[TheOneInYellow]

Hi guy's,
 
I didn't know how else to start this thread so I am using portions of a post I wrote on this thread.
 
So, without further ado:
 
There are now four articles published regarding significant changes with the vast majority of the Audeze headphone lineup.
Audeze has posted direct to me on Facebook and Twitter (@theoneinyellow) of some monumental changes to EVERY Audeze headphones EXCEPT Sine and the EL8 Titanium; these latter two headphones have the updates as standard.
(Originally I thought the LCD-4 was excluded but a forth article, from the recently published Headmania review of the LCD-4, describes a new thicker coating on the planar diaphragm to make it stronger. All early customers who own 100 Ohm LCD-4 headphones should contact Audeze customer services as soon as they can).

The changes are major re-voicing and internal updates to the following headphones:

- EL8 (2015)
- EL8 Closed Back (2015)
- LCD 2
- LCD-X
- LCD-XC (the biggest update with new filters)
- LCD-3
- LCD-4 (from 100 Ohm to 200 Ohm)

The best way to understand this is that the 2016 headphones are the updated models. 2015 versions are now discontinued due to change in manufacturing with new updates.
On FB, Twitter, anywhere, I've differentiated between the old and new headphones by using 2016, so the 2016 EL8 CB is different to the 2015 EL8 CB.

Important: the 2016 EL8 CB is internally the same as the EL8 Titanium, not the older EL8 CB.

Lots of fellow Head-Fi'ers have already said this but the new 2016 EL8 CB is almost completely different to the older versions, with less grating forward mids (now buttery smooth), far better treble that's more natural sounding, and beautifully strong, textured agile bass.
In some ways, I think these new 2016 EL8 series might as well be new headphones.
That's how much of a difference I think the old and new EL8 CB/Ti to be. This is my personal impression having now experienced both 2015 EL8 CB and the new EL8 Titanium headphones.
I have no other decent experience with the other Audeze headphones (prior to 2016 or the 2016 versions) to be confident to leave any opinion.
 
The LCD-4 Ohm is discontinued in favor of a 200 Ohm version, so reviews, and even tests, on the older version may not be as relevant as they once were.
 
As described below, the LCD-XC is the other headphone that has received a big change with a new filter network that curbs the mid-bass boost.

Here are the four articles:

Spoiler

Digital Audio Review by John Darkø:
"Cohen also points out that the EL-8 have seen significant re-voicing since their CES 2015 debut and that anyone not hearing them in the last six months “Hasn’t heard the EL-8”."


Positive Feedback by Michael Mercer:
"I didn't know about the technological advancements in the Titanium EL-8 series. They sport larger drivers than my original EL-8s, and their diaphragms are thinner and faster too. The headphone sounds more efficient, and that's a splendid thing."


Part-Time Audiophile by Scott Hull:
"What else is new at Audeze? Well, how about everything?

I spent a few minutes talking with Mark Cohen of Audeze, and he mentioned that we’re now about 3 months into a whole new LCD Series revision, one that applies across the line — LCD 2, LCD 3, LCD X and LCD XC (the LCD 4, interestingly, already has these updates — and is likely the source of them). The changes are incremental, according to Cohen, substantial enough to warrant the move, but hard to discern without direct A/B comparisons.

Except for the XC. That one you might be able to hear directly. There’s a new LC filter network in the XC that addresses the mid-bass boost that can has (due to it’s closed-back nature), which brings the newest XC’s much closer to the sound of the open-back X. And by “closer”, Cohen means, “almost indistinguishable”.

Also new — the EL-8. This headphone suffered a bit on launch, at least on Head-Fi (and in the press), especially due to the expectations that were not precisely set. To wit: the EL-8 is most emphatically not a cheap LCD. Different can. Different goal. Different sound. With that out of the way, the EL-8 as it’s currently shipping, has an entirely new connector, with better magnets (and a latching mechanism to hold them in place), as well as a new diaphragm and magnet structure. The difference between this EL-8 and the one I have? Cohen says: “It’s not night and day. More like mid-afternoon and night.” Well put!"


Headmania Audeze LCD-4 Review:
"The review unit is actually the revised 200 ohms LCD-4. The first iteration which had 100 ohms had some driver failures because of the very thin diaphragm, problem taken care of Audeze in this revision by adding a very think aluminium layer/deposit on the diaphragm to make it more resistant.

If you have bought the 100 ohms version, you can upgrade it for free to the new revision."

