[richard-ec2]

First post here - hi everyone.
 
I've just been reading the recent posts in this thread saying the LCD-3s have been revised from the beginning of this year. I'd been planning buy a pair of LCD-3s but after seeing the charts posted by people with the new revision (282xxxx), I must say those plans have gone on hold.
 
Looking at the charts, the really good news is that the bass is now flat down to 30 Hz instead of starting to fall away at 40 Hz. That’s surely something that almost everyone will welcome.
 
More controversial, to my mind, is the large uptick in the frequency response at the other end of the frequency spectrum, starting at around 8 kHz and peaking at around 10 kHz. There had always been an uptick here but it’s much larger now. I can see that many or most people will welcome this as adding “air” or “transparency” to the sound. But to me, the big attraction of the LCD-3 had always been its sweet and forgiving top end, and it seems to me that this latest revision is a step away from that.
 
I must emphasise that I haven’t heard the newly revised LCD-3s yet. I currently own a pair of LCD-2s (Rev. 2, non-Fazor) and these are wonderful apart from just a bit too much emphasis at the top end for my ears – for example, I find my LCD-2s tend to highlight, rather than tame, harsh sibilants. Last year I tried some LCD-3s at a show and had one of those “YES!” moments where I decided they were absolutely perfect and completely resolved the LCD-2 problem. It’s only now that I’ve come to make the purchase – only to find that the sound signature of the LCD-3s has now been changed and is no longer what I heard at that show.
 
I’ve already come up with a conspiracy theory about this. The problem with the hyper-expensive LCD-4 is how to differentiate it from the LCD-3, which is (or was) already as good as it gets. So maybe Audeze has decided to make the LCD-3 sound the same as the LCD-2, so all those people who once bought the LCD-3 for its sweet and forgiving top end will now have to buy the LCD-4 instead! You could even speculate that the LCD-2, now pretty much redundant, might soon be dropped - though that’s probably pushing it even for a conspiracy theorist.

 

[dsticker]

Interesting post.  Just out of curiosity, when you had your "YES!" moment, was it with a fazored LCD-3?  You seem like the type of person who shares my taste for sonic signature.  I love my pre-fazor LCD-3 and all of its warm, dark goodness.  While I haven't heard any of the fazored LCD-3s, I don't think I would like the change.  And I think I would like the latest revision of the fazor even less.

 

[dsticker]

Stupid question, but where is the carbon fiber headband for sale?  No luck on the Audeze website, unless I'm blind.  I read something about there being a manufacturing defect in the original production run of the headband and they would offer it for sale again when the defect had been fixed.

 

[mlxx]

  I’ve already come up with a conspiracy theory about this. The problem with the hyper-expensive LCD-4 is how to differentiate it from the LCD-3, which is (or was) already as good as it gets. So maybe Audeze has decided to make the LCD-3 sound the same as the LCD-2, so all those people who once bought the LCD-3 for its sweet and forgiving top end will now have to buy the LCD-4 instead! You could even speculate that the LCD-2, now pretty much redundant, might soon be dropped - though that’s probably pushing it even for a conspiracy theorist.

 
Have you listened to the LCD4? When I listened to it (the 100 Ohm LCD4) there was a much bigger difference between my LCD3F and the LCD4 then there was between my LCD3F and the LCD2. So no reason to make the LCD3 even worse, it was getting trounced pretty easily anyway. I think more likely they had to make changes to fix the problems with driver failures they were having.

 

[richard-ec2]

  Interesting post.  Just out of curiosity, when you had your "YES!" moment, was it with a fazored LCD-3?  You seem like the type of person who shares my taste for sonic signature.  I love my pre-fazor LCD-3 and all of its warm, dark goodness.  While I haven't heard any of the fazored LCD-3s, I don't think I would like the change.  And I think I would like the latest revision of the fazor even less.

Since it was last year, I would have to assume they were Fazored LCD-3s. Very likely, from what you say, I would love the pre-Fazored LCD-3s even more. If I look at the FR chart for the LCD-3 on Audeze's website, which I think is very old and represents the first product run, it would be pretty much my perfect FR chart for a pair of headphones:
 
LCD3 Frequency Response and Waterfall Plot
 
 

   
Have you listened to the LCD4? When I listened to it (the 100 Ohm LCD4) there was a much bigger difference between my LCD3F and the LCD4 then there was between my LCD3F and the LCD2. So no reason to make the LCD3 even worse, it was getting trounced pretty easily anyway. I think more likely they had to make changes to fix the problems with driver failures they were having.

 
No, I haven't heard the LCD-4 yet - I was really only going by the FR charts that people have posted elsewhere, which seem to have more in common with the charts for the previous version of the LCD-3 than with the current version launched this year. It's interesting what you say about the difference - I'm very keen to hear the LCD-4 as soon as I get the chance.

