New Audeze LCD3

[The Monkey]

How dare you!

 

[googleli]

I have the same feeling when I compare LCD3 and LCD2 on my office rig, but with the Esoteric K01 the difference became night and day for me. The LCD3 does scale a lot more with source and amp, more so with the former, in my experience so far. The bad thing is I cannot use it at office now, as I intended to - after listening to the 3 on my home rig I think using it on my current office setup is a waste of the LCD3. With the LCD2 there is also a notable difference using my home rig versus my office rig, but the difference is much more acceptable. 
 

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

Also, there's quite a bit of variation between units.
 

It would be good if we could confirm that it's the LCD-3's that have variation and not just the graphs from different placement, air temperature, weather patterns, moon cycle, etc.  But still :-/

 

[mwilson]

Well, color me a contrarian, but my LCD-3 actually has less bass than my LCD-2 rev. 2. This is also supported by the frequency response chart, which shows the lows a bit rolled off. On the other hand, the comfort, soundstage, mids and highs are improved. I am working with Audeze on a replacement, and they have been very accommodating, so hopefully the bass will come to as well, in the new pair.
 
However, even with the bass issue resolved, I don't see them twice as good as the LCD-2. Better, yes, but incrementally as opposed to revolutionary.
 
 

 

[Mr.Sneis]

Quote:

Well, color me a contrarian, but my LCD-3 actually has less bass than my LCD-2 rev. 2. This is also supported by the frequency response chart, which shows the lows a bit rolled off. On the other hand, the comfort, soundstage, mids and highs are improved. I am working with Audeze on a replacement, and they have been very accommodating, so hopefully the bass will come to as well, in the new pair.
 
However, even with the bass issue resolved, I don't see them twice as good as the LCD-2. Better, yes, but incrementally as opposed to revolutionary.
 
 

 
Those rev2's DID ship this morning right?  Just kidding!  Are you sure it's not more accurate response with the LCD-3 that the LCD-2 was exaggerating?  Example the HD800 sounds bass light next to the hd650 until you realize what's actually going on.
 
 

 

[visualguy]

 
The bass is fine on mine. Again, this shows the variation between units. Hopefully, you'll be lucky and get a replacement pair with a good FR throughout the frequency range.
 

 

[cantsleep]

i was trying to pull a trigger on LCD3 but luckily or not my cc was on hold due to unusual transaction.
cc issue has been resolved but i have a change of heart. and thinking that im going to settle with lcd2r2 for the moment..

 

[visualguy]

Quote:

It would be good if we could confirm that it's the LCD-3's that have variation and not just the graphs from different placement, air temperature, weather patterns, moon cycle, etc.  But still :-/

True - that's why it's best to judge by what you hear - it's all that matters anyway.
 
googleli - I'm using excellent sources (such as Marantz SA-7S1 and Sony SCD-XA5400ES), and high-end amps (such as GS-X and Beta 22).

 
 

 

[mwilson]

Yeah, it's not a linear response. It was a serious lack of bass. At first I thought my hearing was playing tricks on me, then hooked up the LCD-2, and bass was back. Then I looked at the freq. chart and no shiit, rolled-off lows. My chart looked nothing like the ones that have been posted in various places. By comparison, the LCD-2 chart went straight and loud to the low end.
 
Yes, the rev 2 did ship, but I'm hunting the FedEx van down to reclaim them

 
 
 
Quote:

 
Those rev2's DID ship this morning right?  Just kidding!  Are you sure it's not more accurate response with the LCD-3 that the LCD-2 was exaggerating?  Example the HD800 sounds bass light next to the hd650 until you realize what's actually going on.
 
 

 

 

[Audiowood]

Same here. I have been testing the LCD-2 r2 and LCD-3 and it is more or less the same sound signature. There is more bass presence in the LCD-3 which is a good thing. The mid of the LCD-2 has more presence or rather more forward and I also find the LCd-2 easier to drive than LCd-3 (as oppose to most people findings) there is more db for the same volume (could be due to the spike in the upper frequency of LCD-2) The LCD-3 is more balance overall (no peak, no sibilance whatsoever) and because it lack some treble peak, the LCD-2 may sound more exciting. However, I still  prefer the LCD-3 as it seems to patch up some gap in the frequency range and I have no doubt that I will enjoy the LCD-3 more for higher volume listening as there is less treble peak, more bass presence (really good quality bass no kidding) and warmer overall sound, more comfortable (still require headband stretching). They both seem to have the same sound stage. Also if you remove the headphone too fast, I can feel some sucking pressure or when you put on and press in quickly there is some air pressure that could be felt on eardrums. I ended up swallowing saliva to ease ear drums. This could be due to a sudden pull/push of air as the foams are very soft.
 
