Hello everyone,
@cladane
If the LCD4
(4,950 € in France, 20 % tax included) is an improvement of the LCD3F
(2,490 €) and the LCD-X
(2,190 €), well the Odin
(2,450 €) is an improvement of the LCD2
(1,290 €), and is equal to the quality of the sound with a well-amplified HE-6
(which is no longer produced), but with a sensitivity (ease of amplification), aesthetics (?) and finish (look the Zebrano version of the Kennerton Odin), much better, and, also, with a little less high-midrange and low-treble in the frequency range curve.
Quote (
earfonia and its very good review of the Kennerton Odin entitled
"Balance Restored", at the end of the page of the link below):
https://www.head-fi.org/f/showcase/kennerton-odin.21886/reviews#review-17444
"Audeze LCD-2 Vs Kennerton Odin
Kennerton Odin is pretty much an LCD-2 with improvement in detail retrieval, instrument separation, clarity, transparency, and dynamic. Tonal balance is pretty close between the two, obviously not exactly the same but pretty close. For those who love LCD-2 tonality, and wish to have some improvement in detail, clarity, and dynamic, Odin is a must try. It is almost that simple, that I think that I don’t have to write more about the comparison between the two."
"Audeze LCD-4 Vs Kennerton Odin
I had 3 different sessions for LCD-4 auditions. Twice with the 200 ohm version paired with Woo Audio WA5-LE amplifier at AV One Singapore, and once with the 100 ohm version paired with around 7 watts discrete DIY amplifier that belong to a friend. Odin was compared side by side with the LCD-4 using the same setup. I tend to like the 100 ohm LCD-4 setup slightly better for sounding a tad more lively, but the difference is not much. Both LCD-4 that I tried are generally warmer sounding than Odin. Odin has flatter and more balanced tonality in comparison. LCD-4 has more midrange and midbass emphasize, while Odin has more treble sparkle and extension. LCD-4 has slightly better dynamic and punch. Mid-bass punch is better on LCD-4, while Odin has slightly better sub-bass to mid-bass balance. Perceived detail, clarity, and instrument separation is slightly better on Odin, but not by much. Probably the more sparkling treble helps in the perceived detail and clarity. LCD-4 sounds a tad smoother and has a kind of cohesiveness to the sound that somehow makes the instrument separation less clear than Odin. Perceived size of soundstage is more or less similar, with Odin sounds slightly more spacious and holographic and the LCD-4 sounds closer and more intimate."
"Hifiman HE-6 Vs Kennerton Odin
I’m glad to say that my old Hifiman HE-6 still competes very well with the newer Kennerton Odin. Being older and cheaper than Odin, I don’t feel that HE-6 is inferior in this comparison. At least from the perspective of musical enjoyment, I would say they give me more or less a similar level of musical enjoyment. In comparison to Odin, HE-6 tonality is mildly V shape, with slightly more emphasis on the treble and level of transparency, and slightly more potent bass. When properly driven, HE-6 has slightly better dynamic than Odin. But HE-6 is well known for being one of the most difficult headphones in the world to be properly driven, while on the other hand, Odin is much easier to drive and doesn’t require high power amplifier to produce lifelike and enjoyable dynamic. Currently, I use Matrix HPA-3B with around 3.8 Watt output power at 33 ohms to drive HE-6. Definitely, not the most powerful amp for HE-6, but for now I feel it is quite sufficient for HE-6. I tend to hear both Odin and HE-6 as two different headphones with more similarities than differences. They have rather similar ‘planar’ tonal density, quite similar in dynamic and perceived soundstage imaging. The main difference is in tonality as mentioned earlier. I do prefer the Odin tonality for a fuller and more engaging midrange, with the more intimate vocal presentation. While HE-6 can be more fun with large scale complex orchestra. In my book, they are almost equally good. If I have to choose between the two, I slightly prefer the Odin, but not by much. They are both among the most musical headphones I’ve ever tried."
Note: About the tone of these 3 headphones above (and others), the author of this review of headphones (in link above) also says
:
Quote
: " If I could generalize those headphones into 3 groups based only by their perceived tonality, it would be something like the following:
Group 1: Natural with some emphasis on clarity & transparency:
Beyerdynamic T1
Focal Utopia
Hifiman HE-6
Hifiman HE-1000 v2
Sennheiser HD800
Group 2: Natural with a slight touch of warmness:
Audeze LCD-2
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x
Kennerton Odin
Group 3: Natural warm:
Audeze LCD-4 "
Note: And I will add, personally, for owning them both, and also having the same ear sensitivity as earfonia:
The Stax SR-009, in the
group 1 (very transparent headphone, but a little clear and brillant).
The Audeze LCD3F, in the
group 3 (warm tone headphone, with a luxuriant mid-range, very pleasant).
Note, the Audeze LCD2 tested by earfonia is probably a model F (Fazor) (LCD2F) of 2016, clearer and more balanced for the tone than older models LCD2.
), but the Odin has always figured at the top of my own WoF (and yet I also owned like other headphones a STAX SR 009, Stax SR 007 mk2, Audeze LCD3F, Sennheiser HD600 and HD 800). I still love it so much!
