[fugimax]

I was scared I'd walk out of there with a burning itch to spend money, but I'm home now listening to my LCD2's which honestly still sound amazing to me. My wallet lives to fight another day. Maybe an amp upgrade in the near future though

Good to hear. I love my 2's, but I wear them for 8 hours/day, so looking forward to the 5's.

How would you say the 5's compare to the 2's, even with your limited time?

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

The LCD-5 is a better headphone IMO . The Elite would be a killer 2-3k unit.

I'll disagree on the 2k-3k part. Just going by me having it with the danacable and a little dx300. It easily matched all the other high-end stuff that drifted in and out of my house. Since I can't hold onto anything for a long time. I went through a lot from Utopia to He1000se. The Elite had its place amongst them. To my ears of course.

 

[phase0]

Proposed CanJam etiquette for Sunday: When you walk up between two people seated at a table and lean over to talk to the exhibitors, you are showing the people next to you the seat of your pants while they're trying to have a sublime experience. Please be considerate.

“Now, a question of etiquette—as I pass, do I give you the ass or the crotch?”
-- Tyler Durden / Fight Club

 

[JonIrenicus]

There’s no doubt tons of great stuff here but I’m surprised at the lack of mention of the VZR Audio Model One. It’s only $350 but looks and sounds like a much more expensive pair. Plus it has a detachable mic if you want good audio in between work calls throughout the day (or a pretty amazing gaming headset for night time use). The price is misleading to me. On a blind listening test I’d imagine some would guess it has a higher price tag. I’ve been enjoying Focal, Audeze and RAAL, among many others, but the VZR Model One was a pleasant surprise that’s all. When my friends ask for an affordable good sounding headphone/headset this will always come to mind now.

I checked that one out too as I was eying the sub 1k headphone segment but everything in that category kind of melted after I heard the focal clear.

I wish I had brought my busted AKG q701s with a dangling headband to compare. Those were in a slightly lower price segment when I bought them nearly a decade ago and I think those might be in that ballpark. But I did not have them to compare right after hearing those on the same tracks.

 

[LetTheKidsTechno]

Good to hear. I love my 2's, but I wear them for 8 hours/day, so looking forward to the 5's.

How would you say the 5's compare to the 2's, even with your limited time?

I love my 2's but the resolution on the 5's is in another league. It was super resolving yet very smooth in its presentation at the same time. Definitely not as warm as the 2's though. I played one or two electronic tracks and the bass was unlike anything I've heard. Seemed like it would crush any genre of music you throw at it. The comfort was incredible as well. By far the most comfortable Audeze headphone, I'd say only the Meze elite was more comfortable at the event. Not surprisingly, Audeze have another winner on their hands. I unfortunately do not have the pockets for it quite yet though hah.

 

[Chefguru]

Where did the Rad-0 fit in between the LCD-5 and the Meze Elite?

1. LCD-5
2. Elite
3. Lcd4 /lcd4z
4. Rad-o
5. LCD-3 (have owned previously)

don’t take my impressions too seriously since I had a short listening session in a nosy room. LCD-5 is obviously the best for me and elite is very very good.

 

[fugimax]

I love my 2's but the resolution on the 5's is in another league. It was super resolving yet very smooth in its presentation at the same time. Definitely not as warm as the 2's though. I played one or two electronic tracks and the bass was unlike anything I've heard. Seemed like it would crush any genre of music you throw at it. The comfort was incredible as well. By far the most comfortable Audeze headphone, I'd say only the Meze elite was more comfortable at the event. Not surprisingly, Audeze have another winner on their hands. I unfortunately do not have the pockets for it quite yet though hah.

Nice! I listen to a fair amount of EDM/Metal on my LCD2's and have enjoyed it, so looking forward to these!

 

[Edric Li]

Handing out my personal awards for the show:
1. Gold:
- 64 U18s (I didn't want to take them off)
2. Silver:
- Odin (Legend was too bright for me),
- Layla (together with Roxanne, best IEM midrange of the show)
- Andromeda 2020 (a classic then, a classic now)
3. Bronze:
- Dunu Luna (under-priced imo),
- Sultan (great treble quality; a tad too much quantity for me),
- unnamed Astrotec upcoming TOTL (at the Awedyo Audio booth; easy to miss)
- Rai Penta (fit was too shallow)
- Ety Evo (fit was too deep; surprising good for the cable they have on)

 

[LetTheKidsTechno]

Nice! I listen to a fair amount of EDM/Metal on my LCD2's and have enjoyed it, so looking forward to these!

