The headphone height adjustment is very solid and can even be locked in place, while the swivel and tilt of the earpieces is at the exact opposite end of the spectrum, entirely smooth and effortless.

I’ve never used a headphone amp that provides a corresponding socket, but if you have one (the Bryston BHA-1, Sennheiser HDVA 600, Aurorasound Heada and Musical Fidelity V90-BHA all do), then this arrangement allows the signal path to be fully balanced all the way to the drivers, removing any possibility of inter-channel crosstalk and modulation. While the LCD-X 2021 sounds soft and very pleasing in the upper frequencies, the HEDDphone is shinier, more forward, and crispier sounding. Great care has been taken to ensure accuracy in the preparation of this article but neither Sound On Sound Limited nor the publishers can be held responsible for its contents. See, the original one was a great headphone in many ways, but it had one, major problem – the midrange. Clear has a 55Ω impedance and a sensitivity rating of 104dB/mW whereas LCD-X 2021 has an impedance of 20Ω and sensitivity rating of 103dB/mW.Please ensure you provide a valid phone number for us to contact you should verification of your identity be required. If I worked in a studio, they’d recommend 10 minutes not working with sound every hour to maintain good hearing all day, and I find that I can only work for about an hour to 90 minutes and make accurate decisions anyways. On first listen, in fact, the closed-back EL8s can seem tinny or even trashy rather than smooth and classy, but once you get used to this slightly aggressive sound, you realise that they retain many of the useful qualities of their siblings. The closed-back EL8s offer excellent isolation, and despite their somewhat pinched tonality, retain the core benefits of clean sound and superb transient response.

I’ve heard articulation on guitar strings on this level from Grados, I’ve heard drums like this in the Hifiman Ananda, and I’m sure with more experience I could find other headphones this detailed at their specific instrument. Going back and listening to my work that has been done since starting with the Hifimans, I only heard about 25% that I wouldn’t go back and change something on now if I could.

Case - LCD-X 2021 comes in a really nice heavy duty hard shell case which fits the headphones as well as the cable really well in a stable foam cut out inside. The LCD-X features a newly-developed and processed transducer made of a thinner and lighter alternative material. I can push a multiband limiter a bit, hide the artifacts this creates insi This comparison is very similar to the XTC-O vs RAD-0 comparison, which shouldn’t be surprising since Audeze and Rosson are related. After consulting many producers and mix engineers using LCD range headphones, we realised that the majority kept them in the studio, where they were used with the single ended (quarter inch jack) cable.

Audeze LCD-X 2021​ Audeze LCD-X is the best-selling Audeze headphone ever since its release in 2013. All in all, then, this trio of models from Audeze make a powerful case for the benefits of planar magnetic technology. Since most mastering engineers introduce a minor sub-bass roll-off below 35Hz in most songs anyway, LCD-X 2021's sub-bass roll-off isn't as perceivable with a vast majority of songs.They aren’t as pleasant to listen to as either the open-backed Audeze ‘phones or some high-end dynamic models, but given the importance of the mid-range in recording and mixing, it’s arguably more useful to have that area prominently represented than to be seduced by exaggerated 10kHz ‘air’ or 40Hz sub-bass. The cutting-edge designs and circuit technologies have created a breathtakingly beautiful sounding headphone.

The diaphragm is sufficiently lightweight to have an excellent transient response, yet broad enough to produce a planar wavefront rather than a spherical one. The clean guitar in the background sounds good as well, but the vocals feel like the highlight of this song. Drivability - With an impedance of 20Ω and sensitivity rating of 103dB/mW, LCD-X 2021 is extremely easy to drive from most sources, even smartphones.

Together, these innovations enable audio professionals to efficiently get their mix done right in a variety of settings. At the end, LCD-X 2021 has better bass performance and is a much easier and more musical listen whereas the HD800S has slightly better technical performance but also comes off as a much brighter listen, which not everyone will be comfortable with right off the bat.