CHANGSTAR: Audiophile Headphone Reviews and Early 90s Style BBS

  • December 31, 2015, 09:12:06 AM
  • Welcome, Guest
Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: 1 2 3 4 [5] 6 7

Author Topic: LCD-X Measurements, Review, Stream of Consciousness Post  (Read 2962 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

dBel84

  • Ortho Ninja
  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +86/-1
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 341
Re: LCD-X Measurements, Review, Stream of Consciousness Post
« Reply #40 on: December 05, 2013, 01:58:31 AM »
thought I would post my XC impressions here too  - this was from a while ago.

LCD-XC impressions
 
 
The XC pair I have has a nice wood grain but the finish is not smooth - several areas of dimpled varnish and although they are buffed, they do not have the sheen of some of the wood cups I have seen ( including the sheen / finish of the zebrawood on the LCD3 ) 
 
sound on casual listening: I used every opportunity to play random music from my iphone , streaming Blues/Indie/Jazz stations. Very pleasant experience overall , mostly music I didn't know but easy to get into and get on with work I had to do. The XC is comfortable and isolates pretty well , perhaps a little too well as I got a few cold stares from my wife who had been trying to get my attention. Nice thing is that they did not sound closed in , they do not have the soundstage of my LCD3 and I had forgotten how much the pads shroud around your ears.
 
Critical listening. This was a challenge for me as most of my gear has been selected to drive inefficient planars and the LCD-XC is just so easy to drive I found it hard to use any of my amps. So much so that I even resorted to firing up the mytek and using its headhone stage. I did finally figure out a setup that would allow me to get a good sense of how the XC performs and enable a comparison to my beloved LCD3. ( just for completeness , I used an early proof of concept cavalli portable - discrete class A but low gain )
I think these are good headphones but they are not neutral and do not rank nearly as good as my LCD3. With that said, the following is what I experienced. When listening to test tracks that I am very familiar with, I found that I was turning the volume down because some of the upper mids were too sharp. This resulted in the mids , especially some portions of female vocal to feel recessed. I also found that the bass lacked the definition that I am used to hearing, it is still full and impactful but not as tight and not as "layered" / detailed. When i put them head to head against my LCD3 and a stock pair of LCD3, there are a few things that become more evident - the pitch of the mids is notched up ever so slightly , just enough to make you aware of it and on some tracks eg acoustic fretwork, can sound a little "nasal". I am not sure I would have picked this out without ABing , I knew it sounded different but would have put it down to headphone variation as it doesn't sound off on its own. I also feel that the overall voicing of the XC is, on first impression, more satisfying than the stock LCD3 voicing because of the increased treble presence. My LCD3 actually have as much top treble energy but it doesn't have the upper mid emphasis which makes for a more balanced sound that I am using as a reference. I also felt that the XC's soundstage did not suffer relative to the stock 3 but was nowhere near my own.
This takes me back to my initial comment, these are good headphones but I do not find them neutral. Overall I think people could live with the colouration quite happily. I don't think it is a driver problem so much as a slight honkiness that most closed headphones are prone to.
 
Logged

TMRaven

  • Able Bodied Sailor
  • Pirate
  • ***
  • Brownie Points: +34/-4
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 390
Re: LCD-X Measurements, Review, Stream of Consciousness Post
« Reply #41 on: December 05, 2013, 02:15:49 AM »
I've always attributed the better bass extension of closed dynamic headphones vs open ones to the seal they provide, allowing for easier pressurization of the enclosed cavity.

Does the same apply for the XC vs the 2, 3 or X?  I know the open LCDs might as well have bottomless extension to begin with, but I was wondering if the XC was even more impactful deep, deep down low as a result of its closed nature.
Logged

The Headphone Viking

  • Powder Monkey
  • *
  • Brownie Points: +9/-22
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 57
Re: LCD-X Measurements, Review, Stream of Consciousness Post
« Reply #42 on: February 10, 2014, 09:34:12 PM »
Hmm, reading through this thread worries me greatly... After reading Headmania's review and his comparison of the X to the HD800 I thought it would be the perfect companion to HD800 for me. I've always been a fan of the build, aesthetic and general sound idea of Audeze, but found the LCD-2 to have such a lack of detail and soundstage compared to the HD800 that I didn't keep it, and the LCD-3 was just far to expensive for what it offered (at least to my ears then) which seemed to be the dark signature of the LCD-2 but with more detail and more soundstage - it just seemed a bit too dark still though.
That and I couldn't stand the pads - seemed like having your face squished between two spring-mattresses, just waiting to slip/wobble off your head, where as the LCD-2 was just right for me.

