[ThanatosVI]

Currently have the new production LCD-X, and new LCD-XC coming next week.

First off, these are the least “Audez’e-sounding” Audez’e yet - and in the best way possible.

I’ve owned LCD3, LCD4 and heard all generations of full sized, and was always a bit bummed by their darker tuning. I’ve heard the original silver LCD-X, as well as 2018 production, and they definitely sound different or “worse” than 2021 version.

Old LCD-X: Punchy bass with lots of rumble, huge midrange recession, huge treble spike/ edge.

2021 LCD-X: Less rumble, or bass weight but still punchy, better technicalities and midrange voicing (especially upper midrange), greater micro-detail retrieval and speed, more refined treble (less spikes)

The new LCD-X is actually my favorite Audeze yet, more so than the LCD4. I wish it had a bit more bass sustain, and ever-so slightly more upper mids still - but I guess they don’t want to deviate too much from their house sound. It’s still a generally punchy, rich and forgiving to harshness headphone, but sounds more neutral than ever.

LCD-1 seems to be the first Audez’e headphone to push towards more neutrality, and 2021 LCD-X also seems to follow that path, and I’m all for it

Thx for sharing the impressions.
Seems like the new LCD-X is definitely not for me then.

I really loved the "house tuning" of other LCDs (have yet to hear the LCD-4 tho)
If they decide to Release a more neutrally tuned LCD-5, there would actually be a place for both flagships at the same time.

Maybe that's what they aim for in the long run
Or the LCD-X is an outlier, as their mastering headphone

 

[omniweltall]

Currently have the new production LCD-X, and new LCD-XC coming next week.

First off, these are the least “Audez’e-sounding” Audez’e yet - and in the best way possible.

I’ve owned LCD3, LCD4 and heard all generations of full sized, and was always a bit bummed by their darker tuning. I’ve heard the original silver LCD-X, as well as 2018 production, and they definitely sound different or “worse” than 2021 version.

Old LCD-X: Punchy bass with lots of rumble, huge midrange recession, huge treble spike/ edge.

2021 LCD-X: Less rumble, or bass weight but still punchy, better technicalities and midrange voicing (especially upper midrange), greater micro-detail retrieval and speed, more refined treble (less spikes)

The new LCD-X is actually my favorite Audeze yet, more so than the LCD4. I wish it had a bit more bass sustain, and ever-so slightly more upper mids still - but I guess they don’t want to deviate too much from their house sound. It’s still a generally punchy, rich and forgiving to harshness headphone, but sounds more neutral than ever.

LCD-1 seems to be the first Audez’e headphone to push towards more neutrality, and 2021 LCD-X also seems to follow that path, and I’m all for it

Good to hear. Been waiting for Audeze's comeback!

I still wish their pads are not glued though. Magnets would be a killer.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Good to hear. Been waiting for Audeze's comeback!

I still wish their pads are not glued though. Magnets would be a killer.

Yeah a padswap mechanism like Meze would be amazing.

 

[Lohb]

I really loved the "house tuning" of other LCDs (have yet to hear the LCD-4 tho)

Yes, a mix of both ends of the tuning spectrum - flatliner neutral and warmer/darker - would cover all bases for buyers vs shifting the entire line like 2021 X/XC.

 

[Fegefeuer]

Me reading about all these potentially very good Audeze offerings throughout their whole lineup

 

[FYFL]

Didn’t go deep but..... My initial impressions favor new non-leather over new leather pads.
Anyone else feels that way?

 

[chris.d.m.]

Currently have the new production LCD-X, and new LCD-XC coming next week.

First off, these are the least “Audez’e-sounding” Audez’e yet - and in the best way possible.

I’ve owned LCD3, LCD4 and heard all generations of full sized, and was always a bit bummed by their darker tuning. I’ve heard the original silver LCD-X, as well as 2018 production, and they definitely sound different or “worse” than 2021 version.

Old LCD-X: Punchy bass with lots of rumble, huge midrange recession, huge treble spike/ edge.

2021 LCD-X: Less rumble, or bass weight but still punchy, better technicalities and midrange voicing (especially upper midrange), greater micro-detail retrieval and speed, more refined treble (less spikes)

The new LCD-X is actually my favorite Audeze yet, more so than the LCD4. I wish it had a bit more bass sustain, and ever-so slightly more upper mids still - but I guess they don’t want to deviate too much from their house sound. It’s still a generally punchy, rich and forgiving to harshness headphone, but sounds more neutral than ever.

LCD-1 seems to be the first Audez’e headphone to push towards more neutrality, and 2021 LCD-X also seems to follow that path, and I’m all for it

It's good to read your impressions. Hoping to get the LCD X as well as the LCD 1 in here to check out. Just not sure if there's much sense in having the 1's if I went for the X's. Other than the 1's being much more travel friendly of course. I used to love the old X's bottom end. Albeit couldn't deal with the top end recessions.
Hope the new ones don't compromise too much bass wise.

 

[iaku]

As an audio engineer using the LCD X for mixing, something I've noticed is that compared to the Sundara, which has been my reference headphone, the LCD X makes things easier to EQ. Makes decisions easier. Not hugely so, but it's noticeable to me. I think it's the way the X handles transients, maybe combined with the greater detail?? A common EQ trick to find problematic regions that need reduction is to create a filter and actually amplify those frequencies, sliding the filter left to right (up and down the frequency range). This makes problems more obvious, and then you reduce the offending frequency. Doing this on the Sundara was effective, but things didn't "pop" the same way they do on the LCD X. When I do the same technique with the LCD X, I'm just able to hear the effect much more clearly. I could boost things by 5db on the Sundara and would still be second guessing myself if I'm adjusting the correct frequency. On the LCD X, the effect of amplifying a frequency range is much more obvious to my ears, and then I can confidently decide which areas need to be reduced. There's more contrast, and my guess is that the LCD X is more resolving of detail in a way that makes transients come through very clearly. The Sundara is great, but things sound a bit more smeared.

