[manpowre]

It seems to me on the picture that the metal plate inside the wood is sticking out from the wood just a little bit, and the fabric is attached to the metal plate.
On mine, the metal plate is inside the wood.

 

[Articnoise]

  It seems to me on the picture that the metal plate inside the wood is sticking out from the wood just a little bit, and the fabric is attached to the metal plate.
On mine, the metal plate is inside the wood.

 

The metal plate is sticking out more on my LCD 3 than on other LCD’s I have own or seen accept on some of the picture of LCD 4. I’m actually not sure all the LCD 4 really have an extra layer of fabrics. Some seems to have it and some to be more like my. This is sole an observation from pictures so take it with a grain of salt.

 

If I will go on and speculate to why Audeze have made my LCD 3 with a metal plate that’s sticking out a bit it could be 1. A production fault 2. To improve/change the sound by altering the distance to the driver. 3. Increase the distance so that the sharp fazor so it doesn’t touch the ear. 4 A combination of 2 and 3.

 

[manpowre]

   

The metal plate is sticking out more on my LCD 3 than on other LCD’s I have own or seen accept on some of the picture of LCD 4. I’m actually not sure all the LCD 4 really have an extra layer of fabrics. Some seems to have it and some to be more like my. This is sole an observation from pictures so take it with a grain of salt.

 

If I will go on and speculate to why Audeze have made my LCD 3 with a metal plate that’s sticking out a bit it could be 1. A production fault 2. To improve/change the sound by altering the distance to the driver. 3. Increase the distance so that the sharp fazor so it doesn’t touch the ear. 4 A combination of 2 and 3.

I doubt its a manufacturing mistake. such metal sticking out is something that wouldnt pass inspection of the unit, so it is made like that on purpose. So that might explain the re-voicing and re-engineering of the LCD3.
 
I am enjoying the hell out of my LCD3 apparently pre-2016 re-voicing. But I am a little upset that these changes arent anounced ahead of time and clearly marked on the product itself so consumers know what they are buying.
 
So I paid in march, full price for LCD3, after they re-voiced it. And there were no way for me to figure this out myself. Until now, when 2 enthusiasts take pictures and share them across the world. 
 
That is really bad advertising for Audeze. and brings me back to excatly what Ardilla mentioned in this tread on first few pages.
 
Her comment is here:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/804186/audezes-2016-revamp-re-voiced-and-re-engineered-headphones-the-entire-line-except-sine-and-el8-ti-these-have-updates-as-standard/15#post_12492227
 
And for my sake, its spot on. there were no way for me to tell what I bought. 4 months after the revision.

 

[Maconi]

So how do you know which version you have? My LCD-XC had a driver failure and I had to RMA it to Audeze. I now have it back and it appears they changed just about everything but the headband and the mini-XLR connectors (still silver, not black like the newer ones). Would be nice to know if I was lucky enough to have gotten an upgrade. 

 

[Articnoise]

If the change is a true upgrade in sound we will see

. Right now it’s too sharp in the treble. It was a bit like that before burn in my LCD 3 from 2014 too, but less so. Now it’s almost a bit fatigue to listen to.

 

Do you guys have the new fazor that’s more arrow like and how does your FR plot looks like? 

 

[manpowre]

Audeze confirms that I have the 2015 version on their support. They also confirm there is a sound improvement in the 2016 version of LCD3.
 
And that is upsetting me. paying full price for a product that at the time already was old generation and the new one been shipped for 4 months at the time of purchase.
 
Just there I lost value of my cans. believing it was the latest version.
 
If you ask me, this is a scandal. not letting consumers knowing that there is a better version of the same product!
 
It definetely breaks the Norwegian consumer laws, and I do believe it breaks the US consumer and marketing laws too.

 

[take8]

I just posted about my 2016 LCD-3 over here.

 

[Mardrommar]

  Audeze confirms that I have the 2015 version on their support. They also confirm there is a sound improvement in the 2016 version of LCD3.
 