Now when I heard the LCD-x supposedly had a bigger soundstage, and some more treble energy along with the bass and fullness of the "Audeze-sound", I thought it sounded perfect for my use. Specifically that is for metal/rock recording where there sometimes is way too much treble noise relative to the sound level and body of the rest on my HD800, probably due to poor recording, or just the nature of the distorted guitars etc.

Any thoughts on the LCD-X as a companion for the HD800 for the purpose mentioned? And has anyone by chance read Headmanias review, and if so, what are your thoughts on it?

Heres a link to the reviews in question: http://headmania.org/2013/11/08/audeze-lcd-x-review/comment-page-1/#comment-104959
Logged

Anaxilus

  • Phallus Belligerantus Analmorticus
  • Pirate
  • **
  • Brownie Points: +65535/-65535
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3493
  • TRS jacks must die
    • The Claw
Re: LCD-X Measurements, Review, Stream of Consciousness Post
« Reply #43 on: February 10, 2014, 10:03:34 PM »
His LCD3 sounds like one of the many defective units out in the wild.  Despite this, the LCD3 is till more resolving than the X and has a more natural timbre even with the bad ones that sound slow and veiled.  The X is a more balanced sounding Audeze phone but make no mistake, it has it's own signature.

Like the reviewer, I can concur the LCD-X never 'seizes' to amaze me.   :P  His comparison to the HD800 is accurate in some parts and contradictory in others so it's a bit mixed bag.  He definitely has symptoms of being under amped when he hears back wall reflections more on the LCD-X than the HD800.  The comments on imaging seem to be inconsistent at times, could be the 800 behaving reactively with the amp.  If you want smooth, sibilant free sound even when the sibilance is actually on the recording, the X can help with that.

I could recommend the X at an MSRP of $500, but not what they are asking.  If I was fine with using eq, I'd probably pick the TH900 over the X.
Logged
"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." - Lao Tzu

"The Claw is our master. The Claw chooses who will go or who will stay." - The LGM Community

"You're like a dull knife, just ain't cuttin'. Talking loud, saying nothing." - James Brown

Maxvla

  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +211/-12
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1251
Re: LCD-X Measurements, Review, Stream of Consciousness Post
« Reply #44 on: February 10, 2014, 11:17:34 PM »
X is just a brighter 2. Still has little in the way of redeeming qualities if accurate reproduction is your aim.
Logged

MuppetFace

  • Miss Anna Logg
  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +119/-6
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1371
  • First you get a swimming pool full of liquor...
Re: LCD-X Measurements, Review, Stream of Consciousness Post
« Reply #45 on: February 10, 2014, 11:30:04 PM »
The LCD-X really has no appeal for me, personally. Compared to the other open Audez'e models, it has the most unnatural timbre and seems to lack a bit of the texture of its brethren, like it's just not extracting as much information. Granted it does have a brighter overall tonal balance, and I suspect this makes it seem more detailed for some folks, especially when compared to a 'veiled' LCD-3. The biggest drawback for me however is the midrange: there's a sucked out effect, right up against some hard upper mids, so it sounds both a little distant and also somewhat fatiguing at the same time. It's a recipe for what I call "volume seesaw" where I have to keep turning the volume up and down, up and down. So overall I'd say the X lacks the refinement of its brethren, and it loses the creamy Audez'e magic that gave the brand a unique identity in the first place.

The LCD-XC is a bit less refined still, but it at least appeals to me more being a closed back model. In fact it would be a great closed headphones if it weren't so heavy and cumbersome to use for anything other than sit-down home use. Also the price tag is clearly strategic move on the part of Audez'e to my mind, an attempt to make the LCD-X / XC seem closer to the LCD-3 when it's actually closer to the LCD-2 in my opinion. I have a feeling the LCD-3 has been giving Audez'e a lot of headaches, so they'll probably phase it out when the LCD-4 is released at $4k or thereabouts, allowing the LCD-X and XC to slot into the middle of their lineup. Just a guess, of course.

