[MacedonianHero]

I don't review gear that I don't like

Fair enough, now I understand why nearly every headphone review of yours is filled to the brim with positive superlatives.

I don't find this approach helpful but I guess some others might.

Thanks for taking the time to answer.

No problem. Note that I am a professional engineer (aerospace industry), father, baseball coach, hockey coach...so my time is very limited and reviewing gear I don't like doesn't fit within my schedule. The time involved, the many hours of careful listening, note taking, system tweaking, etc... can be very intensive and doing this for stuff that sounds poor is something I won't do. Instead, please go to reviewers (and there are many) who hate absolutely everything they review (maybe they have more time on their hands)...you might find them more helpful.

But if there's something I didn't review and but experienced and I didn't like, you'll hear me comment on it on Head-Fi...just like I've been doing for almost 12 years.

 

[Rubin]

Nobody:
@rthomas: It's a trap!!

But in all seriousness, I've been in this hobby since the Headwize days when the HD600 was the creme de la creme. Now it's considered entry level by most. I've been disappointed by many hyped products over the years, but I've been wanting to try Audeze for awhile and they do offer a 30 trial period to decide if it's worth it's price (and more importantly if I can endure the weight). For what it seems to be, the price for this combo seems in line with how the market is these days.

I'm surprised there aren't more people commenting about being called ribbons when this seems to be incorrect. It's a low-z planar where the traces are applied to the driver, whereas in a ribbon the driver is itself the trace, right?

 

[rthomas]

No problem. Note that I am a professional engineer (aerospace industry), father, baseball coach, hockey coach...so my time is very limited and reviewing gear I don't like doesn't fit within my schedule. The time involved, the many hours of careful listening, note taking, system tweaking, etc... can be very intensive and doing this for stuff that sounds poor is something I won't do. Instead, please go to reviewers (and there are many) who hate absolutely everything they review (maybe they have more time on their hands)...you might find them more helpful.

But if there's something I didn't review and but experienced and I didn't like, you'll hear me comment on it on Head-Fi...just like I've been doing for almost 12 years.

who hate absolutely everything they review

I gave you a great example of someone who politely points out flaws in mostly great products - Tyll's review of the LCD4.

Crincacle is another reviewer who reserves high praise for a very small number or products. Very useful if your listening tastes align somewhat with his.

A reviewer who hates everything they review is about as valid as a reviewer who praises everything they review to the skies. Imagine a movie critic who reviews 20 movies a year and says that they're all Oscar worthy/5 Stars. He wouldn't be taken very seriously.

Anyway I won't derail the thread further and let's leave it at that.

 

[MacedonianHero]

who hate absolutely everything they review

I gave you a great example of someone who politely points out flaws in mostly great products - Tyll's review of the LCD4.

Crincacle is another reviewer who reserves high praise for a very small number or products. Very useful if your listening tastes align somewhat with his.

A reviewer who hates everything they review is about as valid as a reviewer who praises everything they review to the skies. Imagine a movie critic who reviews 20 movies a year and says that they're all Oscar worthy/5 Stars. He wouldn't be taken very seriously.

Anyway I won't derail the thread further and let's leave it at that.

Tyll's career was doing this stuff...mine isn't. Time is a huge factor for me. Big difference! I won't comment on specific reviewers, but there are some that feel good when they put out negative reviews...and there are plenty. I am not one of them as I am in this for the fun of it. Once it stops being fun, I'll find something else to do.

Nobody:
@rthomas: It's a trap!!

Some just don't like spending their money I reckon? I keed, I keed.

 

[Audeze]

Are we to believe that Audeze and Schiit Audio got together to launch a new product, obviously requiring a lot of R & D, with the aim of producing only 67 copies, as if they wanted to create a rare and instant collector's item for a few lucky Audiophiles' collection of museum-like "trophies"?

Why do you think this requires a lot of R&D ? The Amplifier was already being made by Schiit. At Audeze, we always tinker and make a lot of different headphone configurations. We even bring some to CanJams's once in a while if we think it would be interesting to the hobbyist/DIY community. During 2011 - 2015, there used to be even DIY sections at CanJam and many homebrewed amplifiers etc. We even showed modded headphones like Jeclkin Floats with Audeze drivers etc.

We make prototypes and new designs quite often. Many do not get released at all. We had this design for LCD-R and when we saw the Jot-R amplifier, it seemed very interesting. So we asked Schiit, if they could tweak the amplifier slightly.

I think it might be difficult to offer as a stock product because it requires a special amplifier that can only be used with one headphone. Obviously, it seems that speaker amps may work but Audeze can't provide support for that. Unless ultra-low impedance headphones become a new class of headphones that are supported industry wide, I think this will remain a super niche product in what is already a niche industry.

Moreover, the reviews will be released two hours before the release and posted in this thread.

That was the plan. The emails went out ahead of schedule due to one of our Techs having too much coffee. So we had to scramble and post it.

