Gear pictured: ADI-2 DAC > holographic audio ear one headphone amp > LCD-X (& Genelec 8330A)

Not much to say here, Just thought I’d share the gear I’ve been using for the past couple of years.

I’ve tried a lot of different equipment and headphones but this gear has been very enjoyable and way more than enough for me to not want to upgrade (jk who the hell am I kidding lol); The only exception being a purchase I made recently which was a pair of new ear pads for the LCD-X, since from what I’ve read, the new ones change the sound for the better.

If you guys have any questions on my main setup, or any gear I’ve compared it to feel free to comment :)

Nice stuff! I have the same DAC and a couple of headphones, including the LCD-X, and I end up using them the most too! So my question is: Did the change of pads really change anything? Cheers!

I haven’t received them yet, so I’ll probably update this when I put the pads on and try them out for a while. It appears that they improved the sound noticeably going off of all the comments / reviews I’ve read.

Curious to know what headphones you were using before the LCD-X! I feel like that's the headphone I would buy if I was in that price bracket, so wondering if you had something with a similar profile previously, or went for a change.

I’ve had the clear, elex. LCD2C, Sony MDR-ma900, hd800, EM-U teak, and I’ve tried the LCD3, th900, ZMF auteur, and vérité. I like the EQd LCDX over all except the verite. Which I may end up getting, idk yet haha.

Just a few things: The EM-U teaks were really awesome though, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed them. Think I should’ve kept them and gotten Lawton cups or something.

Elex punches way above its price too, and makes the clear a stupid buy imo.

I also had a bunch of “mid fi” stuff too but it’s really not worth mentioning for the sake of comparison.

As for headphones I’d really like to try: the newest version of the utopia, hedd phone, empyrean elite, LCD5, ie600s and Sony Z1rs.

Thanks! The person I bought the Flows from actually was selling them because he bought Vérités - they definitely seem like a sweet set. Cool list of gear!

Thanks man, appreciate it 🙏

Really hoping they have another run of limited edition woods. The base wood looks really bad imo, and they don’t do custom orders anymore :/

Upvote for the Genelec. Great choice.

I'd give another one for the EQed LCD-X but I cannot.

Enjoy your cans, until you open your wallet again ;)

Thanks dude haha. The Genelecs are so good! Easily the best audio product I’ve bought so far.

Some of those LEs were really nice! Would definitely be cool to see them do more of them.

Damn straight. Might have to go used tbh. The wood they’re using right now looks like they stained and polished a 2x4 they found at Home Depot 😂

Fellow RME / Genelec gang here! Just to show some support. My planar is from DCA but I love audeze sound

RIP your DM.

Would you say genelecs are worth it for the price over other monitors? I have the Adams and considering upgrading.

Does that headphone amp have a crossfeed switch? Also, how is the knob feel with that? I don't think I have ever used one with a round knob.

I’ve had LSR 305s, 705s, IK MTM with a sub, ascend acoustics sierra 2s, and kef LS50 wireless 2 so far.

These are my favorites for sure. They just melt into the room and the auto room calibration works very well. Definitely worth every penny. If (when) I do upgrade it’s going to be either a higher end pair of “the ones” or a set of their main monitors when I buy a house 👍

Yes! The X feed is easily the best implementation I’ve heard. There’s a thread on head fi about it I think. The process is pretty interesting if you’re into that kind of thing.

Putting the knob feel into technical terms: it fucks… holo uses a high end version of an alps pot and its smoother than butter haha. Also, Pushes 3W to 50ohms with very low distortion, so it’s no slouch in terms of power.

After owning this amp for what feels like forever, the only thing that makes no sense to me is the output impedance switch… it is either .01 ohm or 100ohm. Can’t think of a reason you’d ever want a 100ohm output impedance. If anyone has theories, I’m all ears.

I have crossfeed in my amp as well. It is super useful for older songs so I don't have to have such hard-pan with different things. It is nice to see it in more amps. My knob feel isn't as good as yours since mine isn't just a knob for turning but also for selecting.

Very clean setup. The amp looks interesting to me. Did a quick search but I didn't find a lot of info on it. Curious how it fares against other more popular amps and which headphones you found the best synergy with it (apart from the LCD-X)?

Honestly I am too haha. I might send it over to Amir at ASR sometime to see how it actually performs. I personally love the thing, but imo with solid state amps hard data is nice to have as well.

From what I researched back when I was considering this amp, the general consensus was that it’s a very quality, low distortion amp with a lot of power, and was very synergistic with planars. I’m a huge planar fan, so I pulled the trigger and got one sent over from Sweden (along with a Hegel hd10).

Holographics whole design philosophy is low distortion and a sound that doesn’t change the source material which wasn’t actually talked about or emphasized by a lot of manufacturers earlier.

IIRC: Back when he used to be active, holographic audios “wire with gain” design philosophy was one of the things that inspired NWAvguy to create the circuitry for the O2 amp that was very popular a while ago, and imo is one of the reasons we now have super clean, powerful and cheap amps today. Instead of a lot of overpriced garbage that performed very poorly. Stuff that was all too common during the late ‘00s through the early 2010s.

