[figaro69]

.... so just how much can new headphone and interconnect copper cables be had for, of sufficient quality?...as it seems they are pretty much essential...

for $200 you can get the black dragon interconnect at Moon Audio.  For $255 you can get the black dragon headphone replacement cable there as well.  It will get more expensive if you get longer lengths. Great quality with their cables.

 

[figaro69]

Cables can be a worthy upgrade but they're probably the last link in the chain. I wouldn't bother investing in an expensive cable unless my amp and DAC were at a level capable of showing what the cable could do. If you're using budget gear, there are better and more effective ways to upgrade.

+1

 

[Tony1110]

for $200 you can get the black dragon interconnect at Moon Audio.  For $255 you can get the black dragon headphone replacement cable there as well.  It will get more expensive if you get longer lengths. Great quality with their cables.

Moon Audio make great cables, as do Toxic, but my personal favourites are the Charleston cables. The Forza stuff looks nice too.

I do like a nice cable upgrade

 

[dguitarnut]

Did the the moon audio black cables make a just a maybe difference or a real perceived difference as in you could ab them and identify them?
Did it just make the mids and highs more livable with or did it also help the bass?

 

[Canadian411]

Cables can be a worthy upgrade but they're probably the last link in the chain. I wouldn't bother investing in an expensive cable unless my amp and DAC were at a level capable of showing what the cable could do. If you're using budget gear, there are better and more effective ways to upgrade.

+2, I learn that from my experience. and most cables you can do it yourself, will cost you less than 1/3.

 

[ag8908]

Well. After four days with the Audeze LCD XCs and my HD800s, I have reached a point where there is no serious chance that I will reach for the LCD XCs over the HD800s.
 
Based on that, I called Audeze and the retailer and asked if I could please return these since I won't be using them. They allowed me to do so with a 15% restocking fee ($300). Ouch, but let that be a lesson to me to be less impulsive when buying something. Overall, though, I'll pay the $300 and give them back because there's no point in keeping something you'll never use.
 
P.S. I explained to the Aude'ze person that Sennheiser (or their authorized retailers) have a 30 day money back guaranty but she said Audeze doesn't do that. I guess I can't fault her for that since it's sort of a penalty to deter people from ordering stuff they might not want to keep. But I do think it's another example of Sennheiser's superiority.

 

[Tony1110]

Well. After four days with the Audeze LCD XCs and my HD800s, I have reached a point where there is no serious chance that I will reach for the LCD XCs over the HD800s.

Based on that, I called Audeze and the retailer and asked if I could please return these since I won't be using them. They allowed me to do so with a 15% restocking fee ($300). Ouch, but let that be a lesson to me to be less impulsive when buying something. Overall, though, I'll pay the $300 and give them back because there's no point in keeping something you'll never use.

P.S. I explained to the Aude'ze person that Sennheiser (or their authorized retailers) have a 30 day money back guaranty but she said Audeze doesn't do that. I guess I can't fault her for that since it's sort of a penalty to deter people from ordering stuff they might not want to keep. But I do think it's another example of Sennheiser's superiority.

Did you ever try them out of anything other than your MP3 player?

 

[ag8908]

no but i spoke with one of their technical experts and they said that the headphones do not need an amp to perform well, although an amp does provide some improvement. they said these were designed to be driven by mp3 players. but since I'm comparing them to the Sennheisers which are reportedly very finicky about their amps, it doesn't seem like getting an amp is going to cause these to be better than the Sennheisers.

I'm also turned off to the company due to their 15 percent restocking fee policy. To me that shows that they don't have confidence in their product and they know that once you buy their headphones there's a good chance that you won't like them and will want to return them. if you're going to play in the $2000 headphone space, you should have confidence in your product's desirability, as senn does. and the restocking fee was an audeze company policy not the policy of the store where I purchase them.

Just my opinion no offense and these are clearly better than $500 headphones I've tried.

 

[Canadian411]

  Well. After four days with the Audeze LCD XCs and my HD800s, I have reached a point where there is no serious chance that I will reach for the LCD XCs over the HD800s.
 
Based on that, I called Audeze and the retailer and asked if I could please return these since I won't be using them. They allowed me to do so with a 15% restocking fee ($300). Ouch, but let that be a lesson to me to be less impulsive when buying something. Overall, though, I'll pay the $300 and give them back because there's no point in keeping something you'll never use.
 
