[yeboyi]

Seriously if you are not gonna EQ them LCD X can be considered as defective. Stock tuning is unacceptable. LCD 2 have the warm Audeze house sound. LCD X don't.

Edit: However with EQ their price/performance ratio is quite high.

 

[fallooffie]

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)

Looks to be the 2020 version with the mesh under the grille. Appreciate the tip!

 

[fallooffie]

Seriously if you are not gonna EQ them LCD X can be considered as defective. Stock tuning is unacceptable. LCD 2 have the warm Audeze house sound. LCD X don't.

Edit: However with EQ their price/performance ratio is quite high.

Understood. I guess the Bellari EQ570 just may not cut it for the X’s, EQ wise.

 

[Alex May]

As for mine, I've got a pre-2020 revision (without metal mesh, just with felt) 'cause that's what Audeze provided to us in Australia this year. And I envied those who had it with mesh. Now I start thinking I was actually lucky with my pair. I don't even need to EQ it that much, as I said, 70% of Sonarworks Reference profile does the trick here.

I also used to compare it with Arya and Focal Clears. Arya sounded a bit more mellow and natural in terms of tonality, but it was so position sensitive! It slid around on my small head so much that I couldn't find the right position, and the sound signature changed drastically upon every move. I couldn't even figure out which position was right. The dynamic response wasn't as impactful as in the LCD-X. And the price was unjustifiably higher. Not even sure if the level of detail was on par with the LCD-X. Probably not. But I needed the detail, the impact, and the subs of the LCD-X. The Clears were surprisingly shouty for me and lacking the bass compared to the LCD-X. I also was on the fence about buying the LCD-X because of that high-mid dip but it turned out to be easily fixable in my case. Unfortunately, can't say anything about the LCD-3.

 

[betula]

Just to add my two cents to the discussion:
I find the LCD-X to be quite source dependent. I have just tested a couple of DAC/amp combos in the £700-£900 price range where one would expect similar performance. Well, the difference was clear and immediate. One of them sounded much more refined and detailed with way superior dynamics, spaciousness and clarity, the other's bass was flat, boring, soft and rolled off in comparison. Source matters a lot with the X. This can be another reason for the many polarizing opinions.

 

[Turkeysaurus]

Delete

 

[fallooffie]

Well just got the LCD-3’s in. I thought they were going to be the newest ones but they have the old style headband with the suede like ear pads. Not sure what happened there as the Amazon ad for the LCD-3’s showed a picture of the newer headband style. They look new, as in never used but who knows? I’m pretty sure they are fazored as well. Either way I’m not impressed with the older style headband.

Anyways right off the bat they sound way more impressive than the X’s. This is without EQ or anything. The bass is pretty noticeable and more apparent than the HE5SE’s although I feel like the upper bass is bleeding into the mids. HE5SE’s sound more clean than the LCD-3’s. On the LCD-3’s everything is a lot more clear and separated compared to the X’s.

After a short time listening I’m still giving the edge to the HE5SE’s! Crazy that these used HE5SE’s that I got for $300US are competing with these $1000 to $2000 priced headphones!

Just let my brother-in-law listen to the LCD-3’s back to back against the HE5SE’s and he preferred the HE5SE’s as well.

I’m not trying to hate or take away from the LCD’s since sound quality, impressions are subjective.......Just really pleased that an originally priced $700 headphones that I got for $300 is trading blows with top tier headphones.

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Well, even beyerdynamic DT48e with 300 bucks price (new) can beat the LCD 4 simply because the person prefer something brighter and much leaner sounding headphone for his taste.

HE5 SE has completely different sound character than LCD-X. I could imagine many Audeze lover would hate the hifiman sound, and of course vice versa. Personally, I couldn't take the HE5 series sound, too bright, like, really sparkly bright, combine with lack of focus on centre midrange.

 

[betula]

Well, even beyerdynamic DT48e with 300 bucks price (new) can beat the LCD 4 simply because the person prefer something brighter and much leaner sounding headphone for his taste.

HE5 SE has completely different sound character than LCD-X. I could imagine many Audeze lover would hate the hifiman sound, and of course vice versa. Personally, I couldn't take the HE5 series sound, too bright, like, really sparkly bright, combine with lack of focus on centre midrange.

You are right, it comes down to personal preference.

I auditioned or owned the followings: LCD2, LCD2C, LCD3, LCD4, Arya, HE400S, HE400i, HE6SE, HE1000V2, Susvara, HEXV2.

