New Audeze LCD3
Feb 21, 2014 at 1:16 PM Post #8,598 of 11,521
Thinking of selling my LCD-3 and their aftermarket cables and matching stand for speakers. Hmmm, decisions, decisions.
 
Feb 21, 2014 at 9:26 PM Post #8,600 of 11,521

I like the LCD-3 but it's not been getting much use nowadays. I just like the open sound of speakers a lot more. I listen to a lot of electronic music, so having towers and sub in a full open soundscape is far better IMO. Also, I listen to music much less now. Mostly watching shows and movies. Auditioned quite a few speakers recently. PSB Imagine series, KEF LS50, some Focal bookshelfs. Overall, the one that really stuck with me was KEF Q900. Really liked the overall tonality. I have Marantz which apparently goes exceptionally well with KEF in general.
 
At their price point, these were the only ones that I could get away without a sub late at night and still be enjoyable. The PSB Imagine towers didn't mesh with me. LS50 with Prima Luna was quite good as well. Ideally would go far something like KEF R900 and R400 but that ends up being $8000 so gonna hold up on that for now and just enjoy a bit more things. Q900 so far has been the most enjoyable at it's price.
 
I am still deciding on the LCD-3 thing. I'll probably put up an ad as soon as I get the energy to take pics of all the stuff. 4 Audeze cables, matching Zebrano stand that perfectly compliments it, few adapter cables as well and a mint LSD-3 :wink:
 
If I do go through with it, I probably won't be returning to high-end headphones for awhile, especially not Audeze or Hifiman or any other heavy planar magnetic. TH-900 will probably be the number one contender.
 
Feb 21, 2014 at 10:45 PM Post #8,602 of 11,521
agreed with most you said.
Do try listening to some active speakers from Genelec if you like EDM.  For one thing, these speakers are easy to placed anywhere and everywhere with amps inside.
I have a pair of the 8050 at my studio and 2 pairs at home.  When I want fullness that the LCD-3, TH900, HD800 or even the Stax can't deliver, I either listen to Harbeth or these Genelecs.
 
 
Quote:
  I like the LCD-3 but it's not been getting much use nowadays. I just like the open sound of speakers a lot more. I listen to a lot of electronic music, so having towers and sub in a full open soundscape is far better IMO. Also, I listen to music much less now. Mostly watching shows and movies. Auditioned quite a few speakers recently. PSB Imagine series, KEF LS50, some Focal bookshelfs. Overall, the one that really stuck with me was KEF Q900. Really liked the overall tonality. I have Marantz which apparently goes exceptionally well with KEF in general.
 
At their price point, these were the only ones that I could get away without a sub late at night and still be enjoyable. The PSB Imagine towers didn't mesh with me. LS50 with Prima Luna was quite good as well. Ideally would go far something like KEF R900 and R400 but that ends up being $8000 so gonna hold up on that for now and just enjoy a bit more things. Q900 so far has been the most enjoyable at it's price.
 
I am still deciding on the LCD-3 thing. I'll probably put up an ad as soon as I get the energy to take pics of all the stuff. 4 Audeze cables, matching Zebrano stand that perfectly compliments it, few adapter cables as well and a mint LSD-3 :wink:
 
If I do go through with it, I probably won't be returning to high-end headphones for awhile, especially not Audeze or Hifiman or any other heavy planar magnetic. TH-900 will probably be the number one contender.

 
Feb 21, 2014 at 11:11 PM Post #8,603 of 11,521
agreed with most you said.
Do try listening to some active speakers from Genelec if you like EDM.  For one thing, these speakers are easy to placed anywhere and everywhere with amps inside.
I have a pair of the 8050 at my studio and 2 pairs at home.  When I want fullness that the LCD-3, TH900, HD800 or even the Stax can't deliver, I either listen to Harbeth or these Genelecs.

 
I have heard the cheap Genelec's and the very high end Genelec. Unfortunately, nothing in the middle like these. I was initially thinking of picking up Stealth but didn't go with them in the end because I wanted something that would work in a close up setting as well as for casual stuff. To really enjoy monitors, you always have to be in the middle or at the tweeter height.
 
