[michnix]

If you had a favourite tune or CD to show off the LCD-X, which would that be?

 

[HungryPanda]

Natalie Merchant - Break Your Heart

 

[pippen99]

Donald Fagen - Morph the Cat

 

[casper3127]

There are quite a res, but okay, let's stick to the question.

Hugh Laurie - Let Them Talk
and a small bonus
Muddy Waters - Folk Singer

The sound right now out of my Poly+Mojo is freaking awesome!

 

[514077]

Legacy's Three Chord Trick

 

[sahmen]

If you had a favourite tune or CD to show off the LCD-X, which would that be?

I think you will probably get a better answer if you indicate the types of music you normally listen to in order to narrow things down a bit, because this type of question can normally elicit answers which are all over the place musically, and understandably so... If you typically enjoy EDM, and someone mentions titles in classical or jazz music, I suspect you might not find them to be too helpful...

Also, what type of components are you going to use the LCD-X on? That too would help to determine how much you may or may not like the cans. Just trying to help.

 

[michnix]

Oh, I usually listen to Rock, EDM, Jazz, Heavy Metal, Pop, Funk, Soul, you name it... and even some Classical music now and then A good recording of a live concert is heaven.

My rig is a Metrum Hex DAC, Audio-GD Master 9, LCD-X.
I just received both amp and LCX-X a couple of days ago after being out of Head-Fi for some years, owning Beyer T1 and a Violectric V100 for a while previously.

My question has different reasons: I want to find more good music of course and I’m still trying to come to terms with the sound of the LCD-X.
While enjoying the fastness and detail, especially in the bass region, I’m still surprised how little «direct» (in want of better words) those ‘phones sound. I would not go so far as to call them veiled as I’m hearing plenty of detail all across the frequency band but I expected less «distance» to the music. Everything sounds slightly recessed. First impression would be «muffled» until you listen more closely and noticing the amount of detail the LCD-X produce. Lacking experience with planar ‘phones I wonder if this is typical with this kind of headphones. Maybe it’s just some missing presence in the treble region that I am not used to, I don’t quite know... I find myself listening to louder volumes as I expected as I don’t find them quite satisfying at lower levels (yet?).

 

[rutter]

You need something with considerable bass to differentiate the LCD-X from other headphones best.



Turns out DACs and amps have a major impact on what you hear, Sonarworks/EQ has already been mentioned as well. The CMA400i neuters the sound, 400i DAC plus Jot is better, Mimby plus Jotunheim basically improves everything- bass hits harder, highs are more pronounced, clearer sound, there's probably something to be said for vocals too but I'm a couple of days removed from that combo. I said screw it on waiting for a Bimby to come in stock, ordered a Gungnir Multibit (Gumby) to go fully balanced and see what the higher end hype is about. If anyone is using the LCD-X with a Jot balanced I need some advice. The Jot is disproportionately powerful at very low impedance and I'm kind of afraid given it exceeds 4W by a serious margin. Any cause for concern?

I don't know yet whether I'm keeping the LCD-X for good but if anyone has a spare balanced cable lying around I'm ears.

 

[rutter]

Oh, I usually listen to Rock, EDM, Jazz, Heavy Metal, Pop, Funk, Soul, you name it... and even some Classical music now and then A good recording of a live concert is heaven.

My rig is a Metrum Hex DAC, Audio-GD Master 9, LCD-X.
I just received both amp and LCX-X a couple of days ago after being out of Head-Fi for some years, owning Beyer T1 and a Violectric V100 for a while previously.

My question has different reasons: I want to find more good music of course and I’m still trying to come to terms with the sound of the LCD-X.
While enjoying the fastness and detail, especially in the bass region, I’m still surprised how little «direct» (in want of better words) those ‘phones sound. I would not go so far as to call them veiled as I’m hearing plenty of detail all across the frequency band but I expected less «distance» to the music. Everything sounds slightly recessed. First impression would be «muffled» until you listen more closely and noticing the amount of detail the LCD-X produce. Lacking experience with planar ‘phones I wonder if this is typical with this kind of headphones. Maybe it’s just some missing presence in the treble region that I am not used to, I don’t quite know... I find myself listening to louder volumes as I expected as I don’t find them quite satisfying at lower levels (yet?).

