[phthora]

The 3 Fazor (post 2016 revision) have smoother treble, a larger soundstage, more liquid mids (the X has a 5-6K peak, the 3 doesn't), and better resolution and clarity. The X has a slight mid bass bump as well and sub bass that rolls off before 20HZ. The 3 bass is pretty much linear down to 10HZ with no roll off, but sounds less impactful because it doesn’t have a mid bass hump.

Erm... looking at the Innerfidelity measurements posted here: https://www.innerfidelity.com/conte...h-listen-current-lcd-2-and-lcd-3-measurements

You have all of that completely backwards.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Erm... looking at the Innerfidelity measurements posted here: https://www.innerfidelity.com/conte...h-listen-current-lcd-2-and-lcd-3-measurements

You have all of that completely backwards.

No I don’t. I’ve heard them both and own the 3. You just said you’ve never heard the 3.

 

[phthora]

Yeah, I'll trust Tyll's rig over that guy's. Sorry.

I also don't hear any roll-off in the sub-bass on my X. Seems like he got a bad seal/bad pads on his X, which might explain the channel imbalance too.

Ultimately, I think I will take DIY-Audio-Heaven's advice: "IF you find they do not jive with your impressions of a headphone or have other views than don’t bother to peruse the measurements on this website other than just for ‘fun’ and just disagree with my findings or measurement methodology."

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

Yeah, I'll trust Tyll's rig over that guy's. Sorry.

I also don't hear any roll-off in the sub-bass on my X. Seems like he got a bad seal/bad pads on his X, which might explain the channel imbalance too.

Ultimately, I think I will take DIY-Audio-Heaven's advice: "IF you find they do not jive with your impressions of a headphone or have other views than don’t bother to peruse the measurements on this website other than just for ‘fun’ and just disagree with my findings or measurement methodology."

Fine by me. But I’ll take my ears over your opinion, since I’ve owned both at the same time and still have the 3’s, which you have never even heard.

 

[phthora]

You know that X he measured was a demo-unit measured in situ at a store. Dafuq. You trust that over Tyll? Get real.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

You know that X he measured was a demo-unit measured in situ at a store. Dafuq. You trust that over Tyll? Get real.

Do you read? I owned them both! I have ears. I still own the 3. The X definitely sounds more V shaped than the 3, which is consistent with his measurements. But since you’ve never even heard the 3, please tell me more about how they sound.

 

[phthora]

The X is V-shaped? Rolled-off in the bass? Mid-bass hump? Jaggy treble? None of that matches my experience. DIY's measurements are inaccurate subjectively and have a number of potential issues with their accuracy for this headphone. I don't need to hear the 3 to understand that.

And I will stand by what I said about the 3's sound: exactly nothing. Just a summation of what I've read. That's it. I'm not making any claims about it. Not disputing your subjective experience of it. I'm just mentioning that it doesn't match one trusted source of headphone measurements.

 

[AustinKES]

Thank you both, you are an incredible help. I'm coming to the realization that I may want/need more than one set of HP's for different genres . As a newb, I came into this thinking that one really good set of HP's would satisfy all bases. The question I'm realizing now is do I want to blow the budget (for now anyway) on one really good set, or shoot for a few less expensive but highly capable set of HPs that will better serve my varied listening requirements. After all I can trade up, or over to other cans later on. This seems to be a trend for alot of the Head Fier's around here, no?

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

The X is V-shaped? Rolled-off in the bass? Mid-bass hump? Jaggy treble? None of that matches my experience. DIY's measurements are inaccurate subjectively and have a number of potential issues with their accuracy for this headphone. I don't need to hear the 3 to understand that.

And I will stand by what I said about the 3's sound: exactly nothing. Just a summation of what I've read. That's it. I'm not making any claims about it. Not disputing your subjective experience of it. I'm just mentioning that it doesn't match one trusted source of headphone measurements.

V shaped only in comparison to the 3. Not V shaped like the Th900.

Rolled off slightly in the sub bass only, again relative to the 3.

They definitely have elevated mid bass and greater impact compared to the 3. Which you would know if you had ever heard the 3. Nonetheless, both of them have awesome bass. They’re both Audeze at the end of the day.