 
 
 
I'm also linking a tweet between myself and Audeze, but be aware that at the time the Headmania review was not published and I was, therefore, unaware of the LCD-4 change:
 
Audeze's reply to my Twitter conversation.
 

 
 
 
 
I would even go as far to suggest brand new impression threads for the new 2016 versions of above mentioned headphones, but I'll leave that decision to the community and mods.

 

[Skampmeister]

On my authenticity certificate for my new LCD 2's, they were checked at the factory on the 16th March this year, would they have the new revisions or has this not started yet?

 

[TheOneInYellow]

I hate timezones, don't you?

I would most likely say yes, those are the 2016 version, but I would just check with Audeze.
Anything from this year is a near guarantee, esp if inspected, but there may be pre-2016 new-old stock in actual shops.
I also don't know when in late 2015 they started shipping the 2016 updated headphones either; Nov perhaps? Sorry that I can't be more accurate.

 

[Skampmeister]

I emailed them last night and they are Indeed their updated version. I guess I should have asked them what they actually changed!

 

[TheOneInYellow]

I emailed them last night and they are Indeed their updated version. I guess I should have asked them what they actually changed!

Yeah I'm surprised that a lot of audiophiles/headphiles, especially from Head-Fi, are unaware of the changes Audeze have made to their entire line. This is especially true when you look at published show reports, reviews, previews of gear and actual conversations with the Audeze team.

I hope more people do become aware, and that this topic helps (alongside my tweets).

The main thing to know is that, out of the big updates, it's two big headphone lines that have had the biggest changes: the LCD-XC, and the EL8 series.

I really hope that when people do recommend headphones, especially the EL8 series, that they are careful not to confuse the old 2015 series to the new 2016 series.

The changes reminds me of Grado with its i, then later e, revisions.

I'm glad you contacted Audeze, and if you do upgrade let us know how it goes (good luck!) you have the updated version ^^

 

[zambz]

Huge thank you for putting this together.  I suspect that the EL-8s actually underwent a revision last year between the first batch / late prototype and the production release too due to the huge differences between my measurements and impressions vs Tyll at innerfidelity.  I also noticed an improvement on my EL-8s vs the ones I tried at the store which were slightly pre-production models sent to the store by Audeze.
 
While I appreciate that Audeze are attempting to improve and get the best out of their products, I think their practices of revising models without changing any aspect of their naming or attaching a revision number is irresponsible and misleading.  It also leads in many cases to vasty differing opinions and ultimately hurts their credibility and consistency.
 
If you buy a HD 800, you get a HD 800 with that 6 kHz spike, whether you bought it 7 years ago or now.  When Sennheiser made an improvement, they attached an S to their model name.
 
So why can't we see Audeze EL-8 revision 2, revision 3 .etc with a sensible upgrade program for us who supported the product launch earlier on?
 
Honestly if I felt there was a better headphone on the market, I would stop purchasing and recommending Audeze products immediately as I don't appreciate such terrible business practices.  But luckily for Audeze, I can't say that I've heard any headphone that comes close to sounding as good (and yep, I've heard the HifiMan, Sennheiser and Mr Speakers stuff, not heard STAX or Abyss yet though).
 
P.S.: I absolutely LOVE my open EL-8s, they sound incredible

 

[wnmnkh]

  Huge thank you for putting this together.  I suspect that the EL-8s actually underwent a revision last year between the first batch / late prototype and the production release too due to the huge differences between my measurements and impressions vs Tyll at innerfidelity.  I also noticed an improvement on my EL-8s vs the ones I tried at the store which were slightly pre-production models sent to the store by Audeze.
 
While I appreciate that Audeze are attempting to improve and get the best out of their products, I think their practices of revising models without changing any aspect of their naming or attaching a revision number is irresponsible and misleading.  It also leads in many cases to vasty differing opinions and ultimately hurts their credibility and consistency.
 
If you buy a HD 800, you get a HD 800 with that 6 kHz spike, whether you bought it 7 years ago or now.  When Sennheiser made an improvement, they attached an S to their model name.
 
So why can't we see Audeze EL-8 revision 2, revision 3 .etc with a sensible upgrade program for us who supported the product launch earlier on?
 
