[Lookout57]

(Copy and pasted from the other "LCD-X and XC Update" thread just in case so I could get some more answers).

Hey bros! Recently did a trade with a buddy, my Arya for his LCD X. Currently loving the LCDX. There's some brand new pads on here and I was wondering, what's the usual life expectancy with the earpads? They're quite expensive too I just wanna know if I should get an extra pair for the future or just get the next pair when I get there whenever these really need replacing. Any inputs greatly appreciated!

My pads lasted 5 years.

 

[Andii]

(Copy and pasted from the other "LCD-X and XC Update" thread just in case so I could get some more answers).

Hey bros! Recently did a trade with a buddy, my Arya for his LCD X. Currently loving the LCDX. There's some brand new pads on here and I was wondering, what's the usual life expectancy with the earpads? They're quite expensive too I just wanna know if I should get an extra pair for the future or just get the next pair when I get there whenever these really need replacing. Any inputs greatly appreciated!

I would say that there's no need to keep a spare set on hand at all. I've had mine since early 2021 and no signs of needing a new set anytime soon. I would describe the condition of the pads as "broken in" rather than showing wear.

The only issue I had was that the leather got dried out the first winter I had them. The leather was so dry and flat from the manufacturing process that I mistakenly thought that they might not be the leather ones.... then I conditioned them one time, they came to life and then I never had to do it again.

These are the most well constructed pads that I have ever seen. And they should be lol.

 

[JackarlTwo]

Replaced the suspension strap with a ZMF Pilot pad. Definitely recommended for increased comfort. If you already have the rods extended nearly all the way it might not fit your melon though, (the pilot pad is pretty thick and well cushioned). I had to extend the rods by 3 or 4 steps to get the same fit.

I would say that there's no need to keep a spare set on hand at all. I've had mine since early 2021 and no signs of needing a new set anytime soon. I would describe the condition of the pads as "broken in" rather than showing wear.

The only issue I had was that the leather got dried out the first winter I had them. The leather was so dry and flat from the manufacturing process that I mistakenly thought that they might not be the leather ones.... then I conditioned them one time, they came to life and then I never had to do it again.

I've had mine for 2.5 years and the pads are still "like-new". I rarely use conditioner, but it's worth doing every once in a while for the longevity. Just wipe them off with a dry cloth if they get excessively sweaty and you're golden.

 

[Jonne Haven]

Hey all,

So I'm posting a new LCD-X EQ finally!

Here are two links explaining what I'm going for and how they compare to stock and Oratory1990's EQs as well as how to use and customize the EQ to your liking.
These are links from the LCD-X and XC Update thread.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/lcd-x-and-xc-update.956949/post-17770464

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/lcd-x-and-xc-update.956949/post-17770494

If you just want the EQ file, it is attached.

Blessings,
-J

 

[cirodts]

has anyone tried to compare the lcd x with the clear MG?
I would really appreciate your impressions.

 

[Matro5]

Just a quick note to join this thread. I picked up the LCDX on the Black Friday sale and am enjoying them very much right out of the box.

 

[trellus]

Just a quick note to join this thread. I picked up the LCDX on the Black Friday sale and am enjoying them very much right out of the box.

Ditto! I was very pleased with mine -- I had the older LCD-X (2020 in my case), and the first thing I noted even before listening with this newer version is that it clamps a little tighter, but in a good way for my head.

 

[Matro5]

A few days in now and very happy with this purchase. They're big, but not uncomfortable in the slightest. And the sound is excellent. Will do some more detailed comparisons to my HD800S and my Clear OG down the line.

 

[orbilius]

Actually considering a LCD-X just to be able to try your EQ

How would you describe the sound you’re aiming for?

LCD-X 2021 EQ Revision 03-05-23
For A Refined EQ

I'm proud to present nearly 3 months work in what is arguably my best EQ for LCD-X ever!

It's been a while since my last revision (which to me, I admit, I was a little disappointed with) so I spent extra time with this one to make sure that I was not going to regret posting it. Always sleeping on any change, large or small, to hear it again with fresh ears before committing to anything.

This time around I discovered that PEACE can define Q values to the thousandth of a decimal place, a feature that I took advantage of in this release to amazing results...especially when shaping high frequency sounds like 'sss' sounds. In this revision I have shaped the 'sss' sounds to near perfection...not fuzzy sounding but not piercing either...just realistic and beautiful.



Highs have been shaped in a hybrid shape with the the LCD-X's stock tuning and the Focal Stellia's stock tuning...using the best of both tunings and combining them for custom euphonic sound. It took a long to time to accomplish this.

