[philo50]

Quote:

Did you purchase directly from Audeze or an online dealer, just curious?  Were they pretty responsive in getting it resolved?

online authorized dealer....everyone very responsive ....got a RMA immediately and off they went to be repaired

 

[dleblanc343]

online authorized dealer....everyone very responsive ....got a RMA immediately and off they went to be repaired

Blergh, hope they get back soon for ya!

 

[philo50]

Quote:

Blergh, hope they get back soon for ya!

thanks....

 

[Boomeh]

Hey folks, 
 
I just got my LCD-3 headphones today. Its taken me quite a while to set aside the dosh to be able to afford it but today it finally arrived. I got it home after the import tax jumped the price up another 300 but I wasnt caring. Problem was the only thing I had to test it was an av-receiver ive got for the telly  coupled with a cd player so its not the greatest but I still wanted to see what it was like after all the chat ive read about. 
 
So set up is
 
Yamaha rx-v2700 av reciever / Marantz cd5000
 
The cable im using is the out of the box single ended 1/4 connector plugged straight into the receiver.
 
I need some one who knows their stuff to tell me if this needs to be sent back or not. I put on the Lost in Translation soundtrack since I thought something gentle might be a good starter. First of all for the first 20 seconds I could only hear out of the right ear (I made sure this wasn't just the track and checked it on the floor standing speakers after testing), but soon after the left ear sort of stuttered as I was playing with the volume dial and then I had both ears to listen to. Small glitch I thought but it seams to be ok now. Benefit of the doubt and all that. The sound, incredibly recessed as it was, was there but it wasn't really doing much so i changed the track to Fantino - Sebastian Tellier. I put the volume up and the distortion was horrendous. It sounded nice to begin with on my lowish volume if still a bit anaemic but turning the dial up to get something more just resulted in absolute butchery. Skipped the track to Girls - Death in Vegas a real thundering track even on the most cheap and cheerful setups and again the volume issue just wasn't letting me do anything with it. Full on panic mode now, I change the track to Sometimes - My Bloody Valentine where I was thinking the level of distortion the sound engineer added to the instruments might do the sound I was getting over these headphones a favour. Just more butchery. I had these tracks playing over the same set up on floor speakers so is it the cables that came with the headphones? I made sure they were firmly in, waggling them didnt cut the sound out etc. Is it my setup? Do i need to test them on a more dedicated system?
 
I live in the Uk and I imported it from Headroom.com, practically emptied my bankaccount to buy this wee wonder and now im faced with the thought that i'll have to send these back to Audeze to get them checked over. Another round of import/export tax i'll have to shell out - an amount I was hoping to set aside to buy a modest headphone amp and dac with.
 
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

 

[Argo Duck]

^ have you confirmed the hp out of the receiver is sound (with other headphones)? Could be the receiver hp output has poor internal wiring or a faulty socket. Distortion as you describe it is often poor connection.

You don't pay tax again on the same item - shipped back after repair - in the UK do you? You're not buying the same product twice!

 

[commtrd]

Quote:

Hey folks, 
 
I just got my LCD-3 headphones today. Its taken me quite a while to set aside the dosh to be able to afford it but today it finally arrived. I got it home after the import tax jumped the price up another 300 but I wasnt caring. Problem was the only thing I had to test it was an av-receiver ive got for the telly  coupled with a cd player so its not the greatest but I still wanted to see what it was like after all the chat ive read about. 
 
So set up is
 
Yamaha rx-v2700 av reciever / Marantz cd5000
 
The cable im using is the out of the box single ended 1/4 connector plugged straight into the receiver.
 
I need some one who knows their stuff to tell me if this needs to be sent back or not. I put on the Lost in Translation soundtrack since I thought something gentle might be a good starter. First of all for the first 20 seconds I could only hear out of the right ear (I made sure this wasn't just the track and checked it on the floor standing speakers after testing), but soon after the left ear sort of stuttered as I was playing with the volume dial and then I had both ears to listen to. Small glitch I thought but it seams to be ok now. Benefit of the doubt and all that. The sound, incredibly recessed as it was, was there but it wasn't really doing much so i changed the track to Fantino - Sebastian Tellier. I put the volume up and the distortion was horrendous. It sounded nice to begin with on my lowish volume if still a bit anaemic but turning the dial up to get something more just resulted in absolute butchery. Skipped the track to Girls - Death in Vegas a real thundering track even on the most cheap and cheerful setups and again the volume issue just wasn't letting me do anything with it. Full on panic mode now, I change the track to Sometimes - My Bloody Valentine where I was thinking the level of distortion the sound engineer added to the instruments might do the sound I was getting over these headphones a favour. Just more butchery. I had these tracks playing over the same set up on floor speakers so is it the cables that came with the headphones? I made sure they were firmly in, waggling them didnt cut the sound out etc. Is it my setup? Do i need to test them on a more dedicated system?
 