Honestly if I felt there was a better headphone on the market, I would stop purchasing and recommending Audeze products immediately as I don't appreciate such terrible business practices.  But luckily for Audeze, I can't say that I've heard any headphone that comes close to sounding as good (and yep, I've heard the HifiMan, Sennheiser and Mr Speakers stuff, not heard STAX or Abyss yet though).
 
P.S.: I absolutely LOVE my open EL-8s, they sound incredible

 
Actually for HD800, the very first batch had lesser problems with 6 kHz spike. Because they could not get reliably obtain diaphragm material, Sennheiser had to change it to different one after the first few batches, which unfortunately have worsen 6 kHz spike.
Regardless, HD800S is a huge improvement that made me sold my first batch HD800 though.
 
 
I think improving QA issue is far more important than improving headphones' sound for Audeze.

 

[neueziel]

   
Actually for HD800, the very first batch had lesser problems with 6 kHz spike. Because they could not get reliably obtain diaphragm material, Sennheiser had to change it to different one after the first few batches, which unfortunately have worsen 6 kHz spike.
Regardless, HD800S is a huge improvement that made me sold my first batch HD800 though.
 
 
I think improving QA issue is far more important than improving headphones' sound for Audeze.

I agreee.  QA is what is preventing me from paying full price for an Audeze product.

 

[rothkowitz]

  Huge thank you for putting this together.  I suspect that the EL-8s actually underwent a revision last year between the first batch / late prototype and the production release too due to the huge differences between my measurements and impressions vs Tyll at innerfidelity.  I also noticed an improvement on my EL-8s vs the ones I tried at the store which were slightly pre-production models sent to the store by Audeze.
 
While I appreciate that Audeze are attempting to improve and get the best out of their products, I think their practices of revising models without changing any aspect of their naming or attaching a revision number is irresponsible and misleading.  It also leads in many cases to vasty differing opinions and ultimately hurts their credibility and consistency.
 
If you buy a HD 800, you get a HD 800 with that 6 kHz spike, whether you bought it 7 years ago or now.  When Sennheiser made an improvement, they attached an S to their model name.
 
So why can't we see Audeze EL-8 revision 2, revision 3 .etc with a sensible upgrade program for us who supported the product launch earlier on?
 
Honestly if I felt there was a better headphone on the market, I would stop purchasing and recommending Audeze products immediately as I don't appreciate such terrible business practices.  But luckily for Audeze, I can't say that I've heard any headphone that comes close to sounding as good (and yep, I've heard the HifiMan, Sennheiser and Mr Speakers stuff, not heard STAX or Abyss yet though).
 
P.S.: I absolutely LOVE my open EL-8s, they sound incredible

I see your point, but, I dunno, you pay your money you take your chances I think and as in the case of the LCD-2s there isn't consensus on whether the differences are improvements or mere shifts in sound signature. I wrote to Audeze this week and they confirmed to me that they'll upgrade the drivers on LCD-2s from my 2011 iteration to the current one for $250 so I have that peace of mind in case of failure. I think that's very agreeable for something long out of warranty.
Haven't heard the EL-8s. wandered into an Apple store in London thinking they might have some but didn't.Better priced in the states anyways

 

[TheOneInYellow]

Huge thank you for putting this together.  I suspect that the EL-8s actually underwent a revision last year between the first batch / late prototype and the production release too due to the huge differences between my measurements and impressions vs Tyll at innerfidelity.  I also noticed an improvement on my EL-8s vs the ones I tried at the store which were slightly pre-production models sent to the store by Audeze.

While I appreciate that Audeze are attempting to improve and get the best out of their products, I think their practices of revising models without changing any aspect of their naming or attaching a revision number is irresponsible and misleading.  It also leads in many cases to vasty differing opinions and ultimately hurts their credibility and consistency.

If you buy a HD 800, you get a HD 800 with that 6 kHz spike, whether you bought it 7 years ago or now.  When Sennheiser made an improvement, they attached an S to their model name.

So why can't we see Audeze EL-8 revision 2, revision 3 .etc with a sensible upgrade program for us who supported the product launch earlier on?

Honestly if I felt there was a better headphone on the market, I would stop purchasing and recommending Audeze products immediately as I don't appreciate such terrible business practices.  But luckily for Audeze, I can't say that I've heard any headphone that comes close to sounding as good (and yep, I've heard the HifiMan, Sennheiser and Mr Speakers stuff, not heard STAX or Abyss yet though).

P.S.: I absolutely LOVE my open EL-8s, they sound incredible

Aww, thank you dude.

