• WANTED: Happy members who like to discuss audio and other topics related to our interest. Desire to learn and share knowledge of science required. There are many reviews of audio hardware and expert members to help answer your questions. Click here to have your audio equipment measured for free!

Audeze LCD-X Over Ear Open Back Headphone Review

wemist01

Active Member
Joined
Jun 18, 2019
Messages
110
Likes
86
Location
Chicagoland
I EQ my LCD-XC's (closed version of these) with True-Fi and they sound fantastic. I add bass, yes, and I compensate for my HF hearing loss. Wouldn't listen any other way. Had them on a few minutes ago.
 
OP
amirm

amirm

Founder/Admin
Staff Member
CFO (Chief Fun Officer)
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
44,368
Likes
234,386
Location
Seattle Area
So you mean no nose bridge to position them on?
This is the fixture:

index.php


I could make a U-shape thing that would resemble glasses but would need a way to hold it there which I could figure out.
 

YSC

Major Contributor
Joined
Dec 31, 2019
Messages
3,194
Likes
2,570
maybe that's why back in the days of HE500 and LCD-2 I chose the HE500, that FR defect isn't looking remotely good
 

617

Major Contributor
Forum Donor
Joined
Mar 18, 2019
Messages
2,403
Likes
5,296
Location
Somerville, MA
This is the fixture:

index.php


I could make a U-shape thing that would resemble glasses but would need a way to hold it there which I could figure out.

I can design and 3d print something for it if we can get accurate measurements of the fixture.
 
OP
amirm

amirm

Founder/Admin
Staff Member
CFO (Chief Fun Officer)
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
44,368
Likes
234,386
Location
Seattle Area
I can design and 3d print something for it if we can get accurate measurements of the fixture.
Thanks. That's a great idea. I am returning my fixture unfortunately but can do later on.
 

dingbang

New Member
Joined
Aug 1, 2020
Messages
4
Likes
6
I bought a lcd x right on the spot after I done a listen test with my he400i side by side at my local headphone store. I returned a T1 2nd gen to amazon after I tried it for 2 days. When It comes to headphones and speaker or other audio equipment, the only thing you should trust is your hearing and nothing else.
 

milezone

Active Member
Forum Donor
Joined
May 27, 2019
Messages
126
Likes
84
Location
Seattle
I gagged the first time I did a listening test with a pair of Audeze headphones.
 

suttondesign

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Forum Donor
Joined
Feb 4, 2019
Messages
732
Likes
1,310
Location
Bellingham, WA
i have been an audeze dealer for years. i always came back to the lcd-2 inpreference to any of the more expensive in the lcd series.

that said, i personally have used almost exclusively a set of hd-800, with eq to tame that 6khz peak and boost a bit at low bass. and i do not deal in sennheiser, so no bias. dynamic drivers are, to, still the best balance of compromises.
 

DualTriode

Addicted to Fun and Learning
Joined
Oct 24, 2019
Messages
893
Likes
593
Thanks. That's a great idea. I am returning my fixture unfortunately but can do later on.

I am sad to hear that you are sending the 45CA test fixture back. What test fixture are you going to use in the sound proof box that you mentioned.

Prior to it going back please test the HiFiMan 400i’s that you often speak of.

I have a new pair of K712’s in my hand. The Harmon K712 is the headphone that Sean Olive used to test for one of his AES papers. Sean Olive developed equalization curves to make the K712’s sound and test like the FR curves of various other brands and models of headphones. I call the K712’s chameleon headphones.

Lots of headphone testing to do. It is too bad that you are sending your “Hammer” back.

Thanks D T
 

bobbooo

Major Contributor
Joined
Aug 30, 2019
Messages
1,479
Likes
2,079
Very interesting review. Any chance we can start calculating Harman preference ratings for headphones too? (I know Oratory1990 calculates them for his measurements)

Yep, this has now been automated and made freely available by Listen Inc. and courtesy of Harman:


The Excel (and other) files for both over and in-ear Harman preference rating calculations can be found in the link below, under the 'Get Sequence' section (a short registration form just needs to be filled out to download it):

https://www.listeninc.com/products/...-of-in-ear-headphones-using-the-harman-model/

The formula parameters (the standard deviation of the headphone's error curve and the slope of the logarithmic regression fit of the error) could even be presented to give a breakdown of the score, the former showing how much the frequency response deviates from neutral (the Harman target), and the latter particularly useful in determining whether the overall spectral balance of the headphone is warmer (slope < 0), brighter (slope > 0), or generally neutrally balanced across the entire audible range (slope ~ 0).

