[Another Audiophile]

Alright, I ended up researching all of these headphones again this evening. I have decided that I am going to get lastest revision of either the LCD-X or LCD-3. Has anyone here compared these 2 headphones ? Thanks again for the awesome feedback thus far. I would normally not be asking questions, but I have not heard any of these models before.

tried them all and my vote goes for the LCD-X 2020 if you are after the Audeze house sound or an Audeze headphone. the 2021 is great but not an Audeze headphone. very close to the Arya which is much lighter. So, if you like the LCD-X 2021 more then better look at the Arya.

 

[alishafai]

Alright, I ended up researching all of these headphones again this evening. I have decided that I am going to get lastest revision of either the LCD-X or LCD-3. Has anyone here compared these 2 headphones ? Thanks again for the awesome feedback thus far. I would normally not be asking questions, but I have not heard any of these models before.

I used to have the LCD-3 and now have LCD-X 2021. I find the LCD-X to be more neutralish with bigger sound stage. The LCD-3 seemed to have a slightly larger bass impact and was definitely warmer. That said, both headphones benefit greatly using an EQ.

 

[peterinvan]

hey, where did you buy those 4.4mm cables?

Hi
Ebay… $70 USD. The cable is stiff and microphonic if scratched. Sound quality is good. Quality components and construction. Good value.

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/174516781551?var=473715530742

 

[mikecheck95]

Call me broken... after months of listening to this new LCD-X with pretty heavy eq. I decided to try to listen without any and I am finding I actually prefer them without EQ? Has anyone else had a similar experience? when I say I prefer them... I feel I get a richer sound with more body. I also feel the soundstage is better without the EQ.

edit: I have gone back to using some eq but about 3db less in the presence region than I was using before and 2db more in the sub-bass. I’m using the Oratory1990 settings.

 

[Bimbleton]

Call me broken... after months of listening to this new LCD-X with pretty heavy eq. I decided to try to listen without any and I am finding I actually prefer them without EQ? Has anyone else had a similar experience? when I say I prefer them... I feel I get a richer sound with more body. I also feel the soundstage is better without the EQ.

Same here. I switch between a variation of Oratory's EQ, and no EQ. Both are great in their own way -- EQ'd is more incisive and exciting, whereas without EQ is smooth and easy listening. Depends on the mood!

 

[alishafai]

Call me broken... after months of listening to this new LCD-X with pretty heavy eq. I decided to try to listen without any and I am finding I actually prefer them without EQ? Has anyone else had a similar experience? when I say I prefer them... I feel I get a richer sound with more body. I also feel the soundstage is better without the EQ.

Call me broken... after months of listening to this new LCD-X with pretty heavy eq. I decided to try to listen without any and I am finding I actually prefer them without EQ? Has anyone else had a similar experience? when I say I prefer them... I feel I get a richer sound with more body. I also feel the soundstage is better without the EQ.

I have been using Roon's built-in EQ and the specific Audeze LCD-X profile at the same time. I guess with my hearing getting worse every year, I like doing EQ so that I can boost areas that sound better to my ears. That said, the straight out of the box sounds is nice and relaxed, and I do switch to it for some music.

 

[jonathan c]

Call me broken... after months of listening to this new LCD-X with pretty heavy eq. I decided to try to listen without any and I am finding I actually prefer them without EQ? Has anyone else had a similar experience? when I say I prefer them... I feel I get a richer sound with more body. I also feel the soundstage is better without the EQ.

I have owned my LCD-X since 2016 (they have the old style headband) and have enjoyed their frequency response, clarity, soundstaging/imaging, dynamics all without equalisation. Also, I like to change up the headphone amps (a few chez moi). Evaluating these changes is easier without equalisation.

 

[Golyatx]

Call me broken... after months of listening to this new LCD-X with pretty heavy eq. I decided to try to listen without any and I am finding I actually prefer them without EQ? Has anyone else had a similar experience? when I say I prefer them... I feel I get a richer sound with more body. I also feel the soundstage is better without the EQ.

Not me, I have custom EQ inspired by amirm and I cant listen without it anymore. I was about to post a bigger post about it. I will post it in next 2 days.

 

[mancpg]

tried them all and my vote goes for the LCD-X 2020 if you are after the Audeze house sound or an Audeze headphone. the 2021 is great but not an Audeze headphone. very close to the Arya which is much lighter. So, if you like the LCD-X 2021 more then better look at the Arya.

