[Zap67]

Treble is Perfect for me and I'm somewhat sensitive to upper Mids.

Do you have the biowool or beryllium?

beryllium

 

[TurtelyEnough]

any comparisons between the XTC and LCD-XC? I really like the planar sound (esp from Audeze), but haven't heard a high(er) end dynamic except the HD800S (which I was not a fan of). thanks in advance.

I had the LCD-XC and I vastly prefer the XTC-Cs. I found the LCD-XCs really mid-forward, nasally, and lacking in impact and bass. This coming from someone who loves the LCD-Xs. They required a lot of EQ, at which point they sounded pretty good but not great and still not as good as their open back counterpart. They were very solid technically but I couldn’t get past their tuning shortcomings. In comparison, the XTC-Cs don’t require EQ but take EQ pretty well if not 100% as well as the LCD-XC. They have pretty good impact and the bass is very good without EQ. Detail retrieval and separation are maybe 90-95% as good and the soundstage is probably a bit deeper than LCD-XC. All in all, I can see how folks think Audeze LCD-XC with EQ is endgame but for people who have issues with the weight and stock tuning of the XCs and want more dynamic impact, the XTCs are a significant step up.

 

[vikinguy]

beryllium

Ahhh. Def will have more treble energy than the biowool. Id like to get a Beryllium pair too!

 

[vikinguy]

I had the LCD-XC and I vastly prefer the XTC-Cs. I found the LCD-XCs really mid-forward, nasally, and lacking in impact and bass. This coming from someone who loves the LCD-Xs. They required a lot of EQ, at which point they sounded pretty good but not great and still not as good as their open back counterpart. They were very solid technically but I couldn’t get past their tuning shortcomings. In comparison, the XTC-Cs don’t require EQ but take EQ pretty well if not 100% as well as the LCD-XC. They have pretty good impact and the bass is very good without EQ. Detail retrieval and separation are maybe 90-95% as good and the soundstage is probably a bit deeper than LCD-XC. All in all, I can see how folks think Audeze LCD-XC with EQ is endgame but for people who have issues with the weight and stock tuning of the XCs and want more dynamic impact, the XTCs are a significant step up.

Yeah I returned my lcdxc next day.

They also weigh more than Titanic's anchor.

 

[vikinguy]

Here's dad's XTC open. He'd sold his other headphones too.

He's a bit of an obsessive photog as well.

 

[rlawry]

I have the beryllium driver XTC-Closed and while the treble is nice and extended, it is certainly nowhere as prominent as with my Kennerton Rognir Planars and especially my RAAL SR-1B. With the RAALs it takes some time to acclimate when switching from any other phones. The bass on the XTC-C is missed on certain recordings that benefit from its terrific bass.

 

[catom]

So I've been curious about measurements for JM's headphones for a while, though I mostly don't take too much stock in measurements. Many variables and it all depends on how something sounds on your head to your ears. You like what you like. Though I still like looking at graphs because it can help convey the direction of a headphone and can tell a bit about it's sonic characteristic if not quality (strong de-emphasis on deriving quality from a graph in my mind).

JM sent me a photo of a measurement with the XTC biowool drivers. I've asked him for a measurement for the beryllium as well (hoping to see that one soon as it's the version I own). I think it'll be interesting to compare the two. I was always curious how the drivers would be different and without being able to hear them, a graph may be all I can get.

Hmm, I'm not sure I want to take bets haha...but my bet is the beryllium will measure with a different high end and a more pronounced bump around 150-300hz. Curious what others think. If I win the lottery, I'll buy every variant he has and truly ignore the measurements

 

[Zoide]

Any more measurements or reviews / comparisons?

Thanks

 

[vikinguy]

I have both the XTC open Biowool and the XTC open Beryllium. This isn't an exact comparison (DD/Planar) but the biowool is to he1000v2 (non-stealth) as beryllium to he1000se. Tonality is smoother with the biowool though it doesn't lack detail at all, it's just not as in your face as the beryllium is. They both have fantastic bass...very deep and big but never bloated and the mids, to my ear are spot on, neither recessed or up front. Vocals are as good as it gets in my experience on both sets. Treble is well extended on both but it's a bit more up front on the beryllium.

Ive owned ananda, ananda stealth, arya v2, arya stealth, he1000v2 (twice), LCDX 21, Focal Clear, Focal Clear MG, 800s, and 800. These are my favorite of them all.

The biowool is like a warm slipper and the beryllium is more of a hot night on the town. Having both is pretty glorious.

 

[Mhog55]

I have both the XTC open Biowool and the XTC open Beryllium. This isn't an exact comparison (DD/Planar) but the biowool is to he1000v2 (non-stealth) as beryllium to he1000se. Tonality is smoother with the biowool though it doesn't lack detail at all, it's just not as in your face as the beryllium is. They both have fantastic bass...very deep and big but never bloated and the mids, to my ear are spot on, neither recessed or up front. Vocals are as good as it gets in my experience on both sets. Treble is well extended on both but it's a bit more up front on the beryllium.

