Huh. I listened to Susvara for a few minutes at Canjam on their monster amp.. But they seemed so warm and slow compared to my own LCD-4 that are already on the lush side of the LCD-4 spectrum.. Basically I felt like my phones blew the Susvara out of the water on Hifi man's own equipment. My LCD-5 impression was more positive than I expected from other reviews. They sound much thinner than my LCD-4, as do the Abyss and Dan Clark offerings. But the LCD-5 still had a smoother and more enjoyable tonality to me. Their bass was more impactful and satisfying than the graphs suggest, as well. They do have super speed and resolution as you say. I didn't wear them long enough to find out about hot spots, but my initial impression was that they are definitely lighter and more comfortable than my LCD-4. And I can already wear my LCD-4 all day because the weight doesn't bother me. Out of everything I heard that day, my favorite was the Rossom RAD-0. They have much of the same character of my LCD-4, as expected, but achieved most or all the extra speed, resolution and punch of the newer flagships without feeling quite so thin. Not as lush as my LCD-4, but in line with being a fair trade for the other advantages. The other flagships sound like a paper cut to me.. If I lost my LCD-4, I would likely seek to audition a pair of RAD-0 before deciding what to do. I'm not in a position to run out and buy a pair just because though.
According to Audeze, LCD 5 with serial number above 1764 that is produced after 12/10/2021 has a head band with 30% less clamp force. I think reviewers should mention this because the head band does make a difference on comfort.
I’ve been absolutely loving your channel the last few months..it’s only a matter of time before your channel blows up significantly with how great your content is. That alongside your natural candor and extemporaneous delivery method and good editing makes for very enjoyable videos. Thanks for the continually great content buddy!
I just wanted to let you know I like the way you reviewed these TOTL headphones you did a great job and made some points I hadn't thought of.. like the Sus being a headphone that required to be tethered to a listening station... think I'm going to buy the LCD-5
Thanks for this review. Very nice work. For the ridiculous price being charged, I would expect much more comfort and have hardware that doesn't fall out. Also, I suspect that I would not enjoy these long term. They sure look better than the Susvara, though. Either way, I have no motivation to even consider these.
@@saarxee19 The simple fact is that at that price I will NEVER try one. That is a space I don't play in, and that is fine. I have many sets of headphones that serve me very well. No need to get excited over something you can't afford. And that's fine - Leave these for the richie-riches. To your point, I would not mind giving one a listen just to see what it's about.
@@MrAyrit I wanted to hear how the DSP filters actually changes the sound sig of their headphones so I loaded their tryout of the Resolve plug in... installed it into Jriver and there you can choose the headphone and while listening to some music you can turn the DSP on and off for A/B testing.. I used the LCD-XC21 for the test. its a good tuning that I will keep... its free so why not... there wasn't any DSP for the LCD-5 yet... but it did a nice job with the XC21...
@@michaelp.3485 interesting from what i’ve read it sounds like the verite would be more of a fun musical headphone and that the lcd 5 is more technical and not as fun to listen to. is there ever a circumstance where you favour the verite or is it just always the audeze you reach for and by any chance do you have susvara or he1000se to compare with them? currently deciding amongst all those
Are all of your opinions with or without EQ? Just wondering if the LCD-5’s “brutal realism” trait you mentioned for example might be alleviated a bit with EQ.
Sorry for the late response. I've been taking some time to consider this. I'm not sure I'm the best person to give you guidance on this, especially if you're looking to purchase some really high end stuff. I tested it with the v280, Soloist 3xp, and the RAAL HSA1b. All were good, but I preferred the RAAL or the v280, because they were a bit smoother to my ear. Didn't really get the chance to try them on tubes much. I've currently got a Quicksilver Headphone Amp, and that thing is pretty impressive. I imagine it would pair well. Some other type of transformer coupled tube amp would also be nice I'm sure. The Hagerman Tuba would be a cheaper option that I think you'd still get some good performance from.