P.S. I explained to the Aude'ze person that Sennheiser (or their authorized retailers) have a 30 day money back guaranty but she said Audeze doesn't do that. I guess I can't fault her for that since it's sort of a penalty to deter people from ordering stuff they might not want to keep. But I do think it's another example of Sennheiser's superiority.

I am sorry to hear that, but is that true ? I went to http://www.soundearphones.com and their return policy indicates.

Return Policy
We work really hard to make sure all of our customers are completely satisfied. Every pair of earphones is different, which is why we give you one month to return your item for a full refund, if not satisfied.
It's hard to find the perfect pair, so we do not charge re-stocking fees & aren't going to make it difficult to return your item.
That's it. One month, no re-stocking fees, no hassle.
We're here to help you, so let us know if you have any questions, call us 1-866-722-6621

 
How come other authorized dealer offers no stocking fee while Audeze doesn't ? I will personally email Alex.

 

[ag8908]

 
I am sorry to hear that, but is that true ? I went to http://www.soundearphones.com and their return policy indicates.
 
How come other authorized dealer offers no stocking fee while Audeze doesn't ? I will personally email Alex.

Wow good for soundearphones they are a great retailer. I purchased mine from an authorized Audeze retailer. When I explained that I'm just never going to use these, they said they could give me 100% store credit. But there wasn't anything I wanted and they were a very small store so I called Audeze corporate headquarters and asked them about this. At first she said there's nothing she can do because it's the retailer's decision. I then asked her why her company doesn't have Sennheiser's satisfaction guaranteed policy and she said that if I had purchased it from the Audeze website then I could return it in 30 days with a 15% restocking fee. So then I asked her why it would be any different if I buy from an authorized retailer and she spoke with the retailer who matched the Audeze company policy. I just returned them. I'm actually happy paying only $300 to get rid of them because had I sold them on Ebay I would have to ship them and deal with a potentially dishonest buyer -- and again I understand the need to have a restocking fee -- but companies like Senn that offer a no questions asked 30 day full return policy should be acknowledged in my humble opinion.

 

[Canadian411]

 
Wow good for soundearphones they are a great retailer. I purchased mine from Ahead Stereo in Beverly Hills an authorized Audeze retailer. When I explained that I'm just never going to use these, they said they could give me 100% store credit. But there wasn't anything I wanted and they were a very small store so I called Audeze corporate headquarters and asked them about this. At first she said there's nothing she can do because it's the retailer's decision. I then asked her why her company doesn't have Sennheiser's satisfaction guaranteed policy and she said that if I had purchased it from the Audeze website then I could return it in 30 days with a 15% restocking fee. So then I asked her why it would be any different if I buy from an authorized retailer and she spoke with the retailer who matched the Audeze company policy. I just returned them. I'm actually happy paying only $300 to get rid of them because had I sold them on Ebay I would have to ship them and deal with a potentially dishonest buyer -- and again I understand the need to have a restocking fee -- but companies like Senn that offer a no questions asked 30 day full return policy should be acknowledged in my humble opinion.

You just saved me $2100 CAD

 

[ag8908]

glad to help. Just please confirm with that retailer that he really does have a no questions asked policy. In other words if you don't likethe headphone for any reason he'll take a back without nit picking.

 

[deafanddumb]

I can't help feeling there maybe a rev 2 version available in about 6 months.....

 

[figaro69]

Did the the moon audio black cables make a just a maybe difference or a real perceived difference as in you could ab them and identify them?
Did it just make the mids and highs more livable with or did it also help the bass?

Bass is about the same.  The sound signature became darker.  Has really tamed the lower treble/upper mids "spikiness" I was perceiving.  Now these are my favorite closed headphones.  Highly recommended.

 

[figaro69]

Moon Audio make great cables, as do Toxic, but my personal favourites are the Charleston cables. The Forza stuff looks nice too.

I do like a nice cable upgrade

Never tried the others, but once I tried Moon-Audio (both the Silver and Copper cables) I was hooked.  I see no need to try any company.  By the way, the Black Dragon cable also transformed my HD800s...and the Silver Dragon goes great with my LCD-X.