Oratory calculated a preference rating of 49/100 from his measurements of the Audeze LCD-X by the way, and 82/100 after applying his EQ settings (all displayed in his pdf for it, as he does for all the headphones he's measured).
 
Last edited:

Cahudson42

Major Contributor
Joined
Sep 21, 2019
Messages
1,083
Likes
1,556
dynamic drivers are, to, still the best balance of compromises
Well, hopefully with Amir's new reviews/tests, we shall see - planars vs dynamics - let the match begin !:)

IMO, Amir is on the right track focussing the dashboard on distortion. Did anyone else gasp at the 5% HD650 dynamics distortion vs. the 0.1% LCD-X planar distortion? While we might fix fr with EQ, once distorted - remains distorted. Right to focus on.

While ultimately I would like to see more spot frequencies or sweeps (to tease out different modes of distortion, breakup, resonance, etc.) than just 40Hz, and multitone and IMD, I do think Amir is off to a great start. And like with electronics and speakers, I look forward to the tests evolving and becoming more comprehensive as time goes on.

Thanks. Amir!
 
Last edited:

ROOSKIE

Major Contributor
Joined
Feb 27, 2020
Messages
1,915
Likes
3,394
Location
Minneapolis
Quite disagree. HD600 bass rolls off significantly but still sounds slow as hell next to a good estat, even if both are EQ'd to the same FR.
I am not saying that 100% of the time anything is a fact, however often I find that light bass can be confused with "speed" or that folks thin
Quite disagree. HD600 bass rolls off significantly but still sounds slow as hell next to a good estat, even if both are EQ'd to the same FR.
I am not saying that it is always the case that "fast" or "tight" or accurate bass is actually thin bass in disguise, I am saying this does happen often IMHO and I have even been confused by it myself from time to time.
I am glad Amir mentioned this and am glad when from time to time it gets attention. This is something to take note of and think about.

I don't have an electrostatic headphone here and I don't doubt that they may have some sweet capabilities, my question how do you know that the "fast" bass of the estat headphone you like is not actually thin bass? Have you measured them in a comparative way?
 

Mauro

Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2019
Messages
92
Likes
81
While I applaud Amir considering adopting a headphone measurement rig to round out what ASR is capable of, given the number of other headphone measurement sources available (mentioned in the thread) I would prefer products measured where others are lacking. ie Speakers and amplifiers. I would prefer to somehow see a consistent DSP/room correction assessment method deployed, if practicable.
1000 likes for dougi!
 
  • Like
Reactions: wje

BillG

Major Contributor
Joined
Sep 12, 2018
Messages
1,699
Likes
2,266
Location
Auckland, New Zealand
When It comes to headphones and speaker or other audio equipment, the only thing you should trust is your hearing and nothing else.

That's a rather pointless exercise if one doesn't know what to listen for from an engineering prospective. It's also how many audiophile-focused brands can get away with offering subpar performance in equipment that is wildly overpriced; We've had equipment analyzed here that was found to have shockingly bad performance and yet many of the owners of these loved what they heard. Had they been educated on verifiably high fidelity equipment to being with, they probably wouldn't have after experiencing and becoming acclimated to the differences.
 

ThomasXia

Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2019
Messages
39
Likes
96
First time to see headphone's sigle point THD+N graph, very interesting. can this be a reasonable explaination of the unique bass sound impression provided by HD6xx series?
 

rxp

Member
Joined
Jun 19, 2020
Messages
90
Likes
88
There's going to be a ton of headless panthers when you start measuring more "audiophile headphones". They mostly sound terrible. Harman's own research shows 0 correlation between price/preference anyway.

Fortunately with AutoEQ and Wavelet it becomes a one click exercise to get good corrections. I no longer bother thinking about how a headphone sounds when I purchase. It's more about ANC, comfort, fit, if I want open back,closed etc.

Not using EQ is kinda like not calibrating your TV/projector before reviewing.
 

mackat

Active Member
Forum Donor
Joined
Aug 31, 2019
Messages
135
Likes
150
How similar should these measure to the LCD-3? I have had a pre-Fazor pair of LCD-3’s since 2013, and I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with them. Sometimes, they sound absolutely amazing, but much of the time, I end up using my HD650’s instead. I have EQ’d the LCD-3 with the built-in Roon preset EQ, and haven’t detected a large difference.

I recently tried a pair of ZMF Aeolus. They didn’t sound bad by any means, but when people say they are warm headphones, they really mean WARM! There was a good amount too much bass for my tastes, and the treble seemed veiled compared to the HD650 or LCD-3.
 
Top Bottom