LCD-X 2021 EQ Revision 10-08-22
For Lovers Of Sub Bass, Punch, And Slam
This time around I had the great benefit of being able to measure my EQ results in REW (Thank you
@staticV3!) with
@oratory1990's most excellent measurements as you can see in this EQ applied graph overlayed with the Harman Target Curve 2018.
Based, in part, on the Harman Target Curve this EQ adds back some of the Audeze house warmth in the custard smooth mids without making vocalists unrealistically nasal sounding but with a gorgeous and exciting overall tonality. Improved imaging and sense of space between instruments from the last EQ Revision. Locating exactly the placement of sounds is now more natural than ever enhancing that holographic nature of the LCD-Xs that we all love.
This EQ truly extends the sub bass all the way down to 20Hz as the graph shows (a horizontal line instead of the typical right to left downward slope) which adds an impactful presence to tracks that are mixed/mastered to utilize ALL of the low end. I wanted my LCD-X to most accurately recreate my speaker and subwoofer setup which extends completely down through 20Hz which it now does with this EQ Revision. True sub bass extension!
I acknowledge ahead of time that there are a large number of filters utilized. It is necessary to make sections of the EQ more adjustable with a single filter, to hug the Harman Curve as tightly as I did in parts, and to capture various nuances with detailed resolution. Thankfully with preset saving you only have to enter it once; also I use Equalizer APO and I personally hear no sound degradation of any kind. YMMV. Nuff said about that.
80Hz is exaggerated in order to target bass drums and make them slam and cut through the mix. The dip before 40.2Hz is there to give sub, sub bass some punch to bass guitars and the low, low end of kick drums.
I've intentially emphasized the "magic" frequencies from 3450-4350Hz, one of the sweet spots of this headphone, and I think it sounds great but depending on how the tracks YOU listen to are mastered you may have to decrease these frequencies if it sounds too "sharp" or "shouty". Fortunately I've made it easy, just turn up or down the gain value of Filter 16 to taste and find your own happy setting.
Preamp: -17.35 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 21 Hz Gain 3.46 dB Q 1.2
Filter 2: ON LSC Fc 40.2 Hz Gain 5.4 dB Q 0.69
Filter 3: ON LSC Fc 40.2 Hz Gain 1.08 dB Q 4
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 80 Hz Gain 6.75 dB Q 1.6
Filter 5: ON LSC Fc 90 Hz Gain 7.25 dB Q 0.65
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 110 Hz Gain 2.7 dB Q 1.41
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 200 Hz Gain -3.35 dB Q 2.34
Filter 8: ON PK Fc 300 Hz Gain 3.05 dB Q 1.2
Filter 9: ON PK Fc 575 Hz Gain 3.25 dB Q 3
Filter 10: ON PK Fc 785 Hz Gain -2.6 dB Q 2.2
Filter 11: ON HSC Fc 1235 Hz Gain -1 dB Q 2.4
Filter 12: ON HSC Fc 1500 Hz Gain 8.1 dB Q 0.71
Filter 13: ON PK Fc 1910 Hz Gain 1.45 dB Q 4
Filter 14: ON PK Fc 2700 Hz Gain -2.75 dB Q 2
Filter 15: ON PK Fc 3450 Hz Gain 1.1 dB Q 5
Filter 16: ON PK Fc 3750 Hz Gain 3.1 dB Q 1.7
Filter 17: ON PK Fc 4350 Hz Gain 2.3 dB Q 3.5
Filter 18: ON PK Fc 5500 Hz Gain -2.35 dB Q 4.5
Filter 19: ON PK Fc 6100 Hz Gain -3.75 dB Q 2.5
Filter 20: ON PK Fc 6500 Hz Gain 2.45 dB Q 5
Filter 21: ON PK Fc 7350 Hz Gain -1.65 dB Q 3.5
Filter 22: ON PK Fc 10000 Hz Gain -1 dB Q 0.8
Filter 23: ON HSC Fc 13000 Hz Gain 1.75 dB Q 1.4
To increase or decrease
bass, adjust gain to Filter 5 to taste.
To increase or decrease
high-mid range “shoutiness”, adjust Filter 16 to taste.
To increase or decrease
treble, adjust gain to Filter 22 to taste.
To increase or decrease
upper treble/sparkle/air, adjust gain to Filter 23 to taste.
Here is an original track of mine that I find to be well balanced and good to test this EQ out on:
Jonne Haven - Dusty Road
Another original track to try out is my cover of
The Archies - Sugar, Sugar:
To hear what this EQ is doing from the starting point of the stock sound, which is very good on its own too IMO BTW, I would encourage you to make two presets in your preferred EQ software. One with this EQ and the other with a flat EQ and a preamp value of -13.35 to approximate loudnesses. Get your best reference tracks and A/B away!
Congratulations on getting this far! Remember this is just how I like to listen to my LCD-X... I'm not selling anything, just
sharing my experience with these awesome and incredibly EQ-able HPs!
Immerse!
Blessings,
-Jonne