Audeze LCD-X

[potkettleblack]

  i've extensively demoed both. they are more similar than different. so similar in fact that you can easily mistake which one you are listening to when blinded.

Completely disagree. Both are great but completely discernible with all genres.

 

[Gowry]

Me, too. I'd also like to hear from Audeze about removing the grills. I wonder if they thought about that. When I initially got my LCD-X I thought they sounded a bit more closed in than my HE-500. The idea of removing the grills appeals to me. I love my LCD-X, but I'd love to hear them be even more open.

 

[RCBinTN]

All,
It's great to read all the emotion being written here about the Audeze robbery and what, if anything, the Head-Fi community can do.
I am an Audeze supporter, an early adopter of the X (over a year ago) and also an XC owner.
Audeze always treated me right - good service, good products, quick answers, replaced a defective cable, and etc.  They understand customer service.
For me, I will be watching for possible quick sales that seem too good to be true.  However, I don't think the thieves will use normal sites, if they even try to sell the stolen products visibly.
IMO there's no doubt that Audeze will survive this event, and come back even stronger than before, especially with the launch of their new product.
 
Best -
RCBinTN

 

[xident]

  Some high-bitched voices that first sometimes could hurt my ears

I do realize there is a typo somewhere in that sentence, but it still makes a lot of sense...

 
I am fairly new to headphones, but recently caught the bug bad when i bought a Fiio X5 to use with my Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80ohm headphones and realized the listening fatigue I had experienced with headphones earlier were mainly because of poor amplification. Fast forward a few months and I have a Burson Conductor Virtuoso and Fosgate Signature Headamp playing the heck out of the Beyers while waiting for the mailman to bring me the used LCD-X i bought last week. Pretty excited, to say the least. Oh, and broke. Very broke.

 

 

[money4me247]

  Completely disagree. Both are great but completely discernible with all genres.

I will say that for me I would say that the most noticeable sound differences is lcd-x has more bass impact while the lcd-3 has a forward mid-range, which may be discernible for you with all genres, but the differences for me are quite subtle and it is easy to mistake which one you are listening to when doing a blind comparison.
 
the differences between the lcd-x/lcd-3 vs the hd800 or he-560 are much more noticeable and worthwhile for me to talk about. the lcd-x/lcd-3 have slightly different flavors, but really share the same overall sound. you really can't go wrong with either choice if you like the audeze sound & no reason to worry about the sonic differences as they are quite subtle. this in imo, ymmv.
 
edit: I will say that I've only extensively demoed both in direct comparisons multiple times. someone who owns both may have better grasp on the subtle differences and I do find that after owning two pairs of headphones for a long time, the subtle differences do become a lot more apparent and sounds a lot more different. so i respect your differing opinion.

 

[pearljam50000]

Can you elaborate?
Thanks.

I will say that for me I would say that the most noticeable sound differences is lcd-x has more bass impact while the lcd-3 has a forward mid-range, which may be discernible for you with all genres, but the differences for me are quite subtle and it is easy to mistake which one you are listening to when doing a blind comparison.

the differences between the lcd-x/lcd-3 vs the hd800 or he-560 are much more noticeable and worthwhile for me to talk about. the lcd-x/lcd-3 have slightly different flavors, but really share the same overall sound. you really can't go wrong with either choice if you like the audeze sound & no reason to worry about the sonic differences as they are quite subtle. this in imo, ymmv.

edit: I will say that I've only extensively demoed both in direct comparisons multiple times. someone who owns both may have better grasp on the subtle differences and I do find that after owning two pairs of headphones for a long time, the subtle differences do become a lot more apparent and sounds a lot more different. so i respect your differing opinion.

 

[money4me247]

Can you elaborate?
Thanks.

here is my comparison of lcd-x vs he-560: http://www.head-fi.org/t/684394/audeze-lcd-x/5820#post_11317754
 
for the lcd-x/lcd-3 vs the hd800, please note these are impressions made during demoing conditions. they were running from some high-end amplifier/dac (I think perhaps auralic for one of the components, don't really remember exactly now but I do remember the dealer quoting like $2kish for the other equipment, so they were nice). source files were all flac. (edit: the amplifier was definitely solid state, but not sure the exact model anymore)
 
the hd800 does indeed have better sound stage and imaging and slightly less bass than its audeze. however, the actual sonic differences of those qualities when using the nice high-end amp/dac were not as much as I was expecting. The sound stage was indeed impressive on the hd800, but the audeze were quite good in that department as well. the audezes did have more bass presence, but I did not find the hd800 lacking either.
 