 

[PAM005]

Stupid question, but where is the carbon fiber headband for sale?  No luck on the Audeze website, unless I'm blind.  I read something about there being a manufacturing defect in the original production run of the headband and they would offer it for sale again when the defect had been fixed.

See: custom-cable.co.uk

 

[YugiRider2]

  Stupid question, but where is the carbon fiber headband for sale?  No luck on the Audeze website, unless I'm blind.  I read something about there being a manufacturing defect in the original production run of the headband and they would offer it for sale again when the defect had been fixed.

https://www.audeze.com/products/accessories/lcd-carbon-fiber-headband
 
They just put it up; I have ordered one. Pity it doesn't have the Audeze LCD-4 logo on the plastic part which says "R" and "L".

 

[Articnoise]

  First post here - hi everyone.
 
I've just been reading the recent posts in this thread saying the LCD-3s have been revised from the beginning of this year. I'd been planning buy a pair of LCD-3s but after seeing the charts posted by people with the new revision (282xxxx), I must say those plans have gone on hold.
 
Looking at the charts, the really good news is that the bass is now flat down to 30 Hz instead of starting to fall away at 40 Hz. That’s surely something that almost everyone will welcome.
 
More controversial, to my mind, is the large uptick in the frequency response at the other end of the frequency spectrum, starting at around 8 kHz and peaking at around 10 kHz. There had always been an uptick here but it’s much larger now. I can see that many or most people will welcome this as adding “air” or “transparency” to the sound. But to me, the big attraction of the LCD-3 had always been its sweet and forgiving top end, and it seems to me that this latest revision is a step away from that.
 
I must emphasise that I haven’t heard the newly revised LCD-3s yet. I currently own a pair of LCD-2s (Rev. 2, non-Fazor) and these are wonderful apart from just a bit too much emphasis at the top end for my ears – for example, I find my LCD-2s tend to highlight, rather than tame, harsh sibilants. Last year I tried some LCD-3s at a show and had one of those “YES!” moments where I decided they were absolutely perfect and completely resolved the LCD-2 problem. It’s only now that I’ve come to make the purchase – only to find that the sound signature of the LCD-3s has now been changed and is no longer what I heard at that show.
 
I’ve already come up with a conspiracy theory about this. The problem with the hyper-expensive LCD-4 is how to differentiate it from the LCD-3, which is (or was) already as good as it gets. So maybe Audeze has decided to make the LCD-3 sound the same as the LCD-2, so all those people who once bought the LCD-3 for its sweet and forgiving top end will now have to buy the LCD-4 instead! You could even speculate that the LCD-2, now pretty much redundant, might soon be dropped - though that’s probably pushing it even for a conspiracy theorist.

 

Welcome to Head-fi!

 

I agree that some of the extra air and resolution probably originate from the elevated treble at around 10 kHz. I also sense that overall we lost some of the hard to point out strength of the Audeze sound, that’s a bit forgiving, full, rich and creamy sound.

 

I have now changed pads from the leather to the vegans. Changing the pads may not sound like a deal breaker, but I can assure you it can be. I have tried pad rolling on other headphones with the same result. The leather pads reflects more treble than the vegan pads. So the vegan pads tones down the high treble a bit and make the sound more refined.

 

I have personally preferred the leather pads with earlier revisions of the LCD3 as I sensed a lack in treble energy, but not with my Hifiman HE6 and the new LCD 3 2016 revision.

 

With the vegan pads on the LCD 3 from 2016 I got the same clean sound, refined treble, black background and resolutions that I got with the stock leather pads. I also and more important got back all, or at least most of the smooth, rich and creamy sound of the earlier LCD3. So with the vegan pads I only lost a little in air, dynamic and bass definition. Well it also clearly toned down the high treble, and it’s a good thing in my book!

 

Engagement and musicality are as other sound aspect both system dependent and personal. To me the biggest strength the vegan pads has on the LCD3 (2016 revision) is greater engagement and musicality. Take this with some of the added assets the new LCD 3 revision brings to the table; like a bit cleaner sound, more refined treble, blacker background and a bit more resolutions and yes it’s a nice upgrade IMO. 

 

[dsticker]

  https://www.audeze.com/products/accessories/lcd-carbon-fiber-headband
 
They just put it up; I have ordered one. Pity it doesn't have the Audeze LCD-4 logo on the plastic part which says "R" and "L".

Thanks!  I guess I was blind.  I scrolled down far enough on the Accessories page to see "LCD Headbands", clicked that, and only found the lambskin and leather-free ones.  If I had scrolled down a little further on the Accessories page, I would have found it.

