[lacrimstein]

Has anyone been able to do a direct comparison between the 2021 lcd-x with a 2020 model with the new earpads? Do we yet know if the driver change (reduction in magnets) has any effect on the sound?

 

[mitchb]

Apparently the new drivers sound different. They have been modified.

 

[SonicFade]

Totally worth it

I had the 2C for a month. I really enjoyed it. Great bass impact, mids (notably vocals) are excellent and I enjoyed the warmer, toned down highs......especially for listening to metal music at louder volumes as MANY of those recordings tend to be shall we say “hot” in the upper treble and get fatiguing quickly. The 2C is perfect for that kind of scenario. I also found the vocals.....particularly male vocals to sound really good and visceral. It also does a decent job of conveying soundstage width although the placement and panning has some dead spots.

So why did I get rid of it?

The highs are too recessed IMO......even for a treble sensitive person like myself. On recordings I’m very familiar with a lot of nuances and details seemed buried in the mix or in many cases......almost inaudible. I also felt on some female voices it made them sound on the congested/nasally side. I could go on about other things but bottom line, reviews I’ve read/seen on the LCD-X peaked my interest to try it. So thanks to Amazon I sent the 2C back before my 30days were up and ordered the LCD-X from Adorama (who also provides 30 day, no questions asked returns)

After one day with them...... no question......they we’re keepers for me. I like them a lot more than the 2C. The 2C sounds wider and gives the impression of stronger bass but the X is better everywhere. The X may not seem to have has much bass slam as the 2C but how it does the bass is superior. It reaches lower, it’s faster, tighter and you can hear the details and textures in the bass way better. The 2C for lack of better description sounds a little “one note-ish” in how it delivers bass IMO......a bit rumbly and loose sounding. Still fun and enjoyable but definitely less refined.

Mids are even sounding to me and vocals sound excellent. The 2C is more present in the vocal region but can seem a tad shouty on some recordings. The X never sounds that way. I also find female vocals sound more natural as well thanks to the extra treble and air the X has over the C.

Treble wise......definitely brighter than the 2C but it’s done in such a nice way. As mentioned, I’m treble sensitive and even at elevated volume levels the highs are just bright enough but still warm enough to not cause fatigue for me. The best part though.....all those subtle details, nuances or whatever you want to call them are there that were often missing on the 2C and placement throughout the soundstage is much easier to decipher.

The X is my go to when I want to sit back and relax on a Friday night with a drink and some tunes. I never thought I’d ever spend this kind of money on a headphone (Creator edition is $1900 here in Canada after taxes) but 3 months later I’m very happy with them......for me and my tastes the X make me do what any good headphone should do for you......make you want to sit back and simply enjoy your music rather than some headphones that often rear up your OCD to analyze and be annoyed at what they do wrong for you. I still think the 2C is a really great headphone and an excellent entry point for the LCD line. I still may add it to my arsenal in the future as I think it’s different enough from its bigger brother to warrant owning it.....notably for those “treble gone wild” rock and metal albums in my collection and especially when I do those brief “listen at stupid volume level” sessions of those albums.

EDIT: I neglected to mention that my LCD-X are the latest 2021 revision version.

Reading this is getting me back on the LCD-X. I’ve heard some conflicting comments in it but it’s seems as if your look for the same sound signature in after. I suppose I could eq and get some little more punch/slam if I wanted.

what are you driving them with?

 

[Sundavor]

I previous own a pre-2016 version of the LCD-X and do still love it. But with seeing all the new models coming out in recent times, I'm wondering if it's worth an upgrade at all. I've read about the differences described from someone from Audeze posted years ago. Does anyone have a more direct comparison between the older pre-2016 models and the current sound signature?

 

[mitchb]

I have the 2021 LCDX and the 2017 LCDXC and I find the LCDX more linear across the board but I find the older LCDXC brighter and often more fun on much music. I was offered to change my 2017 drivers on my LCDXC for current drivers but I declined as I found the two headphones as are compliment each other nicely.