I live in the Uk and I imported it from Headroom.com, practically emptied my bankaccount to buy this wee wonder and now im faced with the thought that i'll have to send these back to Audeze to get them checked over. Another round of import/export tax i'll have to shell out - an amount I was hoping to set aside to buy a modest headphone amp and dac with.
 
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

That sounds like a serious amplification problem. Need to get those phones hooked up to a known good amp and source to run some good lossless files and check the response. May be a problem with the headphone out jack or even the associated circuitry but would not use the headphones on that system any longer. Try to find someone near you or a retail outlet that might let you try the new cans on a known good system before getting too wound up thinking the headphones are malfunctioning.

 

[Saraguie]

Quote:

That sounds like a serious amplification problem. Need to get those phones hooked up to a known good amp and source to run some good lossless files and check the response. May be a problem with the headphone out jack or even the associated circuitry but would not use the headphones on that system any longer. Try to find someone near you or a retail outlet that might let you try the new cans on a known good system before getting too wound up thinking the headphones are malfunctioning.

Good advice.
 
Do you have a smart phone, a DAP of some kind, and a plug adaptor? I'd say if you do check out the LCD3s with that source. SQ won't be that good, but you'll be able to tell if it's the phones or not.

 

[thegrobe]

And if does somehow turn out to be the headphones, you shouldn't have to pay import taxes on a repair or exchange. You've already bought and paid the taxes once, you aren't purchasing them again.

But I agree, sounds like a serious source problem. I wouldn't plug them in there again without identifying any potential problem.

 

[Zoom25]

Quote:

And if does somehow turn out to be the headphones, you shouldn't have to pay import taxes on a repair or exchange. You've already bought and paid the taxes once, you aren't purchasing them again.

But I agree, sounds like a serious source problem. I wouldn't plug them in there again without identifying any potential problem.

 
+1. You declare low value when shipping it to them. When they ship it back, they also declare a low value (~$20). Dealt directly with Audeze for RMA with LCD-2. They'll ship it back to you for free. Just gotta pay the shipping fees to Audeze.

 

[Zoom25]

A quick question for both LCD-3 and HD800 owners. How do you find the comfort between the two, specifically with respect to ear pad density, diameter, shape, material and depth?
 
I have heard some say that they find the HD800 pads a bit too thin, while overall the headphone is comfy.

 

[David1961]

Hey folks, 
 
I just got my LCD-3 headphones today. Its taken me quite a while to set aside the dosh to be able to afford it but today it finally arrived. I got it home after the import tax jumped the price up another 300 but I wasnt caring. Problem was the only thing I had to test it was an av-receiver ive got for the telly  coupled with a cd player so its not the greatest but I still wanted to see what it was like after all the chat ive read about. 
 
So set up is
 
Yamaha rx-v2700 av reciever / Marantz cd5000
 
The cable im using is the out of the box single ended 1/4 connector plugged straight into the receiver.
 
I need some one who knows their stuff to tell me if this needs to be sent back or not. I put on the Lost in Translation soundtrack since I thought something gentle might be a good starter. First of all for the first 20 seconds I could only hear out of the right ear (I made sure this wasn't just the track and checked it on the floor standing speakers after testing), but soon after the left ear sort of stuttered as I was playing with the volume dial and then I had both ears to listen to. Small glitch I thought but it seams to be ok now. Benefit of the doubt and all that. The sound, incredibly recessed as it was, was there but it wasn't really doing much so i changed the track to Fantino - Sebastian Tellier. I put the volume up and the distortion was horrendous. It sounded nice to begin with on my lowish volume if still a bit anaemic but turning the dial up to get something more just resulted in absolute butchery. Skipped the track to Girls - Death in Vegas a real thundering track even on the most cheap and cheerful setups and again the volume issue just wasn't letting me do anything with it. Full on panic mode now, I change the track to Sometimes - My Bloody Valentine where I was thinking the level of distortion the sound engineer added to the instruments might do the sound I was getting over these headphones a favour. Just more butchery. I had these tracks playing over the same set up on floor speakers so is it the cables that came with the headphones? I made sure they were firmly in, waggling them didnt cut the sound out etc. Is it my setup? Do i need to test them on a more dedicated system?
 
