[gimmeheadroom]

I live alone most of the time so isolation is no issue for me. After buying the TR-X00 and loving the way it handles percussion I started looking around to see what other closed cans might be promising.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

If you are asking about Music Creator Edition series for X and XC - those models are exactly the same as regular ones. The only difference is lower price tag and no rugged case. I've compared my own pair of XC (MCE 2018) with another pair (regular, 2017) and there were no important differences in sound between them. You can easly assume the same for X.

I read similar comments elsewhere but this doesn't make any sense. The case is 130 USD on the Audeze site. How do they justify a 500 USD difference between XC and XC Creator? Can the situation really be this stupid?

 

[EvilKillaruna]

Can the situation really be this stupid?

In theory: yes. In real world: personally, I don't think so. Here is why:

How do they justify a 500 USD difference between XC and XC Creator?

I did my own research, if I can call it that, and from what I've gathered with few other users, there are following differences in XC Music Creator Edition:

• no rugged case included
• no memory foam earpads (which is actually a good thing IMO)
• worse assembly precision and quality

The last point is probably the answer. We suspect that MCE models are simply those with very slight defects such as hard turning yokes, not so good aligned elements, not fully embeded mXLR sockets etc. By doing so, they can use as many parts they have and reduce material losses by making still fully functional products with minor/acceptable flaws for -500 USD discount. This is the only logical conclusion we could come up with. Of course this is still only speculations, but few XC's MCE with minor random quality issues and certain type ear pads different from regular units is quite suspicious.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Thanks. It is still troubling that if this is true they're selling factory seconds (B stock) for over a thousand euros without saying it in plain English.

It also sucks that as far as I can tell only the Creator version is available here and it is very expensive (1550 USD).

 

[EvilKillaruna]

B-stocks are used or returned items and this is not the case with MCE versions. My XC MCE were factory new, or at least they looked that way. All packagings were sealed and there were no signs of use in any form. Even the box had original Audeze seal-tape untouched. The only thing with my pair is that the connectors isn't fully inserted and they are elevated about a half milimeter above the surface of black plastic triangles. Also one ear cup is rotating heavier than the other. Just Audeze things. But beside that, my XC are fully operational and I found no other hiccups, especially in sound signature or balance between drivers, on which I am usually the most sensitive.

Audeze is often changing their products, mostly for better, but still without any official annoucements. For XC, believe or not, there are about 4 revisions, mentioned in my review. For some of their parts for example:

• headband: 3 revisions
• drivers: 2 revisions (...-2016, 2016-present)
• plastic triangles with connectors: 2 revisions
• cables: 2 revisions
• earpads: 3 revisions for sheepskin variant alone (old ones, new ones with no memory foam (MCE), new ones with memory foam)
• manuals: 3 revisions (certificates -> 256 MB pendrive -> plastic card)
• rugged cases: 5 revisions... .

So... yeah. It is kind of frustrating and makes people disoriented about which version - mostly from second hand - they are going to buy. For example old LCD-XC from pre-2016 had more bass and more pronouced mid-to-highs hump. In 2016 drivers were changed to adress the "too much pressure" issue. Earpads can also change the sound. For example, MCE has no memory foam. That means, your ears are instantly set up for proper listening from the start. With memory foam you have to wait until earpads warm up a little and become softer, so they will slowly adapt to the shape of your head. Usually it takes 15-30 minutes from "cold start", so any A-B testing is pretty useless to be honest.

As far as I know, the only headphones with no chages in sound signature over the years were iSines and LCD-ix series. Not sure about Sine line, but they are EOL anyway. But there were changes in iSine's accessories: pouches, earhooks etc. For example my iSine's are from 2016. I still have original clear earhooks and SureFire Earlocks, which are no longer available. Right now if you want to buy new i20, you should get them with complete set of silicone tips and flat earhooks. But at the same time, there is new accesory kit and LCD-i3, which had new offset earhooks and ear fins. Their products are not updated in stores, so there are plenty of different revisions scattered around.

As for the prices, I don't know what is the situation in your country, but I've heard that buying Audeze in Poland and importing it to Czech Republic is cheaper.
For example I saw used LCD-2C for ~13130 CZK, which is some around 520 EUR and being 65% of the full price for new unit. LCD-XC MCE: ~1385 EUR: https://www.audigo.cz/Vyrobce/Audeze
Older revision of XC from 2017: https://allegro.pl/oferta/audeze-lcd-xc-gwarancja-8769403791 ~900 EUR
So I believe you have some options. The best would be to star looking for good offers and learn how to distinguish those revisions. You'll gain some confidence then.

The key question is however: does all of this is worth the hassle? Everybody has to answer it yourself. For me, I am using slightly modified version of XC, with custom foam inserts for better comfort and more realistic tone + my own custom cable for better overall quality. XC is one of the most neutral headphones for critical listening you can get out there, but the tricky part is to hook them up with some suitable gear for this unique warm tonality AND soundstage. I like their sound signature very much and using them during reviews quite often, so there is easier for me to forgive this and that.

