AUDEZE LCD-5 REVIEW. When you go back to the drawing board?!!!
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- Опубліковано 4 сер 2024
- Having the guts to destroy your work and starting over, Learning from your mistakes to create a better work of art.
On some of the worlds best headphone systems.
Chord-DAVE, Chord-M Scaler, Ferrum-OOR HYPSOS, HoloAudio-Serene HoloAudio-MayKTE Benchmark-AHB2
LCD-5
chapters
AUDEZE LCD-5 REVIEW:
0:00 Chapters:
1:20 Unboxing
4:02 The LCD-5
7:15 The process
9:30 Gripes
12:09 Specs
14:45 Thoughts
15:59 Sound overview
20:30 Let me paint you a picture
25:46 FR Breakdown
30:05 LCD-5 vs the rest
35:11 The Gerry
38:00 EQ?
41:29 Caveats
42:56 Scores
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M U S I C
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I like the intro. The music had an intense Jaws vibe to it. Excellent honest review. At least they got the weight issues fixed
Thank-you for another wonderful and informative review good Sir. I love sitting back with a cup of tea listening to your calming voice.
🐅 thank you for the kind words very glad you enjoy the content
So much more on the way 😎 I think we are 20 reviews ahead of UA-cam now
Some very special products
I really enjoy your videos and the approach to the overall presentation of equipment, it is very unique and special. Wow! What storytelling. You actually made me love my LCD-5 even more, after watching this video. 😉
Thank you, for the kind words, I appreciate it, welcome to the fam 🐅
Phenomenal review
Welcome to the fam
You are breathtaking in your reviews.
I own the Lcd5, and i without hesitantation purchased Ferrum Oor and Hypsos
Running with Chord Mscaler and Qutest, through Atlas coax and Xlr cables.
Yes its another $15,000 ,Yes its worth it.
These in this combination are heaven on earth
Thank you, it’s very much appreciated 😎
Welcome to the fam 🐅
Thank you for all the work you put into these reviews! I appreciate your thoughtful approach on surfacing strengths and weaknesses while including the reality of how the equipment driving a headphone can radically alter how they perform. You mentioned posting a playlist for your LCD-5 evaluation. I didn’t see it and wondered if you’ll be sharing that at a later date? I’m curious to give it a listen as I have the LCD-5, Susvara, and the OOR w/ Hypsos. I must admit being initially frustrated with the LCD-5, as you were. I put them aside for a bit and am now thinking I should try them on the OOR.
Thank you so much for the kind words, I’m very glad the content is well received, the playlist will be coming this weekend, I’m just finalising a few more tracks on to it and if I can actually sort it out so that it’s not tied to one streaming service
Oh, 100%, the LCD5 synergy with OOR is magic, definitely give it a go and drop your experiences here
@@ConvinceMeAudio Hi again. Reporting back as you requested. First a few words on my chain. I’ll put comments on the OOR/LCD-5 in the second reply in case this is TL;DR. :)
Background: Digital source is the PS Audio Directstream DAC. Similar to the Dave, it’s a DSP converter based on Ted Smith’s design, with internal scaling to DSD. After experimenting with a few amps over the past year, I recently settled on using a PS Audio BHK preamp. While in development, Bascom King was asked to add a headphone amp to the unit, which he based on the Pathos Aurium, which I still have too. The design is a tube gain stage with a MOSFET power stage. The MOSFET stage used to drive the headphone output is a separate circuit from the pre-amp output, specifically tuned for headphones. I find the BHK to be airy and dynamic, having detail while retaining warmth. The BHK actually does a decent job driving the Susvara, but volume is riding around 65-70 to achieve a 80db avg. listening level. Same SPL on the LCD-5 takes only 45-55 on the volume. Still though, to me, the BHK has been the most pleasant sounding amp with the Susvara so far. Thinking about the potential dynamic limitations of the BHK/Susvara combo, out of curiosity I started to research high output amps. I came across the OOR. I was intrigued that it was designed with the Susvara in mind and by it’s ability to be configured as an amp only. With it, I could use the BHK as the pre and the OOR as the amp. It worked out well. With the OOR I gained 6db of headroom driving the Susvara. The BHK/OOR/Susvara combo was detailed, lost a little bit of airiness, but gained some warmth, and provided a little better dynamics. I find that I’m gravitating to the BHK/Susvara for jazz and acoustic recordings and the BHK/OOR/Susvara for pop/rock. Orchestral music can swing either way depending on the performance and recording. So although it’s different components, the chain I have is architecturally similar to the one you have with the Dave, Scaler, Serene, and OOR. But now, you have me wondering about the AHB2 (with BHK pre) for the Susvara. :)
