Just listening to the XC for the first time. Wow, Audeze fixed what I didn't particularly like about my LCD-3. The treble is back! Sound leakage is much less than the lcd-3 and is a welcome change for me. The added treble does take away some of the lush feeling that the lcd-3 has for sure. Not as much creaminess (to dig up a old word
) as the LCD-3. These do sound more articulate than the LCD-3 in which there is a certain crispness that these headphones add. These are brighter than a HD-650 and LCD-3, they are NOT brighter than the HD-800.
Bass:
LCD-3 has more slam and slightly more depth. A bit of a surprise considering these are closed, this is just a gut feeling. I am only 1/2 hour into these. This is for memory, I will compare closer later.
Midrange
Again, not as much creaminess as LCD-3 but I think that's because these actually do have treble that is not rolled off.
HIgh
LCD-XC takes it here. Much improved over the LCD-3
Soundstage
Wide but not HD-800 wide. Close to the LCD-3 but not quite.
Imaging
Seems easier to get sucked into the LCD-3 and it makes you feel like there in person. Some tracks allow the XC to do this but not as many.
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Overall if you want a brighter LCD-3 these are for you! These really do sound like a open headphone vs a closed one. These are a good 90-95% of what the LCD-3 are and I would venture to say that some may even prefer these more if you do not like the treble roll off of the lcd-3. Isolation is good. The bubinga looks good IMO, not jaw dropping but very nice.
Side note -- -These are for sure the heaviest I have ever felt.
More later tommorow