HEADPHONE SHOOTOUT - Audeze LCDX vs HEDDPhone vs FOCAL Clear Pro 

Would love to know your thoughts on these 3...do you agree with my summary?

Still absolutely loving my LCD-X’s. Amazing for monitoring low end in a track.

I own LCD4 and Heddphones. Tbh I haven’t used my LCD since I bought the Heddphones. Less than half the price of my LCD... Hedd truly have smashed this! Mind blown 🤯 Anyone looking for new cans it’s Hedd all day!!!

As someone who can't afford to have a perfectly controlled mixing room the LCD-X really make my life easier. Being able to listen to that bottom end is priceless... or about 1.5k :).

is it possible to do an entire Mixing and Mastering on the HEDDPhones alone? Maybe with a Software like Can Opener?

Hi guys. I've carefully tested Focal Clear Professional vs Sennheiser HD800S vs HifiMan Arya, which where the 3 last contenders in a test consisting of 20 pairs. HifiMan Arya: They sound very similar to Audeze LCD-4, i.e. better than LCD-X, but at the same price as LCD-X (whereas the LCD-4 is much more expensive). But they have the same sound, which is that planar sound where the clarity and punch goes all the way to the bottom (where on normal headphones they get progressively more "big" but also a big "slower" as you go further down the frequency range). They are amazing headphones and they are the ones I ended up with. Also, they're light and comfy compared to Audeze. HD800S: Amazing, very wide stereo field. They're not at all like the old HD800 or the HD820, which are both quite terrible sounding. They are the most hifi sounding of the bunch, but its a subtle difference. Focal Clear Pro: Also amazing headphones. If someone were to buy a pair without being able to test them, I'd recommend these. They're the "can't go wrong with these"-heaphones. Slightly bigger bottom, but in a very subtle and nice way. I tested these 3 pairs intensely for several hours. I would have been happy with any of them, but in the end I felt the Arya's had a vibe that was a nice compliment to my speaker setup in my studio (being planar I guess), and offering both a very pleasurable experience as well as a LOT of detail. Very little masking, etc.

Very good reviews, thank you!

Wow all three are simply amazing

the lcd-x would get more flat and better sound with a bit of sonarworks?

Hey Streaky! Which one has better sub bass?

Hey great video... are your comparisons for using them as just reference headphones or actually mastering on them... also where would the sennheiser 800s rank amongst these? Thanks again fir all your great videos

Hi Streaky, I purchased the Ollo HPS-S4x last week after your positive review. Also do have a Senn HD-600. How does the Heddphone compare to these? Another reviewer concluded that the soundstage of the HEDD could be too big for mixing. What do you think? 🍻

which one would you buy for dance music mixing

Streaky, I bought the heddphones (and RME interface) based on your review in a previous video. I have really never got along with headphones but these truly have perfect sound and fit. I couldn’t be happier. thank you.

I am a proud owner of the Hedds, three days old now. My comment, these are the best cans i have had the pleasure of owning. To my ears, they have been the definition of high-fidelity, best reproduction of whats going on at the stage. Sound is flat, totally agree with you Streaky, but with more body (probably because of its weight), true to the instruments, wow, its quite an experience, just need to hear it for yourself. Well done Hedd, worth taking my money!

I wanna buy two low end headphones... leaning between arya and clears.... heddphones seems to sit in the middle of these two headphones. What would be a better two headphone combos?

Which amp would you recommend for audeze lcd x to use with apollo twin x sound card?

Hi streaky, did you ever get any driver issues with your LCD-X heard a lot of people complain about crackling noises when they move, apparently due to the ear pads not being vented.

Streaky, good sir, are you still using the Benchmark HPA4 for your headphone listening? Are you still favoring the HEDD over the LCD-X?

If you are mastering, Audeze LCD-X's can 100% help with bass placement. It's what they excel at!

can you do a shootout between Adam A7X and Dynaudio LYD 7 please? :) love your reviews

Ace! Still want these Hedds after everytime I hear you talk about them. So, quick question. I'm currently using a Samson headphone splitter! What headphone amp would you recommend (if any) with the Hedds? And could you do a shootout over say one budget, mid-price and high-end headphone amps that work well with them? I would greatly appreciate it before I purchase them, please 🙏 😁

Great review!!! I love all those headphones, but the LCD X is truly special.

Hi Streaky :) just wondering how come you're using the LCD-X in all your recent videos if the HEDDphone was your favourite? Something special about the Audezes? cheers!