LCD-5 w/OOR: I bought the LCD-5 to provide a counterpoint to the Susvara, something detailed but slightly warmer, with more bass punch, and easier to drive. I wanted to love them. They were so close to what I had envisioned. But for me, something was not quite right with their tonality, almost as if I was listening with hands slightly cupped around my ear. I tried EQ and got it sounding better, but I felt it best to put them aside and come back later with fresh ears. I certainly had less than 50 hours on them which is why your comment on the LCD-5 changing after 200 hours piqued my interest. I bought the OOR primarily for the Susvara and I hadn’t gotten around to trying the LCD-5 on it. Yesterday I pulled them out and gave them a listen with the two John Williams tracks you mentioned, presumably off of the recent DG recording in Vienna? On the OOR I found the LCD-5 to have better detail which seemed to enhance its imaging by quite a bit. Maybe this is due too the OOR having lots of headroom which helps the overall dynamics? The bass was even deeper and better controlled. The mids had substantial weight and presence and the highs were a bit recessed. But still, for me, the tonal relationship of the mids to upper-mids and presence is a little crushed and “filtered” sounding. Not as bad as I recall from when I first listened to them, but still there. I tried my hand with some EQ again, using slightly broader Q filters and only 2 to 3 db level changes. I think what I have now is a good starting place, allowing me to listen to and enjoy the LCD-5 while breaking them in. In time I hope I’ll find the same change you heard in their performance and can ditch the EQ.
@@jimbartel1692 Stella chain, intrigued about your strimmer, sounds like a fantastic set up, but the benchmark does provide a lot more for the SUS but it’s a completely different sound
My second and third one should be arriving next week I think sometime so we’re going to be doing monobloc on top LOL
But going back to the main point it’s a completely different sound it’s Mo reference less warm more leaning towards detail but my goodness the low end
There is so much headroom there from the power supply SUS just bounces along
But yes you’re right the OOR is a little bit more rounded, a little bit softer a little bit more musical and the benchmark is shear technicality brute force waight and authority
Transparency and detail galore
Great review as always! So much good info. I’m curious on how the head amp of the serene works with the Atrium? It will definitely deliver more in the upper frequency compared to the OOR, since the atrium is not that bright. I would love to hear your opinion on that serene amp!
Genuinely atrium was the best sounding head phone on the serene
Atrium is honestly stunning on it
It gets driven perfectly
Intense. I need to rest up after that review! Then I might go out and get an LCD-5. Or maybe the Atrium. Am looking to replace my Fostex TH909 I keep at work.
Ooooo atrium lovely, LCD5, amazing, can’t go wrong either way atrium plays nice with equipment
My 2nd comment, i agree it requires the right equipment, it really does, my score 4 🐅 for the case,it doesn't open enough, slams shut if not careful and can cause damage to headphones if you have them loose in case
Thanks for your review as always. You mentioned 200 hours of break in and wanted to know if you prefer to break in with just music or samples like pink noise so forth. Planning on getting the LCD-X and researching the best way to get them run in.
Personally, I usually just shuffle my library, so there’s a variety, and also I change volume levels, and occasionally introduce pink or white noise,. Also, honestly, I think you can just wear it and let it break in naturally, if you have a mind and at night when you’re not listening have a break in in a separate room
In this manner you get to break in the pads as well, they were bloody uncomfortable and it took awhile for them genuinely to break in. It was a nightmair
@@ConvinceMeAudio Thanks so much for the advice, I tested the LCD-X in store with my Mojo 2 and was very impressed with both stock tuning and then using some DSP to tweak.
@@thomasbrice8884 I highly recommend also auditioning the MM 500 as well
Thanks for the video, just one question, what is your music source for the dave etc.?
So what is your genres? prefer this headphone without any EQ?
You like the midrange performance and vocals more on the 5 or the Susvara?
