Audeze LCD-1 just landed!

[melomaniac]

a few more systematic notes on the Audez'e LCD-1 headphone: using the XLO reference recordings test & burn-in CD, the Denon audiotechnical test CD, the Stereo Review gold stereo & surround sound set-up disc, the Chesky ultimate demonstration disc, and the Alan Parsons & Stephen Court sound check CD.

using the Stereo Review & chesky records gold stereo & surround sound set-up disc, the responsiveness, sound-staging, and channel separation of the LCD-1 can be tested in a variety of ways (and my VDA2 DAC can switch phase on the fly, so the tracks testing in and out of phase can be further toyed with). in the channel balance test the Audez'e LCD1 cleanly separates left and right; the stepped pan test demonstrates the width of the sound-stage with the LCD1 (on some headphones, that test reveals a compressed in-head stage). music tracks confirm the same: the CD has an image and resolution test with a percussionist moving around a microphone in a large room, and a mozart piano concerto movement that allows you to discern the grand piano and its placement on stage with an orchestra, with brass, woodwinds, strings, drums. the piano sounds fantastically airy on the LCD1, with quick attack and crystal clear tone, the microphone close and above the open piano. - a shock was the clap test from the stereo review & chesky records gold stereo & surround sound set-up disc, which they encourage you to try on high-end headphones and compare to your speaker set-up. the claps are far outside your head with the LCD1, and very precisely localized. same with the latin music tracks that include guitar, claps, percussion, and voice: very real imaging.

the XLO reference recordings test & burn-in CD also has a clap track, to test for decay. as others have observed, the LCD1 is uncannily fast on the attack, and shows fast decay as well. - the Denon audiotechnical test CD offers sine waves at different frequencies, music samples to test balance and phase, as well as pink and white noise. the LCD1 again proves its speed and accuracy, and a cleaner mid-range than most headphones I've heard. string quartets sound liquid and smooth, detailed. piano keys are limpid, somewhat bright. organ music has lots of room and air, full ambiance. the Denon jazz test track has a piano that is a bit harsh, but the saxophone sounds sensationally close and well-miked. the rock test has clean and fast drums in a spacious stadium.

the Chesky ultimate demonstration disc offers a series of audio tracks, introduced with hints as to what details to listen for in terms of reproduced detail. again, the LCD1 offers very high resolution and spacious staging width. in testing for depth, you're told to listen for a ten foot distance from the microphone, and I feel the stage the LCD1 throws is not as deep as it is wide. (then again, most recordings will only offer 'artificial' depth that the engineer dialed in, so this is a tricky one to listen for.) the filigreed drumming on this bluesy track is nice on the LCD1, and the upright bass, sometimes bowed, is recessed to make room for the female voice, and the other accompanying instruments. the piano and bass on Leny Andrade's rendering of Maiden Voyage have heft without giving up any degree of clarity and resolution. this CD also offers a test track for midrange purity, and the magneplanar technology clearly has its best foot forward on this count: amazingly nice a capella vocals. but as with my large Magnepan speaker panels, I feel the LCD1 does better if you power it up a bit - I turned this one to about two o'clock on my WA3+ where usually I hardly go beyond noon.

the Chesky demo disc asks you to listen for certain things introduced before each demo track - naturalness, transparency, presence, impact, rhythm and pace, focus, holographic imaging, transients, resonance, dynamics, atmosphere. on each count, without typing up the details, the LCD1 does very well; but it sometimes requires the listener to invest a certain amount of belief in what is briefly described about the recording set-up ("how much do I believe that the saxophone is between the drummer and the pianist", or "how high is the cathedral where this Britten Te Deum is recorded with one microphone suspended 30 feet up"), which one may or may not find important in other recordings where such information is not explicit, although of course it may be audible if it's there. an example given, which the LCD1 does extremely well on, is a monty alexander track, with two drum sets and two bass players, a brass section, and a lightning fast piano sailing through "sweet georgia brown" - the audez'e headphone clearly separates the walking upright from the thumping electric bass, and spaces out the brass players nicely around the stage. sonically it tilts this big group more to the mid-range than my DT880s do, though.

as others have observed in listening to the LCD1, there is a bit of roll-off above 17Khz, and below 80Hz (hardly any discernable bass tone below 60, but you can still 'feel' a sound down to about 40Hz). but there are no spurious resonances in the housing that are identifiable with the test sweep. a track like Oregon's "Leather Cats" demonstrates that the LCD1 accurately reproduces deep electric bass and synthesizer sounds, just more on the lean side compared to other cans. (I am a cello and bass player, and have a disproportionate amount of bassy music, ranging across jazz, classics, and electronica in my collection, so that's why a DT880 does well for me. and, second disclosure, my hearing measurably weakens in the high frequencies, so I won't hear any sharpness or sibilance in very high bands that may be perceptible to younger ears on certain tracks with certain phones. I try telling myself that I make up with musical training and experience what I miss physiologically. oh well...)

to conclude, there is certainly an astonishing comfort level with the Audez'e LCD-1, no fatigue, very high resolution, no particular weakness or exaggeration in its voicing - very similar to Magnepan speakers.

[Icarium]

Oh yeah.. so I've slacked on getting them out, but now I have a legitimate excuse. Alex from Audeze is sending me out some pairs of the foam they put in the later shipped ones... so waiting on that before starting things up

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

It looked more like yellow isolation material than foam to me. (if it matters...)

Great review there. (but where did all that bass go? it went right out through the pads... )

[wualta]

I think DAC's bass diagnosis is correct.

I wonder if it would be possible for Audeze to offer different pads for different applications and tastes. This would be in the spirit of the ortho headphone being the ultimate customizable type.

If the LCD-1 opens up easily and there's no risk of stripping threads in cheezy plastic, Audeze could also offer owner-install accessories (damping pads, reflex elements, glitter stickers with pink ponies on 'em, etc.)

And yes, glass or rock wool makes a much better absorber than foam.

[melomaniac]

I am curious, did yours have the additional damping inside and they didn't happen to mention a reason for the change?

it's the most recent pair put together, I gather, but I did not hear (or see) any specific differences. I took pix, but they're just like all other LCD-1 pix on here or the other site. yellow foam. dunno if that helps, dB: do you still have a pair of Audez'e with you?

[luvdunhill]

[dBel84]

Is that really an 800 thread count mustard guilded abstract thistle embossed table cloth!! Never seen one quite like it, do tell us more ..dB

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

... the story so far...

It was quite quickly evident that the LCD-1 presents a fine sense of space.

Sparkly but not painful highs. Quick snappy bass.

Some new impressions...

So far, I've not encountered any music with the LCD-1 and thought "hey! there is too much bass!" I'm now playing "Hed Kandi: Twisted Disco" and the bass is, I think, at the limit. No more than this is desirable for me. Still not overdone though.

The sense of space is even more immersive as I am getting more used to the LCD-1. But then my comparison is mainly the Grundig orthodynamic that does a fine headstage but not with this sense of space. And also the Sennheiser HD580 that has a boring linear between-the-cups headstage.

But enough of my impressions now... some more people must have bought the LCD-1 (than those of us who already posted)?

[luvdunhill]

some more people must have bought the LCD-1 (than those of us who already posted)?

"Thanks to everyone who ordered the headphones. We are sold out completely."

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

Since they sold out I thought maybe perhaps there were also some customers and some (more) of them might possibly stop by here?

[morphsci]

I have NoNoNoNoNoNo's "un-sponge-worthy" pair so I will wait until the foam arrives before I say any more.

[Icarium]

Alex is in Europe for work/fun (His day job).. says he'll get the foam out when he's back Monday.

[Duggeh]

Heard these at Danjam. My time with them confirmed my original suspicions. The sound is good but could be much much better and the donor headphone is absolutely unacceptably bad. The TakeT is a better headphone in terms of fit and it's shit for that.

[Icarium]

Yeah I dunno seems like a personal issue.. I have no problems with fit, but then again I do have the head of the chosen one.

[Duggeh]

Do they sell the drivers solo? I'd sooner pay to put them in wood and wire coathanger than deal with the awful donor frame.

[cetoole]

I have heard that they are planning to do just that, and it is also what I am waiting for. Their drivers sure sound like they have plenty of potential, but no way I am dealing with them in that frame, at least for the asking price.

[swt61]

Ditto!

[Duggeh]

The Audeze driver Thunderdome: Beyond Thunderdome.

I like that sound of that.

Of course, It means I've got to finish the Thunderdome first. I'd hoped to take it to Danjam, but Canjam 2010 seems more realistic as a debut.

[boomana]

I wasn't very impressed with the pair morphsci had at DanJam, though I understand it didn't have the foam other pairs have, which should make a difference. I liked what I heard at CanJam better, but memory is a weird thing, and I'd really like to hear these again another time.

[morphsci]

I doubt that the foam will have a really large effect on the overall sound. We should have tried it on the TTVJ Fet-A, but a goodly portion of any logic I may have had during the "meet" was washed out in my Glencairn glass. I like it better out of the AA HPA v.1.0 compared to the GSX. The TTVJ and AA have a very similar sound signature based on the short time I compared them at the "We Haz no Joe Grado" meet.

I personally have no problem with the fit of the phones but some people cannot get them to fit tight enough or without large gaps between the pads and their head which may cause problems similar to having a poor fit with the O2's. I guess I just have the next size up chosen-one head.

[mypasswordis]

First couple of things I'd do would be to put a layer of felt on the backs of the insides of the cups, find better sealing pads, put in the foam and maybe damp the driver with another layer of felt (I think it comes with one stock?).

First thing I'd do if I were to actually buy an Audeze is just buy the drivers and figure out a donor frame myself, like Colin said.

[morphsci]

..., find better sealing pads, ...

or keep the original pads and modify your head.

[mypasswordis]

I was actually referring to the fact that even if you get a good fit, the pads don't seal in the bass particularly well, based on what's been said and my experience with velours.

But yeah, if we're modifying heads, might as well just hook up some wires and fire some electrical impulses directly to the auditory handling part of the brain for direct injection of music.

[The Monkey]

I liked them and the build quality was better than I expected. My only complaints are 1) I felt like they sounded a bit veiled and 2) price.

[luvdunhill]

I liked them and the build quality was better than I expected. My only complaints are 1) I felt like they sounded a bit veiled and 2) price.

Compared to headphones as a whole, perhaps, but for an ortho, I consider them forwardish. That is of course assuming by veiled you mean laid back and not forward. Also, this seems to be very amp dependent I've found. Think K340 type of amp dependent.