Ong

nice setup! I'm envious

Appreciate it 🙏.

And don’t be, I’m just awful with my money 😂

Thank you for the info. I really dig the faceplate and overall clean design. Their product also seems to be sanely priced. I just found out they used to make some phono amps too, may be worth a look when I get around to upgrading my TT setup.

i really miss my LCDs...i had the 2 and the 4. How do the X sound compared to those two?

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Very nice setup. My LCD-X are my favorite headphones I’ve ever used. I daily drive them. Not even sure how to describe the music that comes out of them but pure bliss.

Facts! EQd LCD X are so damn good

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Very awesome setup, Scarlet!

Do you use the output impedance button? I don’t really get the point of it?

Ive never used it. I don’t understand the purpose of it either honestly.

Same! I see you listen to Jvne as well. Great setup! Keep calm and love lain

Haha yessir, Sewerslvt is the shit 🔥

(I will also continue to love lain)

No worries:)

And yeah, That Scandinavian design aesthetic is always on point 👌

Man I wish I could swap my Adam A3x’s for some white genelecs like dat.

They’re damn sexy in their own way. They look uglier in pictures, but they’re a really nice piece of kit once you see them in person.

Adams are really nice though. Love the A7x! Very dynamic monitor.

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How would you compare the ear one to the headphone amp on the rme? What made you want a separate?

I'm not like other girls, I'm dabs poorer than them

Fr though amazing set up, I've always wanted to try out audeze's

Output impedance changes the frequency response of the headphones. Low impedance for minimum impact, 100 Ohms is honestly a lot and should change tonality for just about every headphone. Not really sure what the point of implementing it like this is though, I'd always keep it at 0.1.

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How do the speakers compare to the headphones?

Can you compare the Clear, HD800 and these?

Best not like the other girls post I have seen! Very cool

Always upvote LCD-X. S tier headphones and the best cans Audeze makes IMO.

How’s the RME DAC holding up?

It was the flavor of the day a couple of years ago, but I don’t hear much about it anymore.

How the headphone out on the RME compared to your headphone amp with the LCD-X?

I’m currently driving my LCD-X 2021 with an ifi ZEN DAC/ ZEN CAN stack, but am considering a DAC upgrade. Truth be told both ifi pieces drive the LCD-X well, I’m just looking for a more detailed DAC.

The A3X 's 4.5" "woofer" is too small for good warm bass. Does mids and highs very well but.... And no, i dont want a subwoofer, i want to stay compact, but also have a bit more bass. Wonder how these Genelecs do bass.

If you like the LCD-X I think you may find the Elite very, very enjoyable. I demoed the LCD-5, Final D8000 Pro, DCA Expanse, and Susvara but the Elite won me over immediately. You could plug it into a potato and it will sound good.

Are the LSR 305 so good for the money as everyone says? I am guessing the Genelecs absolutely kill them.

Aren't those headphones heavy af? They weigh around 620 g if I remember. Also what's ur eq for them? I would have to raise that treble so much. Going by the charts they look darker than a hd 650. I always find myself raising the treble on all my headphones.

I’m new to this but how is this compared to beyerdynamics DT 1990

Slay Queen 💅

Ain’t that everyone here?

The 305s were a nice monitor for the price. Looked cool, got very loud, and stayed coherent when playing at high volumes. The imaging was so good, it’s the main thing I remember even after years of not hearing them. I didn’t hear the mkii model though, but I can assume it still kicks ass for the price.

If you’re only using them for near field, they’re very good. You’d be hard pressed to find better for the price. If you’re still worried you could save up for the tier above these and get the 6.5” model too, but I’d just go with “the ones” series at that price tbh.

That’s a great set up you got there! And an awesome track record! I had a chance to audition lcd x recently and they almost made me pull the trigger on the spot. But then I heard the elites and was absolutely blown away by their musicality. Definitely going to get the elites in a couple of months. Happy listening!

Same here, right now running the Elites with a cheaper ef400 setup and it really is just getting better and better as both break in! I auditioned many of the same as well.

I may pull the trigger on the elites too. They sound awesome!

The LCD-X really is great. Definitely not for everyone due to their analytical signature. It becomes way more coherent once you eq though. From what I’ve read and experienced they’re some of the best responding headphones to a proper eq curve.

yeah.

I laid it out for myself: LCD-X is a great musical headphone compared to the 800s, clears, and aeon2s.

And if I wanted to be reasonable with the money, LCD-X is the right choice.

Elites, however, are also not for everyone, since they prioritize fun and musicality over the accuracy of reproduction and other technicalities. But, if the Elite fit your sounds preferences they do become worth the asking price.

all opinions are of course based on my own listening experience so opinions may vary, quite a bit.

Don't know where you're located.. But some shops in the EU have LTD Verite's in stock :) Seen three in Amsterdam recently, almost pulled the trigger on one myself :)