The hd800 had a more airy crisp sound while the lcd-x/lcd-3 had a thicker sound (best I can describe it - similar to the differences between the lcd-x vs the he-560 in my comparison link). Those differences in sound signature along with differences in bass presence was the most easily appreciable sonic differences between them from my experience. The hd800 seemed very akin to my hd-560 in presentation though I do think the hd800 does have a bit better sound stage and a bit more treble-focus while the he-560 had more linear bass presence and I preferred its overall sound signature more. While the hd800 was not too bright for me, it does really zoom into the treble and bring that aspect of the sound into focus more. I personally think the he-560 is the most neutral overall while the hd800 was a touch brighter interpretation of neutral and the lcd-x was a more dark interpretation of neutral (though I main the he-560 so there is my bias). I felt like the he-560 and hd800 had a similar enough sound signature and presentation to be grouped together while the audeze lcd-x and audeze lcd-3 both shared enough similarities but a different voicing in comparison to the hd800/he560 where they should be put into a different group.
 
In my mind and in this comparison, the lcd-x and lcd-3 were close enough overall that I am just referring to them together. the main difference between the lcd-3 vs the lcd-x was that the lcd-x had more bass quantity and more bass impact over the lcd-3 and I felt like the lcd-3 was a bit more focused on the mid-range. I had difficulty picking out the extra smoothness of the lcd-3 that people often talk about when doing blinded comparisons. They do have slightly different sound signatures & presentation, but very comparable in my mind in terms of technical performance.
 
In terms of the small subtle micro-detail, the hd800 would be the winner though not by that much. all the intimate details were readily apparent on all the headphones, but the hd800 seems to bring that aspect of the sound more into the focus. the audeze on the other hand seems to focus more on the overall tonality rather than the specific details with a slightly blurr/blend effect to the sound in a way that is a bit more difficult to describe with its thicker sound and more low end emphasis. I can see where people came up with the terms clinical vs organic, but both presentations of the music was quite enjoyable for me.
 
I guess from my personal experiences I found that the actual tangible sonic differences a bit underwhelming from what I was expecting and not as large as people on the forums make it sound. However, it was a lot of fun to do extensive demoing and try do a bunch of blind tests to try to identify which one is which.
 
Hope my impressions were helpful!
 
edit; sry i always forget to write the type of music I tried as I always skip that part in reviews, but it was a lot of just top hits, female vocals like norah jones/enya/adele, some instrumental classical, a bit of random rock (always try to listen to hotel california by the eagles when comparing and californication), some legit hip hop (like nas, tupac, eminem, ti), a bit of current mainstream popified hip hop (Kanye West, Nicki, Iggy, kendrick lammar, wiz khalifia), r&b (like whitney houston, riri, chris brown, beyonce, taio, derulo, neyo), and a ton of electronic/edm. a mainly jumped through a lot of top lists.

 

[ToTje]

  I do realize there is a typo somewhere in that sentence, but it still makes a lot of sense...

 
I am fairly new to headphones, but recently caught the bug bad when i bought a Fiio X5 to use with my Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro 80ohm headphones and realized the listening fatigue I had experienced with headphones earlier were mainly because of poor amplification. Fast forward a few months and I have a Burson Conductor Virtuoso and Fosgate Signature Headamp playing the heck out of the Beyers while waiting for the mailman to bring me the used LCD-X i bought last week. Pretty excited, to say the least. Oh, and broke. Very broke.

 

HAHAHA!! Oh my God, yeah sorry for that typo! 

 

 
 
And yeah, I know all about the being broke-symptom of catching the audiophile-bug! 

 
 
Ebout the "X" vs the 3: I absolutely do love the bass on the X, but when listening to them for an entire evening, the bass can get a bit fatiguing at the end of the evening.
Also, bassguitars are more present on the X, and although I do love that sound it does get a bit monotonous at the end of the evening. I think I'd like an LCD-X on one channel of my Taboo for listening to some powerful songs, and the LCD-3 for more easy listening. 

 

[potkettleblack]

Audeze LCD X Comfort Issues
 
Well, These things are SO uncomfortable it drives me crazy!!              for about a minute... Then it goes away       

 
 
Strange right?
 
Last night and the night before I spent about 3-4 hours listening, and experienced comfort issues for a maxium amount of about 15 MINUTES.. IN TOTAL.
 
This varied between pressure on the top of the head and pressure on the neck due to weight.
 
The second I adjusted the headband slightly it completely went away - and when I sat back in my chair and rested my head, there was zero tension on my neck.
 
I honestly had as many comfort issues with my 800's (pressure on the top of the head and around ear cups after an hour) on a whole as I have with these.
 
I wanted reassure people that at times these are very comfortable to wear given the right circumstances and by no means (to me) make the odd discomfort a deal breaker.
 
Despite their ability to be driven by an iphone I wouldn't walk around with these on unless I wanted to attend a doctor who convention.
 
But in a comfy chair, sat back - these are just dandy.
 
Edit: I never want to use the word ''dandy'' again.

