[Stereolab42]

  My LCD-3Fs have returned from Audeze after their second left driver failure in a year.  Audeze CS was polite and easy to work with as always.  After they shipped back, I probed a bit and asked if there was anything I could do to prevent this from happening in the future.  I was told the following (not directly quoting so I don't get in trouble and not mentioned the CS rep's name):
1)  The diaphragm is very thin and fragile.
2)  They often don't know why this happens at all.
3)  They should be handled with a very light hand.  Even minor falls or placing them on the desk too hard can contribute to failure.
4)  They are confident that I'm not causing this.  Just be gentle. 
 
It feels a little contradictory.  I wonder if they're just writing this off and trying to make the next model that won't have this issue.  I can't say I would blame them, from a business perspective.  

 
Interesting. In contrast, my cat knocked my LCD-XCs to the wood floor and not only did they continue to work, they didn't have a scratch on them. I think the X line benefited from the lessons in reliability learned from the 3s; however, the 3s are still tops in SQ.

 

[Sweetmeat]

  But if I could get a full refund on these, I think id probably take it, put that money towards an HE1000, and revisit Audeze in the future when they've 'hopefully' got a handle on these issues.
 

 
Sorry dude. We suffer for our music but you more than others. You have swapped your LCD3 for a crown of thorns.
 
I don't think you will get a refund, but Duke40 (through his dealer) convinced Audeze to replace his LCD3 with an LCDX. Plus they added some other stuff. And he had the same number of failures as you (before you stopped counting). You should try that, I would love to hear how you make out. I know you are a gentle person but you should make an exception this once.
 
Seems like it would behoove Audeze to do this replacement so they don't have to keep shipping your LCD3 around the world. And the LCDX still has that great Audeze house sound (I am told). Some folks like it better than the LCD3. It certainly is not as prone to failure.

 

[matthewhypolite]

   
Sorry dude. We suffer for our music but you more than others. You have swapped your LCD3 for a crown of thorns.
 
I don't think you will get a refund, but Duke40 (through his dealer) convinced Audeze to replace his LCD3 with an LCDX. Plus they added some other stuff. And he had the same number of failures as you (before you stopped counting). You should try that, I would love to hear how you make out. I know you are a gentle person but you should make an exception this once.
 
Seems like it would behoove Audeze to do this replacement so they don't have to keep shipping your LCD3 around the world. And the LCDX still has that great Audeze house sound (I am told). Some folks like it better than the LCD3. It certainly is not as prone to failure.

I may actually consider that. The LCD3 is suppose to be the "flagship" headphones though, and id be essentially swapping out for a hp that's $250 less, I guess if they add in "some other stuff" it should make up. But I guess a reliable LCD-X will still be better than what I'm going through currently with the LCD3. Wondering about the LCD-XC as an option as well, will have to do some more research on how they sound.
 
I haven't heard back from Audeze support just yet, we'll see how it goes. I've been more than loyal and patient and understanding with Audeze. I hope they hook me up proper.

 

[KyPeN]

Whelp, mine are back from Audeze and sound great.  I'm going to baby these things so hard.  Hopefully this is the last time I have to comment on this thread or any like it...

 

[matthewhypolite]

  Whelp, mine are back from Audeze and sound great.  I'm going to baby these things so hard.  Hopefully this is the last time I have to comment on this thread or any like it...

I've babied mines extremely hard.....didn't matter lol.​

 

[Badas]

I've babied mines extremely hard.....didn't matter lol.​

Yeah I reckon that being gental has nothing to do with it. I've dropped mine a few times and I haven't had a driver failure. I've had mine for 20 months.

 

[zilch0md]

   
Sorry dude. We suffer for our music but you more than others. You have swapped your LCD3 for a crown of thorns.
 
I don't think you will get a refund, but Duke40 (through his dealer) convinced Audeze convinced his dealer to replace his LCD3 with an LCDX. Plus they added some other stuff. And he had the same number of failures as you (before you stopped counting). You should try that, I would love to hear how you make out. I know you are a gentle person but you should make an exception this once.
 
Seems like it would behoove Audeze to do this replacement so they don't have to keep shipping your LCD3 around the world. And the LCDX still has that great Audeze house sound (I am told). Some folks like it better than the LCD3. It certainly is not as prone to failure.