Case in point with respect to what I was saying in my previous post, I could see this being the case in more default or different circumstances. But with Sonarworks EQ applied (which is crucial for vocals that can indeed sound recessed but helps everywhere else too), Modi Multibit, and Jotunheim I get very direct sound. Have nothing to complain about on that front and have found the headphones very appropriate for what you seem to be into.

 

[koven]

Oh, I usually listen to Rock, EDM, Jazz, Heavy Metal, Pop, Funk, Soul, you name it... and even some Classical music now and then A good recording of a live concert is heaven.

My rig is a Metrum Hex DAC, Audio-GD Master 9, LCD-X.
I just received both amp and LCX-X a couple of days ago after being out of Head-Fi for some years, owning Beyer T1 and a Violectric V100 for a while previously.

My question has different reasons: I want to find more good music of course and I’m still trying to come to terms with the sound of the LCD-X.
While enjoying the fastness and detail, especially in the bass region, I’m still surprised how little «direct» (in want of better words) those ‘phones sound. I would not go so far as to call them veiled as I’m hearing plenty of detail all across the frequency band but I expected less «distance» to the music. Everything sounds slightly recessed. First impression would be «muffled» until you listen more closely and noticing the amount of detail the LCD-X produce. Lacking experience with planar ‘phones I wonder if this is typical with this kind of headphones. Maybe it’s just some missing presence in the treble region that I am not used to, I don’t quite know... I find myself listening to louder volumes as I expected as I don’t find them quite satisfying at lower levels (yet?).

Yes that is just the signature of the X. Laid back treble and airy/spacious sound. You may prefer the Focal Clear for a similar price if you want less distance to the music as you put it, those are very present on treble and more forward sounding. Also better suited for lower volumes.

 

[rutter]

Yes that is just the signature of the X. Laid back treble and airy/spacious sound. You may prefer the Focal Clear for a similar price if you want less distance to the music as you put it, those are very present on treble and more forward sounding. Also better suited for lower volumes.

Particularly the airy/spacious sound part is completely false. Trust me, you don't need to punish your ears with Focal, and there is something about that sound that actually seems too fast and less musical. It's possible that you'd prefer a Focal headphone, but the LCD-X having a signature incompatible with the music you listen to is plain wrong. You just need to do a few things, start with a Sonarworks trial, and I can almost bet you'll get this headphone to where you want it. It has innately good bass, which is one characteristic that might be less susceptible to EQ, DACs, and amps.

 

[514077]

Oh, I usually listen to Rock, EDM, Jazz, Heavy Metal, Pop, Funk, Soul, you name it... and even some Classical music now and then A good recording of a live concert is heaven.

My rig is a Metrum Hex DAC, Audio-GD Master 9, LCD-X.
I just received both amp and LCX-X a couple of days ago after being out of Head-Fi for some years, owning Beyer T1 and a Violectric V100 for a while previously.

My question has different reasons: I want to find more good music of course and I’m still trying to come to terms with the sound of the LCD-X.
While enjoying the fastness and detail, especially in the bass region, I’m still surprised how little «direct» (in want of better words) those ‘phones sound. I would not go so far as to call them veiled as I’m hearing plenty of detail all across the frequency band but I expected less «distance» to the music. Everything sounds slightly recessed. First impression would be «muffled» until you listen more closely and noticing the amount of detail the LCD-X produce. Lacking experience with planar ‘phones I wonder if this is typical with this kind of headphones. Maybe it’s just some missing presence in the treble region that I am not used to, I don’t quite know... I find myself listening to louder volumes as I expected as I don’t find them quite satisfying at lower levels (yet?).

Maybe give it a bit of time and breakin. I did all my listening with Grado 325i HPs before getting the X. If you're interested, they also improve with better cables. In truth, I bought my Xs blindly, interested in trying the planar technology just to see what the story was. For the first day, I thought I'd made a big mistake, though it's hard to audition in this online economy. I'd suggest giving it a chance. They're now my main choice for listening. Mine are paired with the Hugo2, but I've driven them with my QP1R, just fine.

