[rgs9200m]

Yeah, it sounds so good, even if in needs repair, it's worth it to me. Just my opinion. I had 1 driver failure on an LCD3, it was fixed in short order, and that was that. I had half a dozen Audezes over the years, and just that 1 failure.
If I like the sound of a phone enough to keep it and use it, that's by far the determining factor for me. (A great phone is hard to find...)

 

[wessew10]

The LCD4 sounds great, but I am not willing to put up with early or frequent failures in a product costing this much. After literally one week, the phones are useless. The support seems great, but I would prefer for the phones to work too. This is the reason I moved away from BMW's. While I like the sound, they are not an order of magnitude better than other alternatives. 

 

[rgs9200m]

Yep, I know that sinking feeling with "quality" cars too (long stories). I can relate.

 

[Benny-x]

  Yep, I know that sinking feeling with "quality" cars too (long stories). I can relate.

Funny how we've all got these opinions. 
 
My wife's parents both hate their Mercs now and are looking forward to replacing them sometime this year. They're both "definitely never buying such an unreliable, over priced, hard to maintain, costly to maintain brand again", or so they say. I have a great laugh. I like my BMW so far. Had it for 3 years and it's worked well. even those new RunFlat tires and the no spare~~
 
As for the LCDs, hmm. I just hope it's straightened out. I don't like the idea of having to worry about the headphone crapping out on me while I baby it. It's true that a lot of makers seem to have their issues, but that doesn't mean we settle with them. That's being happy with being second rate, IMO. And as for the pursuit of the greatest sound, Audeze are no closer to it than any other maker. They do have their vision and I am an owner and supporter, but to say they're at the bleeding edge and we've got to deal with that to enjoy what they've got, I call bluff. They do have a driver failure issue, it's something I hope they're figuring out.
 
They're certainly not vocal about it, which this day and age, is a mistake. Embracing transparency helps your clients, but more so doesn't let some arm chair warrior fill in the blanks for you. If only they took the time to read these things. I hate it when I catch myself hoping to make a valid point and hoping to make a difference, but then realizing it's just lost as fodder. :-/

 

[rgs9200m]

My point is that if you happen to think the Audeze sound (esp. the LCD4) is head and shoulders better in many ways overall to anything out there, then the reliability is not too important, as they seem like a stable company.
If they are not your cup of tea, then, of course, that argument does not hold.
But to my ears, they are pretty darn amazing and compelling, just full of life and bloom and darn nice bass and with a natural character that just speaks truth and beauty.
(Sorry for being over the top.) So in that context, I can easily deal with the possibility of a repair down the line.

 

[Focker]

Guys, for gosh sakes, if you have a concern, email or call Audeze. They are a small company and I doubt they have the time to go through every post on the thread, let alone respond to them...especially given how this thread has turned to complete bollocks (shoutout to my homies in the UK) on more than one occasion. 
 
Why people seem to find it so difficult to simply contact the company (and not just Audeze...this seems to be an epidemic on head-fi in general) when they have questions is beyond me. Then instead of mucking up the thread with more nonsense, you can actually share with the community what you learned. Pretty basic. 

 

[goldendarko]

Of course we've contacted Audeze about our broken headphones. Just sharing our experiences here is all

 

[Focker]

Of course we've contacted Audeze about our broken headphones. Just sharing our experiences here is all

Sure, I don't mean those of you with issues with your purchases...I mean more the folks who openly speculate, which leads to others openly speculating, and mucking up the thread when it would have been so much easier for one person to just contact Audeze. I've been a customer for three years, but have been communicating with them for longer than that, and - unless they're at a show - they always get right back to me. 
 
Anyway, carry on gents...just a quick vent. 

 

[goldendarko]

Well I was about to post something positive that my LCD-3s had finally returned after being in for repair for 3 weeks but as soon as I went to use them I found out the left driver was STILL DEAD! This is ridiculous, they will be dealing with one pissed off customer tomorrow.

 

[wessew10]

Well, I have listened to a number of headphones including the HD650, HD800, LCD3, and LCD4.  Unfortunately, I only had the benefit of listening to the LCD4 for 9 days before a driver failure! I can't listen to the LCD4 now because they are broken. Also, it's been two days since contacting Audeze for an RMA with no response and no feedback.  So I am back to enjoying my HD800's which have not had an issue to date, and they sound better than I had remembered!  With respect to the audio quality of the LCD4, I can say I was impressed by the SQ while I could listen to them, but I cannot say I was absolutely floored for 4K.  They are indeed better than the LCD3 but, in hindsight, I would not put them in absolute best of class status.  And reliability does indeed matter,at least to me!  If you cannot listen, what is the point!?  

 

[goldendarko]

Exactly. This will probably be the last Audeze I'll own. I find that really unfortunate but the quality control is atrocious

 

[groovyd]

I'm feeling very lucky right now for having both X and XC for ever since they were first launched with absolutely no issues, knock on wood.

 

[Focker]

Ive never had issues either...i feel for those who have though. Gotta be frustrating.

 

[goldendarko]

I could live with one failure, but sending me back a pair of headphones and apparently nothing was done with them?!? How does that even happen. I'm looking at my service request now too and they broke on the 15th of December, so I've been without them for nearly a month now and who knows how long this next ordeal will take them.

 

[goldendarko]

Well, I just sent them an e-mail, guess I'll go to bed and see how they plan to resolve it tomorrow. This sucks, least I still got the HE1000 & Ether C working great though.