Genres, like I stated, I listen to everything and I literally mean anything it’s varied
Rock, pop, metal, classical, instrumental metal, non-English, for example Jazz indie occasionally
I think I prefer vocals on LCD5 mate legitimately timbre realism on SUS exceeds LCD5, but the tunnel balance of LC5 I prefer
I am a mid range freak LOL and I like the dark sound signature a tiny bit more than the neutral bright
What SUS is a lot more realistic texture of information timbre is more real
I answered all of these questions through the review, I recommend watching LOL 🤣😎
@@ConvinceMeAudio If you are a frick of realism midrange and said that the Susvara is more real.. why you like the LCD-5 more... Also the Susvara is more airy..
@@zoneglide6665 both very good questions I will address this when I get in
How is the LCD-5 when powered by the Questyle CMA 15?
The re-review is coming. I actually bought this headphone again for myself before Christmas. It’s on the desk, not great to aggressive in the upper mid range and treble for a lot of music, sometimes you get the perfect balance but it drives it perfectly. If that’s a consideration I just don’t like the synergy
Would you say the headphone amp on the RME UFX III is good enough to dive the LCD 5?
Definitely not, you need tubes otherwise it’s gonna be very harsh
Hello. Thank you for the review. But after viewing it i do not understand clearly from it why at the end you give forvthe lcd5 5 tigers and forvthe susvara 4 if i recall correctly....i would have guessed after the review you would give them the same puntuation....could you please elaborate on that? And i am looking forward for the comparison of these flagshiips to the utopia....thanks for your good work on reviewing headphones....you are the only reviewer i saw it mentions the lack of instrument separation on the treble of the lcd-xc....and that is a deal breaker for me and i would have not known if not for your review...
Susvara is the most competent headphone on the planet, does it deserve five yes of course it does but the reason I could not give it five is because of the following:
SUS is notoriously difficult to drive properly in fact it is so inconvenient as a pair of headphones, it’s a nightmare
It is a reviewers dream, because you can test so many equipment with it, but to get it sounding perfect requires a chain that costs well north of $10,000
You can’t just plug it into any equipment and hope to get the best sound, in fact it changes so much from equipment to equipment two people can have utterly different experiences
The LCD5 has better build quality looks better and works a lot easier across-the-board though still quite hard to drive
It’s mainly comes down to functionality not sound quality
@@ConvinceMeAudio thank you for your response. So i understand then from your review susvara is maybe a bit beter than the lcd-5 ( timbre etc..except maybe more detail in lcd5?)but too difficult to drive well...It seems a good amp for the susvara is the benchmark ahb2, from yourvreview...would the purify eval or hypex nc400, which i think follow the same principle with very close results, be a cheaper but excellent option for the susvara?. Thank you
@@itrammbrugent9816 that’s pretty much correct, you can get a nice set up going that will suffice for 12 months or so but you know there will always be a higher place you can go with SUS, starting out with purifi at 1100, and the nice DAC like the DAC3B, at 1700, as a launching board
In that situation I would recommend a nice tube free to
Could you try to get your hands on a Denon AH-D9200 for review?
I would love to get some of those headphones from the line but unfortunately it’s very difficult to get a hold of
I have a question my friend, as Chord is best for lcd5, what would you recommend for tube amp pairing, im looking at Woo audio or Schiit audio
How much do you want to spend?
@@ConvinceMeAudio $4,000 aud
@@annarobertson8320 cayin Ha6a for its versatility
Review should be out soon on Patreon at the moment
@@ConvinceMeAudio thanks, most tubes only benefit high impedance
@@annarobertson8320 definitely not, not if you buy a transformer cuppled Tube amp
You are thinking of OTL
Most of the headphones here, as a rule, tend to be low impedance.
@ConvinceMeAudio I'm currently weighing up LCD-5 vs Abyss TC...You've mentioned elsewhere in a comment that you didn't like the Abyss TC. Given your praise of the V2 and Phi, I was surprised to see you haven't reviewed it. You clearly love the LCD-5. How does the TC compare?
Thanks for these great reviews, btw. You should be at 50k subscribers at least. Thanks!
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever said I don’t like the TC and I have reviewed it on the channel mate if you scroll up it’s one of my favourite headphones. In fact I have both of them here and they’re so different they can’t be compared really chalk and cheese, it depends what you’re looking for.