Listening to this vid with my hedds 😁😁

+1 for your thoughts on the Sennheiser HD800S -- I'm a little butthurt that they weren't included in the shootout! After thoroughly comparing them to the Focal Clear, I went with the HD800S for the neutrality/clarity, soundstage, and especially the weight/comfort of actually wearing them. They're a little tilted towards the highs, which is good for surgical use, but after modifying them to match the Harman Target curve, they're all-around perfect for immersive listening in my opinion. Haven't heard the other two models though! EDIT: Your review of the HD800S was absolutely glowing, so I'm just curious to see where they'd fall in comparison to these models using a similar rating system!

Streaky, any chance you can review the new Focal Clear MG professionals against the HEDD phones please?🙏🙏 legend, cheers 🍻

Would have loved a comparison with the mixing-industry-standard Sennheiser 650. What do you think about these?

These are nice

surely you can't get a true stereo image from headphones (however expensive they are) unless you're using something like the SPL Phonitor?

What did you run the Hedd through?

How do the Hedd sound on a iPad.

How does ollo S4X compares to these?

Bought the clear pro after your review and I am very happy. Perfect upgrade to my hd 660s

Yeah, Heddphone on Nr. 1👍 Very nice Review and comparison. And as an owner of the Heddphone, the Clear and an Lcd-2 I share your ranking with one little difference. I'd see the Clear on Nr. 2. Ok, an Lcd-2 is no Lcd-X, which might be an explanation for that as the lowering in the mids might be a less for the Lcd-X, so the tonality of the Lcd-X might be a little bit better for my taste than the Lcd-X. Resolution and transparence of the Hedd tops the Audeze and Focal easily.

Great comparison! Any plans to review British legendary company QUAD's entry into the headphone game... The QUAD ERA-1?

I love my focal Clear Pro's! I am an Electronic Music Producer and they are the perfect pair for mixing and mastering for me!

The replies are here listed as a year ago (2021), so I'm a bit confused since the video was done in 2020.. Anyway, I really enjoyed this presentation, very well done! However, the reason I'm talking about dates is because the Audeze LCD X had a new version released in november of 2020 that is know as the 2021 version. Most reviews have said that the 2021 version was by far the best version of the X that has ever been released. Which version was used in this review? Thanks again for this great review!

Here in Canada, the HEDDPhone retails for 2500 CAD. Focal Clear Pro and Audeze LCD-X are roughly similarly priced at around 1700 CAD new. On the used market here, the Clear is by far the cheapest. I've recently seen a pair sold for 800 CAD in good condition and they often go for right around 1k CAD. Cheapest LCD-X used is usually around 1200 CAD from what I've seen. The HEDDPhone is barely ever sold used and when it is, people usually ask north of 2k CAD for one. So clearly, here in Canada at least, the Focal Clear is the best deal of the 3 if you are willing to buy used, while the HEDDPhone costs at least 700-800 CAD more than the other 2 used and new, so there's no way it is worth it here unless it is definitely a step above the Clear and LCD-X in sound quality.

I own the LCD-X phones. When I mix with them, I use Sonarworks SoundID for correction of the upper mids. The X's are a bit scooped out in the high mids, which gives them a smooth sound, but at the cost of accuracy when mixing. I would like to try the Hedd and Focal.

I had the Hedds and I got rid of them for he Focal Clear pros. The Hedds are bulky and not near as comfortable to wear over a long period. I find for mixing the Focals are awesome . But you must break them in first to get the best sound out of them. They are worth every penny to me.

I think you need a different category for looks 'on head'. The HEDDs look ridiculous haha so massive. Clear Pros win, LCDX second. I'd love to hear all of these (especially the Focal/Audeze) and one of these is in my future for sure... Audeze have EQ presets for the LCD-X and seem like they'd be amazing for neutral studio use, mixing etc. The 2021 version is a bit lighter weight also.

I got the clear pros, love em, but good times atm. Tons of great cans around for all needs. Would love to hear your thoughts on headphone amps?

I m interesting about the HEDDPhone, but damn it looks so huge ... make me worry for my neck 😅 Thx for the shootout

5/5 for looks and 4/5 for fit-comfort for the HEDD...very generous! I know that design is in the eye of the beholder but something that chunky using not-so-noble materials... Can't see anything more than 3/5 imho. And hearing that the Audeze get one less point than Audeze on fit and comfort! My neck hurt after wearing the HEDDphones for just a few minutes. I so wanted to love them, but thought the design was too ridiculous! Can't wait for their HEDD 2 when or if it comes... In the meantime, I will stick to my hifiman Arya and my Sony Mdr-Z1r whenever I want to listen to music for hours on in... Shouldn't have to sacrifice comfort for sound quality in my opinion. Thanks for the video.

Thats a cool color on your NS10s :)

The focal, I heard, needs to be broken in for about 20-30 hours! Any thoughts on how they’ve changed after a long use?

Can beyerdynamic 1990 pro be compared to any of these?

Please do a mastering tutorial on how you use the Weiss ds1-mk3( behind you there) in a mastering scenerio, with screne, and sound examples! More examples in actual mastering please!

bought the HEDDPHONE a week ago after seeing your video about them (and a couple more videos here on RU-vid) I must say I really love them! I was going to sell my pair of LCD-X to be able to pay for them but after doing A/B tests I decided to keep both cos they both sound amazing! And now I’m done buying headphones (just sold my Neumann NDH-20 and will be selling my sonarworks pre-calibrated HD650’s)

thx

So many HEDD lovers that I'm actually intrigued

I already tried the LCD X and the Professional but I keep my DT 1990 Pro because they're the best for me so far. But I want to try the HEADPHONE soon.

Probably should have considered reviewing how these perform with sonarworks and which takes the least adjustment to achieve a flat response

lol what... did you master Shanks & Bigfoot - Sweet Like Chocolate?

Subscribing, mainly because of your accent.😁

Weird! I have the LCD-5, Heddphone ONE as well as the Focal Utopia OG. But I prefer my 770 pros 250ohms

The LcdX are amazing sounding to me, but they are just too heavy. That made me never using mine enough to justify keeping them. I am surprised that you did not include the Sennheiser hd800s tho since you have previously spoken so highly about them.

🎶🎵🎵🎶🎵🎧🎧

I won't give Audeze a 5/5 durability. Own a Mx4 since early 2018 and the left side simply stopped working last month. According to the various forums, there is quite a reliability problem on the Audeze's drivers (replacement is not cheap too). Very disappointed at such a HIGH price.

The plastic headband is what breaks on the Focal. They simply give up and it is mindblowing that they aren't in metal inside. And Focal doesn't repair or take such breaks on warranty, even if less than 2 years in.

Great video. Wish I had 1.5k knocking about. How about 3 of the best mid-range? You know, 500 quid ballpark. 👍

You are the first one to call >600 / 700 gramm headphones comfortable. The Focals are with 450 gramm already on the heavy side. If headphones are not comfortable, it does not matter how they sound.

In a way all these Headphones reviews are very difficult to trust as headphones are Headphone amp dependent, (for Ex: a brighter headphone will sound more balanced with a darker headphone amp.... and even with sonarworks will be flaw, as we do not know which headphone amp was sued to calibrate Sonarworks.....thanks for the video tho!

The LCD-X are totally EQ dependent. Horrible sound sig out of the box. As a matter of fact the Audeze LCD-XC closed backs have a way better sound sig than the LCD-X.

Video was a bit silly. You obviously already had a favorite and reviewed them to stack up that way.

They should make HEDD lighter if they want to beat audeze and focal

Can you do a review for headphones less than £200? I recently bought a pair of Beyer DT770 250ohm cans

Please please test hifiman arya or ananda. I would love to know it compares to these!

Slate Audio Vsx is the best for now.

Price?

Prices should have been included as well

i think the tesla looking logo headphones look absolutely horrendous. its the type of headphones you see in Wallgreens for $19.95, that tried to look like beats

I hate how the Hedd's looks is etched on my brain like stacked slice bread clamped on e's head.

streaky poor review mate, had hedd. they need powerfull amps, and stereo image is a bit weird ...lowend sits in the back and ts not that good for mix downs, focal clear has certain issues too for mixing, lcdx got a bump around 3.5 k and a and mid range resolution a little to low...as for stereo image bigger drivers gives you better ...

Meanwhile, Andrew Scheps happily mixing on his Sony MDR-7506 - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-s4YuXNTCU2Y.html

I think by the look I give the 2 to the HEDD in the head they look horrible, like a Cyber Mouse...... are way to big...

Do you have to shout?

You'd make a good reviewer for pick up trays. I'd leave headphones for people who know what they are talking about.

You sound like Christian Bale

I dropped a like cuz you'e a nice bloke, but goddamn those calls for likes are annoying, man

The hedd looks hideous

Lost me at LOOKS!!! Who F'n cares? How functional are they... how transparent are they? How well do they transfer? I don't give a F$@* if they are made out of Duct Tape if they help me turn around the the best results.... ...And that you place that at #1 raises a TON of questions to me. (Shrug)

HEDDphone Desgin is very shit....... OTL

Streaky do you streak jk

Lmao those first headphones look stupid.

The focal, I heard, needs to be broken in for about 20-30 hours! Any thoughts on how they’ve changed after a long use?