The sub bass extends all the way down and below 20Hz for beautiful sub bass but not too much...as defined by a dip at exactly 40.11Hz for just enough sub bass but not too much to add mud. Since my last revision I've added back some of the high bass warmth that was missing, getting back to my roots so to speak...but again not too much.
If a song is meant to be bass heavy, this EQ will reflect that. If the song is not bass heavy, this EQ will respect that as well. Also the way bass is expressed in modern pop is often times different than the way that bass was mastered in songs from the 90s, 80s, and 70s and so on respectively. All will sound good/appropriate to their respective time periods. The common attribute for all of these bass expressions is a nice amount of punch.


Important notes about P.E.A.C.E.
My EQs go to the the hundredth place of some Frequencies values as well as the hundredth place of some Gain values. Unfortunately the Import function of the current PEACE v. 1.6.4.1 does not import these decimal place values as they are in the txt files I've shared...as I have posted earlier.

I wrote to PEACE creator Peter Verbeek and he has fixed this issue in beta version 1.6.5.0 just for this fix! And he did it within 24 hours of my writing him!
This beta version is available at this link: PEACE Beta V. 1.6.5.0

Instructions:
1. Rename the downloaded exe file from Peace1650.exe to Peace.exe.
2. Copy the downloaded and renamed file to c:\program files\equalizerapo\config, overwriting the existing Peace.exe file (perhaps after renaming the existing Peace.exe file to Peace.bak just in case for safety.
3. In case you haven't already done this, change the Settings/Sizes And Amounts Settings - "Snap to dB gain" setting to 0.01 as in the following pic.



Now you can simply import the attached txt file and trust that all of the decimal place values will be accurate so you hear exactly what I hear and have worked so hard on!

LCD-X 2021 EQ Revision 03-05-23
Channel: all
Preamp: -17.7 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 20.2 Hz Gain 11.89 dB Q 0.68
Filter 2: ON LSC Fc 40.11 Hz Gain 1.07 dB Q 4
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 80 Hz Gain 9.47 dB Q 1.196
Filter 4: ON LSC Fc 90 Hz Gain 3.79 dB Q 0.65
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 120 Hz Gain 1.99 dB Q 1.41
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 220 Hz Gain -4.13 dB Q 2.4
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 300 Hz Gain 3.45 dB Q 1.5
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 575 Hz Gain 3.72 dB Q 3
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 785 Hz Gain -2.34 dB Q 2.2
Filter 10: ON HSC Fc 1235 Hz Gain -1 dB Q 2.4
Filter 11: ON HSC Fc 1500 Hz Gain 8 dB Q 0.72
Filter 12: ON PK Fc 1750 Hz Gain 0.47 dB Q 3
Filter 13: ON PK Fc 1910 Hz Gain 1.05 dB Q 5
Filter 14: ON PK Fc 2700 Hz Gain -3.1 dB Q 2
Filter 15: ON PK Fc 3325 Hz Gain 0.3 dB Q 4.8
Filter 16: ON PK Fc 3485 Hz Gain 1.6 dB Q 4.9
Filter 17: ON PK Fc 3750 Hz Gain 3.3 dB Q 1.7
Filter 18: ON PK Fc 3850 Hz Gain 1.1 dB Q 4.7
Filter 19: ON PK Fc 4015 Hz Gain -1.15 dB Q 5
Filter 20: ON PK Fc 4350 Hz Gain 2.3 dB Q 4
Filter 21: ON PK Fc 5100 Hz Gain -0.45 dB Q 3
Filter 22: ON PK Fc 5600 Hz Gain -2.75 dB Q 5
Filter 23: ON PK Fc 6100 Hz Gain -3.23 dB Q 2.5
Filter 24: ON PK Fc 6500 Hz Gain 2.12 dB Q 5
Filter 25: ON PK Fc 7200 Hz Gain -1.65 dB Q 3
Filter 26: ON PK Fc 8000 Hz Gain -1.46 dB Q 4.073
Filter 27: ON PK Fc 9700 Hz Gain -0.3 dB Q 1.41
Filter 28: ON HSC Fc 10980 Hz Gain 2.14 dB Q 0.65
Filter 29: ON PK Fc 11115.84 Hz Gain -2.4 dB Q 3.921
Filter 30: ON PK Fc 13290 Hz Gain -4.99 dB Q 4.8
Filter 31: ON PK Fc 13737 Hz Gain 3.25 dB Q 3.082

As with all of my EQs I have designed them for easy tweaking:

- To tailor bass adjust the gain of Filter 4 to taste.
- To tailor mids "shoutiness" adjust the gain of Filter 17 to taste. Or to tailor the entire mids and high-bass raise (or lower) the Gain of the other named filters (Filters 4, 27, and 28) EQUALLY and adjust the Pre-amp value to keep the EQ at -0.1dB. This is the preferred way to adjust the mids.
- To tailor high-mids/low treble adjust the gain of Filter 27 to taste.
- To tailor treble adjust the gain of Filter 28 to taste.