As someone pointed out. this could be due to my system limitation.  I am using ipod > Iwadia I170 > W4S Dac > M1HPA > LCD-3, I was looking for the WOW factor or jaw dropping performance but its certainly not there. More of a refinement of the LCD-2 unlike HD650 to HD800 type of differences.
 
By the way this is comparison straight out of the box and has not even an hour of burn in. so this is really an initial findings.
 
As mwilson pointed out, LCD3 will need a more expensive system to unlease its potential .. Hence I am shopping for a new amp now. Any recommedation amp for LCD-3 (I prefer ss than tube)

 

[silverlight]

Quote:

People who have heard it so far JUST saying they sound good, or they are a keeper, or loving the comfort. How come I don't see the excitment? like. OMG! BEST EVER! or Forget about LCD 2! THIS IS IT! 

I suspect any out of the box conclusions would also be premature.  Every headphone I've had has changed as they broke in, some more/less than others.  While I haven't closely followed Audeze in a little while, didn't the 2's evolve a fair amount after the first 100+ hours?  Letting mine break-in over the next 4-5 days before making any sort of declarative statements.  But agree with others out of the box, they sound fantastic, and from my perspective, very nice to have the HF extension without a sibilant or edgy sound in any way.  I am hoping they open up a little, and if they do, they'll definitely be my go-to for all-around performance.  (but as a reference point, they are not as transparent, open, detailed or have the soundstage, accuracy [except in the bass/lower mids] and realism I'm getting from the SR-009's, but again... they've not even been given a chance to breathe yet, and I still have a new cable coming, and will upgrade the tubes in my amp, so a lot of upside from here ---> so this comparative statement could be totally irrelevant in a few weeks after everything's dialed in)

 

[dminches]

Quote:

There isn't that much of a difference between the LCD-2 rev. 2 and the LCD-3 in terms of sound in my experience. Also, there's quite a bit of variation between units. For example, I've seen a post with someone else's LCD-3 FR graph, and it was similar to my LCD-2 rev. 2 graph. However, my LCD-3 FR drops by an additional 2dB between 1KHz and 2KHz, and it has a valley rather than a peak at the high treble region. They indeed sound somewhat darker than my LCD-2 rev. 2.
 
The LCD-3 pads are definitely more comfortable than the LCD-2 pads.
 
I like the LCD-3 overall, but I can't say they are a big leap forward when compared to the LCD-2 rev. 2, at least not based on my listening so far.
 

My experience has been completely different.  I listened to the rev 2s and LCD-3s side by side and found them completely different with the 3s being far superior.  The graphs are meaningless to me since it is 1 dimension of a multi-dimensional concept.
 
People are so attached to these graphs.  All that matters to me is what I hear.
 
 

 

[mwilson]

I don't recall saying that the LCD-3 will need a more expensive system.
 
Quote:

As mwilson pointed out, LCD3 will need a more expensive system to unlease its potential .. Hence I am shopping for a new amp now. Any recommedation amp for LCD-3 (I prefer ss than tube)

 

 

[K3cT]

Quote:

There isn't that much of a difference between the LCD-2 rev. 2 and the LCD-3 in terms of sound in my experience. Also, there's quite a bit of variation between units. For example, I've seen a post with someone else's LCD-3 FR graph, and it was similar to my LCD-2 rev. 2 graph. However, my LCD-3 FR drops by an additional 2dB between 1KHz and 2KHz, and it has a valley rather than a peak at the high treble region. They indeed sound somewhat darker than my LCD-2 rev. 2.
 
The LCD-3 pads are definitely more comfortable than the LCD-2 pads.
 
I like the LCD-3 overall, but I can't say they are a big leap forward when compared to the LCD-2 rev. 2, at least not based on my listening so far.
 

If I recall right, you have an SR-007 MK1 right? Can you give a brief comparison with them? Should be interesting since they are in the same price range. 

 

[rhythmdevils]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.Sneis /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Example the HD800 sounds bass light next to the hd650 until you realize what's actually going on.
 
 

...you realize that you can trust your hearing and the HD800 is in fact bass lite?