 

[FlowLikeWater]

I just read the headphoneguru review for the LCD-R and then read an older review for the LCD4-Z. I could have just interchanged the text....

Have your cake and eat it too! Spectacular! Like real life! Electrostat like transparency! Thank you Audeze for allowing us to buy this masterpiece of audio engineering!

LOL. Who falls for this stuff anymore?

Back in 2010 I was new to Headfi and I downloaded their 2010 Buyer's Guide. I knew very little about the headphone world at that time ( I basically knew about Beats, Sennheiser and Grado) but as soon as I saw a ''Diesel'' branded headphone in the guide I was like wait a minute! This isn't some carefully curated list of only top tier products for the money from wise headphone nerds. This is a big list of basically every major headphone on sale designed to please the sponsors and move product

Everytime I watch a good YouTube reviewer objectively explain the pros and cons of a product i.e a real review ( Eg savagegeese for Cars and Marques Brownlee for Tech) I feel like crying because our headphone world is 99% advertisers and product pushers pretending to be reviewers.

Since 2010 I've seen the hype machine hype utterly mediocre headphones (IMHO) like the Audioquest Nighthawk, Mrspeakers Ether and Ether Flow etc etc etc

Always the same story. Product launch followed by gushing reviews from the usual audio gurus, philes, etc.

Zero disadvantages or faults mentioned or if they dare to mention them they are watered down to the extreme.

Hope the LCD-R turns out to be THE GREATEST HEADPHONE EVER with Electrostat like treble and the best of planar bass; hopefully the mids aren't missing

"Always the same story. Product launch followed by gushing reviews from the usual audio gurus, philes, etc."

True that, it's hard to choose a headphone when all of them have "impactful, nuanced bass, with a detailed and musical midrange, and delicate, airy treble, which reproduce a world-class concert hall-like experience!!11!one!!"

Well done critical reviews seem so much more honest than the marketing-style positive reviews, which is most appreciated (e.g. Crinacle and Savagegeese). They take the time and effort to research and back their opinions properly, to give the consumer a truthful view of what they are going to spend their money on. Much more helpful than reviews that don't mention any negatives in a genuine manner.

Hopefully we get some of these types of reviews for the LCD-R, which will likely take time. $2500 for this type of tech seems like a great price, and given Audeze's track record they should be very good.

 

[omniweltall]

@Audeze Is there any possibility of you guys implementing a more user-friendly pads installation? Using magnets or something like Focal.

 

[AudiophileJargon]

With such a large percentage of guys complaining about glowing reviews, vagueness and not enough criticism on specific qualities we all seem to gravitate toward. It seems odd that their aren’t more audio reviewers out there.

 

[jamato8]

Why do you think this requires a lot of R&D ? The Amplifier was already being made by Schiit. At Audeze, we always tinker and make a lot of different headphone configurations. We even bring some to CanJams's once in a while if we think it would be interesting to the hobbyist/DIY community. During 2011 - 2015, there used to be even DIY sections at CanJam and many homebrewed amplifiers etc. We even showed modded headphones like Jeclkin Floats with Audeze drivers etc.

We make prototypes and new designs quite often. Many do not get released at all. We had this design for LCD-R and when we saw the Jot-R amplifier, it seemed very interesting. So we asked Schiit, if they could tweak the amplifier slightly.

I would totally agree. Modifying an amp for the use as described, requires almost no R&D or investment other than the actual amp.

I called, because I wanted to make sure you were actually out/sold out. You were so no fun for me. :^) I was also told that this was it for the LCD-R. Is that a fact?

 

[sahmen]

Why do you think this requires a lot of R&D ? The Amplifier was already being made by Schiit. At Audeze, we always tinker and make a lot of different headphone configurations. We even bring some to CanJams's once in a while if we think it would be interesting to the hobbyist/DIY community. During 2011 - 2015, there used to be even DIY sections at CanJam and many homebrewed amplifiers etc. We even showed modded headphones like Jeclkin Floats with Audeze drivers etc.

We make prototypes and new designs quite often. Many do not get released at all. We had this design for LCD-R and when we saw the Jot-R amplifier, it seemed very interesting. So we asked Schiit, if they could tweak the amplifier slightly.

Okay, understood, and the clarification is much appreciated. On the other hand, my post might. have been just my own way of making a plea for more of these units (more than 67) to be made and released since they are sounding more and more like a potential big hit. Am I being too naive to entertain the thought that another batch could be released? I am inclined to see that possibility as a "win-win-win" all around, for Audeze, for Schiit Audio, and for buyers like myself who would be grateful for a second shot at this opportunity.

