Audeze LCD-1 just landed!

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

Sankar just replied about the strain relief:

>> Is there any strain relief inside?

The strain would be on the place where the cable is attached to the driver

and a little bit before that where it is glued.

I'm unsure if that reply means I should add something more to prevent damage.

[wualta]

Wee suggestion: to test the LCD-1's bass, plug it into a home amp with a good tone control ( = EQ) circuit and see how it responds to deep bass boost. If it doesn't rattle and roll, it's properly controlled and you can simply dial in the bass you want electronically.

On the other hand, if the boost makes the bass all splatty and boomy, there's some modding to be done.

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

Bass boost test all done. Now time for a review! (Warning - it's not at all neutral since I've started to like the LCD-1 a lot... no science here, just my opinion....well, now I done the disclaimer....)

I plug the LCD-1 into my Musical Fidelty X-CANv3 tube headphone amplifier, and feed it some music through the E-MU 0404 DA-converter. I put them on. They are very comfortable. The music starts playing. I've brought on a live recording of Daft Punk "Alive 2007".

The scenery unfolds around me. The audience fills the field below. The band enters and starts playing. The music fills the air like I have never heard before. The LCD-1 easily walk right over my previous reference, the Sennheiser HD580. (But they should, as they also cost a bit more). They play a much more involving tone.

Being a bit analytical on these, there is nice bass (unlike for instance my vintage electret, the Toshiba X1), although the headphone is on the bright and calm side compared to what can be had on the bassy side (there is not so much slam and bang). But when it's not enough, the LCD-1 has replaceable pads. I tried some leather imitation pads from an old Pioneer SE-205. The bass became massive. Not my cup of tea at the moment, but easy to do and easy to reverse. (If I had one more pair, I would probably use leather pads on the other pair.)

The strong side of these headphones is how they throw the music out around you, and fill the air with every nuance of it. It makes Jarre's Oxygene a fantastic experience, placing me in the midst of the performance, with music playing in archs all around. They are very musical, which is what I also love about my vintage orthodynamic headphones. They pull off a marvellous trick, to have deep bass, sparkly highs, air, and at the same time throw that headstage around. My vintage orthodynamic headphones can't do all these things at the same time. And they are fast. There is no mixing up the instruments, even with fast messy music like Death From Above 1979 or some track by Lightning Bolt.

Don't be fooled by the modest look of these headphone. They can be compared to placing a huge strong racing engine into a small Volswagen Beetle. The Audeze team has done a great job tuning their fine new driver in the LCD-1.

[Hopstretch]

[mypasswordis]

I also prefer bright and calm to thunderous bass that's overblown. However, you know the next step is to find a compromise between the stock pads and the 205 pads... which may involve making some pads, or tweaking the 205 pads. Glad you're enjoying the LCD-1 so much. When I get back in the headphone hobby, I'm definitely going to buy a new ortho, or at least a pair of new ortho drivers. How does the bass compare to the HD580's, and how is treble extension (which everyone knows I love, by now)?

Edit:

^

[wualta]

Nice review, DAC.

Have you tried going part way on the earpads swap, and doing what some people did to their AKG K501 pads, putting vinyl tape around the outside of the pads to create a kind of bass dam? If the LCD-1 pads are velour, they could be more bass-porous than they should be and the tape tweak might be just the thing.

Oh, and what were the results of the bass boost test?

[mypasswordis]

I actually did this mod using electrical tape on my ATH-702 120R SFI pads which are basically just open cell foam and it helped a bit, but I still need to acquire some leather to really keep in the bass. So this trick may be just what you need.

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

Maybe it'll work... but then It'll look like a vinyl taped Volkswagen Beetle (

[atothex]

Maybe it'll work... but then It'll look like a vinyl taped Volkswagen Beetle (

Since when do ortho guys care about looks? Y'all are like the porn sluts of audio. Looks definitely don't seem to matter.

[mypasswordis]

Does this mean you stroke your one-eyed audio trouser snake every so often to us and/or our orthos?