After any adjustment, be sure that the Pre-amp setting is set to keep the EQ at -0.1dB in the graph window to avoid clipping or unnecessary compression.

Thanks for reading this far! And thanks to you all who have been so kind in encouraging me with "Likes" and posts. For those of you who don't EQ (I respect that), thanks for putting up with my posts for the sake of those who do.

Enjoy what I think is my best EQ ever and do let me know if you have questions/comments!

Blessings,
-Jonne

Hello.

I just came across this thread and applied your EQ in Roon. Wow, what a better midrange presentation for the LCD-X! Thank you. I did take down the low end, while still keeping it slightly elevated and adjusted the highs for a few hearing deficiencies. I compared your (adjusted) eq to both the Audeze defaults and the AudioScienceReview tweaks and yours are by far the most natural and pleasing. Thank you for the time it took to put this together.

By chance, do you also have a DT1990 EQ? That headphone also responds well to EQ and is a bit of a challenge.

 

[Jonne Haven]

Hello.

I just came across this thread and applied your EQ in Roon. Wow, what a better midrange presentation for the LCD-X! Thank you. I did take down the low end, while still keeping it slightly elevated and adjusted the highs for a few hearing deficiencies. I compared your (adjusted) eq to both the Audeze defaults and the AudioScienceReview tweaks and yours are by far the most natural and pleasing. Thank you for the time it took to put this together.

By chance, do you also have a DT1990 EQ? That headphone also responds well to EQ and is a bit of a challenge.

Hey @orbilius!

Thanks for the kudos! I'm pleased that you're pleased! And I'm glad that you customized it to your liking...I spend extra time and effort to make all my EQs easily customizable because I know that no two persons' tastes are the same!


You might be interested to know that there is a more current LCD-X EQ (that I personally like better than the 03-05-23 version) that along with (to answer your question) a DT1990 EQ is going to be released along side Peter Verbeek's next update of PEACE which comes out soon. But I've posted both EQs already. I've attached both of them for you to try out as well as instructions on how best to customize them to your liking.

Blessings,
Jonne

 

[frankiewilde]

are there any software systemwide EQ on win 11 except Equalizer APO? it stopped working for me and none of the troubleshooting options worked.

 

[orbilius]

Hey @orbilius!

Thanks for the kudos! I'm pleased that you're pleased! And I'm glad that you customized it to your liking...I spend extra time and effort to make all my EQs easily customizable because I know that no two persons' tastes are the same!


You might be interested to know that there is a more current LCD-X EQ (that I personally like better than the 03-05-23 version) that along with (to answer your question) a DT1990 EQ is going to be released along side Peter Verbeek's next update of PEACE which comes out soon. But I've posted both EQs already. I've attached both of them for you to try out as well as instructions on how best to customize them to your liking.

Blessings,
Jonne

I just applied your DT1990 EQ in Roon and I like what I hear. I hear a good amount of correction of the headphone. The flaws of the DT1990 are smoothed out - the high end isn't sibilant, the midrange feels more natural. I know you like bass, but this EQ feels a bit much for my tube amp to deliver without muddiness. My trusty THX-789 has no problems, therefore I have created two versions for my different amps.

I would love to learn more about your process. Visually, the EQs look over engineered, however, you seem to pull out some clarity and enjoyment that others don't with their EQ. How do you arrive at these adjustments? Like you have indicated - you advocate for individualization. What I like about your EQs is that you give us many points to tweak the curve vs more simple EQs. In my case I have some specific hearing issues that I typically overlay with an additional EQ filter. However, yours afford me enough points to adjust and simply have one.

Thanks for your effort, and I will be adding your new LCD-X EQ next.

 

[Jonne Haven]

I just applied your DT1990 EQ in Roon and I like what I hear. I hear a good amount of correction of the headphone. The flaws of the DT1990 are smoothed out - the high end isn't sibilant, the midrange feels more natural. I know you like bass, but this EQ feels a bit much for my tube amp to deliver without muddiness. My trusty THX-789 has no problems, therefore I have created two versions for my different amps.

