Audeze LCD-X Review (2021 Edition Headphone)

[Blorg]

Will help me choose between audient id14 and motu m4 for my audeze lcd x.
I read that on audient id14 there may be a problem with low headphone impedance

Amir measured the Moto M4 at 24mW @33 ohms which is below the Apple dongle. The LCD-X is very sensitive for a full size planar but it is still a full size planar and I'd tend towards something with more power. If the output doesn't have to go through the interface the Moondrop Dawn Pro dongle ($30-50, 120mW) with a balanced cable is more than enough for them, I have both. Qudelix 5K ($109, 240mW) is also a good pick and the PEQ invaluable as the LCD-X really needs EQ. If you want to route the output through the interface, any of the popular $100-150 amps should be fine. It really doesn't need much.

 

[kleijnforstm]

Амир измерил мощность Moto M4 24 мВт при 33 Ом, что ниже уровня адаптера Apple. LCD-X очень чувствителен к полноразмерному планарному изображению, но это по-прежнему полноразмерный планарный дисплей, и я бы предпочел что-то более мощное. Если выход не должен проходить через интерфейс, то им более чем достаточно ключа Moondrop Dawn Pro (30-50 долларов США, 120 мВт) с балансным кабелем, у меня есть оба. Qudelix 5K (109 долларов США, 240 мВт) также является хорошим выбором, а PEQ бесценен, поскольку LCD-X действительно нуждается в эквалайзере. Если вы хотите направить выходной сигнал через интерфейс, подойдет любой из популярных усилителей стоимостью 100–150 долларов. Это действительно не нужно много.

Спасибо за помощь

 

[andivax]

I have topping l50 and tried Aune S7 Pro as headphones amp with RME UFX II.
Disappointed with the quality in comparison with Headphones Amp of UFX II. 7/10

 

[kleijnforstm]

I have topping l50 and tried Aune S7 Pro as headphones amp with RME UFX II.
Disappointed with the quality in comparison with Headphones Amp of UFX II. 7/10

choosing between schiit magni+ and jds atom

 

[splitting_ears]

Will help me choose between audient id14 and motu m4 for my audeze lcd x.
I read that on audient id14 there may be a problem with low headphone impedance

my friends reported problems with Audient HP outputs when using with planar headphones.
Different Audient models, same problem.
So be careful.

Hmm, maybe with different Audeze models, but my old iD22 was more than enough to drive my LCD-X with EQ + 6dB of attenuation. Even my (old, entry-level) smartphone can push them loud enough.

I'd say don't stress it too much and choose the interface that best suits your workflow

 

[kleijnforstm]

Hmm, maybe with different Audeze models, but my old iD22 was more than enough to drive my LCD-X with EQ + 6dB of attenuation. Even my (old, entry-level) smartphone can push them loud enough.

I'd say don't stress it too much and choose the interface that best suits your workflow

Problem is not the volume, problem is the low impedance 20ohms

 

[andivax]

Hmm, maybe with different Audeze models, but my old iD22 was more than enough to drive my LCD-X with EQ + 6dB of attenuation. Even my (old, entry-level) smartphone can push them loud enough.

I'd say don't stress it too much and choose the interface that best suits your workflow

I have told about new MK2 SERIES

 

[kleijnforstm]

I have told about new MK2 SERIES

Hi,chto mogete skazat' about topping a90? is it worth it?

 

[splitting_ears]

I have told about new MK2 SERIES

Ah, my bad! Personally I've never had any issue pairing these cans with any interface whatsoever, even cheap ones.

Problem is not the volume, problem is the low impedance 20ohms

How is that a problem?

 

[solderdude]

Problem is not the volume, problem is the low impedance 20ohms

Not an issue for planars, the 1/8th or 1/0th rule does not apply for this headphone.
As long as you can go as loud as you need it to go without degrading in sound quality you're fine.

about topping a90? is it worth it?

Only if you want to play a LOT louder or have a bunch of headphones of various sensitivity and impedance, need the functionality and have money to burn on it.

 

[Rayman30]

Would like to know what you guys think of my custom EQ.

 

[Don Troubles]

Hey everybody,

I am looking for some advice or getting your personal view/experience in some matters relates to the topic.
After been reading and reading I just decide to go an order a pair of LCD-X (I am genuinely excited).
My intention is to mix and master with them but I have no previous experience with planar headphones so got some doubts.