Ive owned ananda, ananda stealth, arya v2, arya stealth, he1000v2 (twice), LCDX 21, Focal Clear, Focal Clear MG, 800s, and 800. These are my favorite of them all.

The biowool is like a warm slipper and the beryllium is more of a hot night on the town. Having both is pretty glorious.

Which drivers would you say have better overall resolution? Biowool for a laid back smooth evening, and Beryllium for a rock out type of session? Do both sound natural and organic? Which would you choose for metal - complete drum kits, bass and electric guitars? Lastly, did you find either at all bothersome in the presence region after a long listen? Lots of questions, but I appreciate your response.

 

[vikinguy]

Which drivers would you say have better overall resolution? Biowool for a laid back smooth evening, and Beryllium for a rock out type of session? Do both sound natural and organic? Which would you choose for metal - complete drum kits, bass and electric guitars? Lastly, did you find either at all bothersome in the presence region after a long listen? Lots of questions, but I appreciate your response.

I think most people would say the beryllium have "better" resolution. They aren't as warm as biowool but they aren't clinical or sterile either.

Id think that the beryllium would be better for metal but if you give me a couple of specific tracks I'd be happy to a/b tonight.

I definitely have zero issues with long listening sessions on the biowool. Life circumstances have prevented me from enjoying more than about 45 minutes at a time with the beryllium. But I haven't been annoyed by anything and I'm very sensitive to sharp upper Mids.

Let me know about the specific tracks !

 

[rlawry]

Even though this may well not be an answer to your question regarding the XTC open or closed phones and whether the biowool or beryllium driver is superior on certain kinds of music, the use of a dynamic driver regardless of the diaphragm material will tend towards a known kind of sonic signature, at least in my experience. A dynamic driver usually has a slower response and can give greater excursions than that of other, lighter drivers, so bass response, warmth, darkness, smoothness, and dynamic range is usually superior with them. Lighter drivers used in planar magnetic, electrostatic, ribbons, and folded ribbons can react more quickly so you usually get enhanced speed, detail, transparency, immediacy, and spaciousness. My RAAL SR-1b with its ribbon drivers has the fastest drivers I have heard on any phone and has those attributes in spades but not the bass weight nor bass dynamics of my XTC-Closed phones with beryllium dynamic drivers.

As far as biowool versus beryllium drivers I haven't heard biowool versions but would imagine that with the use of lightweight and stiff beryllium for drivers they would fall on the speed and detail end of the dynamic driver spectrum whereas the biowool driver would tend toward smoothness and bass weight. I think some other posters here have posted such results.

 

[Mhog55]

Even though this may well not be an answer to your question regarding the XTC open or closed phones and whether the biowool or beryllium driver is superior on certain kinds of music, the use of a dynamic driver regardless of the diaphragm material will tend towards a known kind of sonic signature, at least in my experience. A dynamic driver usually has a slower response and can give greater excursions than that of other, lighter drivers, so bass response, warmth, darkness, smoothness, and dynamic range is usually superior with them. Lighter drivers used in planar magnetic, electrostatic, ribbons, and folded ribbons can react more quickly so you usually get enhanced speed, detail, transparency, immediacy, and spaciousness. My RAAL SR-1b with its ribbon drivers has the fastest drivers I have heard on any phone and has those attributes in spades but not the bass weight nor bass dynamics of my XTC-Closed phones with beryllium dynamic drivers.

As far as biowool versus beryllium drivers I haven't heard biowool versions but would imagine that with the use of lightweight and stiff beryllium for drivers they would fall on the speed and detail end of the dynamic driver spectrum whereas the biowool driver would tend toward smoothness and bass weight. I think some other posters here have posted such results.

Yep, I only use dynamic these days. The only planar I thoroughly enjoyed was the Quad Era-1. Sounded kinda like a hybrid planar - dynamic. Unfortunately, the fitment was meant for giants.

 

[Mhog55]

I think most people would say the beryllium have "better" resolution. They aren't as warm as biowool but they aren't clinical or sterile either.

Id think that the beryllium would be better for metal but if you give me a couple of specific tracks I'd be happy to a/b tonight.

I definitely have zero issues with long listening sessions on the biowool. Life circumstances have prevented me from enjoying more than about 45 minutes at a time with the beryllium. But I haven't been annoyed by anything and I'm very sensitive to sharp upper Mids.

Let me know about the specific tracks !

Awesome, much appreciated!

Armored Saint - Can you deliver
Judas Priest - You've got another thing comin
Accept - Too high to get it right
Heavens Edge - Play Dirty
Thanks!
Have you heard or owned any Kennerton headphones by any chance?

 

[rlawry]

I own a pair of Kennerton Rognir Planar Magnetic and previously owned a pair of Kennerton Gjallarhorn JM Edition Mark 2 phones.