Audeze LCD-X | Open Back Headphones (Leather)

After 3 years of almost daily use, I can say that these headphones are one of the best choices for audiophiles. The sound quality is close to perfection, the transparency and the huge stage make these headphones suitable for any musical genre, being able to reproduce very faithfully both the sound of classical instruments from jazz, classical and rock music, as well as a deep bass for electronic music enthusiasts and dance. The fact that it does not require a very strong amplification is again an advantage, being able to be amplified even by a portable device, although portability is not their strong point due to the rather large size and weight.Also, the construction quality is top notch, I don't think there are any headphones built at this level in this price ... MoreAfter 3 years of almost daily use, I can say that these headphones are one of the best choices for audiophiles. The sound quality is close to perfection, the transparency and the huge stage make these headphones suitable for any musical genre, being able to reproduce very faithfully both the sound of classical instruments from jazz, classical and rock music, as well as a deep bass for electronic music enthusiasts and dance. The fact that it does not require a very strong amplification is again an advantage, being able to be amplified even by a portable device, although portability is not their strong point due to the rather large size and weight.Also, the construction quality is top notch, I don't think there are any headphones built at this level in this price range.You will simply hear the music as the artist would have wanted it to be heard.

I got these headphones in today and damn, they are impressive! I've had the Sundaras for about a year which I really love, they take the sound of the K702's and get rid of the harshness I always heard with them so listening at higher volumes is a joy if that is something you are in the market for. I'm not one to really crank my music but with those I felt like I could when I wanted things to be loud. Playing Forza Horizon 5 for instance was a really fun experience with the sound turned up on the Sundaras.Where the Sundaras take a lighter/brighter and more intimate approach to music, LCD-Xs go for the "wall of sound". Music just sounds huge on these, and the volume can be quite high and still just smooth and engaging. Not so with the 702s and even the Sundaras get ... MoreI got these headphones in today and damn, they are impressive! I've had the Sundaras for about a year which I really love, they take the sound of the K702's and get rid of the harshness I always heard with them so listening at higher volumes is a joy if that is something you are in the market for. I'm not one to really crank my music but with those I felt like I could when I wanted things to be loud. Playing Forza Horizon 5 for instance was a really fun experience with the sound turned up on the Sundaras.Where the Sundaras take a lighter/brighter and more intimate approach to music, LCD-Xs go for the "wall of sound". Music just sounds huge on these, and the volume can be quite high and still just smooth and engaging. Not so with the 702s and even the Sundaras get a bit bright for my taste side by side with Wavelet Auto EQ presets making both adhere to the same Harman Target. I did my best to volume match and find levels I could listen to and enjoy for both, the LCD-Xs just scaled better to my ears. They play that vocal range the Sundaras are good at plus everything else gets thrown in there at enjoyable volumes. It just feels big, but not in your face big, more IMAX than earbuds if that makes sense.I had the HE6se v1 for a while and couldn't justify the price because of the added amp and limted use outside of that, these as an open-box were on par with the he-6se and THX 789 ($1380CDN) for that same huge sound and you have the added bonus of basically anything can drive them well. I think the He-6se had more of a thump to the bass hits but if that isn't a concern they sounded similar enough (granted it has been a month or so since hearing them) I have it set up with a Schiit Magni/Modi and couldn't be happier.I'm not nearly as seasoned as Steve Guttenberg, Resolve, Joshua Valour, DMS or Crinacle on headphones, not by a long shot but at least to my far less trained ears these headphones are quite the improvement (as you would hope) over the Sundaras and I am one to be really picky trying to figure out if I like a headphone to justify the price, and given that I don't really hear as much as they can I'd happily sell these off if I thought they weren't worth it and for pure enjoyment of the sound I have to say that they are worth it if engaging really full sound is of interest to you and can justify the price. It's kind of like going from LCD to OLED HDR for your ears. The bonus is the DAC/Amp you get is much less of a concern (this is backed up by reviewers) so that is a ton of value right there when you can save hundreds over something that is of similar quality but requires more expensive equipment to run.Once you find the sweet spot on your head, the weight isn't as big of an issue, my ears were bugging me from all the adjusting. But after a 10 minute or so break to let my ears relax and some trial and error I found a position that was comfortable for me and the weight is really well distributed when you find that sweet spot.

