Excellent review and chimes very much with my findings now owning and working with both pairs too. My work is as a mastering engineer, and both pairs have a useful function in the studio for both critical listening and translation checks. The way I would compare the two would be to say the MM-500s are like a pair of high-end near-field monitors and are excellent for close-up detailed mix work, where the LCD-X are more like a pair of large stereo speakers in a great room and give the "feel" of the music and how it would translate. I'm not sure I would be without either pair now!
@@jameswilkinson7844 Sorry I missed this James! No, I don’t use any EQ - I prefer to have a “clean” chain with no further DSP after the final limiter. I go straight via USB into an SPL Phonitor which is nice and neutral, though I do dial in the cross feed as an additional final check :)
Amazing comparison and great selection of tracks! It will be extremely interesting to compare them after EQing the LCD-X which performs x10 better after some adjustments , specifically after applying Resolve's V1 profile from The Headphones show.
Thank you @Giorgos Apo for your support! I would say the Roon Parametric EQ would be top notch as well as Audeze Reveal plug-in too might be worth checking out. ***Marcello TSAV
I recently got the Burson Soloist 3X GT and the LCD-X pairs incredibly well with that amp. You can drive them off of anything, but class A power really makes them shine. I also love that headphone’s staging. It’s immersive and wide without sounding stretched and unnatural.
Another great comparison, Marcello. It sounds like for pleasure listening I’d prefer the X, but the 500 would be a better production tool for that microscopic view of the mix. Thanks.
Pretty good review and interesting comparison. One thing I think would be helpful is if you had a metal and alternative rock track in your test songs. With both genres being very energetic, you sometimes can pickup on more subtle differences that have been masked by much more tame musical genres.
please do full lcd x vs focal clear og comparison as they can be found in similar price tags, it'll be very much appreciated lcd x vs focal clear og can you tell from your memory which one sounds richer, fuller, complete, dynamic with natural timbre? Thanks for your good work ❤
I have also been using Elvis with the Philharmonic for reference tracks. Production on those albums are great. Especially the ballads like Don't and Love Letters. I have Focal clear mg's, Arya Slealths, DT1990's, DT 1770's and others going through the RME 2/4 with the upgraded headphone amps. I am deciding on these two. I can't get both. I can eq using the RME and hopefully be cleaner than software EQ.I don't like the phones to be too bright and a strong bass as well. I just wonder if I eq around 3K on the X would that balance things out? Maybe boost the bass a bit in the 500 and bring down around 3k would that improve the sound. I use the phones for pleasure and for mixing. I have a few already to choose from but eventually will have to sell the ones I like least.
Hey! I didn’t get a chance to compare side by side so take this with a grain of salt but the MM-500 had a more forward midrange and doesn’t have as much bass off of audio memory.
It really depends on your definition of good bass. I think it has goo character to the bass without sounding over done. I still like the detail in the bass better from the LCD-5. ***Marcello TSAV
