[Devarika Woulf]

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Oh man, posting reviews on the internet is risky business. I must admit that I´m better of listening to music for hours a day than dissection the same music and write reviews. I leave that to others. 
 

I'd love to hear your take owning all Audeze 'phones.

 

[Sweden]

 
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I think the rev.2 are more up front than the LCD-3, wich might explain why people aren't wowed with the LCD-3...
 
BTW.. I prefer the HD650 to the HD800, but not saying the HD800 isn't worth its price nor that it is not technically superior. 
 


 

I tried the LCD-3 side by side with a newer batch HD-800 and with a little bass boost on the Leben they sounded pretty similar. I detest the HD-800 with all other amps I've heard except the DNA Sonett and the CS300 mind you. Some how the HD-800 have gotten better than a couple of years ago I've tried it. Better bass response and the horrible peakiness was not entirely gone but much of it where. I actually preferred the LCD-3 while listening to classical music. The soundstage is larger on the HD-800, but I prefer the holographic more realistic soundstage of the LCD-3. The tone is also more natural but the difference is not that big especially when compared to the rev1. I think the added transparency of the 3's is the reason they are sounding more similar. 
 
 

 

[ardilla]

not a review, just som "initial impressions"...  

 
Quote:

Oh man, posting reviews on the internet is risky business. I must admit that I´m better of listening to music for hours a day than dissection the same music and write reviews. I leave that to others. 
 

 

 

 

[maverickronin]

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Ahhh.  Yeah.  I bet Sennheiser has got it figured out better in the first place though as well.  But I would hope they do after doing this for decades. 

OTOH Beyer pretty much invented moving coil dynamic headphones and still hasn't got it figured out yet...

 

[rhythmdevils]

oh snap! 

 

[MuppetFace]

 
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I totally agree, go with what sounds best.  I've often preferred much cheaper phones.  My comment wasn't about price.  If someone has the impression that a %$%^^&$ Ultrasone is more detailed than a hugemongous driver ortho with hugemongous magnets and lamborghini diaphragms, they either have some learning to do/hearing problems, or the(ir) LCD-3 does 

.
 
But realistically it could be due to a number of factors including the in your face hyped fake detail which some will perceive as more detailed, and also the mysterious who-knows-how-much-your-pair-has veil. 
 

 
Given the number of problems the LCD-3 has had since launch and the range of variation that seems to still exist among "acceptable" units, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if my LCD-3 was still more laid back / veiled / darker / whatever-you-want-to-call-it than some of the other pairs people are raving about. Pre and post RMA, not much seemed to change with mine, and that's fine with me: that's part of what I LIKE about the LCD-3. Perhaps that's what I've come to expect from Audez'e given my preference for the first revision LCD-2 over its sequel anyway. There comes a point where I'm satisfied with the amount of detail a headphone has, and if it reaches that threshold, I find I'm much more concerned with its overall tonal balance and imaging capabilities.
 
As for Ultrasone, say what you will, but detail retrieval has never been a shortcoming of their headphones in my opinion. I'm not talking about "fake" detail either: they're guilty of tuning their earlier headphones way too brightly to try and emphasize detail (that "hi fi sparkle" people can't seem to get enough of...), but again that's emphasizing detail that's already there. The Signature Pro on the other hand is much more balanced sounding compared to its predecessors, and as outrageous as it may seem, I think Ultrasone may actually be learning from their dreadful mistakes with the Edition 10.

 

[DarknightDK]

I found the RMA-ed LCD-3 to be clearer sounding overall with tighter, taunt bass. Compared to my LCD-3 from the first batch, the new LCD-3 seems to have less bass impact and a less romantic (warm) sound.

 

[rgs9200m]

All I know is that my LCD3s, both pre- and post-RMA are my clear choice for almost all of my CDs over PS1000s, D7000s (though I have had many good times with the Denons), T1s (also had lots of good times with these), ATH5000s, 650s, K701s, and Ultrasone Ed8s and bass-light R10s. Based on my experience I would buy them again w/o hesitation. 
 
I think this purchase-anxiety is overblown, as you get the 30-day-trial (I think), customer service from Audeze seems just fine to me, I went through 4 pairs of Audezes with no defects ever, and they seem to work well with different amps and sources. And it's great having the detachable cables, where you can tweak the sound in a major way to suit your preferences (and lot's of companies offer Audeze Cables).
I'm just guessing, but I bet cable-swapping will change the sound more than sample differences (it sure changed the sound for me after trying 4 different cables, finally settling on Enigma cables).
And the price? Well, look at the Fostex 900s or Staxes.
 
I have tweaked (cables, power conditioning) to the point where I actually like my HD800s more though, but I use  both of these phones as my go-to phones for great experiences.
But the 800s need a lot of work to get right, while the LCD3s are more adaptive to sources and amps.
 
The LCD3s, as I mentioned a while back, mate very well with Ray's B52 amp, with a nice firm sonorous controlled bass, fine resolution, and no sour notes and a relaxed  and highly  immersive sound.

 

[Sweden]

Thats a 5K amp you are pairing them with. Tried the LCD-3 with other amps?

 

[rgs9200m]

Old (1st generation Headroom Max); More than decent performance, something I could live with, and better than the other phones more or less. 
Rudistor RP010B: again very nice, but tubes bring out the best.
Pinnacle is great, very precise but still musical, but that's even more expensive.
Direct from Luxman 507L integrated amp, surprisingly good, nice imaging and palpability, but still not with tube goodness.

 

[MuppetFace]

The Zana Deux SE does nicely with it, and I've read positive things about the Super 7. Hell, the LCD-3 even sounds nice out of my portable Leckerton UHA-6S.

 

[ardilla]

The Woo WA2 is great with the LCD-3. Excellent imaging, nice and airy, lots of texture. Very nice indeed. 

 

[Devarika Woulf]

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The Woo WA2 is great with the LCD-3. Excellent imaging, nice and airy, lots of texture. Very nice indeed. 

 
With what tubes, though?
 
 
 

 

[ardilla]

I've tried it with 5998 or 6H13/6N13/6N13C. They have higher output power I've been told. But for you Mr.Wolf, I just right now put in the stock 6080 tubes - and it worked quite well too. But of course, the coke bottles look better
 
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With what tubes, though?
 
 
 

 

 

[YoengJyh]