I have not tested those audezes out grant but the issue is just how much can you hear outside the headphone. Bit of a special case on this one.
Audeze in general are fairly open, not as open as hifiman, but much more so than the aeon open so it in that ballpark. They also don’t leak a whole lot even though they’re open, which is kind of shocking.
Another very open headphone is the focal clear, at this budget the Elex has the same design. Like nothing is on at all.
Right now I use the 6XX on this setup and it feels like there’s too much between me and the outside world.
I was using the M1060 and that was fairly transparent. That’s what my wife is using now, which is why I was trying to get something else. I think when I was using the HE4XX that was fairly open,too, which lead me to believe that I should look for a pair of open back planar magnetic headphones.
I’ve recently purchased the Aeon 2 Open, but these were just for pure enjoyment at my home office, not for gaming. They haven’t arrived yet so I have not had a chance to test them for any of these new use cases.
I have the Focal Elegia and I like it, so the Elex/Clear are definitely in my short list. I just didn’t know how open they’d be compared to a hifiman xx edition, or an ananda, or sundara, or if I should get something from Audeze for different sound signature (I do have EL-8 closed and Mobius - so nothing open from Audeze yet), or if there was anything from Monoprice performing above its price that would be worth a look, since I’m comparing to the M1060.
The wanting the Liquid Platinum is because I’ve been in the hunt for a tube-y amp/pre-amp, and I had read/watched some reviews that the liquid platinum had plenty power and enough tube-like characteristics while not being OTL, so it would work with Planar magnetic headphones. Right now I use an ifi micro BL and a zen dac at my gaming rig in the bedroom, as well as a loxjie p20. The ifi micro BL is currently running HD6XX and monoprice MM-3 speakers. I do have balanced cables on the HD6xx but connected through a 1/4" adapter to the ifi micro.
I thought about using something like a darkvoice or lil dot and using it as a pre-amp, but I wanted to check out the liquid platinum and use it as an amp with a balanced dac.
For the amp, debating whether $500-550 new is worth it, or if I should hit the used market. Not having warranty somewhat scares me on tube amps (or in any expensive hardware).
So what I’m getting from all of these comments:
- Audeze is dark (increased bass, recessed treble?) but fairly open, GX is more neutral
- Hifiman is going to be the most open; sundara is bright and the most open, xx edition is warm (only available used), ananda is more neutral?
- Focal Elex/Clear may be an option, very open, too. Clear is too much for difference with Elex. Elex used or wait for drop to ship (end of august).
It does and it’s very noticeable in the sound change when you change to it. Though it’s still very much like a solid state and yes, works just fine for planars I have had zero issues with it on the Planar and is my favorite pairing for my aeons.
Works fine in this regard. I pair mine to a Bifrost 2 which is quite expensive I know but you can also get a geshelli or modius or something with the balanced dac whichever suits your fancy
in some cases yeah just straight up dark in others it kinda of teeters a little below neutral but yeah definitely more towards dark if anything. Can’t speak for GX
Neutral bright still just like the Sundara has the treble frequency increased.
This may be true for the house sound in general, but does not apply to the entire brand. The LCD-X, LCD-MX4, LCD-GX, and LCD-1 are all relatively more neutral to neutral bright.
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There’s a neutral bright audeze? Which one? Anytime I have looked in their lineup it’s always a neutral ish treble or dark
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Specifically the LCD-X I’ve seen described multiple times as neutral bright. I’ve only had a very brief listen in a shop about a year ago, so memory may not serve the best, but I recall thinking they were a little bright for my taste relative to the LCD-2 I also demoed.
lcd-2 I tried was most definitely dark Like not just dark but like you just sucked all the treble out kind of dark definitely interesting sound to it. It took them to go to a headphone costing $1,200 to get to my preferred sound signature? Jeez, at that point I would just stick with my beyers
I’d say you could probably appreciate the sound of the LCD-1 a bit more as well. Definitely not what I consider dark, but comfort might be a miss based on your previous comments around fit.
trust me, if I could reduce the size of my ears and head I would lol. It is quite an issue for someone in trying to be in this hobby. Suppose I can give the lcd-1 a look next time I get a chance though. won’t hurt
Has anybody tried the Audeze GX? it might stand out like a sore thumb to my wife, though, with those red trimmings…
But is it less dark? more tamed?
@SpeleoFool, you mentioned you have these, no? I haven’t heard them, but based on reviews I’ve seen they stray a bit from the Audeze house sound and trend more neutral but still with good low end impact.
I do, but unfortunately I don’t have much exposure to most of the Audeze line. I’ve heard a few of their more expensive cans at shows, and I’ve had LCD-2 Classics slip through my fingers 2-3 trimes. So I can’t offer much in the way of comaprisons to other Audeze cans or their “house sound.”
What I can say is that the build is in line with their newer models–it feels like any other Audeze LCD headphone. The weight didn’t bother me at first, but I’ve gotten too many headaches from long gaming sessions with the GX for it to be a coincidence. It’s not neck pain or anything–I think restricted blood flow through my scalp eventually catches up. Granted, my idea of a “long gaming session” is like 12 hours, lol, so grain of salt. They’re no problem at all for a few hours at a time.