If you want a brighter tonal balance than the LCD-3, there are better options out there than the LCD-X to my mind. Also I'd wait and see how the new HiFiMan models like the HD-560 do when they're released in a few months.
Logged
My blog on head-fi: http://www.head-fi.org/f/7879/muppetface
I mostly talk about music there. Weird.

The Headphone Viking

  • Powder Monkey
  • *
  • Brownie Points: +9/-22
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 57
Re: LCD-X Measurements, Review, Stream of Consciousness Post
« Reply #46 on: February 11, 2014, 01:28:21 AM »
Quote from: MuppetFace on February 10, 2014, 11:30:04 PM
If you want a brighter tonal balance than the LCD-3, there are better options out there than the LCD-X to my mind. Also I'd wait and see how the new HiFiMan models like the HD-560 do when they're released in a few months.

Hmm, good point - currently I've tried the TH900 as a companion for the HD-800 but found it too similar, but falling short in all areas except bass quantity. And what made me cross it off my list is the seesawing you spoke of, because I love its bass punch, but when i turn it up to enjoy it with a metal recording, by ears get shredded (no pun intended) making me turn it down, or even just switch to the HD-800.

So yea. With no way of actually auditioning any of the Audeze models here (except the LCD-2 which some people own) I'm having a rough time deciding - but the Hifimans are definitely something I'll be looking out for. I even thing the local distributor will have a release event/meet up when the time comes :)

It strange to hear such different impressions between this forum and many reviewers and sites... I mean I consider myself a realist and to some extent a cynical type, but the X is getting a beatdown here :P

At any rate, thanks a lot for helping. My quest for a "meaty" HD-800 continues! To the great beyond! (hopefully not an LCD-4 though... *shrugs*)
Logged

Maxvla

  • Mate
  • Pirate
  • ****
  • Brownie Points: +211/-12
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1251
Re: LCD-X Measurements, Review, Stream of Consciousness Post
« Reply #47 on: February 11, 2014, 01:49:15 AM »
The best companion to the HD800 is the HD800. There's really nothing quite like it.

If you need a less demanding HD800, the K812 is the closest you'll come to an answer.

If you need a portable HD800, UERM seems to be the consensus choice for CIEMs. My UERM doesn't sound very much like the HD800, but it was the only CIEM I liked out of half a dozen I tried, so there's that.
Logged

The Headphone Viking

  • Powder Monkey
  • *
  • Brownie Points: +9/-22
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 57
Re: LCD-X Measurements, Review, Stream of Consciousness Post
« Reply #48 on: February 11, 2014, 02:59:03 AM »
Yea, probably true. I think the only headphones competitive with it on the market that I haven't heard are the LCD-X and XC series (hence my curiosity). The TH900 came very close, but the is just too much harshness/sibilance in the treble for my ears' health.
I think the HE-500 has a lot of what I'm looking for, I just want a better/more refined version of it, one with more emphasis on the parts that i'm interested in, so a HE-500 with better resolution, a bit more bass energy and a big soundstage.

As for in ears I currently have a pair of Heir Audio A.4 which I found to resemble the HD800 in a lot of areas - although when I later compared it to JH13+16 and the fit-ear models it couldn't quite keep up in soundstage etc. But those were waaaay too bright and sibilant to my ears to replace it though.
Logged

Anaxilus

  • Phallus Belligerantus Analmorticus
  • Pirate
  • **
  • Brownie Points: +65535/-65535
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3493
  • TRS jacks must die
    • The Claw
Re: LCD-X Measurements, Review, Stream of Consciousness Post
« Reply #49 on: February 11, 2014, 03:02:58 AM »
Quote from: The Headphone Viking on February 10, 2014, 09:34:12 PM
but the X is getting a beatdown here :P

Just a matter of point of reference.  Many of the folks here have been through 009/007 with BHSE or T2 and lived with the HD800 and other phones using many different high-end chains  (some good, some bad).  We've also been through the many HD800 killers and various end-game sidegrades and have little patience or time for BS.  If something isn't what people hype it to be, many here will likely point it out.
Logged
"If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." - Lao Tzu

"The Claw is our master. The Claw chooses who will go or who will stay." - The LGM Community

"You're like a dull knife, just ain't cuttin'. Talking loud, saying nothing." - James Brown
Pages: 1 2 3 4 [5] 6 7
« previous next »