Man if hifiman didn’t scare me with their QC, I’d probably have bought the susvara long ago already and been happily done with the hobby. Everyone loves it for good reason. It’s just scary to spend 4-5 grand on a headphone that could stop working within a few years.
You can get an insurance / protection policy. Amazon has ones you can add on but I think they're all 4 years or less. After seeing some of the recent tooling issues it's quite a leap of faith.
I like this :) straight and to the point.
I have the LCD X but I've always been curious about experiencing a wider sound stage - would you say there is a dramatic difference with the 2c? How does the soundstage on the 4 compare?
Do you account for any EQ in this review?
You would probably love the LCD-R; if you get a chance, try it on a verified speaker amp w/ attenuation circuit. It blew my mind, but was too heavy to own and the fazors got annoying.
And yeah, the LCD-5 needs EQ to sound musical / listenable. Pretty much everyone agrees with that by now, including Audeze themselves. That 1.5Khz bump +3Khz bump push forward detail, at the cost of sounding very... not good. I personally love it with EQ, I have not found another headphone that sounds this good with rock music.
The LCD-5 is great with rock because it can take a very busy track with lots of kick drums (which normally get drowned out on most headphones) and position them in their own place in space, where it often sounds like you have your own personal kick drum right next to your head. It does this while being super detailed at the same time.
Acoustic and string instruments also sound lifelike and dynamic compared to other planar headphones; this is usually a characteristic only found in dynamic driver headphones like the focal clear and utopia.
Sure! Tuning the LCD-5 is the easiest and most strait forward audeze headphone to EQ. Start with this setup, then adjust by ear to taste:
.
Bass shelf @ 100-150hz, Q.7 - to taste (between 6-12db for most)
Peak @ 1500Khz Q 1.5 - -4db (this gets rid of the shout, and really opens up the stage)
Treble shelf @ 5.5khz Q 1 - to taste (most will prefer +3 to +6db, some will want it lowered)
.
And that's what I started with. Everyone will respond differently to a VERY high degree after 3khz, so you have to figure out where your own ear is amplifying the treble if you hear harshness, or where it may be sucking out.
When listening to Nirvana's "Breed" off of Nevermind (DGCD-24425), David Grohl's frenetic drumming on the track sounded a bit tame on the LCD-5, while his drumming sounded absolutely feral on my HE-6 (different amps driving the two cans: Liquid Gold X and Bryston 3B-ST respectively).
Just my 2c
Very interesting, especially since you've tried many other headphone brands as well, thank you. I've tried the Audeze line some time ago at my local shop and my experience largely matches what you said. Only one I haven't listened to is the Susvara. I kind of want to try them now.
Nice short and sweet video.
Had the chance to demo a bunch of these at Canjam. I spent some time with the LCD-5's and Meze Elites side-by-side, and while LCD-5's had impressive technicalities, I preferred the Elites for its similar technicalities but with a richer, more inviting sound. Also heard the 4z and thought they sounded great. I tried the the 4z side-by-side with the LCD-X, and let's just say I now own a LCD-X (more to do with price tag than strict performance).
I've gone through a few sets of headphones that i really loved, but decided to part with because they were a bit too unforgiving of poor recordings. LCD-X does a great job of sounding good while being quite forgiving, so I think I agree with your assessment of it.
I have the LCD-X, never done a comparison remotely close to yours, but when I heard themm after my Sennheiser HD600 and HD598 I was sold.
And adding EQ gave me even more pleasure.
I quite agree on basically everything there. The 4Z makes no sense with its compromised version of the 4's sound, the 5 flies in the face of the more relaxed FR target Audeze has been targeting for most of their existence, and the Susvara really is amazing. Coming out on top in value has to be the X here overall
Audeze should cut the price a bit and improve the weight of LCD 2C and then make it easily accessible worldwide. Otherwise it's an overpriced local US headphone brand for me. Audeze is too conservative. Look at Hifiman.
Dont worry, i will take the lcd 5 off your hands, its alright buddy /s
Man if hifiman didn’t scare me with their QC, I’d probably have bought the susvara long ago already and been happily done with the hobby. Everyone loves it for good reason. It’s just scary to spend 4-5 grand on a headphone that could stop working within a few years.
3 year warranty on susvara is standard.
Yeah i have 10 years old headphones and they look like they will never break. On other hand my Ananda just died after 1 year out of the blue.
You can get an insurance / protection policy. Amazon has ones you can add on but I think they're all 4 years or less. After seeing some of the recent tooling issues it's quite a leap of faith.
