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I started with some Hifiman Sundaras, an Atom AMP and a Khadas tone board 2 years ago, it was a rocky start but I grew to love them, I wanted an upgrade that will give me more of everything, I tried the LCD-X, focal clear MG and Hifiman Arya in an audio store

My initial impressions were actually quite low, I couldn't tell much of a difference between my sundaras and the clear MG / LCD, the aryas sounded the best but where way to airy and I didn't really like the crazy wide soundstage and for rock music everyone says the LCD-X are better anyway. I'm not sure if the AMP / DAC I was using in this store was any good tbh, my old sundra stuff sounds better

The LCD-x sounded weird, and I know this now because without a harman EQ they do sound.. strange (this almost caused me to walk out the store without buying anything, but luckily I knew that they sound weird with no EQ). The clear MG sounded better than the LCD-x initially but they lacked some of the bass that my sundaras had and I didn't like how the headphones looked, also everyone says the clear MG are a jack of all trades, which I dont need, I need rock music cans because that's what I listen to

The store had an open box deal for the LCD-x for 850GBP, and the Clear MG was 1100, considering the LCD also comes with a literal nuclear launch box they where the obvious choice

So after plugging them into a SMSL SU-9 DAC and SP200 AMP and putting on a harman EQ they sound incredible, they dont have that annoying hiss that my sundaras had with some vocal frequencies, the bass is insane and the soundstage is decenetly improved (if the LCD-x is 10/10 then sundaras are a 6), Vocals sound cleaner and more separated from everything else, they feel sturdy as hell, the cable is really nice although the mini XLR looks likes it has just cheap heatshrink to indicate the polarity, which is really questionable but whatever.

All the reviews I watched said the weight of them (like 650g vs 350 ish of the others) was a huge issue, I just see this as a way to get a hench AF neck, I've had them on for a few hours and It's not really an issue, I'm sure I'll get used to it

Nice

Plus, if you listen to them for 4-5 hours a day your neck will look like the neck of an f1 driver in no time

Exactly

fr though, don’t throw the box away yet. Use it for a few weeks and see if it truly doesn’t bother you. I had mine for about a month before returning, because by the 2nd week i realized that i genuinely didn’t want to use them because my neck started hurting from using them. By the third week i barely used them, rather going for my HD600, despite them having inferior sound in most aspects. I ended up returning the Xs and getting my Mezes instead.

Oh I never throw away boxes, but I'll keep that in mind

LCD-X + the carbon fiber headband is great.

Some may not like the sound without EQ, which is understandable, but imo these take to EQ extremely well.

Sounds like you got a good deal with the open box! do you mind saying where you got them from? I'm UK-based and have been keeping an eye out for a deal on the LCD-X for a while now but haven't found anything that good

So I didn't even know they had the open box deal available, I was under the impression I would have to pay full MSRP but the owner told me they had open box for a 200 pound discount. I'd suggest not going to the store I did because the owner was a total snob and not that pleasant, I think he only gave me the open box because I wasn't that impressed by the in store demo.

Yes the EQ'd LCD-X is imo the most versatile headphones in the endgame region

I dont think these have a carbon fiber headband, but I'll look into it, does it make them much lighter?

seems to be powder coated aluminum or smthn like that

Indeed. They do sound super weird without EQ tho..

Well that's what having a cumulative -15dB recess in the upper midrange (where most instruments, vocal and synth harmonics lie) can bring... It's dark and bright at the same time because its treble is present but there's a hole in the upper midrange so it makes for an uneven transfer from harmonics into air frequencies. Something the EQ manages to fix and luckily the drivers take EQ like a Champ

The headband itself is only a bit lighter than the stock one but it's much better built and designed. To me, it's a lot more comfortable for long sessions and the weight seems to be distributed a lot better.

It's expensive but to me was well worth it.

