And that’s 100% your opinion. The LCD-5, regardless of it’s FR, is one of (if not the most) technically proficient planar headphone there is. That’s first and foremost what Audeze designed it to be. According to their lead engineer, they created it this way to maximize technical performance. By using it’s own resonance to amplify/cut frequencies to shape it into a better FR, they would sacrifice the technical performance. Using EQ (properly) has no such downside. So if it takes EQ to make a headphone have overall better performance than most other headphones (even if they too have EQ applied), then isn’t that to be considered an achievement?
So you’ll be passing on everyone headphone in existence then? After all, none of them are perfect out of the box for the masses. You’ve set the bar impossibly high my friend.
Well technical performance is a great thing. So is just pure listenable musicality. I would like to someday in the far future pick up a LCD5 to play with EQ since I have never used it and should learn how I suppose. Next headphone acquisition should likely be a ZMF Atrium. To try a dynamic driver. Good that yall are liking your 5s. Still wish Audeze would secure pads on some other way than gluing them on.
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Do you consider amps and DACs and tubes to be “EQ”? They all change the character of headphones and can for me eliminate the need for knobs and sliders EQs. What about pad swaps?
All headphones follow from arbitrary design and production decisions, and each user’s tastes vary. That’s why what’s good for you may be terrible for another. Always try for yourself.
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Nah. This is misguided.
They have said before, and its been this way for a while, they won’t go dampening a headphone until its tonality is more acceptable to more people. The reason is each time you add more dampening, you take away for technical prowess. Everything a bit softer, bit more veiled.
And Audeze won’t be losing any market share here. The “sHoUldNt nEeD EQ, nOt GeTtiNg mY mOneY” crowd is fairly small. I’m running my LCD5 with a convolution filter and it smokes every other headphone I’ve heard for technical prowess bar maybe 2, which are roughly equal and cost more.
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Maybe those who spend that kind of money also know what they’re getting into, and have the product well-researched. I never know how it goes with the larger public, but I certainly know with high-priced stuff I’m very careful to know everything I can about it before taking the plunge.
The other thing with the tuning, just in general, I think they’re going after a ‘studio environment’ kind of sound, and really aiming hard for that pro audience. With that in mind, my misgivings about their tuning choices based on my preferences aside, they very well could’ve achieved the right tonal balance to match their studio reference point. So, even if we EQ it, there’s quite a bit of consideration given to the results they went for.
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Yep. We are well aware of what we are buying at this level
EQ on these was good. I didn’t mind your presets for example
Mitch Barnett’s convolution filter, however, completely transforms them. There isn’t a headphone south of the HE1 that I would pick over these currently.
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Good presumption on stock tuning; from reading all the reviews it did seem Audeze was really aiming the 5 for the professional segment of the market i.e. engineers and mixers etc. Still really happy with my 4z, and want to try a dynamic driver for a change.
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I gotta try that haha.
Thank you @pennstac
Lol…yea I have a ton of gear.
Thank you @prfallon69
Thank you @Rhodey
They are an interesting headphone, I hope you get to hear them!
Thank you @chargedcap
Lol…right… kidney selling time
Thank you @EminentOne
I need to purchase Mitch’s filters, as that is the next step
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made me curious to try it. How do I get my hands on it and apply it to my 5? I’m only aware of the regular Peace APO and Mac options and using EQs like Resolve Oratory and others…
Open the configurator. Hit the green add button and go to Advanced Filters and select Convolution with impulse response.
Unzip if you haven’t already, Mitch’s filter set.
Copy and paste your choice of .wav file into Program Files>EAPO>config folder
Once added, browse to your file in the convolution search and select it.
The graph at the bottom should look like this below.
You can also open Peace afterwards and EQ a bass shelf like I did.
Currently using +3.5db gain at 100hz with .71Q and it is wonderful.
I use this for Youtube.
For Roon/HQP there is another method.
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Hit him up, might help you out.
If you have a set still around I’d recommend it. Silky smooth transitions and supreme balance. To my ears, obviously.
You might fucking hate it haha.
Check out his article too. LCD4 and LCD5 article where he talks about it.
Link for the article?
First Google result with his name and lcd4 lcd5.
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Audeze is launching a new product line; they seem to be pre-advertising an LCD-5-like headphone tuned by MM. Maybe this will be the one can to rule them all!
Has anyone tried Crinacle’s autoEQ feature with the LCD-5? I ran it for giggles and then changed the second filter to a bass shelf (the filter that was originally there was unnecessary IMO). I have no idea how it’ll sound, but here is the result:
Remember to decrease the pre amplifying gain!
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I will try it tonight if I have time!
It’s a pretty good adjustment to the mids and treble, but I think any adjustment past 6k is pretty useless. I would just put a low Q treble shelf around 5khz +5dB, and adjust the frequency and amplitude to taste.
I think this stuff is really cool. The usual caveats exist with EQ, such as making sure not to dial in stuff above 5khz using JUST the graph. That’s my only worry with this stuff - that folks will just aim for the target for the sake of confidence, without actually dialing it in by ear as well. But the whole principle is great IMO.
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