I've been, this week, doing everything I can to get the word out, because I absolutely believed that someone or this forum would have picked up on these changes and posted. Yet all there was was confusion, misinformation, fear of losing out, and bashing.

My main post above was done as impartially as I could with exception to my personal experience between my old 2015 EL8 CB and replacement EL8 Ti.

Now, I agree to many of your points.
In some ways, this reminds me of when Grado created the 'e' series, the very last batch of the outgoing 'i' series actually had the 'e' upgrades!
I rather be positive so if Audeze is reading, coming from an actual Audeze fanboy (ME <3), please take the following as constructive criticism: when making major changes or revisions to your headphones, please both officially announce the changes with information (add engineer blogs and videos on the changes too cause that's cool), and change the model names to reflect the changes, such as EL8.2, or EL8 MkII, or EL8-2, etc.

I agreee.  QA is what is preventing me from paying full price for an Audeze product.

Although Audeze may have some QA issues, do remember that they are still a new company (2009!), and they have had setbacks (last year's warehouse break-in prior to EL8 release).

Also, Audeze are continously evolving, and very hands-on with this industry and community.

That's why I will invest with them because they sort stuff out and their passion is real.
With the 2016 EL8 series and Sine, I think we are seeing a new change of Audeze becoming a greater company.

I see your point, but, I dunno, you pay your money you take your chances I think and as in the case of the LCD-2s there isn't consensus on whether the differences are improvements or mere shifts in sound signature. I wrote to Audeze this week and they confirmed to me that they'll upgrade the drivers on LCD-2s from my 2011 iteration to the current one for $250 so I have that peace of mind in case of failure. I think that's very agreeable for something long out of warranty.

Haven't heard the EL-8s. wandered into an Apple store in London thinking they might have some but didn't.Better priced in the states anyways

Though previous changes are obviously a YMMV, the 2016 changes are more like both a new company mindset change, full assault on the entire headphone world, and a true settling down on practices that will lead to better equipment going forward.
Sonically, as I've outlined, there are four overall headphones that have had the biggest changes (EL8, EL8 CB, LCD-XC, and LCD-4. Again, EL8 Ti is new so has changes inbuilt).

I'm really glad that Audeze are allowing customer's on a one-to-one basis upgrade their cans, but I wish to there was a formal announcement and procedure.

 

[Skampmeister]

My take on the criticism of Audeze quietly upgrading their headphones, good on them

People seem to never be happy whether a company seeks improvement or they don't.

Credit where credit is due. They don't owe you anything, all they are concerned with is passing on upgraded technology to those future buyers when that technology is available.

 

[TheOneInYellow]

My take on the criticism of Audeze quietly upgrading their headphones, good on them, and to those complaining, get a life.

People seem to never be happy whether a company seeks improvement or they don't.

Credit where credit is due. They don't owe you anything, all they are concerned with is passing on upgraded technology to those future buyers when that technology is available.

I personally am not complaining as others might have done, and I actually encourage updates and improvements.
However, when other companies do update, there is usually an official announcement and sometimes a small model change (or enough PR so a consumer knows that if a model number is the same, what to look out for to spot differences. For example, last batch of Grado 'i' headphones are actually 'e' headphones; Grado did make an announcement and consumers could check what they had).

So I'm not against the changes, but the lack of official announcement is not great. An official announcement, rather than word-of-mouth, would have been better appreciated so that company could proudly showcase their labour of love in the form of better sounding headphones.

That is all.

More so, Audeze are upgrading current customers headphones to get new 2016 versions.
Only customers of early LCD-4 100 Ohm headphones get a free upgrade to 2016 LCD-4 200 Ohm cans.

I still love Audeze immensely, and the EL8 Ti has transformed my musical enjoyment on my journey of audio reproduction.

 

[TMRaven]

Audeze revamps their headphone lineup and still sells the LCD series with the original headband?  

 

[FredrikT92]

^
This
 
They could atleast make a cheaper version of the LCD-4 headband for the rest of the LCD series. 

 

[ardilla]

I must admit I always found Audezes practice of changing the sound of their headphones without changing the model name, if only for a mk1, 2 3, 4 etc , quite annoying and not very respectful towards their customers. .

EDIT: I don't argue against making things better or more durable or whatever the reason for adjusting the headphone - that's all fine, I just would prefer it to say on the box which version you buy. And for the record I am a great fan of Audeze. Just hoping they can do their customers this little favor.