Audeze LCD-5 Review, Measurements, Interview

[paulrbarnard]

That's the thing - It hums with the Ferrum Hypsos power supply + Erco, with nothing plugged into the Erco (only a balanced cable).

I'm curious how this circuit works. If I touch the drivers, I complete the circuit, and it hums. Why is that? I'm curious where the loop starts and ends, and why drivers + skin = hum. It's like a switch.

And if I touch a ground source, the hum stops. Almost like the loop reaches the driver, then my skin, and goes straight to ground (so it stops humming).

I might look into those hum eliminators. But I could also wear a wrist band, plugged into a ground source, haha.

You might have a bad Earth connection in your power source. If the amplifier or source has an Earth tag make sure it is connected to a good Earth. If one of the components is using a PSU that only has a two pin connection to the mains supply that is also a component to look at as a potential source of the problem.
I certainly wouldn’t advise earthing yourself.

 

[xtr4]

I certainly wouldn’t advise earthing yourself.

Sorry, this made me lol because that's exactly what he's been doing when the hum gets removed.

Anyway, as many have mentioned, it's a grounding issue and you'll need to identify the culprit in your chain.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Sorry, this made me lol because that's exactly what he's been doing when the hum gets removed.

Yes hence the caution. If any electrical fault develops in the system he would be providing the route to ground. Great way to kill yourself.

 

[lator]

It is shocking how many times in this thread the hum has been identified thanks to LCD-5. Audio equipment definitely needs to improve regarding to proper grounding.

 

[Livestock110]

Yes hence the caution. If any electrical fault develops in the system he would be providing the route to ground. Great way to kill yourself.

At least I would die doing what I love lol

 

[Livestock110]

You might have a bad Earth connection in your power source. If the amplifier or source has an Earth tag make sure it is connected to a good Earth. If one of the components is using a PSU that only has a two pin connection to the mains supply that is also a component to look at as a potential source of the problem.
I certainly wouldn’t advise earthing yourself.

I 'may' have identified the issue. The mains...

I took my setup to the office, to show people. Ferrum stack + LCD-5. I can't tell if office noise is masking the hum, but I'm holding the cup closed, trying to hear it. Zero hum.

That explains why every amp I tried at home was humming (when I touch the driver). Some kind of ground issue.

The question is... Why would my home mains supply create a ground loop? Also, one major feature of the Ferrum Hypsos PSU is cleaning up the AC signal. So I doubt it's a dirty mains issue

 

[paulrbarnard]

I 'may' have identified the issue. The mains...

I took my setup to the office, to show people. Ferrum stack + LCD-5. I can't tell if office noise is masking the hum, but I'm holding the cup closed, trying to hear it. Zero hum.

That explains why every amp I tried at home was humming (when I touch the driver). Some kind of ground issue.

The question is... Why would my home mains supply create a ground loop? Also, one major feature of the Ferrum Hypsos PSU is cleaning up the AC signal. So I doubt it's a dirty mains issue

Could be something as simple as a missing earth rod connection to your consumer box.

 

[LowBeat91]

If one of the sides of the headphones hangs down a bit and no longer has the same resistance as the other side. Is it then possible to make the side straight again to the other side?

 

[EMINENT]

If one of the sides of the headphones hangs down a bit and no longer has the same resistance as the other side. Is it then possible to make the side straight again to the other side?

Hayloh.

You may use small Allen wrench to tighten rods in head piece.

 

[FCDobbs]

I finally received my schiit Monday morning and have been running the mj3 and bifrost 2/64 since then. I have seen Mitch Barnett's Convolution Filter being recommended.
I realize that at the end of the day its about what "I" hear. Has anyone here tried and liked Morphit and or Redline? For what its worth I do Have all three of these. For my tired ears I think I like Morphit and Redline (on old wide separation stereo) best. How does Mitches Convolution filter relate to the other 2? Forgive me if the answer is obvious to most. I have just made the move to headphones.

 

[EMINENT]

I finally received my schiit Monday morning and have been running the mj3 and bifrost 2/64 since then. I have seen Mitch Barnett's Convolution Filter being recommended.
I realize that at the end of the day its about what "I" hear. Has anyone here tried and liked Morphit and or Redline? For what its worth I do Have all three of these. For my tired ears I think I like Morphit and Redline (on old wide separation stereo) best. How does Mitches Convolution filter relate to the other 2? Forgive me if the answer is obvious to most. I have just made the move to headphones.

Hylo.

Congratulations with your recent acquisitions. I heard similar with the MJ3 at the jam and was very good.

I apologize for I have not tried the others you list.

 

[EMINENT]

I'm trying Roon with LCD-5 presets enabled + Oratory1990/Chrono's PEQ, is it stupid to add a PEQ to the LCD-5 presets?

Hallo.

Not at all. I did as well with older setups and even with convolution. Now, it's just the convo. Holo stack does well for tonality where convo is icing on the cake. Convo adds the holographic soundscape you did not know was missing.

Helo.

I apologize as I read this as, "is it ok to add peq to presets" which remains yes, but failed to include that you were asking about adding the whole eq preset like Oratory's, for example, on top of Roon preset.

To amend my statement, personally I would not and only add small adjustements to the frequencies you want to the preset you choose to begin with, as doing so you would be doubling up on the already adjusted frequencies of the preset.

 

[pippen99]

I use the Audeze Linear Filter as a convolution filter rather than as a preset. I then add a 3 band PEQ on top. I got it from somewhere in this thread way back.

Band 1: Freq=80 hz, Gain=3.5db, Q=0.71 (Low Shelf)
Band 2: Freq=6000 hz, Gain=3.5db, Q=0.71(High Shelf)
Band 3: Freq=8000hz, Gain=1db, Q=2(Peak/dip)

I have used this configuration now for nearly two years. Unlikely to change.

 

[powermod]

deleted

 

[powermod]

The dark treble are already smoothed
I tested the LCD5 with
- IFI Pro iCAN: very good, punchy and energetic, not the layering and soundstage of the following amps, but thunderous bass with the Xbass on (if you prefer so)
- Benchmark HPA4: transparent, extended, neutral, pinpointing, the ultimate studio monitoring device (yet musical)
- Luxman p750u: a hint of warm, grandiose perception of space, tactility and realism of vocals, drums and electric instruments

Would be great if you could elaborate a little more on the HPA4 and the Luxman for the LCD-5. I am particularly interested in these and the Violectric V550. Latter because I tried the V340 and liked it, except that it does not have balanced inputs, but the V550 has.. I am using an R2R DAC (Gustard R26).

I mainly listen to classical music and like a great holographic soundscape. I know the LCD-5 have not the largest sound stage, but being part of the Orchester is also a great experience. I prefer that over being far away from the music. With the V340 I already experienced that holographic sound, that the music is in my room and not in my headphones, depending on the piece of music of course. However, I feel that the sound stage and depth could be a little bit larger. I would like to be enclosed by the music. I would hope to (but don't know if) get it from the V550 and would be fine. From what I heard about the Luxman, it could provide exactly what I want. But I really don't prefer its huge form factor so much and I have to deal with AC transformers that could maybe influence the sound...

Could you try to describe a little bit more the differences in imaging and sound stage of the HPA4 vs. Luxman? Grandiose perception of space could also translate in good imaging/pinpointing. But I suppose there is a difference.

Also, from what I heard about the HPA4, all these characteristics sound a little bit like a soul-less Topping devices. And that it is a great studio monitoring tool. But then I read that the HPA4 is also musical.. How does it fit together? I could imagine that hearing all the details so clearly every time reduces bare enjoyment of music and improves fatigue. Is that true?