 

[richard-ec2]

I can't post images directly to the site at the moment because I’m a newcomer but I’m posting a link to an image I've placed in Dropbox which shows a new pair of LCD-3 headphones in the 281xxxx series. (It should render as soon as you click it.) This shows the new version's two characteristic features: first, the flat bass extended out from 40 Hz to 30 Hz, and second, the high frequency uplift starting at 8 kHz and peaking at 10 kHz. Although it's often said that the measurement system can’t be relied upon, especially in the upper frequencies, all the charts I've seen for the 281xxxx series, including this new one, are remarkably consistent.
 
LCD-3 chart
 
BTW, speaking of frequency response charts, it's worth noting that the vertical scale on Audeze charts is not a decibel scale, as I think is often assumed. It's a dBSPL scale, which is a very different unit of measurement. I don’t know enough about this subject to explain the difference - I recommend Googling it to find out more - but one thing's for sure: if anyone tries to compensate for a 5 dBSPL dip in the chart by adding 5 dB of EQ at the same frequency, they’re going to end up with a very weird sound indeed! 
 

   
Welcome to Head-fi!
 
I agree that some of the extra air and resolution probably originate from the elevated treble at around 10 kHz. I also sense that overall we lost some of the hard to point out strength of the Audeze sound, that’s a bit forgiving, full, rich and creamy sound.
 
I have now changed pads from the leather to the vegans. Changing the pads may not sound like a deal breaker, but I can assure you it can be. I have tried pad rolling on other headphones with the same result. The leather pads reflects more treble than the vegan pads. So the vegan pads tones down the high treble a bit and make the sound more refined.
 
I have personally preferred the leather pads with earlier revisions of the LCD3 as I sensed a lack in treble energy, but not with my Hifiman HE6 and the new LCD 3 2016 revision.
 
With the vegan pads on the LCD 3 from 2016 I got the same clean sound, refined treble, black background and resolutions that I got with the stock leather pads. I also and more important got back all, or at least most of the smooth, rich and creamy sound of the earlier LCD3. So with the vegan pads I only lost a little in air, dynamic and bass definition. Well it also clearly toned down the high treble, and it’s a good thing in my book!
 
Engagement and musicality are as other sound aspect both system dependent and personal. To me the biggest strength the vegan pads has on the LCD3 (2016 revision) is greater engagement and musicality. Take this with some of the added assets the new LCD 3 revision brings to the table; like a bit cleaner sound, more refined treble, blacker background and a bit more resolutions and yes it’s a nice upgrade IMO. 

Many thanks for that advice, which I found very interesting. I suppose the problem is, no dealer is going to set up this experiment for you so you'd be unable to try it without first buying the headphones. In fact, this brings me to another point, which is that most dealers are probably still demo-ing the old version of the LCD-3 but selling the new version, so the headphone you demo is not the headphone you get. I do hope Audeze is feeling some sense of urgency about putting this right.

 

[fb24601]

My Lcdf was 271***** bought last march. I have left driver failure in august and janurary. For the latest driver replacement the local dealer said thet don't have immediate stock and I have to wait for a month to get my lcdf back late february. Is it possible my replaced one the latest version?

 

[manpowre]

My Lcdf was 271***** bought last march. I have left driver failure in august and janurary. For the latest driver replacement the local dealer said thet don't have immediate stock and I have to wait for a month to get my lcdf back late february. Is it possible my replaced one the latest version?

Did you get it late february or are you still waiting for "new" headphones or are the repairing ?
If Audeze is repairing, you will most likely get new voicing as of 2016 with the repair. Audeze is still to release info on this.
If your waiting for a new one, then check what date its been inspected when you get it. 2016 inspection should have the new voicing.

 

[fb24601]

  Did you get it late february or are you still waiting for "new" headphones or are the repairing ?
If Audeze is repairing, you will most likely get new voicing as of 2016 with the repair. Audeze is still to release info on this.
If your waiting for a new one, then check what date its been inspected when you get it. 2016 inspection should have the new voicing.

I got it back late February. When I bought it to local dealer back in January they said they do not have stock and I have to wait for them to get new drivers.

 

[SonicTrance]

 

  Did you get it late february or are you still waiting for "new" headphones or are the repairing ?
If Audeze is repairing, you will most likely get new voicing as of 2016 with the repair. Audeze is still to release info on this.
If your waiting for a new one, then check what date its been inspected when you get it. 2016 inspection should have the new voicing.

I got it back late February. When I bought it to local dealer back in January they said they do not have stock and I have to wait for them to get new drivers.

Audeze replaced my drivers in January and they're the latest version. So if yours got replaced in February they would also be the new revision. 

 

[Wildcatsare1]

All this is great news, the LCD3f's I purchased in December just had a left drive fail, I'll be interested to see if they have a revised frequency chart and sound!