Audeze LCD-1 just landed!

[wualta]

Sankar is probably going to make the Portland meet this sept 5th..he should get a taste of some really well damped orthos then (both mine and Don's, possibly Yogi's as well).

You think this will be their first time hearing the results of the grass roots Team Ortho effort? I like it. Speaking of which...

While you're there, look 'em in the eye and ask "Are you guys crazy?" No, don't say that. But do try to get them to talk about what happened that made them decide to market an ortho 'phone. It's not like they could expect to make oodles of bucks anytime soon from such a product. The fact that there are two companies marketing new-from-the-ground-up designs just this model year is pretty freaky. It would be interesting to find out what got them started down this freaky road. Just a thought.

[dBel84]

it's all your doing i tell you ..dB

[Icarium]

You think this will be their first time hearing the results of the grass roots Team Ortho effort? I like it. Speaking of which...

While you're there, look 'em in the eye and ask "Are you guys crazy?" No, don't say that. But do try to get them to talk about what happened that made them decide to market an ortho 'phone. It's not like they could expect to make oodles of bucks anytime soon from such a product. The fact that there are two companies marketing new-from-the-ground-up designs just this model year is pretty freaky. It would be interesting to find out what got them started down this freaky road. Just a thought.

I think they did it on a whim in the process of figuring out their line arrays and then there seemed to be some interest. They are still in the process of gauging interest. If there's not enough I'm sure they will do what non-crazy people do.. give up. I don't really think it's going to be their main product by any means.. it's just relatively low start up cost compared to speakers/line arrays. They are working on mics too which also makes sense.

[wualta]

I think they did it on a whim ...

Whimsical designers. I can deal with that.

[Sherwood]

Dan, if they're still floating around come RMAF time, I'd love to show them off to a wider audience. I'm confident someone there will have an amp worthy of a good pair of Orthos.

[Icarium]

Audeze is going to be at RMAF

[Sherwood]

Audeze is going to be at RMAF

Well then, looks like we're covered there

I'd happily show off anything else you like, though

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

My LCD-1 finally arrived!

It looks a lot nicer than on the photos I've seen.

I've been a bit worried about the possible lack of deep bass, but no need to worry. All ok out of the bag.

[n_maher]

That cable is a giant pile of fail, yikes.

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

The cable is a bit heavy.

[luvdunhill]

That cable is a giant pile of fail, yikes.

no need to remind me. What worries me more is when you peek through hole where the cable goes, as there doesn't seem to be much if any strain relief, as the housing itself doesn't clamp down on the cable. I haven't opened them up to confirm, but I'm only going to open them up once if you know what I mean.

[Icarium]

Well then, looks like we're covered there

I'd happily show off anything else you like, though

Grin we'll see.. I am tempted to replace the feet on my second spectral and send that out... but feet are like 55 bucks each and I need 4 And am kinda broke right now.

[Icarium]

no need to remind me. What worries me more is when you peek through hole where the cable goes, as there doesn't seem to be much if any strain relief, as the housing itself doesn't clamp down on the cable. I haven't opened them up to confirm, but I'm only going to open them up once if you know what I mean.

Uh that's terrible... that sounds like a long term issue. Besides the cable going out can the drivers be damaged due to how heavy the cable is without any relief?

Sounds like my pair that is traveling might need to make a stop to nugget audio for a once over ;p

[dBel84]

My LCD-1 finally arrived!...All ok out of the bag.

good news . Based on thta picture, they have been experimenting with damping as the various models were sent out. I don't recall NoNoNoNoNoNo/Morphski's pair having that foam pad that I can see through the vents. This is good and bad as there will not be a common denominator to compare across these initial models.

Perhaps Sankar/Alex can chip in and comment on this?

..dB

[Icarium]

Hrm which foam? The foam on the drivers? Or do you mean foam you can see through the little holes on the outer cubes? The foam on the drivers are on mine they definitely a new innovation on top of the prototype.. not sure about foam through little holes.

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

Let's have a closer look at that then!

[dBel84]

i never opened them but am assuming the foam is on the drivers ( i think that is integral ) the foam that shines through the holes is what I was referring to ..dB

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

My very first impression is that they sound great out of the bag.

The Mogami 3106 cable is a bit annoying, but for this music experience (playing Jarre - Oxygene MSFL Gold recording, lossless through EMU0404usb / XCANv3 tube amp.), at this price, I can easily live with it. I'm very happy I bought these instead of the Denon D2000 (same price level over here. The LCD-1 actually costs a bit less.)

[Guest sachu]

Yeah..I don't remmeber that foam on my pair...

DAC..on to making custom leather pads for the LCD-1 then..moar bass

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

Yes... it could get more bass... but what about this lovely headstage then?

I'm not sure it needs more bass yet. It's certainly not overwhelming though....

[luvdunhill]

Yes... it could get more bass... but what about this lovely headstage then?

I'm not sure it needs more bass yet. It's certainly not overwhelming though....

definitely doesn't need more bass and all the complications that would go along with that trade off.

[Guest sachu]

Yeah I agree the headstage is fantastic..going from other orthos you can really appreciate how expansive it feels.

Though i would trade for some more bass impact (slower decay) if it means a slight loss of headstage. And leather pads would definitely achieve that.

[luvdunhill]

To me bass impact isn't really about decay.

However, that aside, bass impact is a slippery slope in my opinion. It usually hides other problems and makes a pair of headphones "impressive" sounding initially, but you never really know what you're missing in a sense, as it's a difficult tradeoff. I found that this sort of trade off is more appropriate when you're dealing with midrange source and amplification, but is more and more unacceptable as you move up the food chain.

Not really a criticism, but just something I've found to be true in my experiences (ok, mostly reading on Head-Fi)

[Guest sachu]

Ummm..the main gripe i had with the Audeze LCD-1s is that they lack the kinda bass that the other orthos have. It is a very distinctive bass signature. Other orthos here include the Wharfedale ID1 and the yamahas.

The bass on the ID2 is very similar to the Audezes..fast and to my tastes slightly lean.

ANd again when you mean problems you mean problems that you perceive when you listen to them with your ears. We all look for different things in the music we listen to. For instance I can't listen to a Stax without feeling like my ears are going to bleed because of the treble energy they have.

The other thing with the audeze is that it could really use some experimenting on the damping to sort out the minor issues in the mids and the highs

[Icarium]

i never opened them but am assuming the foam is on the drivers ( i think that is integral ) the foam that shines through the holes is what I was referring to ..dB

Oh crazy.. yeah i don't think that's in mine either.. Hrm but I never shined a light through it or looked closely through the little holes.

Well I have 0 problems with the bass quantity or impact at this point. It could be slightly tighter (Maybe) but quantity wise its probably the most out of all my phones though the AD2000s are probably pretty close probably less in quantity but more in tight.

Extension is equal.