 

[340519]

I have the xc with the dac2 now for my bedside station.
p

 

[Infoseeker]

I have had my XC for a while now. No idea what gen I am, but I habe the old spongey headband.

Is it worth paying off of Audeze website for the suspension headband?

Also, is it still possible to request Audeze to give me my individual headphone's frequency response to EQ it?

 

[makan]

I have had my XC for a while now. No idea what gen I am, but I habe the old spongey headband.

Is it worth paying off of Audeze website for the suspension headband?

Also, is it still possible to request Audeze to give me my individual headphone's frequency response to EQ it?

Yes and yes to both your questions

 

[340519]

I have had my XC for a while now. No idea what gen I am, but I habe the old spongey headband.

Is it worth paying off of Audeze website for the suspension headband?

Also, is it still possible to request Audeze to give me my individual headphone's frequency response to EQ it?

Interesting. You can request the response of your headphones? I have both the x and xc and I may just do this.

 

[borrego]

Also, is it still possible to request Audeze to give me my individual headphone's frequency response to EQ it?

There is no point obtaining the frequency response graph from Audeze for EQ purpose, as Audeze did not have your ears when doing measurement. Just download a 20-20kHz frequency sweep file, play it with foobar, listen to it, and set EQ accordingly.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Well I think it does help to give you a good idea where to start with EQ.

 

[04gto]

I have had my XC for a while now. No idea what gen I am, but I habe the old spongey headband.

Is it worth paying off of Audeze website for the suspension headband?

Also, is it still possible to request Audeze to give me my individual headphone's frequency response to EQ it?

Hello, I have had my LCD-XC for almost a year. I purchased them second hand. The ear pads were pretty worn, but otherwise they were in excellent condition. First I replaced the ear pads with OE Audeze leather (it feels like sheepskin). And they are AMAZING ear pads. Next I swapped out the old style headband for the new suspension headband, which I again purchased directly from Audeze. The suspension headband is worth EVERY PENNY. Now I have a set of LCD-XC that are basically like new. Finally after hearing about three different pairs of LCD-XCs, I realized there was some truth to what people were saying. There can be a noticeable difference in sound for Audeze headphones from unit to unit. I was curious what made my pair sound different (better?) from the other pairs that I heard. So I emailed Audeze inquiring about the original frequency response graph for my serial number (and a couple other questions that I had) and they very quickly replied with this message with an attached graph (I cropped the serial number, not sure why?):

"Thanks for reaching out, and for your purchases! With that serial number I can give you the following information about your cans:
-They were originally manufactured on 10/9/15
-Those were originally sold to one of our US dealers, Tune HiFi in Seattle Washington
-Those are indeed the very limited Bocote wood LCD-XCs
Secondly, just a little information about the warranty on those headphones, they have not come in for service to our facility, and would thus be out of warranty unless a proof of purchase from an authorized retailer could be provided with a date within the warranty period. Our warranty period is 3 years for drivers, and 1 year for all other parts starting from the date of last authorized sale. If no proof of authorized sale can be provided, our warranty starts from the date of manufacture."

I personally found the graph very helpful for some EQ starting points but also to help learn what I am hearing and how to identify different sound characteristics. This will help me further identify what I like and do not like about different sound profile signatures of every pair of headphones. Not just my LCD-XC (which I love!). I am a borderline bass head, so I do EQ the lower frequencies just a bit. My current set ups are:
Tidal>Fiio Q5s> AM3D>Balanced Surf Cables or
Tidal>Fiio Q5s>JDS Labs El Amp> SE OE Cables
to either my LCD-XC or E-MU Teak (rosewood cups)

 

[Infoseeker]

OE Audeze leather earpads? Seems there is ni listing on their site.

Should I get dekonis?

 

[04gto]

OE Audeze leather earpads? Seems there is ni listing on their site.

Should I get dekonis?

The Dekonis are very nice, but the Audeze pads feel and look WAY better. If you absolutely cannot find ANY OE Audeze pads, then the Dekoni pads will be okay. I ordered two Deknoni pads for the LCD-XC, the Elite Velour and the Elite sheepskin. I did not like the velour pads at all, they did not feel as nice as the sheepskin pads and the sound changed way too much (killed the bass and lower mids). The sheepskin pads also reduced the bass some as well. If you look at Moon Audio, they have the OE (turns out they are Lambskin) LCD pads for $100. So for $20 more than the Dekoni Elite sheepskin pads you can have the OE Audeze pads. Worth every single penny. FYI: Audeze does not list anywhere near all of the available parts on there website. If you email them, they are very helpful (and super fast). I guarantee they have the pads in stock. I ordered mine directly from them, even though they were not listed on their page.

 

[Infoseeker]

Nice. I've used moon audio before. I will order from them. I just hope the memory foam hasn't aged with time in the warehouse; so I will try to email Audeze first.