I am a sucker of Audeze bass dynamics, extension, slam and punch. Even though HiFiMan offers a (much) bigger soundstage and arguably better tonal balance.
Personal taste I guess, but I am simply in love with that kicking Audeze bass...

 

[Alex May]

I am a sucker of Audeze bass dynamics, extension, slam and punch. Even though HiFiMan offers a (much) bigger soundstage and arguably better tonal balance.
Personal taste I guess, but I am simply in love with that kicking Audeze bass...

True that. Audeze LCDs are all about technical performance, not necessarily tonal/frequency response which is easily correctable. This is what people often overlook or simply don't want to pay attention to. Sometimes all what people look for is about pleasant sound, although this feature is often contrary or at the cost of analytical and technical performance of a headphone. The frequency response can be easily fixed with EQ, but no one can recover the micro details that the headphone doesn't reproduce in the first place. The amount of detail in LCDs is phenomenal, as is the punch and dynamics. And I totally agree that the bass extension in LCD-X is just second to none. 18-20 Hz is something that one can literally feel in LCD-X.

 

[der luda]

interesting how different users interpret the sound character of their LCD X.
I was a bit undecided the first few days with the X with the serial cable .. Then a balanced cable from Forza Audio, almost 200 hours later ... I'm extremely happy.

But I like my Ananda just as much ... I would say the Ananda is a little finer, more tender and the X can also be fine, but also a little more earthy. I enjoy both more and more after longer sessions

I would definitely coordinate the amplifier and cable with the x

 

[MachineGunz]

Well just got the LCD-3’s in. I thought they were going to be the newest ones but they have the old style headband with the suede like ear pads. Not sure what happened there as the Amazon ad for the LCD-3’s showed a picture of the newer headband style. They look new, as in never used but who knows? I’m pretty sure they are fazored as well. Either way I’m not impressed with the older style headband.

Anyways right off the bat they sound way more impressive than the X’s. This is without EQ or anything. The bass is pretty noticeable and more apparent than the HE5SE’s although I feel like the upper bass is bleeding into the mids. HE5SE’s sound more clean than the LCD-3’s. On the LCD-3’s everything is a lot more clear and separated compared to the X’s.

After a short time listening I’m still giving the edge to the HE5SE’s! Crazy that these used HE5SE’s that I got for $300US are competing with these $1000 to $2000 priced headphones!

Just let my brother-in-law listen to the LCD-3’s back to back against the HE5SE’s and he preferred the HE5SE’s as well.

I’m not trying to hate or take away from the LCD’s since sound quality, impressions are subjective.......Just really pleased that an originally priced $700 headphones that I got for $300 is trading blows with top tier headphones.

I ended up selling my pair of LCD-X's but I still wanted to respond.

Reading the replies about the need to EQ the LCD-X is very weird for me.

My pair was from 2015 and I tried the reveal plugin with Roon and didn't like the result at all.

I wasn't aware that there is a new 2020 version, Maybe Audeze changed the tuning.

I loved the LCD-X a lot, They had great bass, with neutral mids and a lot of detail.

I find it very weird that you find them to be boring.

When I purchased the LCD-X I was also about the fence between the LCD-X and the LCD-3, Since the LCD-X was 1700$ and the LCD-3 was 2000$.

I read a lot of comparisons between them and I ended up buying the X because it was regarded as the more neutral of the two (In fact the X is the most neurtal LCD), And in terms of tonality it wasn't as dark as the LCD-3. I had a chance to try a pair of LCD-2 and found them extremely dark and I couldn't listen to them at all, So I was afraid that the LCD-3 would be the same.

The LCD-X did not disappoint me, And they should be very close to the LCD-3 in terms of performance.

You can also search for comparisons between the 3 and the X and see that almost everyone agreed that they are very close in performance.

 

[betula]

True that. Audeze LCDs are all about technical performance, not necessarily tonal/frequency response which is easily correctable. This is what people often overlook or simply don't want to pay attention to. Sometimes all what people look for is about pleasant sound, although this feature is often contrary or at the cost of analytical and technical performance of a headphone. The frequency response can be easily fixed with EQ, but no one can recover the micro details that the headphone doesn't reproduce in the first place. The amount of detail in LCDs is phenomenal, as is the punch and dynamics. And I totally agree that the bass extension in LCD-X is just second to none. 18-20 Hz is something that one can literally feel in LCD-X.

Well said.