ABYSS AB1266TC REVIEW. A true stand out in any headphone lineup..
ua-cam.com/video/xB6n3RInAEA/v-deo.html
Possibly Diana TC is what you were thinking
And my observations were at a show, so take it with a pinch of salt. It hasn’t come into the office yet
@@ConvinceMeAudio thanks. It was actually under a comment on your Diana Phi review. 'The TC was not good, I prefer the Phi.'
Your taste seems to overlap heavily with mine, so I was fascinated to know more as Joshua Valour et al have reviewed LCD-5 alongside Diana TC as 'Flagship comparisons', so was interested in your view.
@@cancerparty yes I think I was referring to the Diana itself not the 1266, I love the 1266TC it’s super
And I have just re-purchased the LCD5LOL, one of my favourite Headphones of all time period but synergy is very important with this one. It can be very Shooty in the upper mid range and wrong equipment.
For anyone who is watching this and has not tried these headphones, but wants to: You absolutely DO NOT need to spend many thousands of dollars on an amp and dac set up. I own these and I have heard them on Chord Dave, Weiss 501, Ferrum Oor, Red October, HM1 etc. These are all great, but un nessesary unless you want to flavor/color the sound with amp/dac combos. It is FAR wiser to just use EQ to get the sound you want. I use these with my RME ADI-2 Pro FS R and the included 5 band PEQ (+ bass & treble for 7 bands total). The LCD-5 sounds better on the RME than any of the above gear because it is perfectly tailored to suit my preferences. You could run the LCD-5 from a RME ADI-2 DAC ($1200) and a Schiit ($279) Asgard amp and you would be in heaven. The more expensive amps just sound different, not always better. In most cases it is just more powerful and pretty. In a blind test nobody is going to consistently pick out a $500 DAC VS a $10k DAC. Nobody.
If you can own 1 headphone, which would you choose between LCD 5, Elite, ZMF closed, or Zmf Atrium?
Atrium
Or elite
They are both very versatile work on anything sound great with every genre I personally would choose atrium subjectively
@@ConvinceMeAudio umm, uhh.. I just sold my ZMF Atrium, and just bought an LCD 5... 😅 oh well, we'll see how it goes
@@allan5692 LCD5 is a much better headphone for transparency technical performance et cetera don’t be disappointed but get ready to spend a bunch of money on a good chain LOL
That is the reason why I gave you the other two because they are easy to drive on anything
Look at the LCD5 review and you know what I mean
@@ConvinceMeAudio Yea I spent all my summer saving on it, sooo 😂. Jotunheim will have to tank it for now. Any $500-1000 amp/dac that work best with the LCD 5?
@@allan5692 you genuinely have purchased one of the best headphones in the world is definitely in the top five, I wouldn’t worry, and don’t spend any money right now save that $1000 turn into 2 1/2 thousand dollars and then consider something else for now from what you have you only side great you will not upgrade so leave it
The EXACTA same thing happened to my headphone. The loose screw. Wow
That brings the total up to 3 people now LOL in the last week and a half
Are these better then the focal
Clear mg pro ?
Exponentially
@@ConvinceMeAudio lol k
Sorry, I must disagree with limiting oneself to crazy high end equipment reaching $25k to shape tonal preference. I have reached endgame with Oor/Hypsos, X26 Pro and convolution/eq. Maybe possible with less. Spend as much as you want. Sure, I like nice things but don't limit yourself without eq. I believe in using everything available.
Find the tonal balance with eq and build from there or endlessly rotate headphones and equipment if you have the money and time, then in that case go for it.
You are already running a fantastic setup, my comment was in regards to equipment that does not cost 2 to £3000 apiece, oor by itself costs 3150
I have known reviewers to put a flagship headphone in the $4000 category with equipment that totals the cost of a cable LOL, not that money equals fantastic gains obviously, but it is pretty solid in the audio realm
My statement wasn’t a recommendation my statement was in regards to my job as a reviewer to find the ceiling for headphones and other equipment so that you can know between the best and the worst and the things in the middle, and you make a financial decision depending on your pocket
Also it was to explain why a lot of people use EQ to fix a headphone frequency response to compensate for the equipment, and most of the time it is not the headphones fault but the chain behind it and it was referring to that
It’s mainly targeted at other reviewers that yell about frequency response and problems when there is none there to be had if it was just driven properly and heard well
But EQ is free and if you can use it to compensate for the chain to get a better experience for use objectively have at it, this is a fantastic way of saving money
But let me tell you this minor tweaks here and there will never compensate well for an absolutely flagship chain it just can’t maybe you misunderstood 😎
Getting a used LCD5 this week....
