[514077]

  Hi everyone, so I just got the lcd-x two months ago. Today I just found that when I put it on my head and press it a little bit hard then there will be some weird physical sound on both sides. It sounds like there are some kinds of plastic paper inside the headphone and the air pressure makes them sound weird. I am not saying the sound signature of my lcd-x, the sound that lcd-x produced is still good without any problems. It's just that weird plastic paper sound, which I doubt it is caused by the diaphragm or something....I'm wondering is there anyone has the same issue as mine? Thanks!!

I have.  Don't know for sure, but I figure it's the pads sealing against my head and there's a slight pressure change when you press the HPs to your head.
"It hurts when I do that."   "So, don't do that."
FAIK, it very well could be the thin diaphrams or not.  But since mine work just fine, I wouldn't worry about it.  Or email Audeze for confirmation.

 

[Barry S]

I've had my LCD-X since they were introduced and I have yet to hear any headphones I like better. Still haven't heard the HEK, HEX, or the LCD-4, but it'll take a lot to knock the LCD-X off its throne. My second place headphone has been the HD800, but I think the Dharma will be taking that spot. The Dharma will probably have odd test results (just a guess), but it has a very dramatic signature that complements the more balanced reference signature of the LCD-X.
 
Ever since I got the LCD-X, I've been on a search for the best matching amp, and I've auditioned a ton of gear. Although I ended up with the Ragnarok, I've been feeling like something's been missing--until I heard the Yggdrasil. The Yggdrasil pushes out the already nice soundstage and sounds both smoother and more detailed than any other DAC I've auditioned. The mids sound richer and more delicate, the treble has detail and shimmer without any harshness, glare or etch. There's a sense of presence and dynamics I wasn't getting with my Gungnir DS.

 

[HiFiChris]

  Hi everyone, so I just got the lcd-x two months ago. Today I just found that when I put it on my head and press it a little bit hard then there will be some weird physical sound on both sides. It sounds like there are some kinds of plastic paper inside the headphone and the air pressure makes them sound weird. I am not saying the sound signature of my lcd-x, the sound that lcd-x produced is still good without any problems. It's just that weird plastic paper sound, which I doubt it is caused by the diaphragm or something....I'm wondering is there anyone has the same issue as mine? Thanks!!

Well, it is just what you think it isn't - driver flex, caused by the diaphragm. Although the LCD-X is an open-back planar, its drivers create a seal (that's probably also one reason for their awesome and lively bass body), and when you press the headphones against your ears, the pressure change deforms the diaphragms. It also happened with mine a couple of times, but didn't do any harm at all.
As a side-note, some IEMs (especially closed dynamic IEMs, but also open dynamic and a few closed Balanced Armature IEMs) also "suffer" from driver flex during insertion, which hasn't done any harm except for very few known cases (when people pushed them too fast and hard inside). Don't worry too much if the sound signature or quality has changed (my LCD-X is still fine although I have done this torture at least 2-3 times).

 

[RCBinTN]

  I've had my LCD-X since they were introduced and I have yet to hear any headphones I like better. Still haven't heard the HEK, HEX, or the LCD-4, but it'll take a lot to knock the LCD-X off its throne. My second place headphone has been the HD800, but I think the Dharma will be taking that spot. The Dharma will probably have odd test results (just a guess), but it has a very dramatic signature that complements the more balanced reference signature of the LCD-X.
 
Ever since I got the LCD-X, I've been on a search for the best matching amp, and I've auditioned a ton of gear. Although I ended up with the Ragnarok, I've been feeling like something's been missing--until I heard the Yggdrasil. The Yggdrasil pushes out the already nice soundstage and sounds both smoother and more detailed than any other DAC I've auditioned. The mids sound richer and more delicate, the treble has detail and shimmer without any harshness, glare or etch. There's a sense of presence and dynamics I wasn't getting with my Gungnir DS.

 
Yea, well written.  I found the same results.  When I upgraded to the Gumby, I found better SQ on both my rigs (see signature line).  It's less about the amps than it is about a high-quality DAC.  Really brings out the details in the music, which the LCD-X will happily present to your ears.

 

[Barry S]

Yea, well written.  I found the same results.  When I upgraded to the Gumby, I found better SQ on both my rigs (see signature line).  It's less about the amps than it is about a high-quality DAC.  Really brings out the details in the music, which the LCD-X will happily present to your ears.

Absolutely. This wave of multibit DACs is pushing the limits of sound quality farther than any other recent development in head-fi. I think most D-S DACs are differentiated by different feature sets and some small differences in signature due to filtering. Listening to the Yggdrasil, I'm amazed at the extra information it pulls out of recordings, and the LCD-X proves it can scale a long way.

 

[bbball]

 
Well, it is just what you think it isn't - driver flex, caused by the diaphragm. Although the LCD-X is an open-back planar, its drivers create a seal (that's probably also one reason for their awesome and lively bass body), and when you press the headphones against your ears, the pressure change deforms the diaphragms. It also happened with mine a couple of times, but didn't do any harm at all.
As a side-note, some IEMs (especially closed dynamic IEMs, but also open dynamic and a few closed Balanced Armature IEMs) also "suffer" from driver flex during insertion, which hasn't done any harm except for very few known cases (when people pushed them too fast and hard inside). Don't worry too much if the sound signature or quality has changed (my LCD-X is still fine although I have done this torture at least 2-3 times).