That is my main two genres! I really wanted to love the LCD4 but the weight is as bad as they say. The Meze Elite's were a lot of fun. Wide soundstage, warmer signature, amazing detail, insanely comfortable.. just an overall great headphone. Wish the price wasn't so steep on these flagships but it is what it is

 

[fugimax]

That is my main two genres! I really wanted to love the LCD4 but the weight is as bad as they say. The Meze Elite's were a lot of fun. Wide soundstage, warmer signature, amazing detail, insanely comfortable.. just an overall great headphone. Wish the price wasn't so steep on these flagships but it is what it is

I drive my LCD2's out of a Schiit Mjolnir, so hoping that'll add some warmth to the 5's, just as it does the 2's.

 

[PeteSTRADAMUS]

1. LCD-5
2. Elite
3. Lcd4 /lcd4z
4. Rad-o
5. LCD-3 (have owned previously)

don’t take my impressions too seriously since I had a short listening session in a nosy room. LCD-5 is obviously the best for me and elite is very very good.

Definitely nothing personal. Everyone loves different things differently. I'm kind of on the fence if I should sell off my Elite and scoop up the Lcd5 myself. It's not available yet. So I have time. Definitely have an itch.

 

[awhinyheadphone]

This has me excited about the 5s, what did you think about them as far as bass and slam? I hope, also, that the 5s are not too far away from the CRBN for resolution.

Also sidenote: love the profile pic, lol.

Comparable resolution. Only track to test punch/slam on the 5 was deadmau5 Let Go which was great. EDM synths also sound absolutely phenomenal on the 5. I think EQ will really bring out the slamming beast that lies within…

 

[fugimax]

Comparable resolution. Only track to test punch/slam on the 5 was deadmau5 Let Go which was great. EDM synths also sound absolutely phenomenal on the 5. I think EQ will really bring out the slamming beast that lies within…

So the 5's were not EQ'd at all on the floor?

 

[sm500]

Yep.

They were a big disappointment for me as well. HUGELY overpriced for the SQ that they offer.

I didn't think the Dan Clark Stealth's were great at all either I was hoping for the best seeing the ASR review ... I went in thinking I'd love them but they sounded like all the other Dan Clark headphones ... but despite being a bit flatter tone-wise: they still sounded like the same old planar sound that they all have. I listened to them at least three times and they just weren't that fantastic. I'd maybe pay $1000 for a pair but it was a tossup between these/noires depending on your personal preference of how you liked your headphones tuned & they were pretty close.

I think when it comes down to it: the main feature of the Stealth is the Metamaterial to tune it/reduce reflections/standing waves/etc. YES, you can can make the Frequency response flatter and fix many problems. BUT, for example: In a recording studio: you can hire a great studio designer and make the acoustics perfect in your room. BUT: if you're listening on NS-10 speakers in your perfect room: they will still sound like NS-10's essentially.

So what I'm saying is: the Stealth is essentially tuning the room to sound great ... but the actual transducer that creates the sound is lacking. Perhaps in the future they could make some ESL's with the type of technology (or carbon nanotubes like the CRBN - which I liked the most) The new Raals definitely need something like this as they sounded really off frequency-wise. (Hedd's too)

Overall great show! Liked Audeze CRBN #1 personally though. (Hifiman ESL's probably 2nd ... but I own Jade II's and they are similar ... Stax too)

 

[LetTheKidsTechno]

Comparable resolution. Only track to test punch/slam on the 5 was deadmau5 Let Go which was great. EDM synths also sound absolutely phenomenal on the 5. I think EQ will really bring out the slamming beast that lies within…

Yessss. I played Pryda - Sunburst and when that bass line came in I practically melted in my chair. The synths were so lushhh. Ya, definitely needed a few more minutes with it! Excited to hear what everyone else thought of em