You're going to have to do this all again when you upgrade your chain because all of these TOTL headphones change considerably once you start stepping up to TOTL amps and dac. Some get better, some get worse.
@@MrAyrit Beyond a BHC and a Bifrost 2? (I have both of those). Things like DNA, Amps&Sound, Eddie Current for amps. Then DAC Holo May, Holo Spring, Wavelength. That's when headphones really start to scale and stretch their legs.
I think your gear selection is great. There will be very little gained spending more. Just a different presentation, say from tubes amps etc. But thats not a reason to not upgrade! Lol
@@massivemikeh yeah, I think that’s pretty much where I’m at with it. I wouldn’t mind experimenting with some higher end tube stuff, but not sure exactly what to shoot for.
Huh. I listened to Susvara for a few minutes at Canjam on their monster amp.. But they seemed so warm and slow compared to my own LCD-4 that are already on the lush side of the LCD-4 spectrum.. Basically I felt like my phones blew the Susvara out of the water on Hifi man's own equipment.
My LCD-5 impression was more positive than I expected from other reviews. They sound much thinner than my LCD-4, as do the Abyss and Dan Clark offerings. But the LCD-5 still had a smoother and more enjoyable tonality to me. Their bass was more impactful and satisfying than the graphs suggest, as well. They do have super speed and resolution as you say. I didn't wear them long enough to find out about hot spots, but my initial impression was that they are definitely lighter and more comfortable than my LCD-4. And I can already wear my LCD-4 all day because the weight doesn't bother me.
Out of everything I heard that day, my favorite was the Rossom RAD-0. They have much of the same character of my LCD-4, as expected, but achieved most or all the extra speed, resolution and punch of the newer flagships without feeling quite so thin. Not as lush as my LCD-4, but in line with being a fair trade for the other advantages. The other flagships sound like a paper cut to me.. If I lost my LCD-4, I would likely seek to audition a pair of RAD-0 before deciding what to do. I'm not in a position to run out and buy a pair just because though.
According to Audeze, LCD 5 with serial number above 1764 that is produced after 12/10/2021 has a head band with 30% less clamp force. I think reviewers should mention this because the head band does make a difference on comfort.
News to me. Thanks for sharing.
I’ve been absolutely loving your channel the last few months..it’s only a matter of time before your channel blows up significantly with how great your content is. That alongside your natural candor and extemporaneous delivery method and good editing makes for very enjoyable videos. Thanks for the continually great content buddy!
I just wanted to let you know I like the way you reviewed these TOTL headphones you did a great job and made some points I hadn't thought of.. like the Sus being a headphone that required to be tethered to a listening station... think I'm going to buy the LCD-5
Surprisingly good review.
I liked it better than some of the well-known channels.
And above all, Voodoo-free 👍
I do my best to stay away from the voodoo!
You should do a video on the headphones that you have that are your personal ones. And what headphones you use for whatever situation.
Planning on it. Kind of an “as the dust settles” video. Maybe over the weekend.
amazing job as always
Another good one.
This is a great review.
I appreciate that!
Susvara is better only if you have enough power behind it. I'm talking like 20 watts. For most, LCD-5 will be better.
LCD-5 was too analytical for me. I'd probably got OG Utopia or Final D8000 Pro if power was a concern.
Thanks for this review. Very nice work. For the ridiculous price being charged, I would expect much more comfort and have hardware that doesn't fall out. Also, I suspect that I would not enjoy these long term. They sure look better than the Susvara, though. Either way, I have no motivation to even consider these.
Thats beause you didn't tried this headphone or some even other headphones.
@@saarxee19 The simple fact is that at that price I will NEVER try one. That is a space I don't play in, and that is fine. I have many sets of headphones that serve me very well. No need to get excited over something you can't afford. And that's fine - Leave these for the richie-riches. To your point, I would not mind giving one a listen just to see what it's about.
