Audeze LCD-X Review (2021 Edition Headphone)

[KiyPhi]

Dca change his pads with the ethers flows, i had the first pad and i had problems with the fit in my head, but dca send me a much better pad and i the problem its gone, also the sub bass improve with the newer pad.

Look this pad:
View attachment 143672

And this:
View attachment 143673
View attachment 143674

As someone who has recently tried two DCA headphones, the leak issue is still present and isn't just a pad issue, the headphones would need a whole redesign. The pads may seal better, but glasses and a beard will break it anyway and those bad boys roll off at the mids. They are stupid comfy and light though, so if you do get a good seal, they are great headphones, but people like me can't use them.

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

Not true.
View attachment 143689View attachment 143690

The ether '' flows '' have better distortion
This is from efo

Dan posted this
ETHER ''C flow '' THD, 104dB @1Khz

ETHER CX THD, 104dB @1Khz

 

[Nango]

They should swap older faulty ones for new ones for free like Topping and SMSL do.

 

[Jimbob54]

They should swap older faulty ones for new ones for free like Topping and SMSL do.

Define "faulty".

 

[vkvedam]

Nice but no thanks with that sort of leakage. Not useful for me anyway.

 

[Vini darko]

The LCD-24 are better:

Fair enough that is significantly better

 

[Merkurio]

Not true.
View attachment 143689View attachment 143690

Audeze has astonishing low distortion products indeed.

Even my iSINE LX (same as iSINE 10) takes heavy EQ like a champ with no audible distortion whatsoever, at only $59.

 

[Jimbob54]

@amirm ,did they send the XC too. Be really interested to see that, especially if someone could send you the old version too.

 

[GaryH]

Audeze has astonishing low distortion products indeed.

Even my iSINE LX (same as iSINE 10) takes heavy EQ like a champ with no audible distortion whatsoever, at only $59.

Good luck EQing out all those high-Q frequency response errors in the treble. Low distortion is useless when you can't get the basics of frequency response right, as Audeze rarely do.

 

[phoenixsong]

No wonder it sounded really boring to me without EQ

 

[PeteL]

Am I really reading 500$ for the box to put it in?

 

[elliott]

These reviews always give me trouble. When there's such little distortion, it seems like headphones become blank canvases, and I can't tell which blank canvas I want over another. I know this is just in regard to fq, but still.

 

[JohnYang1997]

The ether '' flows '' have better distortion
This is from efo
View attachment 143699


Dan posted this
ETHER ''C flow '' THD, 104dB @1Khz
View attachment 143701


ETHER CX THD, 104dB @1Khz
View attachment 143702

I think we can ignore headfi's graph first.
From Dan's graph ether flow is higher than LCD X. But it's still quite low.

 

[Theriverlethe]

Why are you trying to EQ below 30Hz? There’s almost zero content at those frequencies, so I guess it doesn’t matter much either way…

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

I think we can ignore headfi's graph first.
From Dan's graph ether flow is higher than LCD X. But it's still quite low.

I clearly see the dan graph from Ether c flow is lower than x.

Head fi graph is correct, don't ignore that graph because Its made by grass ap.

 

[amirm]

Why are you trying to EQ below 30Hz? There’s almost zero content at those frequencies, so I guess it doesn’t matter much either way…

I have plenty of content down there. Indeed I have a long playlist with them. We also had a recent thread where members post their favorites. I have RME ADI-2 DAC and so see the spectrum real-time as I play them.

 

[Dmitri]

Warning: this is an I’m almost finished with my second Margarita rant...

I’m old school. I plug in my phones to my receiver and expect to have sound that’s not bland or boring. I can do that with my 6xxx and my 580’s...(though very different audio signatures) Not a lot of deep bass, but certainly not boring. So when Amirm reviews a pair of 1200 dollar headphones that sound fantastic but with only what appears to be some of the most extreme eq I’ve seen in any of these reviews, they obviously don’t hold a lot of personal interest for me.

So...my question: The fact that these cans can be adjusted so radically...as “a blank slate” without added distortion is impressive, but for 1200 bucks...why the hell can’t they get it right in the first place? Sure, many phones respond brilliantly to eq, but I can’t help but feel it shouldn’t be needed in the first place.

Maybe I should just get the RME ADI-2DAC and call it a day, huh? ; )

 

[amirm]

So...my question: The fact that these cans can be adjusted so radically...as “a blank slate” without added distortion is impressive, but for 1200 bucks...why the hell can’t they get it right in the first place?

Only they can answer this. I think they will say it is selling as it is so maybe the response is right.

 

[Tks]

It's a shame they are still shipping the long leather strap that touches the headband. Defeats the purpose of being suspended!
And they do carry a shorter leather strap, so I don't know why they keep sending out the longer ones!

This is my former XC with short leather strap bought from Audeze's Customer Service. Comfort increased 1000x.

Because (even with that mod, which I also did with mine) the downside is the center of gravity rises, and makes the headphone more unstable when moving around or swaying).

I never had a problem with weight in terms of "ouch my neck" with LCD's. Their biggest problem is they have no ergonomic stability. You either get the headband digging into your skull through the headstrap. Or you raise the headband (by shortening the strap) and the center of gravity makes the headphone more unstable, and with this weight you can't even lean your head anymore.

Another issue is they can't be employed for long computer sessions. The pads start to compress slowly over the weeks to where the internal dimensions eventually start touching parts of your ear. Which makes you want to throw them out of window when you realize for cups these massive, you can't fathom why ANYTHING is touch your actual ears.

Audeze simply refuses to move away from this design (it's their brand in reality). At first I thought they can fix a few things, but then realize because of some intrinsic aspect, this design inherently cannot be salvaged unless they find a miracle in lowering it's weight by half or more. Only then can you do something with this moronic design.

Shame really though. With EQ, these headphones obliterate basically everything I've heard. Their ergonomics are so bad though, I envy any years-long owners that have no issues with them (though i guess i would be in the same boat if I didn't head headphones on nearly all the time in front of a computer).

 

[Matias]

Personally I never had issues with stability or weight on my neck even with the XC, heavier than the X. But the hot spot was a killer until the blessed short strap relieved it. Could use it for hours happy in audiophile heaven. Just not headbanging involved. Ultimately I sold my XC for not using it and needing the money elsewhere. Good memories though, highly recommend imo.