In truth, upon receiving this announcement in my mailbox, as a long standing Audeze client and fan, I was barely halfway through counting my pennies for a possible buy when I noticed the entire batch of 67 was already sold out! That largely explains the "wishful thinking" in my post expressing the hope of a follow-up release. If that wish is too unrealistic and naive for some reason I am not seeing now, I'd understand. Just know that I'd gladly start a collective project (with supporting buyer signatures) petitioning Audeze/Schiit Audio to release an additional X-number of LCD-Rs if that would help sway this original decision to produce only 67 units and call it quits on that front. Just thought I should throw this out there FWIW

 

[tutetibiimperes]

Why do you think this requires a lot of R&D ? The Amplifier was already being made by Schiit. At Audeze, we always tinker and make a lot of different headphone configurations. We even bring some to CanJams's once in a while if we think it would be interesting to the hobbyist/DIY community. During 2011 - 2015, there used to be even DIY sections at CanJam and many homebrewed amplifiers etc. We even showed modded headphones like Jeclkin Floats with Audeze drivers etc.

We make prototypes and new designs quite often. Many do not get released at all. We had this design for LCD-R and when we saw the Jot-R amplifier, it seemed very interesting. So we asked Schiit, if they could tweak the amplifier slightly.

Any chance we see more of these in the future then, maybe without the limited edition wood?

IIRC the LCD-24 was supposed to be a limited edition wasn’t it? It seemed like there were a lot more of those being made.

I get that it’s not a huge potential market for these with the dedicated amp requirement, though I suppose that could be alleviated if Schiit could design a Jotenheim A+ that has the ultra-low-Z output for the LCD-R plus a traditional female XLR output designed for regular headphones.

 

[omniweltall]

With such a large percentage of guys complaining about glowing reviews, vagueness and not enough criticism on specific qualities we all seem to gravitate toward. It seems odd that their aren’t more audio reviewers out there.

I have followed reviews over the years. Not that simple. To put it lightly, they simply cannot afford the gears. Very few manufacturers are willing to send them. They actually have to fund it themselves, and why would they do that? Grizzlybeast, for example, was one of them. He quitted for other priorities. So did the rest. Not to mention it is frustrating when manufacturers complain about your reviews and insist you change it to positive.

Remember for a good review, you need two things: (1) objectivity, and (2) actual capabilities who can provide in-depth reviews. Most reviews sites can throw (1) out the window. And those who do (1) okay, I find most of them do not have enough of. (2). They only touch the basics or only certain sound aspects and can unintentionally also give skewed impressions.

 

[MSXX]

Why do you think this requires a lot of R&D ? The Amplifier was already being made by Schiit. At Audeze, we always tinker and make a lot of different headphone configurations.

I am truly mystified by this limited release. And what I gather from your responds is that this could be a one off kind a thing. Don’t wanna seem antagonizing, and yes I am critical of your way of doing your communication. Truth be told, I am a bit sad I didn’t get one myself - especially as it seems it finally was a headphone prized right - judging from currowongs impressions. Also if you decide to release more limited drops of this product. I hope you could factor in us non-Americans and make it more accessible to us as well. Lastly, I find it fascinating that a mere hoppy-project as you say ends up sounding better and more pleasing then all your other headphones and furthermore is cheaper as well them many of your products - again judging by what the reviewers said about the lcd-r. Sad there’s only 67 pairs…

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

People pointing out that they want critical reviews of these products forget one thing. To be critical and/or negative or otherwise dismissive of a product, the product more or less has to sort of suck.

Do you honestly think Audeze (or any other company for that matter) is wasting their time and effort trying to push out nothing but what they think is worth showcasing to the rest of the world? Giving reviewers products they think reviewers will be critical of?

Is it so weird that they're selling a fantastic product in very limited numbers, and that those who were able to test the product were enamored by it?

As a reviewer myself (yes I'm now working for Audeze, but I was a reviewer long before that), why waste my FREE time on products I don't like? I DON'T get paid for my reviews, and I sure as hell don't wanna sit here waste hours of my day trying to tell you why a product is not great. So I'll review the stuff that I think is AWESOME or at least people will be into. (Note: I'm NOT reviewing this, or any future Audeze product...)

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

This is a statement by me as a person and reviewer, not as the person working at Audeze.

 

[Sense]

Why do you think this requires a lot of R&D ? The Amplifier was already being made by Schiit. At Audeze, we always tinker and make a lot of different headphone configurations. We even bring some to CanJams's once in a while if we think it would be interesting to the hobbyist/DIY community. During 2011 - 2015, there used to be even DIY sections at CanJam and many homebrewed amplifiers etc. We even showed modded headphones like Jeclkin Floats with Audeze drivers etc.

We make prototypes and new designs quite often. Many do not get released at all. We had this design for LCD-R and when we saw the Jot-R amplifier, it seemed very interesting. So we asked Schiit, if they could tweak the amplifier slightly.





That was the plan. The emails went out ahead of schedule due to one of our Techs having too much coffee. So we had to scramble and post it.

Any chance of another ribbon headphone? 67 isn’t a lot. Feels bad to miss out.