Audeze LCD-5 Review, Measurements, Interview

[Slim1970]

Good evening everyone. Since yesterday my LCD-5s have reached an excellent sound level, the bass tones are present but more controlled than the Meze Empyrean. With both my amplifiers (T+A HA200 and Cen Grand 9i-906) they work excellently.
I'm satisfied, thanks Audeze.

P.S.My personal opinion it is not necessary to equalize

You have a great setup

 

[soundofsingle]

You have a great setup

hello and thank you, you're kind.
Thanks to head-fi.org and a shop in my city, @Headphones&co, I perfected my knowledge of listening to headphones, unfortunately Can Jam doesn't exist here in Italy.

 

[soundofsingle]

Edit

 

[GiBGUN]

Some of my thoughts:

The TOTL swiss army knife with its ultra low distortion built from the ground up with EQ in mind

Sound:

- Super detailed yet a bit on the dark side.

- Stock tuning leans too far towards flat/studio for my personal tastes. The Audeze house sound always seems to have been a point of contention to me - on one hand you've got the people that love it, and those seem to be the ones most disappointed with the LCD-5's tuning, and then the other camp meme'd on the V-shape and weight.

- Source and chain make a bigger difference than I've heard on other headphones. Respond great to power. If you are interested in buying I'd definitely recommend testing on a different DACs/Amps.

- I personally like these on something with some warmth and use mine on the Ferrum stack, and I'm in constant awe

- For general listening, Oratory1990 is my go-to EQ profile, but also enjoy no EQ, Audeze Preset, and Mitch's convolution filter. Liked Resolve's and Crin's too, but not enough to stick with them longer term.

- All genres go great with the LCD-5, but like a lot of flagships, poor quality recordings won't be a particularly fun listen.

- While not as good an all-rounder as the LCD-5's, the speed/detail of the LCD-R do something special with classical, jazz and acoustic. Hearing the pluck of strings and the snap of snare drums on the 'R' is a visceral, magical experience I'm yet to replicate.

Build/Design:

- Revised headband resolved all clamping issues for me. Reduced form factor and weight make these a lot more accessible to just want to pick up and use

- Cable is a nice mix of sturdy and premium feeling

- They look way nicer in person. Gorgeous actually


Don't see myself selling these ever. They are my keepers along with the LCD-R, HD800S and HD650.

 

[unfitstew]

I have a pair of LCD-5s that should have the less clamp headband. Yet it still hurts my ears after 30-60 min of use. Is there anything I can do to fix that?

 

[MusicalDoc8]

I have a pair of LCD-5s that should have the less clamp headband. Yet it still hurts my ears after 30-60 min of use. Is there anything I can do to fix that?

I noticed using the longer prongs even if not using them to the full extent reduces clamping force. But i am now maining the Kennerton Heartland so basically i went into the literally "comfy slippers" mode.

 

[unfitstew]

I noticed using the longer prongs even if not using them to the full extent reduces clamping force. But i am now maining the Kennerton Heartland so basically i went into the literally "comfy slippers" mode.

I already use them at max height. Unless you mean I should do the opposite.

 

[MusicalDoc8]

I already use them at max height. Unless you mean I should do the opposite.

i mean max height on standard metal rods can be kinda pushy, longer rods seem to reduce clamping force enough

 

[EMINENT]

i mean max height on standard metal rods can be kinda pushy, longer rods seem to reduce clamping force enough

Sorry. This does not compute. At full extension, the cups are closer together. Longer rods at full extension, the cups woulld be even closer. How would that reduce?

 

[unfitstew]

i mean max height on standard metal rods can be kinda pushy, longer rods seem to reduce clamping force enough

You can get longer rods for them than the standard? Do I need to contact Audeze to get them?

 

[MusicalDoc8]

You can get longer rods for them than the standard? Do I need to contact Audeze to get them?

longer rods directly from them, i'm going to switch them again, they felt less pushy. Will feedback tomorrow, so i can say something more.

 

[MusicalDoc8]

I put the longer metal rods in the LCD-5, they do reduce the clamping force, with the included tool you can also adjust the strenght of the friction for the steps. Probably because of some geometry they lessen the clamping force making them more confortable. The downside is that it's a bother changing them with the tools, takes a while but i think it's worth it. They are about 100 bucks tho....could have done a little less expensive for such an item.

 

[MusicalDoc8]

Been using the LCD5 this afternoon for a long while, yeah longer metal prongs indeed seem to soften the clamping. they stay fixed on the head with ZERO bobbling and leeway making them able to follow my head with zero issues, but the effect of "kinda too clampy" of the standard rods seems to be gone.
Probably they change the geometry slightly and those who use it already at full standard extension would enjoy better comfort.

 

[audio integrity]

Does anyone have a tube amp pairing recommendation for the LCD 5 that s/he has personally enjoyed? I really like the 5s out of the GSX Mini, but am curious about other flavors. Thanks

 

[pippen99]

Since you did not specify a budget- Woo WA33 EE.