 

[fallooffie]

I ended up selling my pair of LCD-X's but I still wanted to respond.

Reading the replies about the need to EQ the LCD-X is very weird for me.

My pair was from 2015 and I tried the reveal plugin with Roon and didn't like the result at all.

I wasn't aware that there is a new 2020 version, Maybe Audeze changed the tuning.

I loved the LCD-X a lot, They had great bass, with neutral mids and a lot of detail.

I find it very weird that you find them to be boring.

When I purchased the LCD-X I was also about the fence between the LCD-X and the LCD-3, Since the LCD-X was 1700$ and the LCD-3 was 2000$.

I read a lot of comparisons between them and I ended up buying the X because it was regarded as the more neutral of the two (In fact the X is the most neurtal LCD), And in terms of tonality it wasn't as dark as the LCD-3. I had a chance to try a pair of LCD-2 and found them extremely dark and I couldn't listen to them at all, So I was afraid that the LCD-3 would be the same.

The LCD-X did not disappoint me, And they should be very close to the LCD-3 in terms of performance.

You can also search for comparisons between the 3 and the X and see that almost everyone agreed that they are very close in performance.

I very well could have a bad pair of X’s. They just don’t sound right even with some EQ from the Bellari EQ570. The LCD-3’s, HE5SE’s and HD800S’s are all responding well to EQ adjustments. The X’s just sound so restrained, compressed and not dynamic. The X’s I have are nowhere on the level of the LCD-3’s. Like I said probably a faulty pair.

 

[Oliverw]

Hi Everyone

I would like to ask a few questions regarding this headphone and hopefully you can help me. I have recently purchased the LCD-X headphone and using it with a &dragonfly Red.
At the begining it was like a different world (i have na HD650 with a base Crack, Sine and DS770 - 32 ohm), the whole thing is much bigger then the rest. i was really impressed with them. After a few days when my ears started to get used to the sound im starting to find things, im not sure should be. My main grip with the sound is as follows: (will try my best to describe them)
The sound seem a bit disjointed. Not all the song, but there are ones when it seems like just different instruments in a space. Have listened to the other headphones and while they sounds thin and with much less weight, but they sound like a whole. Like music playing. Im using Tidal master/hifi btw.
The other thing is the music sound a bit far from me. i dont mean to have it in my face, just sound distant (especially with Sonaworks). Also not every song.
I have tried to use them with Sonarworks, but im not sure i like them, like it is not the right eq for this headphone.
I dont think the Heaphones are faulty, they are ok.

My first question is regarding the amplification. I like the Dragonfly Red (nice portable unit), but a better Dac/am will surely improve the sound. My budget is not much at the moment, so how much improvement can i expect from a basic Schiit stack / JDS lab elements / Ifi Black label / Chord Mojo?

My other question is for people who use this headphone for mixing/mastering music. My interface for music making is an Audient ID22. But it sounds really different from my Dragonfly Red. On that rig i have a lot of Hi res music, but if i listen to the same song in Tidal/DR (my laptop) it sound like how it should, while on the ID22 it lacks a lott of the bottom. A different sound.
My idea is, that Iwill use a Toslink/optical output on my soundcard and will route the sound to my dac/amp, and mixing music like that. Is it possible/sensible to do it?

Sorry for the long post. Happy to be in the LCD-X club.

Hi Everyone

if you don't mind, i would like to share my impressions on these headphones.
When i received them i wrote the above post, with a lot of question. Maybe this post will help some people who are having similar problems at the beginning.

If you have not used similar headphones, your mind and ears have to get used to them. In my case it took few weeks. Slowly things started to sound really good. First it was the more recent music and slowly the older ones as well. I can also vouch for using a better amp then a Dragonfly Red. When i received the Ifi micro Bl, I already liked how it sounded with DR, but MB makes everything sound consistently good. It is a good combination.
I did not knew what to expect regarding the weight. In the beginning i tried to use them as much as possible. The first day was the only one when I felt pain in my neck and after it was not a problem anymore. I can use them for hours (and do use them every day for hours) without noticing anything. The comfort is excellent.

I think they are an amazing headphone. They brought back the enjoyment from listening to music. The bass is just outstanding. You hear everything, no matter how deep it is with all the details. Everything is clear. It is spacious. A perfect headphone for me.

I use them twofold. For music listening I don't use sonarworks. I prefer them without it. For mixing and mastering music I use sonarworks as well.

All and all I can only recommend these headphones. One of the best buys in my life.