My actual set up is a Motu Ultralite Mk5, after seen Amir's review I am not sure how well the HPamp will perform with the LCDs. Has anyone by a chance test this combo?
Ideally if the Motu amp its not good enough I would grab a dedicate headphone amp, right now I am in a tight budget. I was looking at topping dx3 pro+ or the EX5 MQA but reading the user experience and problems associate to them I am not sure anymore. I can not find the JDS lab units in Uk at the moment and I getting lost on reviews trying to find something worthing. Any thoughts iFi Zen DAC V2?
Potentially I could use Motu converters and grab just and amp but I'll rather have a full dca/amp combo for portability. I reckon that I'll invest into a RME or something similar hi-end at some point but it will past some good months until I can jump on something like this I am afraid.

For the in the box mixing I got sonar works atm, I'll try the headphones profile for LCD-x (not really fan their profiles), most probably I will end setting up my own eq on a flat profile on soundID.
I've been reading about Harman curve and Oratory, Which one do you think it will work the best? Should I ending doing my own thing?
Other plugins I will be aiming for is the can-opener, and perhaps Mid-side from goodherz. I am thinking to get something like Audio Hi-jack to run there out of my DAW session this way I can listen them on any source.
Do you got any other good plugin suggestions?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Blorg]

@Don Troubles the LCD-X is really easy to drive. From looking at Amir's review of the Motu Ultralite Mk5 it's not exactly great headphone performance for the price of the thing, there are dongles that do better, but the LCD-X sensitivity is 103 dB/1mW which is super sensitive for an over-ear. Amir measured 77mW on the Motu into 33Ω, presuming it does similar into 20Ω (theoretically, should be more, but some amps have issues with lower impedances) that's 122dB. That's very loud. At 5mW Amir got the best THD+N, at around -93dB. 5mW = 110dB. Still very loud. So to be honest for these specific headphones they could well be just fine.

I'm honestly regularly surprised by how loud these are, even in low gain with volume below the 12 o'clock I plug them in and it's, wow, these are loud.

If you did want to get something else, the likes of the Moondrop Dawn Pro dongle at $50 has more than enough power for them balanced, and a bit more than the Motu (Dawn Pro does around 120mW balanced). It should also have much lower noise and distortion. I mention that one as I have it, and can confirm from trying it, it's more than enough. Fiio's new $29 KA11 claims 245mW, and that's single ended, so you wouldn't even need a new cable. Fiio are generally honest with power claims. I think that might be a good pick and what I'd get if I was looking for a portable solution for it now. But I haven't heard it, while I have the other stuff, so can't say for sure.

You need EQ for the LCD-X, Qudelix 5K is a good option for them and more than enough power-wise. Oratory's profile is a good starting point, I found I had to modify it substantially (I don't on other headphones), possibly as Audeze has absolutely huge batch-to-batch variation, so all you can really say is you have something with the same general shape, it's very unlikely Oratory's sample is particularly close to yours. Subjectively, my ones seem to have quite a bit more upper mids stock so Oratory boosts too much there, makes them very intense and shouty.

My favourite headphones are Hifiman, like HE1000, Arya, followed by Focal Utopia or Clear. All of these are far more forward in that area, so it's not that I'm not used to forward upper mids, I am very used to them and the LCD-X is extremely dark and muffled stock. But Oratory has a HUGE boost in the upper mids, almost 10dB cumulatively at 3.8kHz vs the lower mids. It does need a significant boost, but for me that was too much.

I started with his profile and then adjusted that down, taking 2-4dB off between the high shelf and the 3,850Hz peak. So same general shape but just less of that 3,850Hz boost.

I actually ended up using most of the time a simpler profile:

Preamp: -3.5 dB
Filter 1: ON LSC Fc 105 Hz Gain 6.5 dB Q 0.71
Filter 2: ON LSC Fc 300 Hz Gain -3 dB Q 0.71
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 700 Hz Gain -1.5 dB Q 1
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 3800 Hz Gain 3.5 dB Q 1.5

I'm using sine sweeps and my ears to try to figure this out, I don't have a measuring rig for over-ears. I do for IEMs, and I have the Audeze Euclid... which confirms typical Audeze variability, these have comical variations, like they can be 6-7dB off. So Audeze, you sort of need to DIY, ideally if you have a rig, I did get the Euclid just right with that but if not just use your ears and try to figure out what sounds good on your specific sample.