 

[Sundavor]

I have the 2021 LCDX and the 2017 LCDXC and I find the LCDX more linear across the board but I find the older LCDXC brighter and often more fun on much music. I was offered to change my 2017 drivers on my LCDXC for current drivers but I declined as I found the two headphones as are compliment each other nicely.

How so? I listen to a wide range of music, but I've been leaning towards heavy rock recently which is has a lot more bass.
What's the sound difference like on more bass-driven music?

 

[Slim1970]

I have the 2021 LCDX and the 2017 LCDXC and I find the LCDX more linear across the board but I find the older LCDXC brighter and often more fun on much music. I was offered to change my 2017 drivers on my LCDXC for current drivers but I declined as I found the two headphones as are compliment each other nicely.

I have a pair of 2021 LCD-X’s coming with a set LCD-XC’s that I had updated just before the 2021 announcement. So I just missed out on getting the newest drivers installed on the XC’s. I was offered a deal to upgrade my XC’s for a cost. I’m still undecided if I want to do that or not. I do like the energetic sound of the XC’s and I’m not sure I want to give that up. According to Audeze, once you update the drivers to the newest version, it can not be reversed.

 

[Lohb]

I have a pair of 2021 LCD-X’s coming with a set LCD-XC’s that I had updated just before the 2021 announcement. So I just missed out on getting the newest drivers installed on the XC’s. I was offered a deal to upgrade my XC’s for a cost. I’m still undecided if I want to do that or not. I do like the energetic sound of the XC’s and I’m not sure I want to give that up. According to Audeze, once you update the drivers to the newest version, it can not be reversed.

I think the new XC will overshoot on the upper mids as the old XC version raised that 4k dip quite substantially.

and I think I read as much recently...perhaps old XC with the shallower official pads will sound "better".

...as this new X tuning may raise as much as above does when cupped with the blue line upper mids baseline DB region highlighted below...

 

[Slim1970]

I think the new XC will overshoot on the upper mids as the old XC version raised that 4k dip quite substantially.

and I think I read as much recently...perhaps old XC with the shallower official pads will sound "better".

...as this new X tuning may raise as much as above does when cupped with the blue line upper mids baseline DB region highlighted below...

Good find. I think I'm going to like the new tuning of the LCD-X's. I'll keep my LCD-XC's the same. As I don't really have a problem with the tuning of them.

 

[The Hawk]

Reading this is getting me back on the LCD-X. I’ve heard some conflicting comments in it but it’s seems as if your look for the same sound signature in after. I suppose I could eq and get some little more punch/slam if I wanted.

what are you driving them with?

When I first wrote those impressions it was based on powering both of them with my THX 789.

I”m now powering my LCD-X with a Flux FA-12S. Kept all that detail I had previously but now the highs are smoother without the THX “etch” and the bass has a tad more weight to it

 

[SubL0ck]

Hey guys! Gonna purchase the LCD-X. Does the reliability suck? I'm sorta worried about paying quite the money for a headphone that's gonna fail no matter what.

 

[WDitters]

Hey guys! Gonna purchase the LCD-X. Does the reliability suck? I'm sorta worried about paying quite the money for a headphone that's gonna fail no matter what.

No worries, sturdy as can be

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Hey guys! Gonna purchase the LCD-X. Does the reliability suck?

Nope

 

[betula]

Hey guys! Gonna purchase the LCD-X. Does the reliability suck? I'm sorta worried about paying quite the money for a headphone that's gonna fail no matter what.

Absolutely not. Audeze is one of the more reliable brands these days with excellent customer service and warranty care in case anything goes wrong. Audeze has long surpassed its 'bad driver fail reputation' from 6-8 years ago and these days they offer much better reliability and customer care than the competition. I personally experienced and heard of more Focal and HiFiMan driver problems than Audeze from the last five years.

 

[SubL0ck]

Okay guys, thanks. I might give LCD-X a shot then.