 

[michnix]

Oh, I’m not giving up just yet
Maybe I should just avoid switching directly from my hifi set to headphones for starters, lol

It’ probably me that has to break in - bought the cans used...

 

[sahmen]

Oh, I usually listen to Rock, EDM, Jazz, Heavy Metal, Pop, Funk, Soul, you name it... and even some Classical music now and then A good recording of a live concert is heaven.

My rig is a Metrum Hex DAC, Audio-GD Master 9, LCD-X.
I just received both amp and LCX-X a couple of days ago after being out of Head-Fi for some years, owning Beyer T1 and a Violectric V100 for a while previously.

My question has different reasons: I want to find more good music of course and I’m still trying to come to terms with the sound of the LCD-X.
While enjoying the fastness and detail, especially in the bass region, I’m still surprised how little «direct» (in want of better words) those ‘phones sound. I would not go so far as to call them veiled as I’m hearing plenty of detail all across the frequency band but I expected less «distance» to the music. Everything sounds slightly recessed. First impression would be «muffled» until you listen more closely and noticing the amount of detail the LCD-X produce. Lacking experience with planar ‘phones I wonder if this is typical with this kind of headphones. Maybe it’s just some missing presence in the treble region that I am not used to, I don’t quite know... I find myself listening to louder volumes as I expected as I don’t find them quite satisfying at lower levels (yet?).

You do have some nice gear there. I also have the Metrum Hex, and I love the sound a lot (although I prefer my Yggy more), but it seems to me that combining that DAC with the LCD-X seems tailor-made to produce the detailed but smooth and laid back treble that is leaving you less than satisfied now, especially, if you're coming to the LCD-X from the T-1. I used to have the T-1 myself, and sold it without getting much use out of it, not necessarily because it was bad or anything like that (I just needed let it go as I thought I had more cans than I needed at the time)... It just strikes me as possible that someone who is used to the sound of the T-1 might find the LCD-X a bit laid-back upon first acquaintance, in the same way that someone traveling the reverse route, i.e going from the LCD-X to the T-1, might find the latter at least occasionally a little "hot" or aggressive at the top, all depending on the content they're listening to of course... I tend to agree with those who say you should give yourself time for your ears to get used to the sound of the LCD-X... Psychoacoustics and all... These cans have a way of rewarding patience that way...

As for titles in JAZZ that are great for demoing the LCD-X (and sticking only to Jazz to prevent things from going overboard), I think there are too many to list here... They just have to be well-recorded... A few examples that come to mind are:

Chick Corea:

Trilogy (3 disks)
The Musician (3 disks)

Dhafer Youssef:

Birds Requiem
Diwan of Beauty and Odd

Keith Jarrett (Solo/improv)

A Multitude of Angels (and countless others for the ECM Catalog)

Keith Jarrett Trio

Somewhere (and countless others from the ECM Catalog)

Ahmad Jamal

Marseilles

Patricia Barber
Modern Cool

Nik Bartsch's Ronin, and or Mobile

Live (or other titles from the ECM catalog)

Horns: any number of titles from Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker etc. etc.

I could go on and on, but let me stop before this begins to get too ridiculous, that is, if it is not already.

By the way, if you're interested in discovering more good music in all genres, then might I suggest a Tidal subscription? Tidal indeed would be your friend

 

[koven]

Particularly the airy/spacious sound part is completely false. Trust me, you don't need to punish your ears with Focal, and there is something about that sound that actually seems too fast and less musical. It's possible that you'd prefer a Focal headphone, but the LCD-X having a signature incompatible with the music you listen to is plain wrong. You just need to do a few things, start with a Sonarworks trial, and I can almost bet you'll get this headphone to where you want it. It has innately good bass, which is one characteristic that might be less susceptible to EQ, DACs, and amps.

Some people do prefer the Focal sound over LCD though, not really a shocker that people have different preferences..