I never said anything about jaggy treble so I don’t know even know where you got that. I said the X has a peak in the upper mids that is not present on the 3. I said the 3 has more liquid mids, which it does, and which is well known.

And finally, I’m only speaking about all of the above in comparison between the X and 3, so the poster can get an idea of their sonic differences. I’m not making sweeping generalizations across all headphones. And none of these differences were said to be dramatic. These are small differences between two headphones that sound more alike than different.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

It’s also relevant to know which version of the LCD Fazor drivers are being measured. My LCD 3 is less than a year old. The newer drivers are not as dark as the older ones and are tuned more closely to neutral. To my ears, the X sounded more fun and less neutral than the 3, because it’s mid bass bumped harder. And my 3 definitely sounds more resolving and has a wider soundstage than the X. At the end of the day, they both sound great, but there are differences.

 

[buke9]

Bass impact is not the forte of planars, in general. From what I've read, this is due to the flat diaphragm, which simply pushes less air at your ears than a dynamic driver would. Outstanding impact in a planar is still going to fall short of pretty good impact in a dynamic. Something like a Fostex is in an entirely different league when it comes to the visceral feel of bass

While I’m not going to totally disagree with this statement just have to say that with a bit of power the Abyss can rock the noggin pretty well.

 

[phthora]

While I’m not going to totally disagree with this statement just have to say that with a bit of power the Abyss can rock the noggin pretty well.

haha... I think we may have to consider the Abyss something of an outlier.

I think the X is satisfying in its impact, it just doesn't have as much oomph as a good dynamic. Can the Abyss match something like a TH-X00 or similar?

Thank you both, you are an incredible help. I'm coming to the realization that I may want/need more than one set of HP's for different genres . As a newb, I came into this thinking that one really good set of HP's would satisfy all bases. The question I'm realizing now is do I want to blow the budget (for now anyway) on one really good set, or shoot for a few less expensive but highly capable set of HPs that will better serve my varied listening requirements. After all I can trade up, or over to other cans later on. This seems to be a trend for alot of the Head Fier's around here, no?

Personally, I love having a harem of headphones. Listening to different headphones can breathe new life into a favorite old album. Even if it's just a matter of having a new different FR, you tend to hear new/different things when switching between headphones. It also alleviates some of the pressure of trying to find the perfect headphone for everything (which really doesn't exist). Instead, I find, I can just appreciate each one for what they are and am not tempted to constantly upgrade, replace, mod, tweak, EQ, etc. all the joy out of the hobby. But that's me. I think you have the right approach of getting something really good to start with, figuring out what you want different in the next set, and then trying to find a new pair that matches that desire. Trading in to trade up is always a strategy, but it can be pretty costly too. You definitely don't want to take that approach to make minor, incremental upgrades. That said, there are a lot of amazing headphones out there that you can get for pretty cheap if you are patient and not striving for the perfect headphones.

 

[buke9]

haha... I think we may have to consider the Abyss something of an outlier.Can the Abyss match something like a TH-X00 or similar?

I have the TR-X00 Mahogany also and will say yes they will but darn close but the quality of the bass is a different story. Will give it this this as I don’t have balanced cables for the Fostex but they do not need the power that the Abyss do. My little impromptu test was done with a Audio GD Master 9 so plenty of power for both.

 

[phthora]

I have the TR-X00 Mahogany also and will say yes they will but darn close but the quality of the bass is a different story. Will give it this this as I don’t have balanced cables for the Fostex but they do not need the power that the Abyss do. My little impromptu test was done with a Audio GD Master 9 so plenty of power for both.

To be honest, the impact of a Fostex dynamic combined with the bass quality of an excellent planar, that.... that scares me.

How much power those things require? Think an Audio-gd 28.38 would do it?

 

[buke9]

To be honest, the impact of a Fostex dynamic combined with the bass quality of an excellent planar, that.... that scares me.

How much power those things require? Think an Audio-gd 28.38 would do it?

The detail and soundstage is also great as it is a TOTL headphone and deserves the title. For power not too crazy as I thought my Liquid Carbon did a very good job and heard the Phi CC’s at RMAF from a 1 or 2 watt can’t remember and they were just awesome . I listen to my Master 9 at about 50% range or a bit more sometimes and it outputs 9 watts in balanced mode don’t know the 28.38 though so can’t say.