lightweight alternative to lcd-x?

[Eric Hawkins]

i was planning on upgrading from my hd598se to an lcd-x but have some physical issues that make a 600 gram headphone just too much for me. Anyone know of a good lightweight alternative that's closer to the 251 gram weight of my sennheisers? i can spend up to around $1,600 and dont mind buying used.

 

[IEMusic]

i was planning on upgrading from my hd598se to an lcd-x but have some physical issues that make a 600 gram headphone just too much for me. Anyone know of a good lightweight alternative that's closer to the 251 gram weight of my sennheisers? i can spend up to around $1,600 and dont mind buying used.

I’m not really a HP guy, but here are some ideas. Have you looked into the Audeze LCD-1? The weight is 250gm. The Hifiman Arya and Ananda are really well respected (especially the Arya), but their weights are around 400gm. Other ideas....

https://drop.com/buy/drop-dan-clark-audio-aeon-open-x - 320gm
https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-x-focal-elex-headphones - 450gm, but on sale for $550, only dynamic
https://drop.com/buy/drop-hifiman-he5xx - 350gm

 

[cycloverid]

You aren't going to get a large planar like the LCD-X weighing in at much less than 400g. The good news is this is about 240g less than the LCD-X, and in my experience quite comfortable in comparison. Like IEMusic said above, the Arya would be a good weight, but does it have the same light dynamics of the Ananda (haven't tried it)? The other comfort issue that's potentially a concern is the massive earcups on those things.

Something at around 400g is very comfortable to me. I've tried the lightest full sized Audeze (LCD-GX 485g), and even that was too much for me. ~400g seems to be the sweet spot for comfort.

 

[Eric Hawkins]

oh i didnt expect the lcd-1 to be so much lighter than the lcd-x. it seems like a lot of the higher end headphones are heavy which makes me wonder if the nicer tech is just heavy so its somewhat unavoidable. i never heard of drop dan clark (im a bit of a newb) but the aeon open x is probably just light enough to be safe for me. i'll definitely put these two on my list of possible buys. Thanks, the recommendations are appreciated.

 

[Eric Hawkins]

lol well cycloverid basically confirmed my suspicions about these hps being unavoidably heavy. seems like im just looking at the wrong types of headphones for myself if the large planars arent likely to be much under 400 grams.

 

[cycloverid]

lol well cycloverid basically confirmed my suspicions about these hps being unavoidably heavy. seems like im just looking at the wrong types of headphones for myself if the large planars arent likely to be much under 400 grams.

This is one of those things that depends on a lot of personal factors. I found the LCD-GX to be too heavy, but the Sundara (372g) feels comfortable and this weight and distribution (earcups very close to your head) can disappear on my head. This is an all day kind of comfort for me, while some people can actually somehow manage an Audeze in the same way. The full sized Audeze headphones also extend away from your head a lot more, making you realize the weight more when you rotate your head. If you NEED a weight under 300g, then yeah you're going to have to go for a different kind of headphone.

 

[Eric Hawkins]

ugh... yeah its unfortunately a bit of a need due to medical issues. i dont want to take unnecessary risks. looks like i should look for other options. Thanks for the helpful info.

 

[Tex Irie]

i was planning on upgrading from my hd598se to an lcd-x but have some physical issues that make a 600 gram headphone just too much for me. Anyone know of a good lightweight alternative that's closer to the 251 gram weight of my sennheisers? i can spend up to around $1,600 and dont mind buying used.

You may want to look into the Hifiman Ananda or Focal Clear, both excellent headphones.

 

[IEMusic]

oh i didnt expect the lcd-1 to be so much lighter than the lcd-x. it seems like a lot of the higher end headphones are heavy which makes me wonder if the nicer tech is just heavy so its somewhat unavoidable. i never heard of drop dan clark (im a bit of a newb) but the aeon open x is probably just light enough to be safe for me. i'll definitely put these two on my list of possible buys. Thanks, the recommendations are appreciated.

The plastic LCD-1 may be the lightest planar magnetic HP, and they are currently on sale. https://www.audeze.com/products/black-friday-2020

You may otherwise need to stick to the lightweight Senn and AKG dynamic HPs.

I posted links to some Drop gear for ideas, but if you don’t live in North America, it is probably not a good option, and you should look for the non-Drop versions.

 

[Tex Irie]

AKG K812 (open) or K872 (closed) as well.

 

[Eric Hawkins]

dang, those black friday sales might make me decide a bit faster than i had planned hah.

 

[Eric Hawkins]

ok so i did a bunch of searching for sub 300 gram headphones and found some stuff. Ether 2 (which a lot of people dont seem to be big fans of), ath-adx5000, shure srh-1840, hd660s, and of course the lcd-1 as you mentioned.

i figured i would list my findings here since it might be helpful to others with similar weight reqs.

also, any opinions on these headphones? I listen to things ranging from classical to hiphop and edm so my tastes are all over the place.

 

[cycloverid]

With hip hop and EDM, you're probably going to want good sub bass dynamics, which many of these headphones won't have. The LCD1 is supposedly very light on punch and slam, and the hd660 also won't have the best dynamics either (better punch than the lcd1 most likely). I can see why you were eyeing the LCDX initially with this in mind, as those headphones have great bass extension and impact for open backs (might need EQ for full potential though, but they're capable)

Still, if you're willing to make sacrifices, maybe that's okay to you? I love hip hop, and it just isn't enjoyable to me without the sub bass slam quality personally. The large, open, round earcup planars seem to do best in this regard. After that, you may need a closed back if that's what you're looking for.

Maybe others can weigh in on your other options / make suggestions.

 

[Eric Hawkins]

yeah, it seems like headphones with good sub bass are always too heavy so ive accepted that sacrifice. I figure that the headphones im considering will still have better sub bass than what i use now which is the hd598se. So any improvement would be nice.
thanks for the input on the lcd-1 and hd660s. that was helpful.

 

[IEMusic]

How about the Beyerdynamic DT990, 880, 770? I think they are in the 200gm range. You could even get a DT770 closed back for EDM and hip-hop, and the DT990 for classical and genres for an open back HP. The DT770 has huge sub bass.

The DT1990 would typically be my recommendation, but I think it is over 400gm.

If willing to try an open back “IEM”, and you have Apple phone/tablets, consider the Audeze iSine 10, on sale currently for $150. They have very impressive sub bass as well, yet are fully open back. Make sure to get it with the Cipher cable.