I would love to learn more about your process. Visually, the EQs look over engineered, however, you seem to pull out some clarity and enjoyment that others don't with their EQ. How do you arrive at these adjustments? Like you have indicated - you advocate for individualization. What I like about your EQs is that you give us many points to tweak the curve vs more simple EQs. In my case I have some specific hearing issues that I typically overlay with an additional EQ filter. However, yours afford me enough points to adjust and simply have one.

Thanks for your effort, and I will be adding your new LCD-X EQ next.

Hey @orbilius!

I suppose I would first like to say that while, yes, I do like bass, the reason why I put so much bass in my EQs is because I mix and master with both headphones and near/mid field Dynaudio studio monitors coupled with Martin Logan towers positioned much further away (to add depth) and a pretty hefty 550 watt SVS PB2000 subwoofer...and when I do master, I like to master to the limits of the various areas of the mix down to 16hz (as low as my subwoofer is rated) (below where you hear, but feel instead) up to as high as I can hear (about 17khz)... So I like to be able to swap from my external sound to the headphone seamlessly. And my external sound is beefed up with a subwoofer that can shake down the room...hence the bass in my headphone EQs. Of course I allow for a low pass filter in my EQs to adjust the whole bass and sub bass levels down to individual taste.

But I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like to mix/master to the limits and in order to do so my equipment must be able to reach these limits... Think...Skrillex's dubstep as a reference for the extremes.

As far as over engineering, I can understand why you might say that, haha! I get a lot of static on some sites for that really tends to kind of get on my nerves. PEACE has a max 31 filters. If it had 32 I'd use 32.

Why? Because fixing the stock FR fluctuations of most headphones takes a lot of filters if you want to smooth it out...and I find that the ear tends not to want spikes in the FR unless, like you, listeners might have deficiencies or preferences that call for them, but the norm is that most songs are engineered to be listened to with more or less smooth FR...that is not to say "FLAT", but smooth...if that makes sense...and that takes a lot of work...and filters...and "over engineering". .... and I think that there are a lot more people out there than you might think that have good ears and can hear the difference between a 16 filter EQ and 31 filter EQ.

I have a certain amount of respect for the Harman Curve, if for no other reason than I wish to master my music for the masses and the Harman Curve is a large collection of the averaged preferences of the masses. That is not to say I don't deviate from it because I obviously do. But from tedious experience, I tend to trust it very much from about 800hz to 8000hz, and so I hug it very closely between those frequencies. (circled in red)

I don't like the dip down it takes below 800hz, taking out some of those precious lower mids that can give you the "chicken skin" moments in some songs. So I add my own invention of two peaks between 220hz and 800hz. Those peak frequencies, gain amounts, and Q values also can be used to really give definition to the lower end of Ssss and Shhhh...and snare hits that usually have to be tweaked according to individual headphone units given unit variation/measurement variation and personal preference. Some like their Ssss, REALLY glassy, some like them a bit more fuzzy. My two peaks (circled in green) in those frequencies gives the individual a "Starting Point" to personalize those preferences. I also EQ to make even crappy bit rates sound OK...because, let's face it, perfect lossless audio is not always available, and I find some great stuff on YouTube which a measly 128AAC I believe...so I try to hide low bitrate deficiencies in my EQs as well....trust me it is not hard to make an EQ expose lower quality audio!...it can sound rather....EEEk!!!

(below is the compensated FR of my latest LCD-X EQ for sake of visual aid)

My highs for the LCD-X are a combination I found very pleasing that is a hybrid between the X's and the Focal Stellia's stock FR for frequencies above 10.5khz. (circled in purple)

The leftmost black circle is simply showing that I adjust my EQs to flatten out the sub bass to extend evenly all of the way down to 20hz...most headphones dip off terribly in this area and that is not how my an studio reference with a sub woofer will sound, so I fix headphone EQs to do so.

The second black circle is a hump around 80hz to add punch to where most kick drums usually occupy the FR...some headphones have no punch and slam whatsoever and this helps. The X has punch and slam, and this hump gives it even more!
---------------------------------

I'm going on and on now without knowing exactly what you wanted to know about my process so I'll stop here and ask:

What specifically did you want to know about my process? Like whose headphone stock measurements do I use?...and what softwares?...equipment?...stuff like that? Or are you asking more of the esoteric aspect of my EQing?

Yeah, I'm going to stop myself here because I could go off on a tangent and bore the forum to death...there's so much to say!

So, yeah, enjoy and customize, I'm very happy that you're customizing!...I use some of the precious limited number of filters just for easy customization!