I’ve compared the two as well (I own the 2020) and I think there are a lot of pluses for the 2021. But the 2020 seems to have a bit more pace than the 2021, which sounds a bit ‘slower’ or ‘relaxed’ to me. Or maybe that’s just perception owing to the 2020’s more impactful bass?

 

[JackarlTwo]

tried them all and my vote goes for the LCD-X 2020 if you are after the Audeze house sound or an Audeze headphone. the 2021 is great but not an Audeze headphone. very close to the Arya which is much lighter. So, if you like the LCD-X 2021 more then better look at the Arya.

Curious. I've tried both 2020 LCD-X and 2021 LCD-X, while the 21 are slightly more neutral (from memory, mind you) overall they sounded very similar. Arya seems a lot brighter. LCD-X 21 still maintains the "Audeze house sound" but in a neutral way, if that makes sense. Edit: Also unit variations and preferences will obviously matter

 

[mikecheck95]

Curious. I've tried both 2020 LCD-X and 2021 LCD-X, while the 21 are slightly more neutral (from memory, mind you) overall they sounded very similar. Arya seems a lot brighter. LCD-X 21 still maintains the "Audeze house sound" but in a neutral way, if that makes sense. Edit: Also unit variations and preferences will obviously matter

Arya is brighter. What I think @Another Audiophile is hinting at is the presentation in regards to dynamics. In the older X and the current "origins" lineup there is a pretty strong sense of punch and slam to the Audeze planar despite them being, well.. planar headphones. The new X is more even-handed with its FR and presents more micro-dynamics in the upper frequencies but you lose some of the macro-dynamics and some bass slam as well (which is typical of other planar). Actually a better comparison (given the fr) might be the Sundara. The LCD-X to me is like a much more premium Sundara with slightly better overall dynamics, better bass response, and relaxed mids around 4k.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

My comped LCD-X came in (late August build). By the way some of you guys made it sound, I would've expected it to sound more like the GX, which is more dry, and less focused in the bass regions. I thought the GX was a vastly underrated LCD, but then I compared directly to the X, and there's a reason the X costs more. It's just absolutely infused with musicality and depth that the GX can't muster. They are in two different tiers. I still think the GX is great in a bubble, but man...the X is woah. I also wanna say I'm not an EQ guy, so my impression is as is.

I'm, also very surprised how LITTLE this thing needs to get to loud levels. I had it running on my Jotunheim 2 balanced on high gain, and I barely even got started on the volume knob. This is definitely a low gain only headphone, lol.

It is still 100% Audeze house sound, so I dunno where people it sounds like an Arya. I don't agree. They may cater to similar things, but this is still a very Audeze sounding headphone. The Arya doesn't sound like this. Now if I owned one or the other, I probably wouldn't get the other, but they're not so close to say they are close-close IMHO. The Arya is a stellar headphone. The X is a stellar headphone. Just saying they're not so similar that I'd call the X a HFM sounding headphone. I don't agree.

The true test is whether a dark/warmhead like me will give up the 2C for this. I LOVE the 2C. I haven't started that comparison. But the X is definitely immediately impressive.

(disclaimer: Yes I've recently been under the employ of Audeze, but I still maintain my individuality and have my preferences and tastes. My opinions above are 100% my own, and if you believe I made them just because I work for Audeze now, you're free to ignore, but I was a reviewer first, and stand by my words as how I truly feel, no bias. The only bias in my statement I have is for good stuff, and this stuff is GOOD).

 

[mikecheck95]

My comped LCD-X came in (late August build). By the way some of you guys made it sound, I would've expected it to sound more like the GX, which is more dry, and less focused in the bass regions. I thought the GX was a vastly underrated LCD, but then I compared directly to the X, and there's a reason the X costs more. It's just absolutely infused with musicality and depth that the GX can't muster. They are in two different tiers. I still think the GX is great in a bubble, but man...the X is woah. I also wanna say I'm not an EQ guy, so my impression is as is.

I'm, also very surprised how LITTLE this thing needs to get to loud levels. I had it running on my Jotunheim 2 balanced on high gain, and I barely even got started on the volume knob. This is definitely a low gain only headphone, lol.