I wished you could have listen'd to the LCD-5 with the Audeze DSP filters on Roon to hear how they sounded with DSP/EQ
That definitely would have been interesting. I haven't gotten into Roon yet, but that's something I'm definitely interesting in trying at some point.
@@MrAyrit I wanted to hear how the DSP filters actually changes the sound sig of their headphones so I loaded their tryout of the Resolve plug in... installed it into Jriver and there you can choose the headphone and while listening to some music you can turn the DSP on and off for A/B testing.. I used the LCD-XC21 for the test. its a good tuning that I will keep... its free so why not... there wasn't any DSP for the LCD-5 yet... but it did a nice job with the XC21...
Yet couple of headphones missing :
DCA stealth
Meze Empyrean /Elite
Stax Sr9000
Sonoma Bravura
All things I’d like to try. I was thinking I might reach out to Meze.
great video, love the comparison spreadsheet. Would be interested to have zmf verite and lcd 4 on this spreadsheet if you have acess to them
@@michaelp.3485 interesting from what i’ve read it sounds like the verite would be more of a fun musical headphone and that the lcd 5 is more technical and not as fun to listen to. is there ever a circumstance where you favour the verite or is it just always the audeze you reach for
and by any chance do you have susvara or he1000se to compare with them? currently deciding amongst all those
Are all of your opinions with or without EQ? Just wondering if the LCD-5’s “brutal realism” trait you mentioned for example might be alleviated a bit with EQ.
Yes, my listening was done without eq. I imagine that it would take eq well.
Thanks for the great review! So what us your daily driver?
Daily driver is kind of weird for me because I try so many things out. 8xx for the last couple of weeks has been my go to though.
Which solid state amplifier and which tube amplifier would you suggest to match the specs of the Audeze LCD-5?
Thanks for the attention!!!
Sorry for the late response. I've been taking some time to consider this. I'm not sure I'm the best person to give you guidance on this, especially if you're looking to purchase some really high end stuff. I tested it with the v280, Soloist 3xp, and the RAAL HSA1b. All were good, but I preferred the RAAL or the v280, because they were a bit smoother to my ear. Didn't really get the chance to try them on tubes much. I've currently got a Quicksilver Headphone Amp, and that thing is pretty impressive. I imagine it would pair well. Some other type of transformer coupled tube amp would also be nice I'm sure. The Hagerman Tuba would be a cheaper option that I think you'd still get some good performance from.
@@MrAyrit Thank you for your reply and for your attention.
I will research about these amplifiers you mentioned !!! 👍👍👍
If they both scored the same and price comes into it, surely the LCD 5 wins ?
I’m sure for some it would, but not me.
You're going to have to do this all again when you upgrade your chain because all of these TOTL headphones change considerably once you start stepping up to TOTL amps and dac. Some get better, some get worse.
What gear would you recommend?
@@MrAyrit Beyond a BHC and a Bifrost 2? (I have both of those). Things like DNA, Amps&Sound, Eddie Current for amps. Then DAC Holo May, Holo Spring, Wavelength. That's when headphones really start to scale and stretch their legs.
@@bitterbuffalo8997 I was running these off the Soekris 2541 and a RAAL HSA1b for most of my time with these. Also the Soloist and the V280.
I think your gear selection is great. There will be very little gained spending more. Just a different presentation, say from tubes amps etc. But thats not a reason to not upgrade! Lol
@@massivemikeh yeah, I think that’s pretty much where I’m at with it. I wouldn’t mind experimenting with some higher end tube stuff, but not sure exactly what to shoot for.
please try meze elite
I contacted them, but no dice on the Elite yet. They said I was on the list for the Liric.
You should review other high end headphones like the KZ ZBF-24 Pro and the CCA BADJK Friday
😏🤦🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️😂
He1000se he1000se he1000se
?
@@MrAyrit he1000se review please