Amazing for the Studio

These are beautiful Cans, exceptional for what I need, Mixing and mastering my Music is a joy, they reflect a high end Monitor set, my Adam Audio A series translate almost perfectly. They are relatively easy to power, they sound beautiful though the Spl Phonitor series Amps and Focusrite Clarret series in the studio. If you are looking for an exceptional Headphone the Beyerdynamic DT1990 pro's punch well above their weight, the X are an exceptional Studio headphone. Sonarworks calibration brings the best out of them for studio work and it's easy to see why so many top producers and engineers use and love the LCD X. The detail and slam is there and they are relatively easy to drive. They are beautifully engineered, OK they cost significantly more than the DT1990 pros ... MoreThese are beautiful Cans, exceptional for what I need, Mixing and mastering my Music is a joy, they reflect a high end Monitor set, my Adam Audio A series translate almost perfectly. They are relatively easy to power, they sound beautiful though the Spl Phonitor series Amps and Focusrite Clarret series in the studio. If you are looking for an exceptional Headphone the Beyerdynamic DT1990 pro's punch well above their weight, the X are an exceptional Studio headphone. Sonarworks calibration brings the best out of them for studio work and it's easy to see why so many top producers and engineers use and love the LCD X. The detail and slam is there and they are relatively easy to drive. They are beautifully engineered, OK they cost significantly more than the DT1990 pros and you do get that edge for your money. I wholeheartedly recommend them, for the professional producer/sound engineer and Audiophile. If you can afford the X they are an exceptional headphone. The 2021 edition is a step up in sound and design from the earlier X, the Music world love them and I am sure you will too.

Audeze LCD-X Headphones

I have been listening to Audeze LCD-X planar headphones now for almost a month now and I find that I do enjoy listening to them to them. Very tight, deep bass, excellent mid-range and very nice detail highs. these headphones are the second pair of planar headphones i own and though not as good as my Meze Empyrean Planar headphones which sounds fantastic, but LCD-X do a fantastic job with excellent detail and very good placement of the music. Meze Empyrean are deeper in bass response and mids and highs are a bit better with a 3D surround sound and are the most comfortable pair of headphones I have ever worn and of course the Meze were listed at $2999. I feel that these Audeze LCD-X headphones sound very close to the Focal Clear mg headphone, and I do own them as ... MoreI have been listening to Audeze LCD-X planar headphones now for almost a month now and I find that I do enjoy listening to them to them. Very tight, deep bass, excellent mid-range and very nice detail highs. these headphones are the second pair of planar headphones i own and though not as good as my Meze Empyrean Planar headphones which sounds fantastic, but LCD-X do a fantastic job with excellent detail and very good placement of the music. Meze Empyrean are deeper in bass response and mids and highs are a bit better with a 3D surround sound and are the most comfortable pair of headphones I have ever worn and of course the Meze were listed at $2999. I feel that these Audeze LCD-X headphones sound very close to the Focal Clear mg headphone, and I do own them as well. Audeze LCD-X are a tad better than the Meze 109pro headphones which are $799, and I do enjoy them and a great pair for under $1000. The Audeze LCD-X headphones are now in my top four of my headphone collection and I will place them as my number two behind my Meze Empyrean Headphones.If you have $1199 to spend on a pair of Audeze LCD-X Headphones, they are well worth the price.

LCD X Too even....? Review for those newer to the hobby

So couple of quick nit picks, the ear pads are now a hair too shallow- enough to be ever so mildly bothersome as my ears just touch the inside a bit now and then. Second, and this is honestly more of a preference issue- the cable is alas far too short for my uses. I wouldn't even mention this normally as stock cables should be tossed out most of the time, but the included single ended cable is actually surprisingly good- custom cable from Hart solved that minor quibble.Now the not necessarily great but not bad- the weight. Yeah, they are heavy. If they are heavy enough to cause you serious discomfort honestly you probably should be wearing them to build up your neck muscles(check with your physician obviously, and I'm like.. 25.6% joking with that comment).On to ... MoreSo couple of quick nit picks, the ear pads are now a hair too shallow- enough to be ever so mildly bothersome as my ears just touch the inside a bit now and then. Second, and this is honestly more of a preference issue- the cable is alas far too short for my uses. I wouldn't even mention this normally as stock cables should be tossed out most of the time, but the included single ended cable is actually surprisingly good- custom cable from Hart solved that minor quibble.Now the not necessarily great but not bad- the weight. Yeah, they are heavy. If they are heavy enough to cause you serious discomfort honestly you probably should be wearing them to build up your neck muscles(check with your physician obviously, and I'm like.. 25.6% joking with that comment).On to the sound. I've had several pair of headphones that have wowed me over the years, put them on fire up a good quality recording and been floored. These to a shocking degree had *almost* none of that. Took a bit of listening to figure out why, but I did. First time you hear say the 650s you notice that lush midrange, put on some 2Cs and that bass and warm smoothness just oozes out of its pores, the 800S you get this massive width and hyper detailed highs. All of those I like to throw some EQ at to get them to a happy spot, but prior to touching them with anything they all had those characteristics that stick with them even after you have them tailored to your tastes.These sounded a hair dark, just a hair, but otherwise unremarkable. At this point you are likely thinking how are these five star? I mentioned the bass on the 2Cs of an example as something that pops out and gives you some wow factor, the bass on these is even better and yet, it doesn't stand out unless you pay attention. That is the story across the spectrum. Any frequency range you focus on sounds spectacular, but perfectly in line with all the other ranges. I'd say the only notable gap is between vocals and instruments, vocals sound great, instruments sound on a different level.The notable exception for these standing out was when I put on some old school rock. AC/DC was..... wow, NOW we are talking. Across the board these just love rock. They don't sound bad on any genre I have tried, classical, jazz, metal, R&B, rap, techno/EDM, folk- but they are so utterly in their element when cranking out AC/DC, Led Zep, G&R etc.Soundstage seems quite small to me unless the recording is trying to sound open, think like in Alice in Chains 'Rooster', but it only seems to really open up when the recording is pushing the issue. Separation of instruments and vocals is spectacular and ability to locate the direction of sound origins is fantastic, but these are certainly closer to the Senn 600 family then something like the Arya or 800S. Detail retrieval is well ahead of anything I've heard in the $1200 and under market.I haven't seen anyone do this and I kind of wish they would so I'm going to throw out my very personal grades on how these do for each musical category.Rock- A+ Best I have heard for the genreRap B+ Very detailed bass and very clearJazz A- Fantastic instrument separation and detail, lack of staging leaves it lagging the very bestClassical B+ Similar to jazz but the lack of staging is even more of a hinderanceTechno/EDM A On some tracks best I've heard, never bad that I've witnessedR&B- B- When you have acoustical instruments overlaid with rich vocals you really lose something from the vocalsMetal A I wish there were more top tier quality recordings of metal albums these are very forgiving on poor recordings thoughPop/R&R B+ Similar issues with R&B but the more processed sound of the genre makes it less glaringThese grades are based against other headphones in this rough price range- I think the worst these cans could possibly do would still be better then any Apple/Beats type gear by miles.

Quality Plus

first impressions are important. product arrived double boxed. headphones case of black metal reinforced molded heavy guage plastic with a lock said, " these are serious headphones! These ARE serious headphones. solid build quality, excellent fit and finish, high quality cord/connectors. These cans have high rez sound but not analytical. very deep bass extension with slam. sensitivity is very high, so easy to drive. highly recommended.

Worthy of a place in your headphones collection

The LCD-X 2021 are not perfect headphones but are an excellent addition for any headphones collector. Built quality is very robust but weight is on the high side, result of the full metal construction. Comfort is pretty good for a few hours, the clamp force on the sides and the pretty decent headband help avoiding any hotspots on the top of your head. They do become tiring if you try to use them for the whole day though. They do need heavy eq, I would recommend checking oratory1990's preset and adjusting to taste. After eq they are very enjoyable. As most reviewers note, bass is very fast and punchy, is the highlight of these headphones. Detail retrieval is a bit sub par, comparing to other planar headphones in my collection (Hifiman HE1000v2, Meze Empyrean). ... MoreThe LCD-X 2021 are not perfect headphones but are an excellent addition for any headphones collector. Built quality is very robust but weight is on the high side, result of the full metal construction. Comfort is pretty good for a few hours, the clamp force on the sides and the pretty decent headband help avoiding any hotspots on the top of your head. They do become tiring if you try to use them for the whole day though. They do need heavy eq, I would recommend checking oratory1990's preset and adjusting to taste. After eq they are very enjoyable. As most reviewers note, bass is very fast and punchy, is the highlight of these headphones. Detail retrieval is a bit sub par, comparing to other planar headphones in my collection (Hifiman HE1000v2, Meze Empyrean). Soundstage is also not very wide, much less than the HE1000v2 or the HD800s, makes for a more intimate presentation. In general the sound is very pleasant and inoffensive with an emphasis on bass. Edm, electronic music etc sound amazing. In conclusion, I recommend the LCD-X 2021 for anyone wanting to add a pair of headphones to their collection. It cannot replace your higher end planars but can fulfill specific roles, use for specific type of music, add to your headphones rotation etc.