[JakeAliis]

   
You should get the carbon fiber head band too. The price sucks but after eating it, makes a huge difference in comfort level IMO. Takes a good headphone that can be annoying due to hot spots on the head, and makes it great and super comfortable. I love my XC. I think after them anything higher priced is so far into diminishing returns it's nearly pointless (unless you're one of those most demanding and nitpicking listeners or have enough money you can go for the absolute best and throw away a few extra $1000s to get there).

 
Thanks for the heads up! So I've had mine for about a couple days now, today used them for about 6 hours, and can feel a slight bit of pressure on my head, but really isn't even close to anything irritating.
I may still just be under the "new phones" spell, but I'm hoping I'll will be good without the upgraded headband. If it gets worse, I'll definitely look into the upgrade.
 
They're definitely the first high-end pair I've owned and I've been blown away so far. I was looking for high quality, closed back for use at the office as well and these are unreal!

 

[phase0]

   
Thanks for the heads up! So I've had mine for about a couple days now, today used them for about 6 hours, and can feel a slight bit of pressure on my head, but really isn't even close to anything irritating.
I may still just be under the "new phones" spell, but I'm hoping I'll will be good without the upgraded headband. If it gets worse, I'll definitely look into the upgrade.
 
They're definitely the first high-end pair I've owned and I've been blown away so far. I was looking for high quality, closed back for use at the office as well and these are unreal!

 
Yea I was blown away when I got mine. I went from very avg $200 range headphones to something in the top of the line range (new amp and dac at the same time).
 
Stock XC I'd say I noticed some discomfort/hot spot after about 30 min of use. It wasn't bad enough to be upsetting/unusable. What I would do is start trying to move the band more forward or back on my head to get a little relief.
 
The headband upgrade cost is silly but then I bought in to a higher end headphone so that's what happens on the higher end. Solutions cost a lot more. Or there's cheap work arounds/home hacks. IMO it was worth it. The little annoyance removed. No more hot spot. It's a little bit of relief that I judged worth it. It takes away that little distraction and I can more fully enjoy the music. Value of experience is subjective for people. As long as I'm hanging on to the headphones. That little improvement in experience was totally worth it IMO. The CF looks cool, and the HP continue to look/feel premium.

 

[TexasBuck]

I purchased a pair of Vegan pads last night for my XC.  After owning a pre-fazor LCD2, I find the XC treble to be a little hot and grainy (for lack of a better word) on some recordings.  Hoping this will temper it a bit.

 

[SLC1966]

  I purchased a pair of Vegan pads last night for my XC.  After owning a pre-fazor LCD2, I find the XC treble to be a little hot and grainy (for lack of a better word) on some recordings.  Hoping this will temper it a bit.

I was having the same treble issue with my XC vs the sound of my LCD3.  A Cardas cable took away the treble harshness.  I was always a cable difference nay sayer but I do now think a cable can make a difference.

 

[thefitz]

 
I was having the same treble issue with my XC vs the sound of my LCD3.  A Cardas cable took away the treble harshness.  I was always a cable difference nay sayer but I do now think a cable can make a difference.

It's just a shame that treble harshness cannot be measured apparently
 
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/headphone-cable-measurements-part-one-page-2

 

[Lohb]

  After owning a pre-fazor LCD2, I find the XC treble to be a little hot and grainy (for lack of a better word) on some recordings.

Are you using the very latest driver design set, or the one just before ?

 

[TexasBuck]

 
Are you using the very latest driver design set, or the one just before ?

I believe it's the latest.  These were made in January of 2016.

 

[Lohb]

  I believe it's the latest.  These were made in January of 2016.

Oooh, I thought that had been cleared up in this latest revision...

 

[thefitz]

  I purchased a pair of Vegan pads last night for my XC.  After owning a pre-fazor LCD2, I find the XC treble to be a little hot and grainy (for lack of a better word) on some recordings.  Hoping this will temper it a bit.

Let me know how that works. "Hot and grainy" is a fair assessment. I think my LCD-X with vegans is my "stranded on an island" headphone.

 

[TexasBuck]

 
Oooh, I thought that had been cleared up in this latest revision...

The treble is fine for me on some recordings but not others.  I have a very analytical/resolving DAC which is probably not the best match.  The XC's might pair better with a warmer source but my other 2 headphones sound great on the one I have.  (So I'm not looking to change sources)  Anyway, I'm looking to tone down the treble a bit on the XC's and hoping the Vegan pads can do that.

 

[asarin]

 
The treble is fine for me on some recordings but not others.  I have a very analytical/resolving DAC which is probably not the best match.  The XC's might pair better with a warmer source but my other 2 headphones sound great on the one I have.  (So I'm not looking to change sources)  Anyway, I'm looking to tone down the treble a bit on the XC's and hoping the Vegan pads can do that.