 

[Spamateur]

Agreed with the above. After the first couple days of ownership I was actually convinced I was going to have to return them as my neck and jaw were getting sore after wearing the X for multiple hours. I was a bit heartbroken as they truly are the best headphones I've ever heard. Luckily I found my neck has gotten used to the weight after just a few days, and after leaving the X overnight stretched a bit on a cardboard box, the clamping force is quite comfortable now. Happy to say I'm keeping these and have ordered an EL-8 closed back to compliment them for work use.

 

[ToTje]

In general I haven't had any issues with the weight because I am used to the weight of motorcycle helmets, but after 6 beers or so my neck muscles relax a bit and then the weight of the LCD-X makes them sore the next morning.
 
I had another very bad issue the first MONTHS: air pressure on the eardrums! When I put it on I felt air being trapped in the earcups and that pressed on the eardrums all the time.
I contacted Audeze about this and they wanted to call me to try to look for a solution, but in the end they told me to go see a doctor, because they didn't understand this problem.
I asked if the vegan earcups would let more air through, and that was the case: that might ease the pressure a bit. I tried out several things and I found out that if I extend the cups to the lowest position, the clamping force is a lot less and that also takes much of the air pressure away (plus the pressure of the cups to my ears so my ears got pushed hard against the feet of my glasses.)
Now I removed the grills (and with it the foam as well) and that improved things even slightly more. 
There still is a little hint of pressure on my eardrums compared to with my AKG, but it really is very acceptable now.

 

[HiFiChris]

If people aren't capable of wearing an LCD-X due to its weight they will most likely also will have problems wearing a motorcycle helmet (I don't have a motrorcycle license, by the way).
Provided your neck musculature isn't the weakest I doubt you are going to have problems withe the LCD-X.
I neither have problems with the HE400s nor the LCDXs weight even though I don't do any power sports at all (howewer I do endurance sports).

 

[DamienShepard]

  In general I haven't had any issues with the weight because I am used to the weight of motorcycle helmets, but after 6 beers or so my neck muscles relax a bit and then the weight of the LCD-X makes them sore the next morning.
 
I had another very bad issue the first MONTHS: air pressure on the eardrums! When I put it on I felt air being trapped in the earcups and that pressed on the eardrums all the time.
I contacted Audeze about this and they wanted to call me to try to look for a solution, but in the end they told me to go see a doctor, because they didn't understand this problem.
I asked if the vegan earcups would let more air through, and that was the case: that might ease the pressure a bit. I tried out several things and I found out that if I extend the cups to the lowest position, the clamping force is a lot less and that also takes much of the air pressure away (plus the pressure of the cups to my ears so my ears got pushed hard against the feet of my glasses.)
Now I removed the grills (and with it the foam as well) and that improved things even slightly more. 
There still is a little hint of pressure on my eardrums compared to with my AKG, but it really is very acceptable now.

Yeah, sometimes I do feel the air being trapped inside the pads and impacting on my eardrums. Both my X and XC use vegan pads.
Exceptional listening enjoyment come at a cost. But it looks like your ears are more sensitive to these pressure changes. 
For health related issues, you might want to consult an otologist, and at this point I agree with Audeze.

 

[ToTje]

  Yeah, sometimes I do feel the air being trapped inside the pads and impacting on my eardrums. Both my X and XC use vegan pads.
Exceptional listening enjoyment come at a cost. But it looks like your ears are more sensitive to these pressure changes. 
For health related issues, you might want to consult an otologist, and at this point I agree with Audeze.

Well I do know that my right ear always has a bit more sensitive to pressure changes, but I never expected an open headphone to cause air pressure on the ears. 

 

[jplmk]

Had a chance to try out the LCD-X over a long weekend, and it honestly blew my mind and set the bar so high I don't think can reasonably be reached with anything but another pair of these superb cans. There is a lot to like, but on top goes the natural sound across different genres (tested pretty much all but classical), very true to the source, and perfect balance across the frequencies. I like especially how vocals come out, so natural with depth and presence. So easy and effortless to listen, even long hours, putting the focus where it should be, the music itself. 
 
What is even better, they sound real good straight from an iPhone (6) and Spotify (320 kbs), and are driven well with a low-cost kit I have - the Schiit Modi/Magni 2 (Uber) stack. Certainly a better DAC/Amp/Source can make a difference, but for me it does not seem all that necessary to push for that last zero dot something percent improvement. I did also test Tidal at the same time as a source, but just couldn't spot any improvements over Spotify at 320 kbs, so did not continue my subscription there past the 7-day trial period (though really liked the service otherwise, nice interface etc.). This might mean I would need to upgrade the whole signal path, but as said, what I was getting already was plenty good and a reference to what I can actually expect from a pair of headphones (a lot, it seems), so I hardly see a point (for myself).
 
Now it's just the matter of couching up the euros to get a pair of my own, though I might hold on for a moment and try out the new EL-8's, even just out of curiosity.