If this was my only headphone, I would go higher on the upper mids boost. But's it's not, and most of my other headphones are tuned with much more there. So with the LCD-X I'm OK with it being a bit darker and more relaxed in the upper mids, like what's the point of having all these headphones if I am going to EQ them all back exactly to Harman.

One of the advantages of this lesser EQ is that it only needs -3.5dB pre-amp vs -9.5dB on Oratory. The LCD-X is very easy to drive so this is much less of an issue than harder to drive headphones but with that sort of pre-amp you are effectively reducing the sensitivity from 103dB/mW to more like 93dB/mW and that is comparable to stuff like Hifiman. If you have a lower power source, could be start to be a limiting factor.

 

[Don Troubles]

@Don Troubles the LCD-X is really easy to drive. From looking at Amir's review of the Motu Ultralite Mk5 it's not exactly great headphone performance for the price of the thing, there are dongles that do better, but the LCD-X sensitivity is 103 dB/1mW which is super sensitive for an over-ear. Amir measured 77mW on the Motu into 33Ω, presuming it does similar into 20Ω (theoretically, should be more, but some amps have issues with lower impedances) that's 122dB. That's very loud. At 5mW Amir got the best THD+N, at around -93dB. 5mW = 110dB. Still very loud. So to be honest for these specific headphones they could well be just fine.

I'm honestly regularly surprised by how loud these are, even in low gain with volume below the 12 o'clock I plug them in and it's, wow, these are loud.

If you did want to get something else, the likes of the Moondrop Dawn Pro dongle at $50 has more than enough power for them balanced, and a bit more than the Motu (Dawn Pro does around 120mW balanced). It should also have much lower noise and distortion. I mention that one as I have it, and can confirm from trying it, it's more than enough. Fiio's new $29 KA11 claims 245mW, and that's single ended, so you wouldn't even need a new cable. Fiio are generally honest with power claims. I think that might be a good pick and what I'd get if I was looking for a portable solution for it now. But I haven't heard it, while I have the other stuff, so can't say for sure.

You need EQ for the LCD-X, Qudelix 5K is a good option for them and more than enough power-wise. Oratory's profile is a good starting point, I found I had to modify it substantially (I don't on other headphones), possibly as Audeze has absolutely huge batch-to-batch variation, so all you can really say is you have something with the same general shape, it's very unlikely Oratory's sample is particularly close to yours. Subjectively, my ones seem to have quite a bit more upper mids stock so Oratory boosts too much there, makes them very intense and shouty.

My favourite headphones are Hifiman, like HE1000, Arya, followed by Focal Utopia or Clear. All of these are far more forward in that area, so it's not that I'm not used to forward upper mids, I am very used to them and the LCD-X is extremely dark and muffled stock. But Oratory has a HUGE boost in the upper mids, almost 10dB cumulatively at 3.8kHz vs the lower mids. It does need a significant boost, but for me that was too much.

View attachment 353129

I started with his profile and then adjusted that down, taking 2-4dB off between the high shelf and the 3,850Hz peak. So same general shape but just less of that 3,850Hz boost.

View attachment 353125

I actually ended up using most of the time a simpler profile:

Preamp: -3.5 dB
Filter 1: ON LSC Fc 105 Hz Gain 6.5 dB Q 0.71
Filter 2: ON LSC Fc 300 Hz Gain -3 dB Q 0.71
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 700 Hz Gain -1.5 dB Q 1
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 3800 Hz Gain 3.5 dB Q 1.5

View attachment 353126

I'm using sine sweeps and my ears to try to figure this out, I don't have a measuring rig for over-ears. I do for IEMs, and I have the Audeze Euclid... which confirms typical Audeze variability, these have comical variations, like they can be 6-7dB off. So Audeze, you sort of need to DIY, ideally if you have a rig, I did get the Euclid just right with that but if not just use your ears and try to figure out what sounds good on your specific sample.

