colonelpurple
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 3, 2015
- Posts
- 12
- Likes
- 16
Unlike most folk here I am not a HiFi head. I read with amazement how many headphones and music sources some people collect.
Many years ago, in another time and a land far far away, I used to be into hifi. I had settled on valve amps and a strong CD player. Vinyl became too much of a hassle, with all the needle, arm and other balancing. Valves were a good way to tame CDs. I remember the first time I heard a valve amp in the testing room of a hifi shop. It was a completely new experience, like sitting in front of a waterfall of honey.
Long dispensed with, unable to really have a room in the house to listen to hifi, and reduced to a Linn speaker streamer (very good BTW) I closed my eyes to my bank account and bought an Astell & Kern Kann Alpha in 2021 together with a Sennheiser 660s.
The combination is excellent, with a well controlled and powerful sound. Buying HD music is a performance, and expensive too. Most of my music comes either from ripped SA-CDs, many of which have fabulous sound quality, or a hires Tidal stream. Many of the “E” tracked are quite decent.
This combo has its limitations though. The Kann is heavy, it also is not slim, and has become desk ridden. The 660s don't really specialise in sound stage and can sound clipped and closed.
I, by chance, found myself in a sound shop selling an Astell & Kern SP2000T at a greatly discounted price, given it is discontinued. After three visits on different days I went mad and bought it. The tube definitely tripped me over the edge.
Immediately, plugged into my 660s I heard an opening of the sound stage and more detail. For some reason I like the tube amp the most, bags of detail but delivered in a warm articulate way, without the solid state edge. Still, it didn’t sound like it was worth 4x the Kann, and lacked, well, something.
The solution must be to spend more money right! So I set about looking at headphones. I figured the price range of around £1,000 was where you justify having something like the SP2000T. Actually, it seems from reviews, this is where the law of diminishing returns seems to accelerate somewhat.
It came down to three, the Focal Clear MG, Hifimax HE1000 stealth and the Audeze LCD-X.
To be clear, these are all excellent, and I am not competent enough to articulate the difference technically. The Focals are probably the most easy to live with. The treble is clear but not fatiguing and there is another level of soundstage and detail above the 660s. They are quite light and look pretty cool.The HE1000 is probably the king of treble, the closest to an electrostatic sound, although it can sound glassy at times, with great mid range.
The Audeze though, to my ears, and with the SP2000T, manages to pull off fantastic treble, mids and base, without sacrificing one for the other. Its analytical linear style matches perfectly with the SP2000T's tube, which velvetizes the sound without taking away detail.
I still prefer the tube amp mode, but I am in a minority, seems that most reviewers prefer the hybrid amp mode. If you want to sharpen (or brittle) things up a bit this is the way to go. Give me a good vocal and a some good musicians and I am floating somewhere.
The Audeze LCD-X is a 10 year old design now on its 4th revision. I am a big fan of evolution and not revolution. My version is the 2024 model, which has "artificial" leather and has a number of small tweaks, mostly the fourth version of eq tuning. For example, Audeze have opened up the treble a bit more, probably to compete with new products like the HE1000. audio46 do a summarised but useful review of the 2024 version if you are interested.
There is no doubt if you want something different and special, the wafer thin planar magnet is the way to go, this side of ESLs.
The lead is good quality but a bit of a heath robinson affair. Mini-XLRs go from the headphone to a female XLR. Then there is a connector from the XLR to a 3.5mm male plug. Then there is a lead with a female 3.5mm to a male 2.5mm, which I originally used. Not a big fan of this arrangement.
The box is sick. Unfortunately the headphones just get taken out and the box goes into storage, never to be seen again, but if you want a small piece of carry on luggage you are in luck
The build quality of the actual can is outstanding. This is one of the few products that when you take it out the box you can see where your money went. As a fan of Leica camera gear and mechanical watches, I get the same quality vibe from the LCD-X. I examined the design closely and I am sure that every component can be replaced, including the band, cup holders, cushions and even the magnets.
They are very comfortable to wear with creamy cushions, however the above average weight means that if you go to sleep on your desk they won’t be on your head when you sit up
The 2.5mm unbalanced connection is actually pretty decent. After a few hours warming up the SP2000T and the LCD-X you are transported to standing in front of the vocalist and smelling their breath. However, to touch Susanna Hoffs' waist you need balanced. I went to my trusted Cxnnected to make me a custom 1m cable to the 4.4mm balanced output.
There is no two ways about it, this is an etherial combination. Is it worth 3x the Kann/660s combination ? No. Is a SP3000T and LCD5 better ? sure. But I think this junk will serve me well until broke. Who wants to live forever ….
Last edited:
