I still remember the first nice pair of headphones I’ve used. It was a pair of HIFIMAN HE-300 dynamic headphones gifted to me by my parents. It was during residency, and I was still using my old gaming rig with an Asus Xonar Essence ST sound card. They sounded great on it. When I upgraded to a new computer without a PCI slot, I purchased a Little Dot Mk III amplifier. I enjoyed the combo for years! In fact, I actually ended up moving them to my workstation at my jobsite, where they are in use to this day. When Drop came out with the Sennheiser HD 6XX for $199, I was super excited and bought them as a replacement for my HIFIMAN HE-300. I used them for some time with the Little Dot Mk III and then realized I needed more power, so used them with a Yamaha RX-V995 receiver. Today they are in my work apartment, and have yet to set them up properly. Don’t get me wrong, the Drop x Sennheiser HD 6XX are great headphones, and a steal at this price range. But there are certainly things missing. Finally, I knew exactly what I wanted for my 37th birthday. I bought, or I mean my wife (I bought them on behalf of her so I guess that counts) bought me the Audeze LCD-X for home use.
Who are the Audeze LCD-X for?
These are great for audiophiles that having a slightly larger budget and are willing to pay up for a decent tube amplifier, which makes these really shine. $1199 is definitely more expensive than other planars, such as HIFIMAN, that has numerous offerings in the sub-$1000 range. It’s definitely worth comparing similar headphones such as the HIFIMAN ARYA.
Look and feel
These are open-back headphones. This results in a more spacious sound, however, people are able to hear what you are listening to! These are not for going out in public. The build quality of the Audeze LCD-X is fantastic. They are built like a tank. I have read reviews where some users feel these are too heavy. Yes, they are heavy. But the pads and the headband are comfy, and I have no problem wearing these for hours on end.
Power requirements
The Audeze LCD-X have an impedance of 20 Ω and sensitivity of 103dB. These are technically easy to drive. Unfortunately, I found that they sounded muddy with the Little Dot Mk III. The performance initially left me very underwhelmed. Once I plugged them into the Yamaha RX-V995 receiver, they sounded much better. I researched tube amplifiers, and landed on the Cayin HA-1A Mk2 EL84EH. It’s a great match! If you are going the solid state or hybrid route (Schitt seems to be a popular option), you can get something cheaper.
How do the Audeze LCD-X sound?
One word adjectives to describe the sound: Euphoric. Sublime. Eargasmic. I used foobar2000 to play FLAC files when able to (I have also used other sources as you will see below). These initially were a disappointment with the Little Dot Mk III much to my surprise. But once I upgraded to the Cayin HA-1A Mk2 EL84EH with the stock tubes, these absolutely came to life! I started off by playing some soul classics. “Going Up in Smoke” by Eddie Kendricks sounds absolutely phenomenal with these. All of the distinct instruments are heard in great clarity with a very spacious sound stage. The bass on the Audeze LCD-X is impressive with quite the slam! The bass is clean without any appreciable distortion. The vocals are also very accurate. I am completely engrossed in the music to the point where I don’t want to leave my seat. I can close my eyes and just get lost. Here is a terrific extended version of this song below:
Speaking of bass… This is definitely their strongest suit. They slam harder than the HD 6XX as well as any other cheap headphone I’ve used in the past, where much of the focus goes to over-exaggerated bass. These handle the bass of all different types of genres without difficulty. These also handle the bass of the ultimate bass machine, the General Electric GE90-115B that powers the Boeing 777-300ER, with ease. Here is some of the deepest bass you will hear with 115540lbs of thrust:
How do the Audeze LCD-X sound compared to others?
Is it fair that I’m comparing them directly to the Drop x Sennheiser HD 6XX considering they are a fraction of the price? Probably not. But as for the original Sennheiser HD 650 headphones (the basis of the HD 6XX), people have pitted them up against way more expensive headphones. Anyway, it’s time for one of my favorite things to do… Using analogies.
What exactly do the Drop x Sennheiser HD 6XX remind me of? The recent bank failures bring about a pretty good analogy. It reminds me of a much simpler time around 2007, when I was an economics major in college. I did an internship program over the winter, and it required us to apply to different companies. Apparently a fellow classmate and I had committed one of the worst atrocities in the history of a company that may or not [have been] called Merrill Lynch. We started an email by using “hey” as a salutation and then heard back from the company with this being made out as a war crime. I’m guessing this worst day in the company’s history given how that email sounded, until September 14, 2008. So anyway, this reminds me of the Drop x Sennheiser HD 6XX. On a technical level, they were very precise. They sounded “good.” But they completely lacked any emotion. Even when driving them with adequate power with either the Yamaha RX-V995 or Cayin HA-1A Mk2 EL84EH, they still felt “empty.” I have heard other users calling them “veiled” in other reviews. Sennheiser is most certainly a brand that has very high-quality headphones. The HD 6XX certainly sound “good,” but unlike the more laidback nature of the Audeze LCD-X, these take themselves too seriously. Too seriously, as in calling you out on something stupid and making you out to be the equivalent of a murderous dictator. I always listen to music when doing my work. When using the HD 6XX, I did my work, shut them off, and then left. On the contrary, while using the Audeze LCD-X I would enjoy my work on a much higher level, and then stay plugged in after I had finished everything. Music is meant to be enjoyed. Music shouldn’t be taken so seriously where it feels like you have a stick shoved up your ass.
Should you buy the LCD-X?
Yes! If you want every song you have ever known to become a new amazing experience, then you should do so. If you want to continue discovering new tunes at their very best, then you should do so. I can not comment too much on competition in the same price range, but the Audeze LCD-X have certainly blown away the cheaper ones I’ve used in the past by a (very) long shot.”
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