Is there anyway to just buy the headband? It seems to come with the height adjustment bits but I already have those, I ain't spending £200 on it

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Where did you see -15db? I thought the freq response was fairly flat

You do not want a straight line in raw frequency measurements in this specific range (1.5kHz to 6kHz)

That's the Pinna gain region and that place needs to always look like a mountain... If that area is flat in a raw uncompensated graph, that's a wonky frequency response

Link to FR - https://crinacle.com/graphs/headphones/graphtool/?share=IEF_Neutral_Target,LCD-X_(Fazor)

I don't think so, it's mad overpriced unfortunately

Keep an eye on ebay. I'm in uk & got a pristine pair of lcd-x 2021 (no box or carry case) for £600 2 months ago. Patience is the key & some haggling.

Thanks for the review! You're literally me because I currently have Sundaras and was considering the Arya, LCD-2/LCD-X, or Focal Clears as an upgrade lol

Bloody hell I didn't realize they were 650g, that's crazy

Nice

Rocking set of cans my friend! Glad you enjoy them. They present bass register so damn well. For rock, electronic, and anything that has a hefty bottom end, these are endgame for the price. Weight wise, they do begin to wear in you in time. I typically like laying while listening to music and that easily halves the apparent weight. But they are always a joy to throw on when I want that visceral experience. Enjoy them!

EQing has honestly saved me and glad I learned about it before buying my DT 1990 Pros ... Almost returned them before I EQ'd

EQing really saves certain headphones!

The weight is very well distributed with the headband, I have no issue at all with the LCD-X but get hotspots with the Hifiman HE6SEV2 which is only 470g.

That's what it costs. If you don't have issues with the current headband, no need to swap it. It's a relatively marginal weight saving.

The 2021 version isn't quite as bad as that, it's still recessed in the upper mids and needs EQ but it's not as bad as the previous version.

https://crinacle.com/graphs/headphones/graphtool/?share=IEF_Neutral_Target,LCD-X_(Fazor),LCD-X_(2021)

Audeze have an open box/B stock sale at least once a year, usually in November. That's where I got my LCD-X, $699. They will ship internationally, I'm in Asia, shipping is around $100 and you would have to pay VAT on import and any warranty needs to go back to the US at your cost. But it's still a good deal IMO.

If you CAN get them locally, obviously do, it's better for the warranty etc. But this maybe an option for you. Audeze LCD-X is $1,950 retail here, and the only shop that has it even listed it looks like the old one, with the old headband, which was much worse.

I can't see any reason whatsoever as to why it is B stock, it looks perfect. And Audeze say with the B stock, it's never sonic issues, they don't sell anything with a sonic issue. It's anything that came back to them for any reason, and I think most of it, it's pretty much mint, I also have a B-stock Euclid IEM and it's also perfect.

I'm glad I could help, if you also like rock music then I think the LCD x is a easy choice

I'd avoid ebay for something like this, there's no warranty and you don't know if the first owner damaged them In a way that you'd never know until too late

I'm usually a big fan of buying used but unless it comes with a warranty I'd never do it for headphones, luckily mine came with 3 years so I got a really good deal

They're huge and made of pure lead probably, probably make sound with some alien technology

Yup... That indeed is the case... Audeze revisions their stuff from time to time. Reason why it was a shocker that the Audeze MM-500 had Pinna Gain out the box. Lol

Audezenuts

Haha 69. I'm a comedic genius ain't i

I'm actually about to go test the LCD-X tomorrow and probably buy them... How are you finding the weight after a few days?

I'm not expecting to really like them in store until I get them home and EQ them exactly like my DT 1990 Pros (which I was about to return before I taught myself to EQ)

I don't mind the weight at the moment, although they are far less comfortable compared to the sundaras when laying down, the clamping force just seems a bit much but that will probably reduce with use

Thank you, do you find when laying down the clamping force seems quite high? I dont notice it when sitting normally but its quite noticeable when laying, I suppose this will ease up with use?