They are also extremely easy to drive, sounding quite good even out of an XBox controller. They perform admirably for gaming, though I feel like they might be a little better-suited to casual gaming. They image well, but staging isn’t as good as, say, Beyer 1990s. I find the 1990s more effortless to pick up spatial cues, though GX do an adequate job.
I haven’t listened to a great deal of music on the GX–just a little bit here and there. What I have heard is good and makes me want to explore the Audeze line more. That was one of my plans this year before COVID threw a wrench into life and all the shows got canceled. Audeze has too many high-end / “flagship” cans for me to just start throwing money at them without hearing them, and my opportunities to hear them seem to have evaporated until CANJAM in December, if that even still happens.
Hey @SpeleoFool thank you for the info.
I have a couple questions, if you don’t mind,
- Have you been able to compare it to other planar magnetic headphones or maybe something like a focal elex/clear?
- How is the sound isolation, meaning, how transparent is sound coming from outside the headphones? like if someone were to talk to you while you’re wearing the headphones, would you be able to hear them clearly? or would they sound too veiled/muffled?
- How is the mic?
- Do you run them balanced or with the standard cable?
Thank you.
I’m looking for a headphone that will be good for gaming where I need to be able to hear my wife about 6 feet away, as well as something that will be good for music listening (predominantly while playing games)
It doesn’t have to be the best gaming headphone in the world (although for the price, one would assume that lol), but rather I’m more in need of this specific task explained above.
Do you have any different suggestions that think might fit my use case? or would you say the Audeze GX could be one to keep on my short list?
The X to me sounds neutral but renders detail like the focal clear. It’s a monster. I kind of love it
listened to a sound test… fairly decent. Sounds like the mobius could be the same mic honestly. Not the most crystal clear of sounds of course compared to a regular boom mic
Yes, actually. At least insofar as my limited music-listening experiences with the GX have allowed. But I own Ether CX and easily like the LCD-GX better. The Audezes sound like $900 headphones to me–very clean and detailed with no real flaws to quibble over in the sound signature.
I also picked up Sundaras, and might be in the minority, but I found them a little boring (very clear, but just a little too “polite” of a sound). LCD-GX are more engaging and fun to me.
They might be more on part with something like Elex or Clear. I haven’t done any A-B comparisons to really dig in, but I’m a huge fan of the Focal house sound and would probably grab either of those before the GX for listening, but that shouldn’t be taken as a slight against the GX–I may just need more time with them and music.
They’re more of a semi-open sound in terms of isolation. If they’re not doing much, then you can hear your environment, but once they start pumping out sound it’s more or less sign-language time. If I know my wife is talking to me, I can pick out some words, but if I don’t then it’s easy enough to stay focused on the game (i.e., external sounds are minimally distracting).
In terms of isolation of the headphone sound bleeding into your surroundings, they’re more open, which leads into your next question…
The mic is decent, but not great. It does the job just fine, though informal survey from a few friends suggests that the Mod Mic is a solid step up. It’s not a garbage mic, but it could be better.
The one area where the mic does suffer is a tendency to pick up sound bleeding out of the headphones. I have to fine-tune headphone levels and mic gain a little to get into a sweet spot where I’m not bleeding back game audio or echo into chat, but once dialed in everything is fine.
Just standard cables so far. It comes with two–the mic-integrated 3.5mm TRRS and a second “audio” cable with a little bit nicer build quality and a combo 3.5 / 1/4" stereo termination. These take the same mini-XLR connections as other Audeze cans as well as ZMF headphones, the latter of which I have several balanced cables for. I could borrow a ZMF cable for the GX, but I haven’t done that yet.
BTW, before you ask, the orientation of the XLR plugs on the Audeze earcups are different from the orientation on ZMF headphones, so unfortunately you can’t just use the GX mic cable on Eikons and win at life (I tried). The mini XLR locking button on Audezes is to the rear of the cup, and on ZMF is to the inside, so the mic will point straight out from your haed on ZMF cans. Bummer. The boom is not long or flexible enough to get away with a sharp U-bend.
Definitely has to be open-back then. Even though I just called them boring, I wonder if Sundara might be a good fit? Anyone else try those gaming yet? I have not, but they’re not terribly expensive, they are pretty decent for music, and their combination of “politeness” and more open style brought those to mind as something to consider.
If you want to go higher up the chain, I really like DT 1990s for competitive style play, though I’m torn on whether those would be good for hearing the wife. GX are better for general gaming / immersion and I’m tempted to say they might be more of an all-rounder for music (don’t hold me to that), but again they’re a mixed bag for hearing the wife. Elex are quite open and quite a nice choice for immersive gameplay. I like them as All-rounders for music, too. I suppose that might be my pick if you want to go higher end than Sundaras.
Thank you for your responses, they do really help.
If the GX isn’t more “open” than the HD6xx or Aeon 2 Open (haven’t tested this one yet as it hasn’t arrived) I might need to inquire more about Elex/Clear. I have the Focal Elegia and so far I enjoy playing games with it, but obviously I wouldn’t be able to hear my wife with them on lol, but would be good reference for the house sound signature idea.
I don’t have any beyer so I haven’t seen whether the openness allows for outside voices to be understood easily or not.
beyer fanboy here. Can confirm that I can hear sounds outside my headphones fine depending which one I am wearing. though if sounds loud it tends to block a lot out. Probably due to the light weighted design and extremely airy pads and the like. No issues here