And feel free to ask specific questions about my process, I'm happy to share!

Blessings,
Jonne

 

[orbilius]

Hey @orbilius!

I suppose I would first like to say that while, yes, I do like bass, the reason why I put so much bass in my EQs is because I mix and master with both headphones and near/mid field Dynaudio studio monitors coupled with Martin Logan towers positioned much further away (to add depth) and a pretty hefty 550 watt SVS PB2000 subwoofer...and when I do master, I like to master to the limits of the various areas of the mix down to 16hz (as low as my subwoofer is rated) (below where you hear, but feel instead) up to as high as I can hear (about 17khz)... So I like to be able to swap from my external sound to the headphone seamlessly. And my external sound is beefed up with a subwoofer that can shake down the room...hence the bass in my headphone EQs. Of course I allow for a low pass filter in my EQs to adjust the whole bass and sub bass levels down to individual taste.

But I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like to mix/master to the limits and in order to do so my equipment must be able to reach these limits... Think...Skrillex's dubstep as a reference for the extremes.

As far as over engineering, I can understand why you might say that, haha! I get a lot of static on some sites for that really tends to kind of get on my nerves. PEACE has a max 31 filters. If it had 32 I'd use 32.

Why? Because fixing the stock FR fluctuations of most headphones takes a lot of filters if you want to smooth it out...and I find that the ear tends not to want spikes in the FR unless, like you, listeners might have deficiencies or preferences that call for them, but the norm is that most songs are engineered to be listened to with more or less smooth FR...that is not to say "FLAT", but smooth...if that makes sense...and that takes a lot of work...and filters...and "over engineering". .... and I think that there are a lot more people out there than you might think that have good ears and can hear the difference between a 16 filter EQ and 31 filter EQ.

I have a certain amount of respect for the Harman Curve, if for no other reason than I wish to master my music for the masses and the Harman Curve is a large collection of the averaged preferences of the masses. That is not to say I don't deviate from it because I obviously do. But from tedious experience, I tend to trust it very much from about 800hz to 8000hz, and so I hug it very closely between those frequencies. (circled in red)

I don't like the dip down it takes below 800hz, taking out some of those precious lower mids that can give you the "chicken skin" moments in some songs. So I add my own invention of two peaks between 220hz and 800hz. Those peak frequencies, gain amounts, and Q values also can be used to really give definition to the lower end of Ssss and Shhhh...and snare hits that usually have to be tweaked according to individual headphone units given unit variation/measurement variation and personal preference. Some like their Ssss, REALLY glassy, some like them a bit more fuzzy. My two peaks (circled in green) in those frequencies gives the individual a "Starting Point" to personalize those preferences. I also EQ to make even crappy bit rates sound OK...because, let's face it, perfect lossless audio is not always available, and I find some great stuff on YouTube which a measly 128AAC I believe...so I try to hide low bitrate deficiencies in my EQs as well....trust me it is not hard to make an EQ expose lower quality audio!...it can sound rather....EEEk!!!

(below is the compensated FR of my latest LCD-X EQ for sake of visual aid)



My highs for the LCD-X are a combination I found very pleasing that is a hybrid between the X's and the Focal Stellia's stock FR for frequencies above 10.5khz. (circled in purple)

The leftmost black circle is simply showing that I adjust my EQs to flatten out the sub bass to extend evenly all of the way down to 20hz...most headphones dip off terribly in this area and that is not how my an studio reference with a sub woofer will sound, so I fix headphone EQs to do so.

The second black circle is a hump around 80hz to add punch to where most kick drums usually occupy the FR...some headphones have no punch and slam whatsoever and this helps. The X has punch and slam, and this hump gives it even more!
---------------------------------

I'm going on and on now without knowing exactly what you wanted to know about my process so I'll stop here and ask:

What specifically did you want to know about my process? Like whose headphone stock measurements do I use?...and what softwares?...equipment?...stuff like that? Or are you asking more of the esoteric aspect of my EQing?

Yeah, I'm going to stop myself here because I could go off on a tangent and bore the forum to death...there's so much to say!

So, yeah, enjoy and customize, I'm very happy that you're customizing!...I use some of the precious limited number of filters just for easy customization!

And feel free to ask specific questions about my process, I'm happy to share!

Blessings,

 

[orbilius]

What a wonderfully detailed and prompt response - thank you!

I will give you, and you deserve, a detailed response to your post. However, I am distracted by your wonderful DT1990 EQ. There are times for science and times for music - I am enjoying music now. How I love how this sounds. Thank you. A detailed response soon.