If this was my only headphone, I would go higher on the upper mids boost. But's it's not, and most of my other headphones are tuned with much more there. So with the LCD-X I'm OK with it being a bit darker and more relaxed in the upper mids, like what's the point of having all these headphones if I am going to EQ them all back exactly to Harman.

One of the advantages of this lesser EQ is that it only needs -3.5dB pre-amp vs -9.5dB on Oratory. The LCD-X is very easy to drive so this is much less of an issue than harder to drive headphones but with that sort of pre-amp you are effectively reducing the sensitivity from 103dB/mW to more like 93dB/mW and that is comparable to stuff like Hifiman. If you have a lower power source, could be start to be a limiting factor.

Hi Blorg! thanks you so much for taking the time to respond to my questions with such a detail, I really appreciate your input and experience!

Got the LDC-X today and I've been testing them with the Motu hp.amp
I was almost sure it would work in terms of level performance but wasn't sure in terms of clarity and possible distortion.
Right now I don't have anything else to compare with, but for the listening I've been having today it fell right to me.

I've checked the moon drop, the Fiio Ka11 and Qdelix, all of them looks pretty good options to take the LDCs on the road so I will dig on reviews a bit more and probably got one of those. Long term as I mentioned I'll go for the Rme as its has a nice a/d/a convertes for the studio speakers and headphone amp.

In terms of eq I've been playing around with SoundID which I felt bit to forced on mid, Oratorys and your custom eq points.
Oratory's one as you mention feels a bit to much on the upper mids so I've been doing test and customising it to my test, I am sure it will be modified in the following weeks when I'll get more use to the headphones but I think I am in a good starting point right now.
Your custom eq feels really good for overall listen so I've keep it as a preset too on soundID with a flat profile along with my custom oratory.

Overall once that I got them eq, I am really loving the headphones, I was a bit scared after spend the money on them lol. I've been listening to my mastering reference playlist with a variety of tracks on it and I am really happy of the purchase.

 

[Rayman30]

Hi Blorg! thanks you so much for taking the time to respond to my questions with such a detail, I really appreciate your input and experience!

Got the LDC-X today and I've been testing them with the Motu hp.amp
I was almost sure it would work in terms of level performance but wasn't sure in terms of clarity and possible distortion.
Right now I don't have anything else to compare with, but for the listening I've been having today it fell right to me.

I've checked the moon drop, the Fiio Ka11 and Qdelix, all of them looks pretty good options to take the LDCs on the road so I will dig on reviews a bit more and probably got one of those. Long term as I mentioned I'll go for the Rme as its has a nice a/d/a convertes for the studio speakers and headphone amp.

In terms of eq I've been playing around with SoundID which I felt bit to forced on mid, Oratorys and your custom eq points.
Oratory's one as you mention feels a bit to much on the upper mids so I've been doing test and customising it to my test, I am sure it will be modified in the following weeks when I'll get more use to the headphones but I think I am in a good starting point right now.
Your custom eq feels really good for overall listen so I've keep it as a preset too on soundID with a flat profile along with my custom oratory.

Overall once that I got them eq, I am really loving the headphones, I was a bit scared after spend the money on them lol. I've been listening to my mastering reference playlist with a variety of tracks on it and I am really happy of the purchase.

The Hidizs S9 Pro as well as the iFi Uno are good options for portable use.

 

[Liya]

EQ Revision (06-04-22)
For more punch and slam

For those of you interested the EQ profile I posted in February it has under gone several silent revisions. The latest can be found below in the 18 band version iteration.

And so for deep, tight bass that sounds more resolving and moves quickly out of the way of the honestly crafted mids and meticulously shaped highs, that accentuates the LCD-X’s "punch and slam" effect with kick drums and snares.

View attachment 210855

As you can see from the overlay-ed, inverted chart of Oratory1990's Harman Compensated FR (yes PEACE can do that!) I have stuck with his mids calculations even more religiously than he did. My curve (green) deviates most from his (red) in the bass and the highs, adding a couple shots of bass slam and sparkling highs that makes vocalists more realistic and up close and personal. 90Hz is exaggerated in order target bass drums and make them cut through the mix. The dip before 36.5Hz is there to give sub,sub bass some slam to bass guitars.


