New LFF CodeX3 Headphone Measurements and Quick Impressions

Discussion in 'Headphone Measurements' started by purr1n, Jan 8, 2018.

  1. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    The new CodeX3 is based on the late 2017 reissue of the HE-5, which I shall refer to as the HE5. See here:
    http://www.superbestaudiofriends.or...fiman-he5-reissue-surprise-measurements.5534/

    The HE5 driver appears to be slightly different from the original HE-5. @Vent purchased the latest CodeX3 from Luis, and I feel that this is the best iteration yet. My guess is that the new HE5 uses thinner diaphragms. Evidence of this is from the crinkling sound (similar to STAX) heard when the cups are seated on the head or squished in bit. Note that the latest Audeze LCD2C does the same thing. I quick shout out to @Vent for sending them to me for measurement in the spirit of SBAF. Note that @LFF never pushes his products on me for a positive review.

    Now the bad news. One the drivers failed during subjective evaluation (before measurements). Anyone with HEK, HEX, or SUSVARA know that this can happen. We'll circle around for a full review after we get this fixed. In the meantime, I'll provide measurements for the one channel that works.

    BTW, I did like like the HE5 stock at all. Midrange suckout and sharp treble were showstoppers. I should also mention that the CodeX3 seemed easy to drive and sounded quite good from a Magni 3.
     
    Last edited: Jan 8, 2018
  2. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    CodeX3 Frequency Response (V2)
    codex3.png

    CodeX3 vs HE5 Frequency Response
    Green = CodeX3
    HE5 = Yellow
    codex3 vs HE5.png
     
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Here is a frequency response measurement of the CodeX3 using the miniDSP EARS with my own compensation. Note that this compensation tends to expect a straight line across as neutral whereas the V2 neutral target curve above is flat to a few hundred cycles with 1db / octave rolloff. This curve is experimental and I still need to work out some kinks. I might also provide a Jude GRAS equivalency curve in the future as well.

    CodeX3 miniDSP EARS Marv-Field Curve Compensated
    codex3 EARS.png
     
  4. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    CSD V2 (note EARS is not capable of clean CSDs, but probably better for accuracy).
    Codex3.jpg
     
  5. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    CodeX3 HD.jpg
     
  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Based on what I heard, what little time I had with them, anyone who picked up an HE5 reissue recently should send them to @LFF and get them to sound right.
     
  7. joch

    joch Friend

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    @Marvey if I may ask, how do the various iterations differ?
     
  8. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Didn't have much time with it, but CodeX3 didn't exhibit that one-note quality bass of the HE-5 when driven from modestly powered sources (that is anything not a speaker power amp). The sound is lighter and faster, but I didn't get a chance to evaluate how much slam and bass impact was affected. Also, all prior iterations of the CodeX had a little bit of the stock HE-5's treble sharpness. This seemed to be gone with the X3.
     
  9. Vansen

    Vansen Gear Master (retiring)

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    How does this compare with the LCD2c? The tonality kinda looks like it's of a similar flavor.
     
  10. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Actually very similar. LCD2C is more laid back and has heftier bass. Not enough headtime to say more.
     
  11. Clemmaster

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    Could you please use a different color scheme? Green and yellow doesn't work well for color blind peeps :(
     
  12. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    Lavender = CodeX3
    Yellow = HE5 (reissue) stock
    HE5 Codex3.png
     
  13. joch

    joch Friend

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    I'm wondering how much of LFF's voodoo was involved in the sound vs the drivers. However, Luis did mention that the HE5 is not the HE-5.
     
  14. slankoe

    slankoe Tongue tastes of LH butthole

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    All this talk about Luis/LFF's Code X type of headphones is making me keen to try one out.

    Do any audio stores carry his work, or do you have to purchase the headphone to find out what it sounds like? Thank you

    Edit: Ok @Ringingears no worries, thanks
     
    Last edited: Jan 13, 2018
  15. Sqveak

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    You have to purchase the (correct) headphone then arrange to send them to him for modding.
     
  16. Ringingears

    Ringingears Honorary BFF

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    He also has other models you can buy directly from him.

    Could I repeat what others have said before, in the nicest way I can. If you are newer, please try the search engine and read a little more. I’ll be the first to admit I should use it more and I go back to Changstar. Here is the link to his website. He does great work. https://enigmatic-audio.myshopify.com/
     

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