Audeze lcd-1 hype train getting ready to leave the station?

Discussion in 'Headphones' started by Ice-man, Oct 22, 2019.

  1. netforce

    netforce MOT: Headphones.com

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    Audeze is viewing the LCD-1 as a spiritual successor to the EL8 and kept bringing up the EL8 in my conversations with them. Albeit cheaper and sounds quite a bit better than the EL8 ever did.

    They didn't confirm it when I asked if they were thinking about doing a closed version of the LCD-1 but they didn't deny it. With their history of doing an open and closed, I would think its coming sometime next year. The aim for the LCD-1 was likely to get it in for the holidays.
     
  2. Stuff Jones

    Stuff Jones Friend

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    Well, unless they told you.
     
  3. Scubadude

    Scubadude Almost "Made"

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    I'm keen to give these a try. I hope for something a bit (a lot) better than EL-8 and HE400.

    So a friend of mine is traveling to NYC next week. Does anyone know of a brick and mortar shop that have actual stock on the floor?
     
  4. Jinxy245

    Jinxy245 Vegan Puss

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  5. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    I caved and ordered these. If nothing else, I'll save some of you the trouble if they are just posers. Will only cost me shipping to return them. I don't think that Audeze does a restocking fee. Anyway should have them early next week.
     
  6. Mithrandir41

    Mithrandir41 Friend

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    Word to your mother!
     
  7. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    I cannot see these as HD650 killers. I have not heard them, but that would be hard to believe. I have the HD650 and the LCD-2C, and the 2C's are better in some areas and worse than others, but equally in terms of SQ.

    I like the foldable option. Still worried about cup size. The cups look small.
     
  8. metal571

    metal571 Not a friend

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    That's why I keep saying that I'm going to let the community decide on whether this kills the 650. Although I think the LCD-1 clearly out-details the 650 and the bass extension is much better without a midbass hump, the timbre is just not the same. And timbre, is a big deal.
     
  9. Baten

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    Great bass, not as great timbre. Got it. Guess I'll stick with the 650's for now.
    A closed-back LCD-1 for at work would sound like something I'd buy, though!
     
  10. Lyander

    Lyander Official SBAF Equitable Empathizer

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    *cough* ;)

    So as to not make this post completely useless, although it's still certainly off-topic, I will say that while I'm a fan of @metal571 and do occasionally check out his reviews of products that pique my interest still, I don't necessarily agree with statements like how one can plug an HD6__ into a phone, shrug, and think it sounds alright.

    Still, just like everyone else it's an invaluable data point, especially considering how much gear they've tried. It was a dick move, and casting aspersions on the whole community (bitch [memeing tone], I and many others here like Audeze and HiFiMan, just that I don't mind companies getting called out for shoddy business or shoddy build) was uncalled for.

    Uh. No. Dafuq. It is dangerous insofar as it defeats the purpose of helping people better understand impressions that'll be of aid to them in understanding how components perform without actually having the chance to hear them. Also, how is a statement about enjoying a wide variety of presentations "stereotyping" preferences???
     
    Last edited: Nov 7, 2019
  11. Outerspace Wasabi

    Outerspace Wasabi Friend

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    For me the experience was opposite. After listening to the LCD-2C, I sold the 650. But sometimes I think I should've kept it as a memento and a reference. I still have the ATH-M50 that got me into this hobby.

    Word.
     
    Last edited: Nov 4, 2019
  12. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    So let me just get this (hype train) back on the track. I have been listening the lcd-1 for most of the day. Here is the tldr version:

    The Good:

    *well built, light weight and comfy, good fit and finish of the parts and pieces, price seems in line with what you get, pretty easy to drive from my Galaxy phone

    The Not So Good:

    *this is more of a monitoring headphone than one that I'd use to enjoy music. The sound is flat and down right lifeless when compared to something like an hd650.

    *possibly needs some good EQ or possibly a tube hybrid like lyr 3 with a nice NOS Ken Rad, but I'm just testing this now.

    *cramped staging with not much room for instruments to breath or have a perceived placement on the stage

    *overall the signature is thin like you'd expect from a monitoring headphone putting a hallmark on clarity and accuracy, while sacrificing musicality. Soulless vs Soulful when pitted against the 650.

