Another thing that's rather odd, given the fact that three or four years ago Audeze headphones were so well known for their unbelievable bass extension and potency, is that now compared with some of these warmer cans the Audezes sound a bit bass shy to me. Don't get me wrong, Audeze headphones continue to have killer bass control and depth, it's just that after hearing the other cans I begin to feel like I'd want a couple more dB of response below 120Hz when listening to the Audeze headphones.

My experience with every other planar magnetic headphone has been that's it's purely resistive (the same impedance and 0º phase angle at every frequency as DC), so I was too lazy to fire up my laboratory to measure its impedance versus frequency. Add to human hearing the differences in manufacturing tolerances and the quality of the cable attaching the headphones to the amp, as well as the performance of the amp itself, and the number of variables alone makes absolute statements impossible to make with any degree of credibility.

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The LCD-X have completely natural, bottomless bass with solid response to well below the audible or music ranges. Nonetheless, I’m happy to report that the LCD-X 2021 is a totally different headphone when it comes to its midrange performance. But more on that later. While sound quality is superb and the price is reasonable, these are big and clumsy. Don't walk around with these on your head; get the Audeze LCD-1 for that, which sound about as good for one-third the price. No, they still aren’t speakers, but the Imaging and Staging are so convincing that it comes darn near close. In other words,

They offer only a little bit of high-frequency muffling. It's a slight muffling of the outside world rather than any significant isolation. What’s probably the most interesting – I find the LCD-X 2021 more comfortable, even though they are definitely heavier. However, they simply hug your head and are more pleasing to the touch, while the D8000 Pro has a higher clamping force and their earpads are nowhere as comfy and plush as the ones in LCD-X. To test sibilance on headphones I use Panic! At The Disco’s “High Hopes. The intro trumpets are a bit sharp, which is unusual, but it’s only on higher volumes. There is a tad bit of sibilance, but nothing crazy, definitely towards the lower to mid-end of the spectrum.

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As I said, what about having a free speech thread on http://www.headfonia.com where humor and sophistry would be encouraged and where we could freely say [but no obscenities], what we really think about some overrated headphones, even at the cost of upsetting the manufacturers. The LCD-X sound great with every kind of audio equipment from pro recording and broadcast gear to iOS devices.