 

 
Yes, easy enough to acquire ... I have an outstanding HP dealer who looks after me.   He is worth his weight in gold.
 
Too far away though, so I still pay registered shipping (and insurance) within OZ.    It is really the insurance that increase's the cost,   though as far as the LCD3 goes, 
I subscribe to Murphy's Law ... what will go wrong, will go wrong ... so best to insure it.
 
Taking a few moments away from my personal first world problem of $2K headphones breaking down for the 5th time due to driver issues ...
 
I actually feel sorry for the dealers.
 
This stuff must cost them a small fortune.   So it is not just me being affected ,  they are too.
 

 

1) LCD-X .... before deciding to stick with Audeze, I spent 4 hours searching the LCD-X HeadFi thread, could only find about 4 or 5 instances of driver failure ... ever.
    So, hopefully my experience will be like when I had my LCD-2 ... that is, faultless.
 
2) Not sure, have not picked it up yet.
 
3) My excellent dealer took care of me (sent it back and made a deal along with other stuff), cant really give any more details than that as it was private chat.
 
    So impressed with him, I ended up buying more gear (got an Auralic Aries on the way).
 

 
This is open to interpretation, but going just on Duke40's posts, here, I don't think Audeze had anything to do with Duke40's LCD-3 -to- LCD-X swap.  

 

[Sweetmeat]

  This is open to interpretation, but going just on Duke40's posts, here, I don't think Audeze had anything to do with Duke40's LCD-3 -to- LCD-X swap.  

 
Well who do you think the dealer "sent it back" to and "made a deal" with? Do you think the dealer assumed the loss of the LCDX and "other stuff"? Sorry, no dealer is that excellent. It's not that difficult to interpret - Audeze made the swap. The unfortunate part is that this swap does not appear to be available to those of us who did not purchase our LCD3 through an "excellent dealer." And obviously Audeze swore the dealer (and Duke40) to secrecy so that they wouldn't have to make this deal with anybody else.
 
In the end, it doesn't matter if you are right or I am right. Either way, the rest of us are not likely to get the same deal.

 

[Stereolab42]

Any way to edit poll choices? I'm now in the "one" category from "zero", for an LCD-3 made in the spring, bought two months ago, and kept at 74 degrees in a dry room continuously in California weather. Pathetic and inexcusable that they continue to refuse to address this issue in their flagship when they've proven they are in fact capable of making reliable headphones with the LCD-X(C) brand (which I will continue to recommend).

 

[Sweetmeat]

  Any way to edit poll choices? I'm now in the "one" category from "zero", for an LCD-3 made in the spring, bought two months ago, and kept at 74 degrees in a dry room continuously in California weather. Pathetic and inexcusable that they continue to refuse to address this issue in their flagship when they've proven they are in fact capable of making reliable headphones with the LCD-X(C) brand (which I will continue to recommend).

Thanks for participating in the poll, unfortunately it doesn't allow do-overs. Two months is a short lifespan even for an LCD3, you probably got a defective one. Chances are, the next one will last longer than that. Now you can experience Audeze's excellent customer service. At least they are in the neighborhood for you.

 

[Stereolab42]

 
Thanks for participating in the poll, unfortunately it doesn't allow do-overs. Two months is a short lifespan even for an LCD3, you probably got a defective one. Chances are, the next one will last longer than that. Now you can experience Audeze's excellent customer service. At least they are in the neighborhood for you.

 
I have all expectations of excellent CS, as I've had several interactions with them in the past (but for nothing as serious as this). However I won't be finding out how long the next one will last because I will be promptly selling it and awaiting my new pair of Ethers. They have chosen not to keep the community up-to-date on what is clearly a widespread problem so I'm choosing to cut my losses. Their CS is excellent now, but what about 10 years from now after the umpteenth driver failure? Good cans should last 20+ years. Will they even be around then and willing to honor an unofficial warrantly? I'm not the only one in the past who has suggested it's time for Audeze to tell us what's going on.