And that is upsetting me. paying full price for a product that at the time already was old generation and the new one been shipped for 4 months at the time of purchase.
 
Just there I lost value of my cans. believing it was the latest version.
 
If you ask me, this is a scandal. not letting consumers knowing that there is a better version of the same product!
 
It definetely breaks the Norwegian consumer laws, and I do believe it breaks the US consumer and marketing laws too.

 
Better is subjective. I can agree with everyone else here that it would be less confusing if they used an obvious identifier for any modifications or upgrades that occur during a product's lifetime. It is a more transparent way of running a business and informing potential customers. 
 
However, I think you are overreacting. You did not lose the value of your headphones. Well, that's not exactly true, the fact that you purchased a new set of headphones (similarly, if you purchase a brand new car and drive it off the dealership lot) means that its resale value has been affected and has depreciated.
 
Do you enjoy the LCD-3 that you own? Does it sound the way you imagined it would when you purchased it? Then that's all that matters.
 
Once again, better is subjective. Many users prefer the sound of the non-fazor LCD-2.1 and 2.2 as well as the LCD-3 to the updated LCD-2F and LCD-3F. I would personally prefer to have the coloration of the LCD-XC to make it stand apart from the LCD-X that I own. If they were both indistinguishable from one another, then I've made a redundant purchase.
 
Also, you don't know if those differences will be apparent. If they respond to you and say that they'd charge you $250 to replace your 2015 drivers with 2016 drivers and you take them up on their offer only to realize that you can't pinpoint the exact change, is it worth the $250? Well, you have the peace of mind that you own an early 2016 Audeze LCD-3, but what happens when the mid-2016 Audeze LCD-3 comes out? What happens when the rose gold Audeze LCD-3 comes out?
 
Again, I get your point, and I understand your frustrations. I think there should be a reasonable response.
 
If Audeze were to post a fact sheet to their website that included a detailed list of changes of all revisions to all models that would be helpful. If they then provided an upgrade service for customers who purchased new headphones directly from their website or an authorized dealer that would be ideal. You could have price brackets for different upgrades (such as upgrading the stainless steel connector of the original LCD-X and LCD-XC to the black powder coated version) and can then determine if it would be worth the money. However, I imagine this isn't feasible and would cause many headaches as well as production delays.  

 

[manpowre]

  Do you enjoy the LCD-3 that you own? Does it sound the way you imagined it would when you purchased it? Then that's all that matters.
 
Also, you don't know if those differences will be apparent. If they respond to you and say that they'd charge you $250 to replace your 2015 drivers with 2016 drivers and you take them up on their offer only to realize that you can't pinpoint the exact change, is it worth the $250? Well, you have the peace of mind that you own an early 2016 Audeze LCD-3, but what happens when the mid-2016 Audeze LCD-3 comes out? What happens when the rose gold Audeze LCD-3 comes out?
 
 
 

 
 
I do enjoy the headphones. but purchasing a product at the time a new version already been shipped for months (Audeze can correct the original thread here when they started shipping 2016 version for better facts) is not good. Especially when the consumer can not tell the difference in serial number or anything.
 
Its like buying a car. 150 horsepower, old version has 140 horsepowers measured and the new version 160 horsepower. the difference is inside the engine. No way of telling unless you measure the difference with expencive equipment.
 
Offcourse you want the 160 horsepower version.
 
As for the sound quality difference, I agree. sometimes an older version can be better. But it doesnt change the fact that the product was labeled LCD3 only without knowing which version (I didnt know at the time of purchase a new version was out), as this came up recent days here on this forum.
 
It sounds to me, Audeze tried to let dealers sell their cans out to bring in new stock with the new revision without telling the market properly, and labeling the cans.

 

[Dillan]

Yea the thing this thread is making clear to me is Audeze should be a lot more transparent when it comes to these updates.
 
Maybe the marketing team didn't want to make it a big deal for whatever reason.. or it could create some pricing situations that they weren't sure about.
 
