blorg t1_ixg1q2o wrote on November 23, 2022 at 4:07 AM

Reply to comment by LucasRunner in Audeze LCD-X (2021) Impressions Coming from DT1990s by Nostalgia_V

>HD800S and an LCD-X

They're almost opposite headphones. HD800S is bright and very light and ethereal sounding. Bass lacks impact. It's not like the bass is not there, there is bass and it's very high quality. It also takes EQ very well, and this helps, but even after EQ it's still somewhat thin and ethereal sounding. It's actually a very "planar" sounding headphone despite using a dynamic driver, it's also extremely fast and detailed.

LCD-X the bass is seriously impressive but tuning (for my taste, which is basically Harman) is terrible out of the box, it's a muffled echoey mess with severely recessed upper mids. Oratory1990's Harman EQ transforms it but I do still feel the HD800S sounds more natural, with better timbre. The bass on the LCD-X is something else though. It has far more impact and presence than the HD800S, it's a lot more "fun" and "engaging".

Don't buy the LCD-X unless you are prepared to EQ it, for me it is trash without EQ. After EQ it's a different headphone, some headphones EQ is minor tweaks, adding a bass shelf, removing a single 6kHz peak- not this one, it needs a complete do-over. The LCD-X has extremely low distortion and takes EQ very well.

For classical I'd pick the HD800S. For hip-hop the LCD-X.

They really are polar opposite headphones.

If you were looking for more of an all rounder, two other options that are I think better all-rounders.

The OG Focal Clear is a direct upgrade to the HD650 with a very similar overall tonality, but much punchier with better technicalities. Much better soundstage and imaging than the HD650, but this is a low bar. Soundstage is still much smaller than the likes of the HD800S or Arya. At the current $830 sale price on headphones.com it's a bargain, I'd run not walk and buy it.

The Hifiman Arya Stealth would still be the one I'd pick if I could only have one. It has it all- great soundstage, linear bass extension, great stock tonality, even better with a little EQ. Very comfortable. Works with every genre, like for me the HD800S and LCD-X are definitely headphones I would use for specific things, but not other things. The Arya Stealth I'd use for anything and it would sound good.

LucasRunner t1_ixjohrm wrote on November 23, 2022 at 11:05 PM

Thank you for the write up and impressions, it really helps.

In my case, i listen alot to soundtracks, vocal heavy like Enya, Sarah Brightman, indie, some melancholic ambient stuff.

For this reason I believe having a headphone that pushes vocals forwards like the 650, for that intimate presentation, and another headphone like the 800s for the soundstage and "ethereal" feeling it would give my darker indie and ambient stuff would be nice.

However, the bass presentation on the X could be absolutely welcome for the drumming present in metal such as Tool.

I noticed l that, for my tastes, imaging actually helps metal as much as bass extension because it makes the drums feel "right over there".

You see... this is why I lean at having the 650 and the 800s later, with the X being that wildcard that could be extremely good for metal.

Anyways, thank you so much for the talk, I enjoy talking about this stuff.

What do you listen to?

Nostalgia_V OP t1_ixhw27v wrote on November 23, 2022 at 3:52 PM

Very thorough write up. Are the Aryas a lot brighter than the LCDXs? Like in a very significant way?

blorg t1_ixhxf8q wrote on November 23, 2022 at 4:01 PM

The main difference is in the upper mids and low treble, rather than the high treble, between around 2.5-5.5kHz:

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

The Aryas are a LOT brighter, but in this case a lot brighter is also a lot more correct and normal sounding, for me.

By target curve adherence, I'd say the Aryas are a little over target in that area, but the LCD-X is way under target. EQ largely fixes this. I'd still take the Arya Stealth over it if I could only have one though. Better soundstage, detail, and sounds more natural. Bass slams harder on the LCD-X though.

They are very different headphones, the Arya is closer to the Focal Clear and HD800S (or for that matter the HD650) than it is to the LCD-X. The LCD-X is the outlier that is totally different from the others, all of which have more correct pinna gain.