 

[mscott58]

   
I have all expectations of excellent CS, as I've had several interactions with them in the past (but for nothing as serious as this). However I won't be finding out how long the next one will last because I will be promptly selling it and awaiting my new pair of Ethers. They have chosen not to keep the community up-to-date on what is clearly a widespread problem so I'm choosing to cut my losses. Their CS is excellent now, but what about 10 years from now after the umpteenth driver failure? Good cans should last 20+ years. Will they even be around then and willing to honor an unofficial warrantly? I'm not the only one in the past who has suggested it's time for Audeze to tell us what's going on.

Based on everything that's been written across these threads my educated guess is that there's no easy fix to whatever it is that is causing some (okay, many) of the LCD-3's to crap-out. If there was an easy or clear fix that didn't negatively impact SQ it's a pretty clear bet (again IMO) that Audeze would have implemented it. Not "fixing" the problem causes customers issues, hurts Audeze's brand and costs them significant money in having to repair the broken units. The only logical reason I can see for them not having done anything is that they've tried different fixes and one of three things has happened:
 
1) The "fix" negatively impacted SQ and killed the "magic" that makes the LCD-3's the magnificent beasts they are. This is potentially why the LCD-X and -XC don't have the same emotion in the mid-range as the LCD-3's, even though they are newer and more "bullet proof" models and don't appear to have these same failure modes.  
 
2) The "fix" ended up being something that was already patented by someone else. The technology in the membranes for planars is a cutting edge thing. Just look at Fang Bian's video where he shows off the membrane material for the HE1K's, with it floating through the air for so much longer than one would think possible (sorry, can't find the link to the video right now).
 
3) The "fix" couldn't be manufactured cost effectively, the suppliers couldn't supply it, the risks associated with it were worse than the current approach, etc. Okay, this means essentially the potential fix was not actually a fix. 
 
And if you play out the business logic, if Audeze was to come out and say "we have a defective product" it might make a few people happy to know, but then there would be a deluge of people sending LCD-3's in, potentially crippling the company. And call me crazy, but I don't want them to fail. The LCD-3 (when it's working - luckily mine has never had any issues) is amazing and I don't want that company to disappear from the HP landscape. Audeze seems to be taking the pragmatic high-road, standing behind their product and fixing it when it gets broke. If they didn't do that, then different story, and I'd take out my pitchfork and torch and join you in the call for blood. As far as products lasting 20+ years, don't know many things that do that anymore. Would be nice, but might be a bridge too far (heck, even the bridges don't all seem to be lasting all that long as our friends in MSP found out a few years ago).  
 
Anyway, as Mr. Gump so wisely said - "that's all I have to say about that". 
 
Cheers 

 

[matthewhypolite]

I love Audeze house sound and support so I don't like to speak ill of them.
 
But my last failure was my last. Got a refund and going Abyss AB1266. Will revisit Audeze in the future when they've hopefully resolved the issues.​
BTW, I too had a can that failed after a few months, then again 6 months later.

 

[potkettleblack]

Even though I'm sure they were aware - I made Audeze aware of this thread a few weeks ago - because I had been saving money for the lcd 3f but eventually opted due to the failure rate.
 
I know it was passed onto management that's all I can say.
 
I'd also like to say I've had a few very good experiences with their customer support recently regarding a cup I scratched and got replaced. Specif
 
Something I feel needs to change is when a customer has bought a pair, they have broke, and Audeze don't pay for shipping for them to be returned. If I get the 3f's and they fail, it would cost me £200 to send back - taking into the weight and insurance. That is not acceptable at all, and is the reason I have held back thus far.

 

[mscott58]

  Even though I'm sure they were aware - I made Audeze aware of this thread a few weeks ago - because I had been saving money for the lcd 3f but eventually opted due to the failure rate.
 
I know it was passed onto management that's all I can say.
 
I'd also like to say I've had a few very good experiences with their customer support recently regarding a cup I scratched and got replaced. Specif
 
Something I feel needs to change is when a customer has bought a pair, they have broke, and Audeze don't pay for shipping for them to be returned. If I get the 3f's and they fail, it would cost me £200 to send back - taking into the weight and insurance. That is not acceptable at all, and is the reason I have held back thus far.

Would you have to send them back to Audeze or would a local dealer handle it?