Making My LCD-X Sound Like My Studio Monitors (…without buying new headphones)

[Opalius]

I had a mission: squeeze everything out of my Audeze LCD-X (2021) without falling down the “buy another flagship” rabbit hole. So I tried a different rabbit hole—EQ—with one goal:

Make the LCD-X sound like my studio monitors - the iLoud Micro Monitors.
I measured the iLouds in my room, then spent ~20 hours doing pink-noise sweeps and fast A/Bs between speakers and headphones.

In room measurement at listening position with 1/6 smoothing...:

Was it successful? Absolutely. Tonal balance now matches so closely that hi-hats, bass weight and vocal brightness line up one-to-one. (Vocals on the LCD-X have a touch more body—no room cancellations.)

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Preamp: −9.0 dB

1. Low Shelf 30 Hz, +3.0 dB, Q 0.71
2. High Shelf 1.8 kHz, +4.5 dB, Q 0.71
3. Peak 2.67 kHz, −2.9 dB, Q 2.71
4. Peak 3.85 kHz, +4.0 dB, Q 1.40
5. Peak 5.65 kHz, −5.2 dB, Q 3.50
6. High Shelf 9 kHz, −6.0 dB, Q 0.71
7. High Shelf 14 kHz, +2.0 dB, Q 0.71

(Graph: LCD-X EQ vs LCD-X stock vs Sennheiser HD800S. TL;DR: fuller bass than HD800S, smoother 5–8 kHz, a bit of top-octave air.) - ... and yes, - I have listend to the HD800S IRL.....

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• Bass: Full and controlled; real sub reach like a small room with a touch of room-gain.
• Mids: Clear, present vocals/guitars (2–4 kHz lift), no shout.
• Treble: Low-treble glare tamed; cymbals silky rather than splashy; 14 kHz adds openness.
• Fatigue: Very low—hours of listening no problem.

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HD650/6XX — mid-centric and cozy with rolled sub/air.
My LCD-X EQ keeps the HD650 vocal magic but adds true sub-bass and top-octave air—cleaner and more extended while staying smooth.

HD800S — leaner bass with more 6–8 kHz bite and big “air.”
My LCD-X EQ is weightier and calmer: hats/esses are accurate without sting, yet there’s still space from the 14 kHz lift. If HD800S is a bright gallery spotlight, this is natural daylight.

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I used oratory’s well-known profile as a foundation, then tuned by ear to better match my iLouds in-room.

• Bass contour: oratory uses two boosts (≈+3.5 @ ~26 Hz and ≈+5–6 @ ~105 Hz).
  Mine: a single low shelf at 30 Hz +3 dB → keeps real sub-bass but less mid-bass bloom, closer to what my nearfields measure in-room.
• Upper-mid lift: oratory’s +7 dB high-shelf @ 1.8 kHz can run hot.
  Mine: a milder +4.5 dB shelf, plus the familiar −2.9 dB @ 2.67 k and +4 dB @ 3.85 k for clarity without shout.
• Low-treble control: both tame the 5–6 k region.
  Mine: a narrow −5.2 dB @ 5.65 kHz stays, but I voiced the rest of the top end to sound like speakers.
• Brilliance/Air: oratory uses a strong 9 kHz cut and stops there.
  Mine: a big −6 dB shelf @ 9 kHz plus +2 dB @ 14 kHz → darker “brilliance” (8–10 k) with a touch of top-octave air, which mirrors how room treble decays off-axis.

Net effect: Compared to oratory, my curve is less mid-bass heavy, less upper-mid hot, darker in 8–10 k but airier above 12 k—which is why it lines up with my iLouds.

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• Copy the EQ above into your tool of choice and level-match with pink noise (±0.5 dB).
• A/B on these quick checks:
  • Daft Punk – “Giorgio” (kick + hats interplay)
  • Adele – “Hello” (sibilance & vocal body)
  • Hans Zimmer – “Why So Serious?” (sub sweep)

Questions for you:

1. Do your LCD-X and speakers tell the same story on hi-hats and bass after this EQ?
2. Are vocals a hair thicker on the LCD-X for you too?
3. If you run rock/metal, do you prefer the 5.65 kHz cut at −5 dB, or closer to −3 dB?

Drop your graphs, presets, and impressions—especially if you’ve got a Arya, or HD800S to cross-check. If this saves one person from the upgrade spiral, mission accomplished.

Best regards - Thomas