Pre Amp: -14.5 (Be sure to enter this value to avoid clipping)

Band 1: Freq 36.5 Gain 4.2 Q 0.69 Filter Low Shelf
Band 2: Freq 37.5 Gain 0.93 Q 4 Filter Low Shelf
Band 3: Freq 90 Gain 4.5 Q 1.41 Filter Peak
Band 4: Freq 110 Gain 9.2 Q 0.7 Filter Low Shelf
Band 5: Freq 120 Gain 2.2 Q 1.41 Filter Peak
Band 6: Freq 220 Gain -1.85 Q 1.7 Filter Peak
Band 7: Freq 535 Gain 0.55 Q 2.1 Filter Peak
Band 8: Freq 810 Gain -1.85 Q 2.41 Filter Peak
Band 9: Freq 1235 Gain -1 Q 2.4 Filter High Shelf
Band 10: Freq 1500 Gain 8.4 Q 0.71 Filter High Shelf
Band 11: Freq 1910 Gain 1.3 Q 5 Filter Peak
Band 12: Freq 2800 Gain -3.5 Q 2 Filter Peak
Band 13: Freq 3400 Gain 3 Q 2.1 Filter Peak
Band 14: Freq 5780 Gain -4.75 Q 4.75 Filter Peak
Band 15: Freq 7350 Gain -2.65 Q 7 Filter Peak
Band 16: Freq 10000 Gain 0.25 Q 1 Filter Peak
Band 17: Freq 13250 Gain 1.85 Q 2.2 Filter High Shelf
Band 18: Freq 20000 Gain 1.05 Q 1 Filter High Shelf

To increase or decrease sub-bass, adjust gain to Band 4 to taste.
To increase or decrease treble, adjust gain to Band 16 to taste.


Here’s two original tracks of mine to try this profile out with that I mastered with the LCD-X 2021 that really pushes these cans to do things previously not thought possible by me:

Jonne Haven - “Big Bad World”

Jonne Haven - “Swing”

It's been said already, but I must add that I've been working on EQing the LCD-X 2021 everyday for almost 7 months now and I find that it responds to EQ settings superbly and with the greatest of resolution. Even the smallest of changes are reported, with minute detail and without distortion, the best of any headphone I have EQ'd.


5 Band EQ (06-04-22 Revision)
Simplified for punch and slam

View attachment 210856
Pre Amp: -14.5 (Be sure to enter this value to avoid clipping)

Band 1: Freq 37.5 Gain 2.04 Q 2.5 Filter Low Shelf
Band 2: Freq 90 Gain 2.4 Q 2 Filter Peak
Band 3: Freq 125 Gain 10.5 Q 0.95 Filter Low Shelf
Band 4: Freq 3700 Gain 8.35 Q 0.9 Filter Peak
Band 5: Freq 12000 Gain 13.6 Q 0.8 Filter High Shelf

For those of you using dedicated amps with 5 band equalizers in them here is an EQ profile that accentuates the LCD-Xs natural punch and slam. An easy to input 5 band iteration of the profile just plug in the numbers and zoom!

One caveat and I probably don't have to tell you this but this 5 band iteration does not sound as detailed as the 18 band. If your main source is a computer than I recommend getting software EQ that won't limit your filter count like Equalizer APO with the PEACE Interface.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/equalizerapo/
https://sourceforge.net/projects/peace-equalizer-apo-extension/


Blessings,
-Jonne

I have RME DAC. 5 band eq. I don't think I can apply any -db pre amp. What are my options with the LCD-X and RME's eq?

 

[staticV3]

I have RME DAC. 5 band eq. I don't think I can apply any -db pre amp. What are my options with the LCD-X and RME's eq?

Here are presets made specifically for the ADI-2 DAC:

Audeze LCD-X (RME ADI-2).pdf

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

Audeze LCD-X (2021 revision) (RME ADI-2).pdf

Shared with Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

 

[Liya]

Thank you Sir!

In the linked file (LCD-X, 2021 revision) there is a preamp gain '-9db'. Should I just ignore it?

 

[staticV3]

In the linked file (LCD-X, 2021 revision) there is a preamp gain '-9db'. Should I just ignore that?

As the ADI-2 has no user-configurable EQ preamp, you can simply ignore it.

Though keep an eye on the RME's level meter to make sure that no digital clipping occurs.

 

[Liya]

Thank you.