But it would be a lot more beneficial for both the consumer and them as a company to just be more open and forthcoming with updates that change the sound of the headphones.

 

[Mardrommar]

   
 
I do enjoy the headphones. but purchasing a product at the time a new version already been shipped for months (Audeze can correct the original thread here when they started shipping 2016 version for better facts) is not good. Especially when the consumer can not tell the difference in serial number or anything.
 
Its like buying a car. 150 horsepower, old version has 140 horsepowers measured and the new version 160 horsepower. the difference is inside the engine. No way of telling unless you measure the difference with expencive equipment.
 
Offcourse you want the 160 horsepower version.
 
As for the sound quality difference, I agree. sometimes an older version can be better. But it doesnt change the fact that the product was labeled LCD3 only without knowing which version (I didnt know at the time of purchase a new version was out), as this came up recent days here on this forum.
 
It sounds to me, Audeze tried to let dealers sell their cans out to bring in new stock with the new revision without telling the market properly, and labeling the cans.

I think their decisions stem from the fact that they are still a very small and new company. I have no idea about the logistics behind recalling all "outdated" models, shipping them back to their warehouse/headquarters and then breaking down the individual units to upgrade the drivers.
 
With a company as big and as wealthy as Apple, this is feasible business decision. If a new MacBook Pro release is imminent, the online store will update the shipping estimate date to reflect that current old stock is no longer shipping. I assume that those outdated models serve other purposes, like being supplied to high schools or something along those lines.
 
The LCD-3 is still an LCD-3. It's just a little bit different. The mid-2016 MacBook Pro (assuming redesign) will be a noticeable difference and all components will be upgraded and more powerful/better (for the sake of argument) than the mid-2015 MacBook Pro.   

 

[Articnoise]

If I remember right Audeze ones said that they change serial number when they change drivers or other major difference. For other smaller changes there are no real indication I know about. 

 

[ardilla]

   
 
I do enjoy the headphones. but purchasing a product at the time a new version already been shipped for months (Audeze can correct the original thread here when they started shipping 2016 version for better facts) is not good. Especially when the consumer can not tell the difference in serial number or anything.
 
Its like buying a car. 150 horsepower, old version has 140 horsepowers measured and the new version 160 horsepower. the difference is inside the engine. No way of telling unless you measure the difference with expencive equipment.
 
Offcourse you want the 160 horsepower version.
 
As for the sound quality difference, I agree. sometimes an older version can be better. But it doesnt change the fact that the product was labeled LCD3 only without knowing which version (I didnt know at the time of purchase a new version was out), as this came up recent days here on this forum.
 
It sounds to me, Audeze tried to let dealers sell their cans out to bring in new stock with the new revision without telling the market properly, and labeling the cans.
 

 
It is not necessarily better. I remember comparing a 1st gen LCD-3 with the 2nd gen - and the 1st gen was better, more clarity, but quite similar, I must add (nothing like the LCD2.1 /LCD-2.2). I would guess Audeze don't always make changes due to sound quality, but also reliability, failure rate, production issues, new sub-contractors etc. etc.  

 

[Dillan]

 

 
The thing he is upset about is also partially that the resell value could potentially go down just because he was sold something as new, when in fact it was an older model (albeit still new).
 
I think there needs to be a little more transparency with the differentiating models and updates.

 

[ardilla]

   
The thing he is upset about is also partially that the resell value could potentially go down just because he was sold something as new, when in fact it was an older model (albeit still new).
 
I think there needs to be a little more transparency with the differentiating models and updates.

 
Totally agree on that, as I already mentioned earlier in this thread .)
 
I don't really see why Audeze keeps up the "secret revision" policy. Only thing might be that dealers would loose some money iif Audeze made their revisions more obvious, because dealers might have a problem selling the versions they have stocked at full price. But customers should matter more, they don't like not getting what the think they get - as manpowre is an example of.