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Audeze LCD-2 Waterfall plots, low frequency extension and driver impedence
Reposted from January 2010.
Low frequency extension on the LCD-2 relative to other headphones. Measurements done using the Neumann KU 100 Dummy head. The water-fall plots, low frequency extension and the driver impedance.
1. Waterfall Plot of the LCD-2.
2. Impedance driver of the LCD-2 driver.
3. Low-frequency response of LCD-2 and other headphones.
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LCD-1 Review by Mark Rabne
<Reposted from Aug 10 2009>
If you are an audio engineer, you don’t have a reference monitor by which you judge all other reference monitors. Your reference is the actual instrument you are reproducing the sound of. You gain an intimate familiarity of the sound you hear at an acoustic guitars sound hole, or the sound of your guitarists fingers as they grip and re-grip the strings of his instrument.
You can close your eyes and mentally replay the impact and the decay of your drummers snare drum or the delicate metallic resolution as the bell of his cymbal is struck with the tip of a drum stick. You don’t listen to recordings of your pianist, but rather you have your body half-way into his piano and you immerse yourself in the intonations and harmonics flowing from the strings and from the sound board of the instrument. But having said that, if forced to choose and declare any particular reference monitor or reference headphone, I would choose the Audeze LCD-1Reference Headphones. The Audeze LCD-1 exhibits a faithfulness, articulation, and full spectrum accuracy which squarely places them in a class of their own. The LCD-1 is palindrome-like in its unwavering reproduction of sound from the original source material.
Low frequencies produced by the LCD-1 give music a firm foundation without becoming overbearing or fatiguing. Kick drums, bass guitars and synthesizers are forcefully and powerfully reproduced, but they are correctly proportioned within the overall audio spectrum. There is no sense that the headphone housing itself is resonating and adding any unwanted coloration or bias to the original program material. The low-frequency control of the LCD-1 allows the remaining musical and vocal content to find a place in the spectrum without needing any equalization whatsoever.
Vocal clarity and presence and vocal positioning in the sound stage panorama is simply breathtaking. The diaphragms in the LCD-1 are so lightweight that they are nearly massless. For all practical purposes, the diaphragms can go through their full range of excursion with no physical restrictions except for the air molecules they are compressing and rarefying as they oscillate. The highly controlled movements of the diaphragm yield a midrange that is open and uncluttered and in which every source has a place to exist free from smearing caused by harmonic interactions between them.
While listening to live recordings in the LCD-1s, even with my eyes open, I find myself transported to the venue itself and my mind is actively building a map of the stage and where the performers are. When I hear my fellow audience members begin to applaud at the end of a song, I am hearing the individual hand claps of person three seats to my left. I can hear a couple chatting about four seats to my right despite the fact that there are thousands of people applauding all around me.
As the next song opens, I am transported to the stage next to the drum kit where the high hat and cymbals are crashing. The powerful planar magnets in the LCD-1 are enforcing a disciplined and instantaneous movement of the diaphragm which exactingly reproduces the source material out beyond the range of human hearing. Again, I have this feeling of being on the drummers chair as he goes around the kit. On a waterfall plot, I am sure is disciplined control of high frequencies looks like a rock falling off a cliff. But for now, I am measuring it in how precisely and genuinely the crashing metal sounds all around me.
There is an unconstricted and distortionles feel to the sound of the LCD-1 headphones. By replacing traditional cones or domes with low mass planar diaphragms, the difference is as noticeable as switching from a low-end dynamic microphone to a premium condenser microphone for recording your favorite instrument.
The perceived sound stage is absolutely massive which is due to their extreme resolution and disciplined diaphragm movements. The spatial placement of vocalists and instruments is in part due to the control exerted on the diaphragms which allows for precise timing and spatial orientation information to be conveyed to the listener.
If you are looking for a new reference headphone or if you are seeking an exceptionally capable headphone to take your listening experience to an entirely new plateau, audition the Audeze LCD-1.
I am listening to a song called Hosanna by Kirk Franklin and I have tears streaming down my cheeks onto the collar of my shirt.
Thanks,
Mark Rabne
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The Audeze LCD-1 Planar magnetic headphone – Review by Jonas on Head-fi
Opening the bag, I find an normal-looking headphone, with an open back and soft velvet-finished ear pads. No fancy space-age plastic. No strange materials, except for the thick somewhat bulky mogami cable. I plug it into my Musical Fidelty X-CANv3 tube headphone amplifier, and feed it some music through the E-MU 0404 DA-converter. I put them on. They are very comfortable. The music starts playing. I’ve brought on a live recording of Daft Punk Alive 2007.
The scenery unfolds around me. The audience fills the field below. The band enters and starts playing. The music fills the air like I have never heard before. The LCD-1 easily walk right over my previous reference, the Sennheiser HD580. (But they should, as they also cost a bit more). They play a much more involving tone.
Being a bit analytical on these, there is plenty of bass, although the headphone is on the bright and calm side compared to what can be had on the bassy side. But when it’s not enough, the LCD-1 has replaceable pads. I tried some leather imitation pads from an old Pioneer SE-205. The bass became massive. Not my cup of tea at the moment, but easy to do and easy to reverse. (If I had one more pair, I would probably use leather pads on the other pair.)
The strong side of these headphones is how they throw the music out around you, and fill the air with every nuance of it. It makes Jarre’s Oxygene a fantastic experience, placing me in the midst of the performance, with music playing in archs all around. They are very musical, which is what I also love about my vintage orthodynamic headphones. They pull off a marvellous trick, to have deep bass, sparkly highs, air, and at the same time throw that headstage around. My vintage orthodynamic headphones cannot do all these things at the same time. And they are fast. There is no mixing up the instruments, even with fast messy music like Death From Above 1979 or some track by Lightning Bolt.
Don’t be fooled by the modest look of these headphone. They can be compared to placing a huge strong racing engine into a small Volswagen Beetle. The huge planar magnetic drivers perform magic with my music, and the Audeze team has done a great job tuning them. I hope that these will never break.
Review by Jonas on Head-fi.org
(Originaly posted in 2009 and reposted in the new site
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First Headphones Shipped
<Reposted from Aug 5th 2009>
YAY! First Headphones were shipped today. If you have put your name in our list, you should be getting an email this weekend with more information.
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CanJam09 Impressions
<Reposted>
I must say it was a pleasure meeting everyone at CanJam 09. When we saw the post from John about CanJam 09, we were debating if we were at a position, where we could show it. John was very helpful, allowing us to book half a table. We were very pleased with the response we got from our listeners and we also made some new friends.
We came on saturday morning realized we forgot to bring a power extender. Our neighbour IpodPJ graciously loaned us a power strip. One headphone wasat our table and the other one was floating around. Sachu loaned us his CTH amplifier.
We are very happy for all the kind words and encouragement. The response gives us the impetus to put in more effort into improving our headphone, working out the kinks and getting it out of the door. Overall it was a wonderful weekend.
Originally Posted in 2009, Reposted and ported tot he new blog.
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LCD-1 Shipping
Audez'e LCD-1
We have started assembling some of the headphones.
The impedence of the Headphones will be 40 ohms.
The impedence of the Headphones will be 40 ohms.
The Diaphragms are slightly thinner (and lighter) than the prototypes.
We will be contacting everyone in our list shortly about delivery dates and other details. Delivery of Headphones will start on August 3rd.
Originally Posted in 2009. Ported to the new blog
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LCD-1
Spectral Decay Plot of the LCD-1 headphone. This plot shows the tremendous response and the extremely fast transient response of the headphones.
(Blog Ported over from the Old site - Original posting Date December 2009)
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