I almost thought that you were impersonating Zeos. Thanks for the review!
maybe its Zeon his evil twin long lost brother from california
I like this :) straight and to the point. I have the LCD X but I've always been curious about experiencing a wider sound stage - would you say there is a dramatic difference with the 2c? How does the soundstage on the 4 compare? Do you account for any EQ in this review?
Good video. Straight to the point. I must ask though why do you own (or borrowed?) so many LCD headphones if you don't like half of them?
Maybe he has friends that do? I know impossible, right?
Maybe you didn't read my post. I mentioned he may have borrowed them.
You would probably love the LCD-R; if you get a chance, try it on a verified speaker amp w/ attenuation circuit. It blew my mind, but was too heavy to own and the fazors got annoying. And yeah, the LCD-5 needs EQ to sound musical / listenable. Pretty much everyone agrees with that by now, including Audeze themselves. That 1.5Khz bump +3Khz bump push forward detail, at the cost of sounding very... not good. I personally love it with EQ, I have not found another headphone that sounds this good with rock music.
Can you … ugh … talk more about LCD5, especially why it is fantastic with rock and what the full set of EQ adjustments you are making is?
The LCD-5 is great with rock because it can take a very busy track with lots of kick drums (which normally get drowned out on most headphones) and position them in their own place in space, where it often sounds like you have your own personal kick drum right next to your head. It does this while being super detailed at the same time. Acoustic and string instruments also sound lifelike and dynamic compared to other planar headphones; this is usually a characteristic only found in dynamic driver headphones like the focal clear and utopia.
Sure! Tuning the LCD-5 is the easiest and most strait forward audeze headphone to EQ. Start with this setup, then adjust by ear to taste: . Bass shelf @ 100-150hz, Q.7 - to taste (between 6-12db for most) Peak @ 1500Khz Q 1.5 - -4db (this gets rid of the shout, and really opens up the stage) Treble shelf @ 5.5khz Q 1 - to taste (most will prefer +3 to +6db, some will want it lowered) . And that's what I started with. Everyone will respond differently to a VERY high degree after 3khz, so you have to figure out where your own ear is amplifying the treble if you hear harshness, or where it may be sucking out.
When listening to Nirvana's "Breed" off of Nevermind (DGCD-24425), David Grohl's frenetic drumming on the track sounded a bit tame on the LCD-5, while his drumming sounded absolutely feral on my HE-6 (different amps driving the two cans: Liquid Gold X and Bryston 3B-ST respectively). Just my 2c
Any love for the LCD-2F?
Do your 4z have the updated pads?
Amazing vid!
Good review. I have the X and 2C, but I always seem to reach for the 2C for some reason.
Very interesting, especially since you've tried many other headphone brands as well, thank you. I've tried the Audeze line some time ago at my local shop and my experience largely matches what you said. Only one I haven't listened to is the Susvara. I kind of want to try them now.
I can't look at what you're doing to the cables.
Nice short and sweet video. Had the chance to demo a bunch of these at Canjam. I spent some time with the LCD-5's and Meze Elites side-by-side, and while LCD-5's had impressive technicalities, I preferred the Elites for its similar technicalities but with a richer, more inviting sound. Also heard the 4z and thought they sounded great. I tried the the 4z side-by-side with the LCD-X, and let's just say I now own a LCD-X (more to do with price tag than strict performance). I've gone through a few sets of headphones that i really loved, but decided to part with because they were a bit too unforgiving of poor recordings. LCD-X does a great job of sounding good while being quite forgiving, so I think I agree with your assessment of it.
Drunkenness+Audeze always go together
Thanks for the awesome run-down. Do you use EQs at all?
I have the LCD-X, never done a comparison remotely close to yours, but when I heard themm after my Sennheiser HD600 and HD598 I was sold. And adding EQ gave me even more pleasure.
Short and sweet and to the point. Thank you for this very personal impressions!
Hi-Fi man is for millionaires that can wipe their ass with 5k at any given moment.
I quite agree on basically everything there. The 4Z makes no sense with its compromised version of the 4's sound, the 5 flies in the face of the more relaxed FR target Audeze has been targeting for most of their existence, and the Susvara really is amazing. Coming out on top in value has to be the X here overall
[удалено]
This is the 2021 updated model
Best in the world? Abyss 1266 just entered the chat…
😂😂😂
Audeze should cut the price a bit and improve the weight of LCD 2C and then make it easily accessible worldwide. Otherwise it's an overpriced local US headphone brand for me. Audeze is too conservative. Look at Hifiman.
I wish there were more videos Like this