It is still 100% Audeze house sound, so I dunno where people it sounds like an Arya. I don't agree. They may cater to similar things, but this is still a very Audeze sounding headphone. The Arya doesn't sound like this. Now if I owned one or the other, I probably wouldn't get the other, but they're not so close to say they are close-close IMHO. The Arya is a stellar headphone. The X is a stellar headphone. Just saying they're not so similar that I'd call the X a HFM sounding headphone. I don't agree.

The true test is whether a dark/warmhead like me will give up the 2C for this. I LOVE the 2C. I haven't started that comparison. But the X is definitely immediately impressive.

(disclaimer: Yes I've recently been under the employ of Audeze, but I still maintain my individuality and have my preferences and tastes. My opinions above are 100% my own, and if you believe I made them just because I work for Audeze now, you're free to ignore, but I was a reviewer first, and stand by my words as how I truly feel, no bias. The only bias in my statement I have is for good stuff, and this stuff is GOOD).

I'm curious to hear your comparison with the 2c. I'm sure you'd agree that the 2c offers more bass weight while the X gives a bit better definition in the highs and faster maybe more "detailed" bass. Saying it's like an Arya is definitely a stretch but, I do think it's more refined in its presentation than the "LCD origins" headphones like the 2f which is the other can I've compared it to. Some will like that it is more refined and some won't. But, it's consistent with Audeze's marketing. The LCD-X is meant to give you a clear look into your music and it does so without losing the musicality of the Audeze headphones.

 

[Bimbleton]

My comped LCD-X came in (late August build). By the way some of you guys made it sound, I would've expected it to sound more like the GX, which is more dry, and less focused in the bass regions. I thought the GX was a vastly underrated LCD, but then I compared directly to the X, and there's a reason the X costs more. It's just absolutely infused with musicality and depth that the GX can't muster. They are in two different tiers. I still think the GX is great in a bubble, but man...the X is woah. I also wanna say I'm not an EQ guy, so my impression is as is.

I'm, also very surprised how LITTLE this thing needs to get to loud levels. I had it running on my Jotunheim 2 balanced on high gain, and I barely even got started on the volume knob. This is definitely a low gain only headphone, lol.

It is still 100% Audeze house sound, so I dunno where people it sounds like an Arya. I don't agree. They may cater to similar things, but this is still a very Audeze sounding headphone. The Arya doesn't sound like this. Now if I owned one or the other, I probably wouldn't get the other, but they're not so close to say they are close-close IMHO. The Arya is a stellar headphone. The X is a stellar headphone. Just saying they're not so similar that I'd call the X a HFM sounding headphone. I don't agree.

The true test is whether a dark/warmhead like me will give up the 2C for this. I LOVE the 2C. I haven't started that comparison. But the X is definitely immediately impressive.

(disclaimer: Yes I've recently been under the employ of Audeze, but I still maintain my individuality and have my preferences and tastes. My opinions above are 100% my own, and if you believe I made them just because I work for Audeze now, you're free to ignore, but I was a reviewer first, and stand by my words as how I truly feel, no bias. The only bias in my statement I have is for good stuff, and this stuff is GOOD).

It gets even better with some EQ!

 

[Another Audiophile]

Arya is brighter. What I think @Another Audiophile is hinting at is the presentation in regards to dynamics. In the older X and the current "origins" lineup there is a pretty strong sense of punch and slam to the Audeze planar despite them being, well.. planar headphones. The new X is more even-handed with its FR and presents more micro-dynamics in the upper frequencies but you lose some of the macro-dynamics and some bass slam as well (which is typical of other planar). Actually a better comparison (given the fr) might be the Sundara. The LCD-X to me is like a much more premium Sundara with slightly better overall dynamics, better bass response, and relaxed mids around 4k.

After trying both 2020 and 2021, open and close, I end up buying the 2020 open. Having the MX4 as well I liked more the 2020 open in terms of slam and body with good enough resolution for very long listening sessions. The 2021 was brighter in comparison and closer to the Arya instead the Audeze house sound. At the beginning I liked the 2021 but after a week with the headphone I found it to be too analytical and I was listening the headphones more rather the music. I just enjoyed listening to music more with the 2020 and as I said both are great headphones. I just like more the 2020. Edit: just to highlight that I don’t use EQ and I don’t like EQing my headphones.