With huge towers, the sound is more fuller and around you (not volume wise). To say consistent, the Q900 I mentioned, there were also Q500 - a smaller version of the Q900. The Q500 had a more pronounced midrange but at the end didn't sound full enough. It had to less to do with sonic extension but rather how the music surrounded you in the room. With the smaller Q500 I couldn't move much around the room. Even at the right heigh and middle, I didn't have enough of a 3D sound. I have found the same to be true for most studio monitors as well, except the very high end ones. I get really, really picky about monitors and their sound. With towers, I'm much more lenient because the overall presentation can make up so much for any sonic flaws.
 
With full towers, you can move around and not have even to be in the middle and still get really enveloping sound.
 
Feb 22, 2014 at 5:37 AM Post #8,604 of 11,521
I was watching Price is Right today and they had some Audeze along with an ipod for the players to guess the price. The value they quote was 2200. The best guess by a contestant was around 800. Just thought it was funny.

Oh man, I wish I would've seen that :)
 
Feb 22, 2014 at 8:01 PM Post #8,605 of 11,521
  I like the LCD-3 but it's not been getting much use nowadays. I just like the open sound of speakers a lot more. I listen to a lot of electronic music, so having towers and sub in a full open soundscape is far better IMO. Also, I listen to music much less now. Mostly watching shows and movies. Auditioned quite a few speakers recently. PSB Imagine series, KEF LS50, some Focal bookshelfs. Overall, the one that really stuck with me was KEF Q900. Really liked the overall tonality. I have Marantz which apparently goes exceptionally well with KEF in general.
 
At their price point, these were the only ones that I could get away without a sub late at night and still be enjoyable. The PSB Imagine towers didn't mesh with me. LS50 with Prima Luna was quite good as well. Ideally would go far something like KEF R900 and R400 but that ends up being $8000 so gonna hold up on that for now and just enjoy a bit more things. Q900 so far has been the most enjoyable at it's price.
 
I am still deciding on the LCD-3 thing. I'll probably put up an ad as soon as I get the energy to take pics of all the stuff. 4 Audeze cables, matching Zebrano stand that perfectly compliments it, few adapter cables as well and a mint LSD-3 :wink:
 
If I do go through with it, I probably won't be returning to high-end headphones for awhile, especially not Audeze or Hifiman or any other heavy planar magnetic. TH-900 will probably be the number one contender.


Sorry off the topic but, I am also in the process of buying few speakers.
I have my mind set for, (priced per each speaker, pair x 2)
 
1. PSB Synchrony One - $2500 CAD
2. PSB Imagine T2 - $1500 CAD
3. KEF Q900 - $1099 CAD
4. KEF R900 - $2599 CAD
5. Polk Audio RTI A9 (Really beautiful design) - $699 CAD
6. Polk Audio LSiM707 - $1990 CAD
 
Thing is I can get any PSB, Polk Audio or Kilpsch about 40% to 50% off from above price, so KEF isn't really a bargain for me.
Did you hear Polk LSiM707 or PSB Synchrony One series ?
 
Thanks in advance.
 
Feb 23, 2014 at 12:03 AM Post #8,606 of 11,521
I have heard the psb's and the kefs. I owned a pair of polls when I started. The tweeter on the psb's sticks out like a sore thumb. The keys coherent source driver array is much better but the q series cabinets resonate a lot. However there is so mudding that can eliminate a lot of the resonance and make them sound great for the money. The r series is a great line. I am not however fond of how much body the speaker throws in the highs. I consider it unnatural but it is appealing to some.
 
Feb 23, 2014 at 12:12 AM Post #8,607 of 11,521
Anyone running these LCD-2.2 or LCD-X off of a EXIMUS DP1 ? Please share your thoughts with me as I am very seriously considering selling my Mjolinr/Gungnir stack in its favor.
 
Feb 23, 2014 at 12:12 AM Post #8,608 of 11,521
 
Sorry off the topic but, I am also in the process of buying few speakers.
I have my mind set for, (priced per each speaker, pair x 2)
 
1. PSB Synchrony One - $2500 CAD
2. PSB Imagine T2 - $1500 CAD
3. KEF Q900 - $1099 CAD
4. KEF R900 - $2599 CAD
5. Polk Audio RTI A9 (Really beautiful design) - $699 CAD
6. Polk Audio LSiM707 - $1990 CAD
 
Thing is I can get any PSB, Polk Audio or Kilpsch about 40% to 50% off from above price, so KEF isn't really a bargain for me.
Did you hear Polk LSiM707 or PSB Synchrony One series ?
 