🙇♂💖😊
You can just tighten the screw mate. Don’t send them back for that brother. It will take forever and it’s an easy fix if you get an Allen wrench.
You could have just said Abyss 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Probably a Dave alone doesn't do justice to the LCD5, but I wasn't too impressed with it and preferred the Elite. Also, most people won't have $25.000 equipment to find good synergy...
Yes, synergy is very important
But don’t misunderstand the $25,000 system is not a recommendation for purchase,
The point of the review and the listening experience and the testing experience is, it’s my job to push these headphones that land on the desk as far as they can possibly go, to hit the ceiling, and then to find a fine line down the middle where it’s good without being utterly ridiculous price wise to obtain and to sustain
But be sure, if you’re ready to spend a $4500 lump sum on a flagship headphone, it is genuinely accepted to spend around the same amount maybe half as much again for your chain,
Because you’re in a different category where these headphones have a lot of headroom
So let us take this premise,
OOR $3000, Spring 30DAC3B, or use TT2, or pro signature, wil set you back another 2 1/2 to 3
And we are arriving back at the $6000 mark or below, and this will run the headphones nicely not to the levels of the chain that I pushed its limits to but more than great
Also to swing back around to your main point, the elite is nice, it’s easy-going, and it works on anything, for a lot of people honestly they will be more than happy
Just my honest take. Watch most/all of your reviews. You basically say everything is great, and although they may very well all be good, they can’t all be great. I go back to the figure skating rating scale, nothing can be a 10, most are 7’s and the best of the best are 9’s (very few). Looking for a little more critique and not so much praise.
Just my opinion, obviously. Looking forward to Utopia.
I think it’s more the use of language that I need to correct in those certain aspects, it’s not that everything is great not in the slightest, it’s that when you find the right synergy you’ll find the right tool for the right job not an overall great
I do appreciate the critique though, and most certainly, everything is not great, I usually put all the bad things in the caveat section and try and give as much attention to the good and the bad,
I see what you mean because he does like his strong adjectives, but in fact if you listen to what he's saying... there's a lot, a lot of nuance. Listen from 30:00 ... he's providing a fair comparison to other flagships. He says the timbre is not what it should be, etc. So I think these are honest, objective reviews. It just so happens that he emphasizes the adjectives for the good parts and also he's been reviewing nothing but flagships lately so... of course they are good at something. IMHO But I do like your constructive criticism.
@@thelastrhino2581 I usually put a lot of effort into the reviews, these headphones go through dozens upon dozens of hours of usage with equipment varying from the low to the high,
My reviews are not short they are in depth attempting to cover all bases so that when somebody looks to spend the same amount as a small car they can get as many answers as they need, and due to the length of the videos patience is required and the good the bad and the ugly does get bought up LOL
And yes to your point most of the reviews we cover on this channel are from 1500 above very few things are very bad at these points LOL
And trash talk is really not my style my glass is always half full rather than half empty but I will bear this critiques in mind because the valid and I thank you guys for participateing
@@thelastrhino2581 Yeah tbf at 4 grand you're entering no compromise territory. Everything is likely going to range from very good to superb.
While not one piece of gear is a 10 out of 10 it is all about synergy between all the pieces of gear in a audiophile setup. The headphones, amplifiers, DACs, and music source all coming together to get the perfect sound. Now considering CMA has so much top quality equipment and uses a premium music streaming service of course he is going to get a lot out of the headphones he reviews. Unlike most audiophile reviewers that dismiss anything that doesn't fit their preferred sound, CMA focuses on what audiophile a particular headphone is for. To me that is refreshing to see.
LCD-5 sucks. Lol.
Facts
Tru tru
What doesn't suck? Genuinely interested.
@@cancerpartywhat price range?
@@nyvoreviews5443 LCD-5 price range. 4-5k