I heard this from a lot of people.
Audeze LCD-X
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Turkeysaurus
100+ Head-Fier
I noticed a slight pressure as well when I bought my LCD-2C headphones but nothing to the level of discomfort. After a few days it went away or I probably got used to it. I dont notice it anymore even with my LCD-X headphones. Someone mentioned that it is probably due to the seal that the earpads create.
fallooffie
Head-Fier
Yeah it feels like I’m damaging my ear drums at medium volume. Ear drums definitely felt stressed out after a few minutes of low-medium to medium volume. I have some tinnitus so I may just be more sensitive than others. Either way I don’t think I’ll be able to keep them.
I had to get used to the feeling. The seal is damn good so that took some adjusting. I also couldn't listen right away at normal volume because it would just fatigue my ears with all the information I wasn't used to hearing. It was uncomfortable and even after months I still don't crank them up because I feel like I don't need to.
Turkeysaurus
100+ Head-Fier
That's understandable. If possible I would return them. It's a shame. IMO they are really good headphones.
Put them on as gently as possible, if that doesnt work, compress the rear of the earpad and tilt the front outwards in order to break the seal and relieve pressure. If that doesn't work, Audezes are *probably* not for you.
fallooffie
Head-Fier
Won’t be a problem returning them
fallooffie
Head-Fier
Yeah this may be the case. I had my wife put them on and she said she noticed the pressure on her eardrums immediately as well.
fallooffie
Head-Fier
Not sure I could get used to this pressure. Reminds of Campfire Audios Solaris IEM or any other iem without good venting. Loved the sound of those things but felt like I was damaging my hearing with them as well at medium volume.
I never thought open back headphones would seal off the cavity between your ears and the driver, at least I thought they always vented to the open back area of the ear cup.
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borrego
1000+ Head-Fier
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Use the same trick during flight take off: Open your mouth slightly when putting on the LCD-X. This is what I do with my LCD-XC and RAD-0
The workarounds:
- Dekoni Choice Suede replacement earpads. Although I wouldn't recommend replacing the factory pads due to unpredictable change to the FR but Choice Suede seems to be the least destructive according to the measurements. It becomes a question of pros and cons, whether you prioritize comfort or sound signature.
- Being just careful and slow when putting them on, slightly squeezing the back of the earpads and then letting the inner pressure to stabilize. That's what Audeze suggest themselves on their page https://www.audeze.com/pages/audeze-support - in the section called Why does my headphone crinkle when I press on it? It really depends on the form of your head in terms of how strong the seal is and how it affects the feel and sound. Zeos once said about his friend DMS that his ears are "on the neck" which is similar to my head too. And I don't experience that much of an air pressure when putting on these headphones. However, I sometimes need to let the air in while listening to music, otherwise I don't hear the subs rumble enough. So in my case it's not the cabin pressure problem but the FR and sound signature problem.
- There is a certain mod that allows the air pressure to ease. A person posted it on reddit saying that he put a tight straw (heat shrink tubing) underneath the earpads when replacing them which created an effective air pressure valve: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/5mekhg/a_little_mod_for_audeze_lcd_ear_pads
fallooffie
Head-Fier
I appreciate you taking the time to post your thoughts and possible workarounds.
To be honest, I really don’t think it’ll be worth the effort for me. From what I’ve heard so far from the LCD-X’s I’m not impressed by the sound. They sound boring and congested compared to my HE5SE’s. I’m sure part of it is due to me being so used to the sound signature of the HE5SE’s but man I was not moved by the X’s at all so far. I have a few weeks to see if they grow on me though!
Cheers!
Completely understand. The sound can be easily fixed though by applying either the Sonarworks Reference profile (I apply 70% of it) or the Reveal+ from the developer. It becomes a reference tool for me to do mixing and mastering. I don't know any other headphone that's better for the task in this price range. Maybe a HEDDphone but it's already much more expensive. I don't use these for music listening, so I don't know what might constitute an "audiophile" headphone. I'm not an audiophile tbh... But I understand that these are not the most natural sounding headphones out of the box. They need an EQ of some sort. However, they take any EQ pretty well like all the other LCDs.
People who buy these headphones usually know what they sign up for. I visited my distributor's listening booth several times before I bought my LCD-X, I was very much aware of the sound signature and all the pros and cons. I researched the forums, specialists' reviews, graphs and spectrums. And waited several months for the restocking in Australia. Moreover, I already had a bad experience with the LCD-XC that I had to return because of the quality control. In addition, I really hate all the Audeze team because of the worst ever customer support I experienced there which almost led to a legal dispute at one point. I assume that all the US developers have cut themselves from the rest of the world to the point where they don't care about their reputation anymore outside of the US. But nevertheless, I keep my LCD-X because I know and acknowledge what I sign up for. If you need an easy going headphone for pleasure listening, the LCD-X might not be your cup of tea. However, when I listen to Heilung - Svanrand, I understand that there is no other headphone in the world that would give me those kind of shivers))
fallooffie
Head-Fier
See you make me wonder if I got a not so good pair of X’s. I’m not really looking for a easy going signature per say. The X’s I just received do not sound very dynamic or exciting at all. Mids seemed really recessed and there’s not much air if any up top. Bass doesn’t seem very well defined.
Just do you know, I’ve got a in line 4 band EQ, the Bellari EQ570 and it didn’t really seem to help the issues I’m hearing. Seems to work with my HE5SR’s just fine though. I would be very interested to try out the Sonarworks or Reveal + but I noticed recently that when using the Chord Mojo with my Lenovo laptop the sound is noticeably less dynamic and energetic when compared with using my IPhone X as a source. Wonder what is going on there? May need to try the setup through my desktop setup.
For reference I’ve heard Focal Clears, Hifiman Arya and also the LCD2 Closed backs. From memory I think they all sound way better than the X’s. I’m really wondering if I got a lemon! Gotta do some more listening for sure!
The LCD2 Closed backs sounded pretty awesome but were just too ridiculous looking for my taste haha. I didn’t notice the pressure on the ear drums with the LCD2 Closed back either. Makes me think that’s not a problem on every LCD.
Also for reference my main listening chain is as follows: Tidal HiFi- IPhone X- Chord Mojo- Bellari EQ570- Quicksilver (SET) headphone Amp- LCD-X’s
One last thing. I’m receiving New LCD-3’s today. Does anyone know how different the X and the 3’s sound from each other? Will be interesting to see if the 3’s sound way better than the X’s to me. If that ends up being the case then how to know if the X’s I received are lemons or not? Haha what fun this is, right?
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lacrimstein
New Head-Fier
Are yours the 2020 revision (metal mesh under the grill)? Not the first time I've heard this opinion, and in my own 2020 LCD-X the upper mids are completely dead. IMO the Reveal+ profile is not enough to fix them (probably hasn't been updated yet). Try the Oratory1990 EQ preset, it's made against the 2020 revision measurements and it's what I'm currently using (I even lowered the bass low shelf by 3dB, the Harman bass is too much for me)
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