The road to nirvana |
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My journey into Photography, Horology, and Audiophilia |
My take on the Audeze LCDi3
22 January 2020
Yesterday, I ended my headphone conundrum and took home brand spanking new Audeze LCDi3 from Egghead Audio in Shangri-La Plaza.
Since this wasn't in the radar, I have not seen or read reviews about this particular model other than what Audeze says in their website. Inconsistency starts here, the website says LCDi3 (no hyphen after LCD) but outer box says otherwise.
The inner box insists on LCDi3. C'mon, make up your mind!
The flip box contains all the goodies.
The drivers are in their respective inset in the hard foam tray. I had to exert effort getting the drivers out. You can take this out of the flip box and have the cable of choice wrapped around it and in turn slide it inside the nylon case.
The clear plastic is secured by a tiny magnet. Good attention to details on the part of Audeze. Oh wait, this LCDi3 is worth $899 just to remind myself.
The main drivers.
Four (4) pairs of Ear Hooks in medium and large. The marker may be hard to see, but they do have such as MR (medium right), ML (medium left).
Size (6) pairs of silicone tips in small, medium, and large sizes in "Groovy" and smooth version. The small size smooth tips are what's inserted in the drivers by default.
From left to right: cleaning brush, shirt clip, and a pair of Ear Fins.
The CIPHER Bluetooth 5 module common to Audeze in-ear headphones. This accessory comes with its own user guide.
The 1.5m rubbery flat Auxilliary cable with 3.5mm plug end.
This is the CIPHER Lightning cable for iPhone. This accessory also comes with its own user guide.
The travel case, user guides (not shown), FCC certification (not shown), warranty card, and certificate of authenticity. Thank you Lidia.
Initial listening impressions with the smooth small tip.
| Source | Track | Amplifier | Results |
| Analog | Isao Suzuki and String Band/Nica's Dream | H190 built-in | Pretty good mid bass, dynamic and foot tapping. Cymbals and high hats are tizzy. |
| Analog | Isao Suzuki and String Band/Nica's Dream | Naim Headline-2 | Like above but with a little bit more top end extension and still tizzy sounding. |
| Digital | H190 built-in | ||
| Digital | Naim Headline-2 | ||
| Digital | Geek Out 1000 | ||
| Digital | The Dark Element/My Sweet Mystery (Tidal) | Microsoft Surface Pro built-in headphone | sounds like crap |
| Digital | The Dark Element/My Sweet Mystery (Audirvana/Tidal) | Dell 5750 + Geek Out 1000 | sounds ok, not involving, weak |
| Digital | The Dark Element/My Sweet Mystery (mConnect/Tidal) | iPhone 7 + CIPHER Lightning | better than above, more dynamics and powerful at two clicks beyond mid level of the volume. |
| Digital | The Dark Element/My Sweet Mystery (mConnect/Tidal) | iPhone 7 + CIPHER Bluetooth | much less volume, sounds darker and rolled off compared to the Lightning cable. iPhone 7 volume is maxed out. |