 
Hi thanks Chris. So I also sent email to Audeze. They reply like this:
 
Thank you for contacting us! It seems the sound you are describing is the diaphragm and is very common with planar driver headphones. When the air is trapped inside of the ear cup there is not much space for air to escape. When you push on the headphones you may hear a very slight sound from the diaphragm. This is normal and is nothing to be worried about. That is the sound of the thin diaphragm moving back and forth with the air suction against the driver components. That is the way the drivers are built and we can't change that without compromising the sound. Do you hear this sound while playing audio?
 
Think it should be OK, Thanks guys!

 

[Badas]

Real magic happening this morning.



I don't know what it is? Maybe the earth is aligned to the other planets perfectly this morning or that my tubes in my WA22 have hit their sweet spot or possibly my ears are very clear. However these LCD-X's are singing sweetly today. Kinda blowing my mind.
I have new respect for the LCD-X. Could this be my end game HP???? Right now I think so.

I can tell ya. Arcam DAC plus Woo WA22 plus LCD-X is a killer combo.

 

[Badas]

Hi,
 
I had the member Contrails over my place yesterday to listen to the Woo WA22. We both have LCD-X's so I asked him to bring his as well so we could compare HP sound signatures. To my ears they sounded the same. Contrails thought mine was a bit smoother. Mine is older his is very young.
What surprised me was that mine was more efficient. It didn't need as much volume gain. It was very noticeable and a fair amount of percentage difference (if I was to guess I would say 30%).
 
Is this normal? Do the HP's get more efficient as they break in?

 

[groovyd]

30% that is pretty significant... must have entirely changed something about the design since the early versions.  I have one of the first off the line so hopefully it were a cost savings since then

 

[Badas]

  30% that is pretty significant... must have entirely changed something about the design since the early versions.  I have one of the first off the line so hopefully it were a cost savings since then

 
Yeah. I was a little taken back. I was expecting to plug in and not adjust the volume.
 
I never get above the 9'O'Clock position using my WA22. The other LCD-X was being used at the 11'O'Clock position. Big difference.
 
Both sounded identical to my ears tho.
 
How would this effect that paper sound that was being talked about last week???
If the older ones are more efficient then they may not be getting pushed as hard.

It might explain why some hear the effect and others don't. I have never heard it. However I don't listen loud.

 

[Contrails]

 I never get above the 9'O'Clock position using my WA22. The other LCD-X was being used at the 11'O'Clock position. Big difference

 
Ok I confess, mine are actually He-6 modded as LCD-X, muahahaha.  I wish...
 
Anyway, that is an interesting observation, do you think maybe the impedance is slightly different too, like + or - 5ohms? Sorry, I am a noob when it comes to the technicalities. 

 

[Badas]

   
Ok I confess, mine are actually He-6 modded as LCD-X, muahahaha.  I wish...
 
Anyway, that is an interesting observation, do you think maybe the impedance is slightly different too, like + or - 5ohms? Sorry, I am a noob when it comes to the technicalities. 

 
Lol. That's why you jaw dropped listening to the WA22.

 

 
Yip. There was a big difference in efficiency. Mine required a lot less power. Yours required more.
 
I was expecting them to be exactly the same. If it was close I would put it down to mine being older and more broken in. However yours required a number of clicks upwards. If mine were at that level they would be pushed to the point of damage or ear damage. So it is strange. Obviously there has been a design change. Incidentally your LCD-X gets set to a similar volume to my LCD-3. When the LCD-X was first marketed they said it would work as a portable HP because of it being efficient.
 
Maybe they have dropped that idea now????? It would make sense as the LCD-X would be silly as a portable anyway.
 

 

 

[johnzz4]

   
Lol. That's why you jaw dropped listening to the WA22.

 

 
Yip. There was a big difference in efficiency. Mine required a lot less power. Yours required more.
 
I was expecting them to be exactly the same. If it was close I would put it down to mine being older and more broken in. However yours required a number of clicks upwards. If mine were at that level they would be pushed to the point of damage or ear damage. So it is strange. Obviously there has been a design change. Incidentally your LCD-X gets set to a similar volume to my LCD-3. When the LCD-X was first marketed they said it would work as a portable HP because of it being efficient.
 
Maybe they have dropped that idea now????? It would make sense as the LCD-X would be silly as a portable anyway.
 

 

 
I found it interesting that I've seen different efficiency values for the X in different places.  The original specs I saw showed 96dB/1mW efficiency and their site now shows 103dB/1mW, though I think the newer spec is the 103 so that wouldn't make sense if the older one is more sensitive.
 
Here's an example of each, but there are several examples on the web of both if you do a Google search for LCD-X Specs.
 
96db example:  http://headmania.org/2013/11/08/audeze-lcd-x-review/
 
103db example:  https://www.audeze.com/products/lcd-collection/lcd-x

 

[groovyd]

maybe you swapped cans  Impedance should be dead simple to measure since planar are all resistive, just put a multimeter across the plug and see. L vs R and yours vs his.  Mine are 20.4 & 21.0 ohms.

 

[looge]

Hi, perhaps some of you are also experiencing with the cable getting not only tangled but also 'folded' with creases visible on it. Will this affect the sound quality if this goes on for long enough? I have to straighten and flatten the cable all the time.