New XC owner here....and I can't agree with you more.  The sound is WOW, but the upper mids do seem  a bit hot at times.  Being used to a warmer sound, I recognize that brain burn in will help, but please let me know how the vegan pads work out for you!  
Having poured through most reviews in existence and the better part of this thread, I have also come across frequency charts supporting accounts of up to a few DB variation between units as well.   I''m really interested in laying my eyes on a frequency chart for my XC, but don't see one included in the box.  I bought it  brand new from an authorized dealer.  Am i missing something?  

 

[makan]

 
New XC owner here....and I can't agree with you more.  The sound is WOW, but the upper mids do seem  a bit hot at times.  Being used to a warmer sound, I recognize that brain burn in will help, but please let me know how the vegan pads work out for you!  
Having poured through most reviews in existence and the better part of this thread, I have also come across frequency charts supporting accounts of up to a few DB variation between units as well.   I''m really interested in laying my eyes on a frequency chart for my XC, but don't see one included in the box.  I bought it  brand new from an authorized dealer.  Am i missing something?  

Just email audeze for the frequency chart.  It has been a long time since they included the chart with the headphones.

 

[TexasBuck]

I couple of people here were curious to hear the effect of Vegan pad rolling with the XC's, so I'm reporting back.  I got my Vegan pads today and did about 1.5 hours of testing.
 
The process did not start well.  I'd read that getting the old pads off was no big deal... Just show a little caution and take it slow.  Easier said then done.  My pads likely sustained too much damage to be use-able again.  $80 down the drain.  My attitude about this experiment was quickly going into the crapper.  At least there wasn't much sticky residue left over from the old pads.
 
There were 2 albums in particular that really highlighted my issues with the XC.  Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures (2007 Collectors Edition). Unknown Pleasures has a very sterile and icy production quality to it.  With my XC's it was harsh and distant.  On El Pintor, Paul Bank's vocals are grating and again, harsh.  With both albums, the sound is not only harsh to me, but has a "reflective glare".   It's hard to describe but it's like the harsh frequencies are reverberating in my ears causing the music to distort.  It's almost like being in a crowded place and not being able to hear the person in front of you because of all the background noise.  (This is a very exaggerated description)
 
It's immediately obvious to me that the Vegan's are not the magic bullet that makes everything sound perfect.  I  tried some dampening methods to see if I could still salvage the perfect solution.  Note: I know nothing about this stuff.  I've never tried it with any headphone but I was given a tip by someone who's opinion a very much respect.  I tried 2 things I happened to have around the house:  Shelf paper and gauze. The shelf paper is quickly "shelved".  It certainly took away the harshness but also muffled the sound.  I tried multiple layers of gauze:  Between 1-6.  The higher levels did seem to take away the treble harshness but when I A/B'd versus no gauze, it seemed a bit of clarity and detail was being compromised.  So I spent the majority of my listening time with the Vegan pads alone.
 
As I said, they are not a cure-all.  The XC treble can still be sharp from time to time but I did notice a major improvement in the "reflective glare" I spoke of.  (I can just imagine most people reading this saying "What the $#%@ is he talking about???")  I called it "Grain" in my first post.  I find the XC's sound much more natural now with the Vegan's.  I'm able to turn up the volume a bit higher as well.  I'm catching more detail and the music is certainly more enjoyable on these 2 albums, that were disappointing to me with the leather pads.  The mids and bass seem to be pretty much the same levels. There really isn't any change to the sound signature, other than "reflective glare" issue being mostly resolved for me. 
 
I had a similar experience with the HiFiMan HE-400's.  I much preferred the velour pads over the stock pleather.  Perhaps frequencies that are harsh to my ears are getting absorbed better by the fabric?  I have no idea, I'm a music lover, not much of an audio scientist... (Obviously)
 
So is this experiment a success?  I'm not going to celebrate just yet but I'm feeling better about it.  I'm going to listen to some albums that sounded good to me with the leather pads and see if they still do.  I haven't permanently installed the Vegan pads yet, so I can still experiment with other dampening methods that come to mind.
 
I wish my findings were a little more definitive for everyone.  It still annoys me that Audeze didn't design the pads to snap on/off like HiFiMan's do.  It would be nice to have the option to go back and forth, and most of all, not feel like I flushed $80 down the toilet with the old pads.

 

[thefitz]

Thanks for your update - reflective glare is a great name for it.

Compared to the X, it's like the XC makes each member of the band 6 inches taller and 30 pounds thinner, with the lights turned up, haha. I'd say the XC's separation is appreciably better than the X's, but as a result you have more reflective glare.

 

[Astral Abyss]

I also mutilated my leather pads beyond repair when switching to the vegans.  They were glued on for all eternity by Audeze.  I'm fairly certain it's the worst mounting method I've ever seen on a legitimate headphone.