LCD-X on today's market from a bass fan's point of view:
The LCD-X is a seriously good choice in 2020 for £1150 new (or around £800 used). Let's have a quick look at the competition and alternative choices depending on sound preference:
ZMF Aeolus: £1200, beautifully made, very musical sounding pair of headphones. Needs better amping, bass rolls of as it does with all dynamic drivers.
ZMF Auteur: £1600, beautifully made. Slightly more detailed than the Aeolus but still needs better amping and also has the inherent dynamic driver bass roll off.
Focal Clear: £1400. Clean, clear, dynamic. A bit forward and aggressive to me, with not the biggest soundstage. Bass rolls off as it does with all dynamic drivers.
Alright then, so what is the planar competition if I can't be satisfied with dynamic driver bass? Let's see:
The LCD-X easily outperforms sub £1000 planars like the Sundara or LCD2C, so I won't mention those.
HiFiMan Arya: build quality is less convincing than it is on the Audeze, but the Arya is indeed a nice sounding headphone. Spacious, natural, hard to find a true fault. Also has the much wanted planar bass extension. So why the X and not the Arya for me? Because of the bass slam and energy. The Arya sounds more spacious and more natural, but doesn't have the bass slam and energy, lacks the punchiness of the LCD-X which I enjoy so much with my electronic music. It is a matter of taste I guess.
HiFiMan HE6SE: £1500, needs serious amping. Small soundstage, a more conventional sound compared to the new line of HiFiMan (HEX, HEK, etc.) Good, but nothing exceptional on today's market. The LCD-X sounds bigger, punchier, more spacious.
Empyrean: £2700 yes, this is flagship territory. And I won't deny, the Empyrean sounds leagues better than the LCD-X in everything. Except bass slam and bass punch. And the Empyrean can cost thousands (!) more. (Budget and preference plays a big role here.)
My point is, if you are after the best bass extension, energy and slam looking for a relatively efficient planar under £2000, the LCD-X is hell of a choice these days. It is of course somewhat of a personal taste and choice, but I never enjoyed my electronic music more and knowing it cost fracture of a flagship setup makes me even happier.
So what do I think the LCD-X offers in the light of the short evaluation of these other truly wonderful headphones?
Price for performance: £1150 new is a good price for this performance. £700-800 secondhand for a good and relatively new unit is a steal. Relatively easy to drive: forget DAPs, but you also won't need to spend thousands on DAC/amp combos to bring out the best of these. Bass performance is pretty much as good as it gets with headphones. I could only mention Abyss or LCD4 as truly better bass performers and that says a lot! (Yes, the HE1000V2 or 1000SE has bass too, but I don't find that as satisfying and as meaty as Audeze bass.) Mids and treble, sure there are more lifelike mids for £1200 (Aeolus). More pleasing, more natural and more spacious treble (Arya). But none of them has the brain shaking bass punch and slam of the 106mm Audeze transducers. Yes the LCD-X is relatively heavy, but god I can confirm the LCD-X is a bass connoisseurs delight on a relative budget. (Written by someone who likes his bass deep, punchy and well-refined.)
The LCD-X is a seriously good choice in 2020 for £1150 new (or around £800 used). Let's have a quick look at the competition and alternative choices depending on sound preference:
ZMF Aeolus: £1200, beautifully made, very musical sounding pair of headphones. Needs better amping, bass rolls of as it does with all dynamic drivers.
ZMF Auteur: £1600, beautifully made. Slightly more detailed than the Aeolus but still needs better amping and also has the inherent dynamic driver bass roll off.
Focal Clear: £1400. Clean, clear, dynamic. A bit forward and aggressive to me, with not the biggest soundstage. Bass rolls off as it does with all dynamic drivers.
Alright then, so what is the planar competition if I can't be satisfied with dynamic driver bass? Let's see:
The LCD-X easily outperforms sub £1000 planars like the Sundara or LCD2C, so I won't mention those.
HiFiMan Arya: build quality is less convincing than it is on the Audeze, but the Arya is indeed a nice sounding headphone. Spacious, natural, hard to find a true fault. Also has the much wanted planar bass extension. So why the X and not the Arya for me? Because of the bass slam and energy. The Arya sounds more spacious and more natural, but doesn't have the bass slam and energy, lacks the punchiness of the LCD-X which I enjoy so much with my electronic music. It is a matter of taste I guess.
HiFiMan HE6SE: £1500, needs serious amping. Small soundstage, a more conventional sound compared to the new line of HiFiMan (HEX, HEK, etc.) Good, but nothing exceptional on today's market. The LCD-X sounds bigger, punchier, more spacious.
Empyrean: £2700 yes, this is flagship territory. And I won't deny, the Empyrean sounds leagues better than the LCD-X in everything. Except bass slam and bass punch. And the Empyrean can cost thousands (!) more. (Budget and preference plays a big role here.)
My point is, if you are after the best bass extension, energy and slam looking for a relatively efficient planar under £2000, the LCD-X is hell of a choice these days. It is of course somewhat of a personal taste and choice, but I never enjoyed my electronic music more and knowing it cost fracture of a flagship setup makes me even happier.
So what do I think the LCD-X offers in the light of the short evaluation of these other truly wonderful headphones?
Price for performance: £1150 new is a good price for this performance. £700-800 secondhand for a good and relatively new unit is a steal. Relatively easy to drive: forget DAPs, but you also won't need to spend thousands on DAC/amp combos to bring out the best of these. Bass performance is pretty much as good as it gets with headphones. I could only mention Abyss or LCD4 as truly better bass performers and that says a lot! (Yes, the HE1000V2 or 1000SE has bass too, but I don't find that as satisfying and as meaty as Audeze bass.) Mids and treble, sure there are more lifelike mids for £1200 (Aeolus). More pleasing, more natural and more spacious treble (Arya). But none of them has the brain shaking bass punch and slam of the 106mm Audeze transducers. Yes the LCD-X is relatively heavy, but god I can confirm the LCD-X is a bass connoisseurs delight on a relative budget. (Written by someone who likes his bass deep, punchy and well-refined.)