Ive had this headphone for 3 or 4 months, and have really been enjoying the strong flavor it brings to the table. I traded my long enjoyed DCA Aeon 2 Noire to purchase this new, and honestly its been alot better for me as a closed back than i originally anticipated. When i want to listen to a closed back, its usually for some noise isolation and fun tuning to jam out to while doing other things or work. The passive isolation here is pretty far beyond the Noire, and i can only just barely hear my mechanical keyboard sometimes on quiet stretches or tracks. The bass has so much more weight and oomf as well. This has really been my favorite part. The veil I sometimes sense, or slight female timbre issues I get in some music is hardly a bother when put against how good the elevated bass actually does sound through these. It doesnt feel too bloated or wooly…clear and tight bass done better here for me than any other headphone Ive personally heard before. This mixed with the light veiling i mentioned earlier leads to a sound that Ive been unable to make sound offensive or bothersome. No fatuigue or sibilance here, and I do tend towards overly sensitive to trebble. I do find it sounds more normal in sitchu than the Aeon 2 Noire did, however switching to other headphones makes it pretty clear just how much trebble they do cut. They did seem to take EQ well in my testing also. For a closed back, this hits all my boxes. I even find them about as comfortable (with a Capra strap) as the DCA was, just much heavier. Clamp isnt an issue on these, so the after market strap took care of the hotspot and spread the weight quite well across my head. I actually find them more comfortable than the MM-500 or 6xx as a comparison mostly due to having less intense clamp. The clamp pressure these have actually sits more lower and forward on the earcups.
Ive read alot of inquiry around this set online, but the reviews seem sparse. Its more of a “fun” option so it isnt something I wouldnt ever sudgest as the only pair to own, but more as a fun addition. I know the current direction of the hobby seems to be steering closed backs in the wireless DSP direction with Mobius and the newer Senn HDB 630. It also feels like the studio marketed offerings from Audeze seem more hype resistant than most others in the space. Just curious if this one is being considered at all by the average Audiophile for a wired closed back option.
I owned the LCD-S20 for about 3 months and didn’t enjoy them at all. The female vocals sounded like I took a deep sea dive in the Indian Ocean. The overall performance is for studio use with its flat tone imo. I couldn’t wait to get rid of them. My SJY Horizon Close Back Carbons blow the Audeze out of the water in every way. I’m glad you enjoy them but I think Audeze missed the mark especially how they promoted them with that so-called SLAM technology which didn’t impress me.
Yeah…I certainly dont recomend them as the ONLY headphone to own. But for me, the bass actually was quite authoritative and deep. Good punch. Hip hop has been incredible as it also does tone down some noise on older tracks. Electronic can be awesome too. The female vocals do feel lacking, but havnt annoyed me. Its a strongly flavored desert in the case of some genres for me. For the others, its a very nicely passive isolating closed back with good wubs and impact. They do drastically shift the tone of some tracks, but an easy listen on anything ive otherwise found as quite harsh, like M83s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming
I think Audeze didn’t send too many of these headphones around to reviewers which is why they didn’t get much traction. I think their marketing for this one leans into the monitoring/mastering side and less audiophile.
I did get to try a pair not too long ago though. I thought the isolation was unbelievably good. Bass was really nice. Deep, textured, with a low rumble. However, the midrange I found to be pretty dipped and lost a lot of clarity. The treble is dark, which is fine. It’s really just the midrange that needed some work.
Yeah the backorder on these probably had something to do with it. I agree about the bass and isolation. I do on the mids as well, however I did find that making the mids work with EQ wasnt too hard and did preserve that bass pretty well; whereas ive not been able to eq bass to sound quite so good and clean in something with better mid range for stock tuning. Does the Maxwell isolate as well as these? I know they have a similar chassis except for the “slam tech”, but that is probably pulling more mainstream closed back attention from these now that I think about it.