I live in the Uk and I imported it from Headroom.com, practically emptied my bankaccount to buy this wee wonder and now im faced with the thought that i'll have to send these back to Audeze to get them checked over. Another round of import/export tax i'll have to shell out - an amount I was hoping to set aside to buy a modest headphone amp and dac with.
 
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

Hi Boomeh,

I also live in the UK. I'm from and live in West Yorkshire and if you can get to my place you're more than welcome to try out your LCD-3's with my amp and source.
My amp is the GS-Xmk2 and I'm very happy with how it makes my HD-600's sound and I've read it makes the LCD's sound very good as well.
I don't know which part of the UK you live, but if you're interested in trying your LCD's with my amp & source, send me a PM.

Dave.

 

[jonstatt]

Quote:

 
+1. You declare low value when shipping it to them. When they ship it back, they also declare a low value (~$20). Dealt directly with Audeze for RMA with LCD-2. They'll ship it back to you for free. Just gotta pay the shipping fees to Audeze.

 
Which is technically illegal and is a risk for the sender. I don't believe you need to declare a low value going into the US as they wouldn't charge taxation anyway. So Headroom would have to be willing to accept that if the item is seized if they ship it as $10 value that they will lose out as they won't be able to claim from the courier. It is a low risk, and I have got away with this myself but it is a risk nonetheless. I am also unsure if the courier will accept one value for damages (i.e. if the item is damaged in shipping) that doesn't have to correlate with the declared customs value. There is actually an official UK customs procedure called "Outward processing relief" but it is so complicated I couldn't make sense of it. The UK customs website does make it clear you do not end up out of pocket but I couldn't work out if you have to pay the customs again and then claim it back or you include a form which Headroom etc would include with the return.
 
The good news is that I hope this is all totally irrelevant as it sounds like a source issue as others have said.

 

[Solude]

Warranty is exempt from duty and customs.  If you clearly label it warranty return you won't be charged regardless of value declared.
 
As for the problem... plug into your phone, computer, cd player... anything with a jack to rule out the headphone.  It doesn't need to sound like a million bucks to rule out headphone fault
 
I find comfort of both the HD800 and LCD-3 to be a mixed bag.  HD800 headband spread is just bizarre so it leaves these odd impression and the pads are thin enough that depending on your jaw curve they can put pressure into points.  The LCD-3 clamp force was designed to be usable on 12 months old babies but the headband is metal so... you can bend it back to adult sizing.  Pads are large and comfy once the clamp is taken care of.  The headband padding is a little stiff and again odd.  The original foam was better comfort wise.  That foam wrapped in the now leather would be awesome compared to what we have now.

 

[jonstatt]

Quote:

Warranty is exempt from duty and customs.  If you clearly label it warranty return you won't be charged regardless of value declared.
 
As for the problem... plug into your phone, computer, cd player... anything with a jack to rule out the headphone.  It doesn't need to sound like a million bucks to rule out headphone fault
 
I find comfort of both the HD800 and LCD-3 to be a mixed bag.  HD800 headband spread is just bizarre so it leaves these odd impression and the pads are thin enough that depending on your jaw curve they can put pressure into points.  The LCD-3 clamp force was designed to be usable on 12 months old babies but the headband is metal so... you can bend it back to adult sizing.  Pads are large and comfy once the clamp is taken care of.  The headband padding is a little stiff and again odd.  The original foam was better comfort wise.  That foam wrapped in the now leather would be awesome compared to what we have now.

 
I don't want to go off topic about customs too much because I firmly believe the OP with the problem does not have a headphone problem at all But I will say that what you suggested makes sense but appears not true for the UK. I had an item sent to the US for service and returned to me that said REPAIR in big letters on the customs declaration. UK Customs still charged me in full and in the end I gave up because nobody could give me a clear procedure on how to claim the money back. I phoned UK customs and they just kept telling me that labeling it as a repair does not make it exempt.

 

[negura]

Quote:

 
I don't want to go off topic about customs too much because I firmly believe the OP with the problem does not have a headphone problem at all But I will say that what you suggested makes sense but appears not true for the UK. I had an item sent to the US for service and returned to me that said REPAIR in big letters on the customs declaration. UK Customs still charged me in full and in the end I gave up because nobody could give me a clear procedure on how to claim the money back. I phoned UK customs and they just kept telling me that labeling it as a repair does not make it exempt.

 
I think the way it works is if it's paid repair, they have to charge it VAT/customs duty as you're using a service from abroad. I am not sure on all the specifics but what it boils down to the repair should have no associated fee value to it. If you paid shipping fees that's still due for VAT/customs.