Thanks in advance.

 
I haven't heard any of the Polk although did get a chance to go through few KEF models and PSB. Unfortunately not the PSB Synchrony One. The dealer had the PSB Imagine T2 towers as well as Image and Alpha. I listened to the T2 towers for about 3 hours going back and forth with it and my LCD-3 driven off the same amp. There was a whole NAD stack. So the NAD M51, NAD M50, and some type of NAD power conditioner thing (I think? - it was at the bottom of the rack so didn't read the name). The amp used was the Luxman L-505ux ($4500 retail price here). Sweet amp. Best treble I've heard so far on the LCD-3 by a huge margin.
 
Although with the PSB towers, it was lacking in extension to me and didn't have the impact in the right place for most of my music. There certainly was bass, but it didn't have the rhythm that I quite wanted. Most of all, it's presentation of vocals and overall soundstage didn't quite do it for. Especially not for that price. The Q900 on the other hand immediately impressed me with the soundstage they threw. Even the Q500 couldn't do it. The PSB Imagine also don't have the 8" drivers that the Q900 has. Usually you hear about 8" drivers messing with the midrange, but I didn't hear that with the Q900. Now granted, the audition was a few minutes long, it was really fun to listen to. Also, the Q900 were run off of some Pioneer/Yamaha amp yet still sounded excellent.
 
I didn't bother with other PSB lower series towers that were there, but really wanted to audition the PSB bookshelfs which were present in the showroom but not attached to anything. Unfortunately, the dealer caught on that I wasn't going to buy something on that very day so he just kind of played me off saying he had some work to do (typical douchey salesman)
 
Disclaimer: I may not have fully enjoyed the PSB Imagine T2 because the sales guy kept going on and on about how virtually none of my 2 TB+ lossless music was mastered well and instead wanted to play his own recorded song and constantly talk about cables making a difference, comparing high end amplifiers to driving like a ferrari and about reviews online. This man was on Stereophile's **** nonstop. I really wanted to say something back but wanted to get in some more auditioning. Needless to say, not going back there ever again. He lost my business.
 
I'd seriously audition all of these myself before pulling the trigger. One thing I will say about the Q900 is that they will sound good with pretty much any music and also movies. The Q900 doesn't play favourites. The T2 is good for instrumental acoustic stuff and jazz. Although, vocals just didn't do it for me. They tried to sound revealing and musical but the keyword being "tried" - to my ears  and my preference it sounded like it was winging it.
 
Also, where can you get discounted prices for those brands you mentioned here in Canada? I might be interested in perhaps some PSB bookshelves if I can get them cheap for my desktop rig.
 
Feb 23, 2014 at 12:20 AM Post #8,609 of 11,521
I have heard the psb's and the kefs. I owned a pair of polls when I started. The tweeter on the psb's sticks out like a sore thumb. The keys coherent source driver array is much better but the q series cabinets resonate a lot. However there is so mudding that can eliminate a lot of the resonance and make them sound great for the money. The r series is a great line. I am not however fond of how much body the speaker throws in the highs. I consider it unnatural but it is appealing to some.

 
Hmmm I have heard very few people say that they found the KEF's bright. So I do know it exists for some people, especially based on the amp. The main reason I even bothered with KEF was because I wanted to search about what would go well with my existing Marantz CD5004/PM6004 stack. KEF kept popping up everywhere. The Q300 being the number one model. I can definitely see why that pairing would work well.
 
The Marantz has a definite roll off in the very upper treble regions which it won't produce, even with the tone controls. However, the treble still has energy and attack. Also, not harsh sounding at all. Definitely made the LCD-3's more enjoyable/tolerable from my previous amps.
 
Feb 23, 2014 at 10:17 AM Post #8,610 of 11,521
Anyone running these LCD-2.2 or LCD-X off of a EXIMUS DP1 ? Please share your thoughts with me as I am very seriously considering selling my Mjolinr/Gungnir stack in its favor.


Build in amp of DP1 can drive my lcd-x very well, great detail, excellent dynamic and very good impact. Anyway lcd-x sounds a lot better with Dp1-->EF6. I would say about 15-20% better in all aspects.
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