Michelle McLaughlin’s “Across The Burren” is another of my favorite highs/sharpness test songs as it can easily sound painful on some headphones. There is basically no sharpness in this song. It gets close to the edge occasionally, but there’s nothing bad enough to complain about here. It’s an overall good representation of the highs in this song. The LCD-X 2021 is a rather relaxing and pleasingly tuned headphone though, compared to that lightning-fast and superbly extreme sound of the D8000 Pro. Having all that in mind, I actually use them just about as often, and that should show you a bigger picture. Listening to the LCD-X 2021 after the Final flagship is an adventure into a more calming and romantic sound, with a sacrifice to its raw technical performance. The SR-009 can be bright; one can argue that the LCD-X are actually more neutral. I didn't compare the LCD-X to the STAX SR-007 Mk II, which are warmer and might sound much more similar to the LCD-X. The new version is still crazy detailed. However, the softness is gone which seems to effect the perception of bass (or the bass extension is in fact different…). The highs are given far more clarity, but I’m not sure how I feel about it. It seems fatiguing compared to the softness of the old version. That said, what the highs do provide is a very detailed sound. The LCD-X is quite heavy compared to the competition. While we found it very comfortable overall, we were always aware of the headphone’s weight.

I firstly connected them to my i phone to get a feel of the sound I’d eagerly waited to hear, but admittedly, I was rather unimpressed ! ( which I suppose is understandable with my source coming direct from a smart phone) Bass – Bass extends pretty well down low with a very minor sub-bass roll-off below 40Hz, which is only perceivable when listening to songs which have deep sub-bass mixed in. Since most mastering engineers introduce a minor sub-bass roll-off below 35Hz in most songs anyway, LCD-X 2021's sub-bass roll-off isn't as perceivable with a vast majority of songs. Besides that, the rest of the bass response is extremely neutral and linear. Neutral bass tuning helps present the songs very cleanly. If the song has slam and rumble mixed in, that is exactly what you will perceive with the LCD-X and if the song doesn't have much bass mixed in, don't expect it to boost any bass from its side. Technically, bass is very well separated in the centre and you can hear the nuances of the bass tone very clearly because of LCD-X's high micro-detail retrieval ability.First, all three headphones in their current form are quite similar tonally. Gone are the days of uber-buttery sound for Audeze, I find the current models be pretty well balanced with the mid-treble range and up being stronger and in better proportion than previous Audeze incarnations. I hear the LCD-2 now as being a little grainier and less refined in the treble than the other two, but significantly improved over previous iterations. The LCD-3 sounds nicely refined and clear with a bit of liquid goodness thrown in. The LCD-X seems to just want to do its job and get out of the way. Audeze is a high-end audio headphone manufacturer based in Costa Mesa, CA. Established in 2009, they have grown from a garage based startup to one of the most innovative audio companies in the past few years. LCD-X was first introduced in 2013. Today, the updated LCD-X, more commonly referred to as LCD-X 2021, leverages patented Audeze technologies, including Ultra-Thin Uniforce™ diaphragms, Fazor waveguides, and powerful neodymium magnets to deliver extremely accurate and detailed sound. The sophisticated planar magnetic drivers achieve high efficiency with low impedance, such that LCD-X can deliver great sound from nearly any device with a headphone output. Audeze also lowered the weight for increased comfort. It features a suspension headband for even weight distribution, and highly-cushioned premium ear pads for support. The midrange is quite similar here, as both sound natural, lush and their resolution is terrific. The HEDD tends to have a little bit more body in the upper-midrange section, so if you’re a fan of those shiny, forward-sounding female vocals, that could be your deciding factor. No, they still aren’t speakers, but the Imaging and Staging are so convincing that it comes darn near close. In other words, Another area of note is the differences between 800Hz and 2kHz. I do hear the LCD-2 as being a bit harder and grittier, and the LCD-X as being a bit smoother in this presence region that tends to emphasize consonant sounds.

Editor’s note: Arnie Nudell is the co-founder of Infinity Systems and one of the true legends of high-end loudspeaker design. His Infinity Reference Standard (IRS) pushed the boundaries of what was possible, and remains to this day one of high-end audio’s most iconic products. This feature enhances the overall listening experience by making it feel as if you’re inside the music. For bass heads, the LCD-X offers an unparalleled experience, providing a level of depth and power that can truly be felt. We’ll start by examining the build quality and design, assessing its durability and comfort for extended listening sessions. While the technical performance is vastly different, their tuning is really different, and that makes this comparison really interesting.I fed my American-made Benchmark DAC1 HDR with signal. The DAC1 HDR has a reference-class DAC and a reference class-A zero-output-impedance headphone amplifier. Planar magnetic headphones are in some ways a hybrid concept, sharing features with both moving-coil and electrostatic designs, and employing a similar principle to ribbon loudspeakers. Like an electrostatic design, a planar magnetic driver is based around a very thin, flat diaphragm, but like a dynamic design, this is set in motion by electromagnetic induction rather than electrostatic force. Instead of a voice coil, the diaphragm has very thin, flat wire ribbons running through it. On either side of the diaphragm, mirrored arrays of magnets are arranged so as to produce a consistent magnetic flux across its whole area. The first musical example that I have chosen is the Shostakovich string quartets numbers three, seven, and eight performed by the Hagen Quartet on a DG CD. The quality of sound of this CD is quite remarkable in itself; however I have up-sampled it using the professional Korg Audiogate computer program, from 44kHz/16-bit up to 192kHz/24-bit, to greatly relieve most of the sonic problems which unfortunately afflict all CDs. Update: The Edition XS has a little something to say about that. You may be asking, well what about the LCD-X? When it comes to guitars, the LCD-X excels at rendering the intricate details of string instruments.