But I admit, most orthos do look either bland or hideous. Or both, somehow. Sansui SS-100 being the main exception I can think of, right now.

[melomaniac]

can be compared to placing a huge strong racing engine into a small Volswagen Beetle. The Audeze team has done a great job tuning their fine new driver in the LCD-1.

that would be a GTI maybe? or rather an R32?

but I agree - power, agility, precision.

[bjarnetv]

But I admit, most orthos do look either bland or hideous. Or both, somehow. Sansui SS-100 being the main exception I can think of, right now.

i disagree! the fostex t30 and t50 looks great, so do the hp50, yh100 and yh1000.

compared to most modern sennheisers and audio technicas, those crummy old orthos are drop dead gorgeous

[atothex]

i disagree! the fostex t30 and t50 looks great, so do the hp50, yh100 and yh1000.

compared to most modern sennheisers and audio technicas, those crummy old orthos are drop dead gorgeous

Lies!

[bjarnetv]

Lies!

Truth!

ok, so they have some nice looking woodies, but most of them look like crap

[Dusty Chalk]

Well, at least they're not Army green (Koss).

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

The old orthos don't look all bad:

Some are even designed by famous designers to look great on the head:

But I suppose Audeze will present something fancy made of wood if the LCD-1 sells well?

[Kabeer]

But I admit, most orthos do look either bland or hideous. Or both, somehow. Sansui SS-100 being the main exception I can think of, right now.

No way! id say quite a lot of vintage orthos look darn cool

[melomaniac]

But I suppose Audeze will present something fancy made of wood if the LCD-1 sells well?

what I heard from them a couple days ago is that it's not easy to gauge market demand in relation to upfront development costs, and while they did gather some useful feedback on the prototypes, there was also a lot of audiophile craziness... so I wouldn't hold my breath for a really upscale luxe version of the LCD-1 in these times, fancy wood might shrink the market even more. - I'm writing up notes on its sound using various chesky/denon/xlo demo and set-up tracks. more soon!

[dBel84]

I'm writing up notes on its sound using various chesky/denon/xlo demo and set-up tracks. more soon!

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

as for judging the market?! anybodies guess. I personally thought they sounded very good and are a great product for those wanting a new production top tier ortho.

and yes , I am in the camp who like the look of the ortho phones ..dB

[luvdunhill]

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

mine has the additional damping, fwiw...

[Icarium]

damnit.. i need to get them to mail that shit.. is it openable or is it glued?

[dBel84]

never tried to open them, i suspect it was just yours and NoNoNoNoNoNo's that were like this. Curious as to why they changed things at such a late hour ..dB

[Icarium]

Well both NoNoNoNoNoNo and I rushed them.. or at least I did to make sure I had mine before the meet so I could recable. I'm guessing my friend Andy B doesn't have it either since his was a rush job too so he could deliver it at the meet.

[mypasswordis]

The old orthos don't look all bad:

I agree on the Eagle and the Grundig but not on any of the Yamahas, regardless of whether or not they're being worn, including the YH1000, which is way too gadgety. The HP50 was the main headphone I thought of when I said both bland and hideous. The T30 and T50, like the old T20 and T10, look very utilitarian to the point of being kind of bland. There are very few truly good looking orthos, in my opinion (SS100, DAC's Grundig, maybe one or two others). Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[DefectiveAudioComponent]

damnit.. i need to get them to mail that shit.. is it openable or is it glued?

It's very easy to open the LCD-1. Two screws, and your are done (unless you slip with the screwdriver and crash it into the diver, because then the LCD-1 is done instead).

I can verify that the cable is glued just before the point where it is attached to the driver.

When it's open, pad swapping is also an easy thing to try out. (but the stock pads are a bit fragile, I slightly damaged a part of mine that goes under the baffle when I swapped back. No harm done to the sound or looks, but probably the pads will not last long if I swap too often. But it makes me want extra replacement pads just in case.)