 

[FYFL]

As an audio engineer using the LCD X for mixing, something I've noticed is that compared to the Sundara, which has been my reference headphone, the LCD X makes things easier to EQ. Makes decisions easier. Not hugely so, but it's noticeable to me. I think it's the way the X handles transients, maybe combined with the greater detail?? A common EQ trick to find problematic regions that need reduction is to create a filter and actually amplify those frequencies, sliding the filter left to right (up and down the frequency range). This makes problems more obvious, and then you reduce the offending frequency. Doing this on the Sundara was effective, but things didn't "pop" the same way they do on the LCD X. When I do the same technique with the LCD X, I'm just able to hear the effect much more clearly. I could boost things by 5db on the Sundara and would still be second guessing myself if I'm adjusting the correct frequency. On the LCD X, the effect of amplifying a frequency range is much more obvious to my ears, and then I can confidently decide which areas need to be reduced. There's more contrast, and my guess is that the LCD X is more resolving of detail in a way that makes transients come through very clearly. The Sundara is great, but things sound a bit more smeared.

I would say that is pretty accurate. Those drivers do great job of deciphering details and nuances that get smeared on other (not all) headphones.

 

[betula]

Currently have the new production LCD-X, and new LCD-XC coming next week.

First off, these are the least “Audez’e-sounding” Audez’e yet - and in the best way possible.

I’ve owned LCD3, LCD4 and heard all generations of full sized, and was always a bit bummed by their darker tuning. I’ve heard the original silver LCD-X, as well as 2018 production, and they definitely sound different or “worse” than 2021 version.

Old LCD-X: Punchy bass with lots of rumble, huge midrange recession, huge treble spike/ edge.

2021 LCD-X: Less rumble, or bass weight but still punchy, better technicalities and midrange voicing (especially upper midrange), greater micro-detail retrieval and speed, more refined treble (less spikes)

The new LCD-X is actually my favorite Audeze yet, more so than the LCD4. I wish it had a bit more bass sustain, and ever-so slightly more upper mids still - but I guess they don’t want to deviate too much from their house sound. It’s still a generally punchy, rich and forgiving to harshness headphone, but sounds more neutral than ever.

LCD-1 seems to be the first Audez’e headphone to push towards more neutrality, and 2021 LCD-X also seems to follow that path, and I’m all for it

I guess, the big question for all of us is how much bass impact and punchiness was lost with the smaller/lighter magnets and how much of the mids/treble FR has improved. We can read impressions but won't know until we try ourselves.

I love the LCD-X for its spectacularly contoured and impactful bass performance, but once you try better headphones you can hear the mids/treble is just a big recessed and peaky mess without EQ. I must try the new edition one day to see how much this has improved.

 

[iaku]

I guess, the big question for all of us is how much bass impact and punchiness was lost with the smaller/lighter magnets and how much of the mids/treble FR has improved. We can read impressions but won't know until we try ourselves.

I love the LCD-X for its spectacularly contoured and impactful bass performance, but once you try better headphones you can hear the mids/treble is just a big recessed and peaky mess without EQ. I must try the new edition one day to see how much this has improved.

I've never heard the older LCD X. Based on my hearing, I don't notice any peakiness pretty much anywhere in the FR. I DO hear a recession in the lower treble, even without A/Bing with other headphones. But it doesn't make the tonal balance sound "broken." It's just a moderately colored-sounding lower treble. But it's very easy to resolve with EQ, and I only bother making that adjustment when working on a mix. And once I do that, the whole FR sounds very smooth; nothing jumps out in a way that would be hard to EQ. Can't speak to the bass compared to the older LCD X.

 

[FYFL]

I love the LCD-X for its spectacularly contoured and impactful bass performance, but once you try better headphones you can hear the mids/treble is just a big recessed and peaky mess without EQ. I must try the new edition one day to see how much this has improved.

Don’t know what modified new planars sound like but with new pads. Recession is still there. Treble is smother tho.
I think some ppl might be slightly disappointed with bass. But that’s still open for debate.

 

[headchiq]

Don’t know what modified new planars sound like but with new pads. Recession is still there. Treble is smother tho.
I think some ppl might be slightly disappointed with bass. But that’s still open for debate.

I have the new 2021 LCD x. I've never had the old model, and I am disappointed with the base. My previous headphone is the Sony MDR v600, I feel like those $30 headphones have a deeper, slammier base. I mean, nowhere near as clear but yeah

 

[AudiophileJargon]

I have the new 2021 LCD x. I've never had the old model, and I am disappointed with the base. My previous headphone is the Sony MDR v600, I feel like those $30 headphones have a deeper, slammier base. I mean, nowhere near as clear but yeah

If you like visceral punchy bass. The Clear, Elex and Utopia are pretty good. Basically dynamic drivers...

 

[betula]

If you like visceral punchy bass. The Clear, Elex and Utopia are pretty good. Basically dynamic drivers...

Dynamic drivers might sound punchier, but they can't provide the bass extension and sub-bass presence of (good) planar transducers. When it comes to bass, for me planar is the answer. Dynamic drivers fall short of extension, presence, body, balance. For a bass connoisseur planar is the final answer. Dynamic driver bass is only the McDonald's of bass lovers. A good planar transducer offers the full plate of refined bass like no other dynamic drivers ever can.