'd ask here: Has anyone been in a similar position - switching from LCD-XC to LCD-5 - for audio engineering, and is it worth the investment?

(Also, let me know if I am posting this question in the wrong thread)

 

[TheFrator]

I come from Audeze LCD-XC. I use them primarily for music production, mixing, and mastering. However, I have been reading as much as I can about the LCD-5, and I thought I'd ask here: Has anyone been in a similar position - switching from LCD-XC to LCD-5 - for audio engineering, and is it worth the investment?

(Also, let me know if I am posting this question in the wrong thread)

Not the wrong thread. I don't have experience with the LCD-XC but I just want to point you to the MM-500 for audio engineering purposes. According to Resolve, the LCD-5 is more detailed though but whether a more than 100% price increase is worth that to you- only you can judge.

Your profile says you're in Pennsylvania so just to let you know there's a head-fi meeting in Pittsburgh on October 22nd. They say they'll have Audeze headphones there so it should be a good place to demo. Link to meet-up thread. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/headphone-meet-in-pittsburgh-pa-october-22nd-2022.964473/

 

[Blinq9]

Not the wrong thread. I don't have experience with the LCD-XC but I just want to point you to the MM-500 for audio engineering purposes. According to Resolve, the LCD-5 is more detailed though but whether a more than 100% price increase is worth that to you- only you can judge.

Your profile says you're in Pennsylvania so just to let you know there's a head-fi meeting in Pittsburgh on October 22nd. They say they'll have Audeze headphones there so it should be a good place to demo. Link to meet-up thread. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/headphone-meet-in-pittsburgh-pa-october-22nd-2022.964473/

Thank you for pointing me over to the MM-500. I recently noticed them on the Audeze website, but I did not bother looking much into them. After you mentioned them, I went to the site to dig deeper and see what the MM-500 is all about. I have to say, I am impressed!

I greatly appreciate the recommendation! I am rebuilding my studio, and my thought process was: why not go more mobile, and instead of investing in monitors, headphones, and acoustically treating my room, I could invest in something like the LCD-5 - which would save me a lot on costs, space, and several other things. If the MM-500s can meet my needs, why not save more?

Thank you for bringing the head-fi meeting in Pittsburgh on Oct 22nd to my attention. I did not know about the meetup with plans to have Audeze headphones. Provided they have the headphones that I am currently interested in, this would be a great (if not one of the best) ways to find out where my investment should go.

I see you are from Virginia. Are you planning to go to the head-fi meeting in Pittsburgh?

 

[TheFrator]

Thank you for pointing me over to the MM-500. I recently noticed them on the Audeze website, but I did not bother looking much into them. After you mentioned them, I went to the site to dig deeper and see what the MM-500 is all about. I have to say, I am impressed!

I greatly appreciate the recommendation! I am rebuilding my studio, and my thought process was: why not go more mobile, and instead of investing in monitors, headphones, and acoustically treating my room, I could invest in something like the LCD-5 - which would save me a lot on costs, space, and several other things. If the MM-500s can meet my needs, why not save more?

Thank you for bringing the head-fi meeting in Pittsburgh on Oct 22nd to my attention. I did not know about the meetup with plans to have Audeze headphones. Provided they have the headphones that I am currently interested in, this would be a great (if not one of the best) ways to find out where my investment should go.

I see you are from Virginia. Are you planning to go to the head-fi meeting in Pittsburgh?

No problem! Demoing is the only way to know for sure. Hopefully they'll have a pair of 5's for you to A/B with the MM-500 and see if the price difference is worth it to you. And you get the chance to meet some other cool Head-Fiers.

I am not planning to attend. Wish I could but I have some other plans that weekend.

 

[roadcykler]

I have a lot of respect for you but I don’t understand what there is not to get. People clearly like quantity and quality of the LCD4 bass. Producing the next flagship model which doesn’t build upon this or at least retain is clearly going against the grain. It’s rather simple really.

I know it's been a year but I'm reading through this thread and after reading a few pages after your reply and not seeing anyone address this, I thought I would. In the video that started the thread, Sankar stated that this headphone is not building on any of the previous ones. It's all new from the ground up.

