# So I just spent $1,200 on headphones (Audeze LCD X)



## karelpsota (Jul 14, 2018)

And no regrets!

First of all, I hate most audio gear reviews as they use vague terms like: open, warm, round, colorful. That doesn't help anyone.

So I'm gonna do my best to keep this as "scientific" as possible.

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*Curve*: The curve is not flat. I had to correct it manually to match my flat speakers (calibrated with Sonarworks). Here's the EQ I did to recognize my favorite mixes. (Shawn Murphy, Manny Marroquin, Serban Ghenea)

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*Stereo Imaging: *ultra wide with extremely precise position. You can tell de diff between 45 degrees and 50 degrees. Very noticeable in classical music.

Still don't know why it sounds wider than other headphones though... My first instinct was to reduce stereo width to 50% on the master. It's a bit overwhelming at first.

*Distorsion*: Zero! Which is probably why they are so expensive. It also made me realize that all other headphones distort ALOT. Compared to my Sennheiser HD 380 and 280 - it's night and day. It's as if I was listening to music through an overdrive pedal before.

*Phase:* I'll be honest, I don't know how to evaluate that. If you have any tests you'd like me run. Let me know.

*Transients:* I never really paid attention to transients until now. Most drum transients sounded like white noise clicks to me... until I tried these headphones. You can really notice the layers and the pitch movement within 30 ms. Truly fascinating.

*Are they could for mixing? *Yes and No*.*

*Yes*: Good for tracking. Good to spot tiny mistakes. Great to analyze all the intricacies of other mixes. You will definitely hear new elements. My roommate and I were notably able to tell when reverb tails were too compressed on John Powell - HTTYD2. Something that we never noticed before.


*No*: Bad system translation. I guess it's like mixing on ATC vs HS8. The separation of the Audeze is already so intense. Nothing ever distorts. You can play a minor second in the bass and still hear that clearly. Other systems would completely distort and transform that into mud.
Therefore, I would recommend achieving mix separation on average speakers/headphones, then finishing the details with these headphones.

*Is it a "Must Have"?* No. You don't need this to become a great mixer. It's an audiophile pleasure thing.

EDIT: Forgot to add. Build is metal and leather. Made in the US. Comfortable and solid despite being a bit heavy.


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## Jediwario1 (Jul 14, 2018)

Great review! Short and straight to the point, pointing out the strengths and weaknesses.

So what will you be using these headphones for?


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## karelpsota (Jul 14, 2018)

Jediwario1 said:


> Great review! Short and straight to the point, pointing out the strengths and weaknesses.
> 
> So what will you be using these headphones for?



Thanks!

I use these mostly for sound design remakes. They help me figure out the layers in very short sounds like whooshes and hits. I look for specific things like:

Understanding which layers have x amount of reverb,
The EQ and dampening on the reverb tails.
Which bands are compressed
What type of stereo widening is used on a layer (Haas, Micro shift, dim exp, chorus, doubler etc...)
The Audeze also fit somewhere in the final steps of my mixing process which usually involves: ADAM A7X back and forth with Auratones. Then headphones to fine tune stereo imaging and distorted peaks I didn't catch.


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## puremusic (Jul 15, 2018)

Interesting! There's that planar technology again.


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## Maxime Luft (Jul 15, 2018)

Superb detailed review! I am currently about to get the Focal Clear Pro, which are also in that price range.
I just like the Focal sound, which is quite specific and doesn't have to please everybody.

So before getting these I will make sure to compare them with the Audeze, as both are nearly litteraly available for the same price. (Audeze: 1 449€ and Focal: 1 455€ in the Thomann.de online shop)

Here a review from the great Streaky, who also masters film and trailer music for anyone who might be interested.


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