Amazing stuff! Loving the vinyl
Any short comparison of the LCD-X vs Akg k1000?
sure, here the two contenders...
...to the right the veteran AKG K-1000...
...and to the left the newcomer LCD-X...
Since both have been reviewed comprehensively I will just focus on the differences between the two cans, at some points referencing both of them back to my Focal Solo 6 active studio speakers with the support of a Velodyne subwoofer.
Transparency / Resolution: All over the audible bandwidth resolution is on a high level with both cans, whereas the LCD-X has a certain winning-margin to the K-1000. In detail, for low- mid- and high- range, this means:
Low-Range: The LCD-x has a far deeper bass compared to the K-1000. The reason seems mainly to be in the K-1000's open design (in this context I am not referring to the open back, but the open sides, where the LCD-X is well closed) Actually the K-1000 has to fight a acoustical short-circuit. The positive and negative pressure-fields created inside and outside of the driver are kind of eliminating each other. This cancellation-effect increases with lower frequencies and higher distance to the driver and is also depending on the size of the membrane.
So why can we here any deep bass at all? Simply because on it's way from inside to outside and vise-versa, the pressure field is passing by the ear and this is what you actually hear (similar to dipole subwoofers). Still, the mentioned relation to frequency and distance remains, and as such the driver of the K-100 would simply have to migrate far too much in order to produce the same sound-pressure as the LCD-X in the lowest frequencies. Also the resolution (the precision with which the membrane can follow the signal) seems slightly better with the LCD-X. I guess this is owed to it's orthodynamic driver and it's supposedly lower mass. As I wrote
here to me the X's bass is rather like physically experienced alternating pressure-fields... amazing!
Mid-Range: This is the domain of the K-1000. Very much focused, very real-sounding and highly transparent. To me both are on par here concerning the resolution. But the K-1000 really focuses on the mid-range, whereas the LCD-X is rather "embedding" it between it's more pronounced low- and high-range.
High-Range: Here the LCD-X's resolution seems superior. But I have to notice, that I am not sure in how far this is owed to the fact that the K-1000's treble is rather recessed in comparison to the LCD-X what makes the LCD-X's high range better audible (what also could lead to the effect of supposed better resolution), or whether the LCD-X membrane really follows the signals more precisely.
This is leading us to the
Sound-Stage both cans create: This might be the biggest surprise when comparing them. When you just look at them, I guess you easily might come to the conclusion that the AKG, due to it's open design, also sounds much more open. Not at all. The opposite is the case. The AKG is much more focused and creates the sound-space rather inside your head whereas the LCD-X is projecting it more to the outside (as far as a headphone is able to). This effect is strongly audible when you close your eyes. To me this effect seems to be independent from the construction principles of those phones, but rather owed to their different frequency-responses. The K-1000's emphasis on the mid-range of the music is creating this focus-effect whereas the LCD-X's comparably pronounced and extended frequency extremes lead to this wide and open spaciousness. This effect with the LCD-X is similar to what I can experience with my Focal speakers and their Beryllium tweeters. They already create a dramatically open sound with a wide and deep stage, and when then turning on the subwoofer the space opens up even much further...
Whether all such effects described are owed to different basic-materials that material-science might have come up with along the recent years, or to the different driver technology (dynamic with voice-coil vs. ortho-dynamic) or to the totally different design approaches (sides open vs. closed).... I do not know. I guess it is a cumulation of all such factors.
Conclusion: If I had to decide between both (the old lonely island question) I would prefer the LCD-X. But as long as I can keep them both I will keep both.
And since I own the LCD-X there were still quite a number of occasions where I preferred using the K-1000. I could not even tell you whether I prefer the LCD-X or the K-1000 depending on the music genre. The decision to use the K-1000 is rather a question of mood. And then the K-1000 is still doing a great job.
Just one thing I really wonder: How would a new K-1000 version sound? ...if AKG had all the latest materials and computer simulation software to it's disposal....
Now, that could be a totally different story then....