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mindhead1 t1_j9hdfg3 wrote

Reply to comment by mghazik in My End Game, but I'm not sure I'm happy Any questions? by mghazik

It is a disease. I hate to break it to you, but you won’t see significant improvements until you break out of mid fi range (below $500). I tried all the usual suspects in that price range 4xx, 6xx, Sundara, Meze 99, DT 990. All have good aspects and quality headphones.

However, for my birthday last year I got the LCD-X and finally understand what a solid all around headphone should sound like. I’m not saying it’s the best out there, but it’s quality and doesn’t lack in areas like the other headphones do.

I periodically go back and listen to my older headphones and think these are good. Then I plug in the LCD-X (balanced to my Zen DAC v2) and wonder why I wasted listening time with my other headphones. I’m honestly afraid for my wallet as I’m lusting after a set of ZMF headphones.

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ontheellipse t1_j9hyn4p wrote

I feel like the diminishing returns set in very fast. If you have a “normal income” you can do extremely well for not a lot of money.

I love high end gear. I love reading about it and messing around with it, but never have I gone to a high end show and thought THIS room is 1000x better than mine. I’d rather have my room/headphone setup and say….a vacation home or a Porsche

Edit: but that’s me. Props and respect to the guys out there pushing the limits

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blorg t1_j9jb2d7 wrote

Edition XS gets you there for under $500 (close to $300 in Asia). It's a better all rounder than the LCD-X IMO, and is much better tuned out of the box, particularly through the upper mids. LCD-X is very muffled sounding stock due to the upper mids recess. LCD-X is transformed with EQ though and does have slightly better bass (I'd say better than anything else I've heard), although the Edition XS is no slouch there either. Soundstage is also much better on the XS.

I have both and I enjoy both, but if I could only keep one it would be the Edition XS and it's not close. That it's so much cheaper is just the icing on the cake, for me it's a better headphone even if it was priced the same.

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mindhead1 t1_j9jdmwj wrote

LCD-X “muffled?” We all have different ears. I have the 2021 version and “muffled” is not a word I would use to describe them.

Balanced and detailed come to mind when I think of the LCD-X. Also, great bass when powered with a good amp.

I haven’t tried the Edition XS yet and doubt there are any more Hifiman headphones in my future. Too many build quality issues with previous sets from them.

ZMF, DCA, Focal and Meze 109 Pro all need sampling first. But I get it $500 - $1500 for headphones is a lot of money and not everyone can afford that.

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blorg t1_j9jerk5 wrote

You can look at the frequency response, it is ~10dB below Harman at 4kHz. That's pretty muffled to me.

Or compare with the HD6XX which you own. That, to me, is just about perfectly tuned in the mids. It is not the most technically proficient headphone in existence, but the mids tuning, for my preference, is on point. The LCD-X is WAY recessed, comparatively.

https://crinacle.com/graphs/headphones/graphtool/?share=Harman_AE_OE_2018_Target,HD650_S2_(2020)(fresh_pads),LCD-X(2021)

You can like this and find it warm, dark, relaxed, smooth, all this stuff. I find a -10dB chasm in the upper mids to sound muffled, and I correct it with EQ. It's a great headphone... after EQ.

Anyway, more just making the point you don't NEED to go to >$1,000 to get to "significant improvements". The Edition XS can be total end-game, I have several >$1,000 sets and it competes at that level despite costing much less. I'm not saying the LCD-X is bad either, I wouldn't have bought it if I thought it was bad. I bought it for the bass, and it delivered on that, it has the best bass of anything I have. But it needs EQ to fix the muffled upper mids, IMO.

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jfleysh t1_j9jx3gq wrote

u/blorg I agree with you 100000%. I own a Focal Clear OG, Arya Stealth, and I received the LCDX a couple days ago. When I first put them on I was so frustrated because it sounded so unbelievably muffled when compared to the Arya Stealth. I couldn't believe the hype for these things.

Then I added Oratory's EQ which raised the 4k frequency by a ton and it opened up the headphone a LOT. I think now it definitely compares to the Arya. I still think the Arya does everything the LCDX does and includes extra soundstage so I'm not sure I'll keep these. I'm still comparing the bass between the two so we'll see.

I had the Edition XS before the Arya and it felt cheap to me and also was so easy to fall off the head. Sound was great though.

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johnwall47 t1_j9lc19v wrote

Yea idk what they mean the LCD-X stock tuning is absolutely muffled as fuck. But since they respond so well to EQ I don’t rlly hold that flaw against them. If ur spending that much ur already working on improving the margins of sound quality and EQ is just another part of that, not a major inconvenience at all

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