 

[cantara256]

I know it's been a year but I'm reading through this thread and after reading a few pages after your reply and not seeing anyone address this, I thought I would. In the video that started the thread, Sankar stated that this headphone is not building on any of the previous ones. It's all new from the ground up.

The LCD-5 bass quality is outstanding, to my ears, a definite improvement over the LCD-4... and I loved my LCD-4.

People who listen to the LCD-5 without EQ confuse its default mid-forwardness for inferior bass. It's not the same thing.

 

[roadcykler]

The LCD-5 bass quality is outstanding, to my ears, a definite improvement over the LCD-4... and I loved my LCD-4.

People who listen to the LCD-5 without EQ confuse its default mid-forwardness for inferior bass. It's not the same thing.

I currently have the LCD-3 and am contemplating the LCD-5, hence reading through this long thread.

 

[smodtactical]

The LCD-5 bass quality is outstanding, to my ears, a definite improvement over the LCD-4... and I loved my LCD-4.

People who listen to the LCD-5 without EQ confuse its default mid-forwardness for inferior bass. It's not the same thing.

In what ways is LCD5 bass better than lcd4 ?

 

[TheFrator]

The LCD-5 bass quality is outstanding, to my ears, a definite improvement over the LCD-4... and I loved my LCD-4.

People who listen to the LCD-5 without EQ confuse its default mid-forwardness for inferior bass. It's not the same thing.

But I also can understand their perspective of not wanting to EQ a $4.5k headphone. It's their money after all and no reason to hold it against them. I'm in the camp of EQing every single headphone I own. And the LCD-5 has made all my other headphones irrelevant.

 

[chargedcapacitor]

In what ways is LCD5 bass better than lcd4 ?

When using EQ to level them to similar spl, the LCD-5 best the LCD-4 bass in every way. Tighter, faster, more real, and more omnipresent. Otherwise, the overbearing mid energy keeps the bass down on the LCD-5 in comparison.

 

[roadcykler]

It's confusing/silly that people are so against using an equalizer, especially on a pretty expensive headphone. The person or people voicing headphones and speakers don't hear the same as anyone else so why would a consumer expect the headphone or speaker to sound the same to them? If you believe components sound different, you'd have to use the exact same stuff that the headphone makers used to get the "best" sound from any headphones, and that's not at all practical or affordable for many of us.

I recently listened to a guy talking about the silly/stupid things audiophiles do or believe and one of them was looking down on EQs and those who use them. He said speakers sometimes sound better at a certain volume so you shouldn't change the volume since that may degrade the sound. Ultimately, do what makes you happy and forget those that say otherwise.

 

[Kozwoz]

When using EQ to level them to similar spl, the LCD-5 best the LCD-4 bass in every way. Tighter, faster, more real, and more omnipresent. Otherwise, the overbearing mid energy keeps the bass down on the LCD-5 in comparison.

I have the LCD5 too and no amount of EQ will get them to slam as hard as the LCD4 though I agree they offer more resolution and certainly a bass that is faster and tighter but each to their own.

 

[chargedcapacitor]

I have the LCD5 too and no amount of EQ will get them to slam as hard as the LCD4 though I agree they offer more resolution and certainly a bass that is faster and tighter but each to their own.

What amp are you using, and are you equalizing SPL at ~400hz with an spl meter?

If you've got an LCD-4 with the older pads, then I can see how you'll hear more slam from them. My comparison was with a new LCD-4 with the new pads, which IMO reduce bass bloom a bit.

 

[cantara256]

I currently have the LCD-3 and am contemplating the LCD-5, hence reading through this long thread.

The difference between the 3 and the 5 will be pretty massive; it probably won't be about just the bass. They are very tonally different, and the only way to know is to listen to the 5 and let your ears decide.

I very highly recommend listening to the 5 with the Audeze Roon preset (or by downloading the raw convolution filters which Audeze posted), and a 4-6dB bass shelf. But don't expect them to sound anything like the 3 or the 4s.