    In fairness, I believe this signature is exactly as Audeze intended as it was meant for studio use. What it doesn't do is de-thrown the hd650.
     
  13. elmoe

    elmoe Friend

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    Yeah that made me raise an eyebrow too. I've owned 3 pairs of 650s and always thought they sounded veiled and boring till the last one. It takes pairing them up with the right gear to make them sing, they scale up more than any other headphones I've owned.

    Also always thought the LCD-2C sounded like ass and still do.

    If these new LCD-1 do compete vs the 650s though then I'm definitely curious.

    @metal571 plenty of people here like bass heavy headphones. Were not the scientology church we don't follow a dogma, this isn't an exclusive club only for flat FR lovers. Thousands of members on sbaf and quite a few opposite preferences. We have a BWC. Nuff said.
     
  14. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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  15. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    I heard the lcd-1 this weekend with lots of swapping back and forth with my Hd-600s.. Compared to my hd-600s I concur with lots of what metal said in his review, especially the timbre part and noticed a nice clarity about them on bells chimes, etc.. However, I still prefer the overall presentation of the 600 and have no desire to chase down a lcd-1.
     
  16. Bloom

    Bloom MOT: Bloom Audio

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    I checked with my Audeze rep again yesterday and it looks like end of November. I ordered a bunch for our first shipment anticipating they might get backlogged. Preorders are available for the first batch: https://bloomaudio.com/products/audeze-lcd-1-portable-open-back-planar-magnetic-headphones
     
  17. Azimuth

    Azimuth FKA rtaylor76, Friend

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    I just want to say that this sounds a lot like the LCD-2C.

    Any comparisons on how you might describe they are different from the LCD-2C or the LCD-X?
     
  18. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Maybe. I'm not sure about "out-details". The LCD-2C was behind the LCD2r2 and HD650 in terms of plankton, i.e. resolution, microdetail.

    Oftentimes when I hear "detail" it often equates to macrodetail, a sharpening, often associated with a lower or mid-treble boost. We know that the HD650 is rather sedate in the highs, but anyone who has run the HD650 from suitable upstream components know that the HD650 can resolve like a motherfucker. I want resolution, real megapixels, not Photoshop sharpening.

    Yes, the HD650 has lower quality lows, less extension in the bass, and is a tad over-dampened, even slow; but very few headphones truly out-resolve it (or have better timbre) in the mids and highs.

    But its ability to resolve low-level information might not be noticeable to people with crappy sources and amps, or people who admit they can't tell the difference between DACs and amps, or just use poor recordings. Then again, SBAF does not serve this audience.
     
    Last edited: Nov 5, 2019
  19. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    No rush. I think a while back, we would be itching to be the first to review, if for anything to get on Jude's nerves. (That was always fun).

    There's more maturity now in understanding that the latest isn't necessarily the greatest. I found greater joy in discovering rather late how good SR1a or various ZMF cans were after the fact. It's more fun to confirm hype trains rather than to start them.

    Although I did seek out stuff like the Aegir as soon as possible. But that was different, because I wanted Schiit to build it for my own selfish reasons. I wanted cheap low power Class A for speakers using the Lyr 3 output stage.
     
  20. bixby

    bixby Friend

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    The LCD-1 seems pushed forward in the 3-4k region to me and places female vocal and instruments in that area quite a bit forward with the sharpening detail effect that Purrin referenced to. This is in quite contrast to the 650s and even the 600s as they both might benefit from a fairly good push in that area. My friend did a nice little eq cut at about 3.5k of about 1 db, but it was still quite forward on the LCD in comparison to the 600s.

    The HD-600 did do detail of reverb trails, drum booths, etc better to my ears with the lcd-1 having a bit more fast falloff and drier presentation. Some trails ended way too soon for me. I did like the linearity of the bass, but even with it's more linear low response I still felt it needed a little low end shelf to get it to kick. (Try Inlakesh's -Dwelling Place of the Radiant Mind for a lower bass gauge) The hd-600 or 650s just do not do this, and no amount of eq is going to help, you just have to be happy with the slight "fooled ya" bump in the mid bass.

    As for spaciousness, the Hd-600 to my ears provided just a bit more width than the lcd-1 with a bit of that pushed mids clumping up the middle. I must say though the LCD-1 are superbly light compared to all the wooden audezes.
     

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