[RCBinTN]

  I received a review unit a few hours ago. First impressions? I love them. Can't take them off my head. What strikes me the most is the natural sound they are capable of, but also the very holographic soundstage, incredible textures and very good details.  The sound flows into your soul.
 
Really excited about these headphones: 
 

Wow, Dan.  Didn't recognize you w/o the LCD-3 on your forehead.  LOL.

 

[iBrian]

Ah ok cool. Any changes in your opinion of the sound?

Did you hear them before this and before they revised the diaphragms?

Unfortunately no I did not get to hear the v1 of these.

I am going to do more testing but so far I don't hear the value in these cans. Maybe that will change after being able to put a couple of hours into listening to them

 

[iBrian]

So after a couple of multiple genres of music. These LCD-4's, I have, are not up to par as to what I was meant to believe. I kinda feel that for the price the soundstage would not be so in your face. The sound stage seems boxed in and not as open. It's kinda weird coming from listening to the LCD-3's. Even my wife felt that the music was in your face putting her hand in her face. Instead of the normal soundstage she is listening to. which the soundstage is further out there,as she described with her arms open wide My EL-8 Ti and EL-8O's actually don't sound so in your face like the 4's. What ever they have the earpads connected to the ear cup is bothersome and I feel music is improperly leaking through. I almost feel as though Audeze made the filter on the front and back thicker As well like how the prefazored driver has think filters glued to them. This kinda what this feels like.

I hope I made sense this time with this port it took me 39 minutes to write it. Lol don't ask why it took that long. I may end up editing the whole thing. Gotta love sleeping pills

 

[dan.gheorghe]

So after a couple of multiple genres of music. These LCD-4's, I have, are not up to par as to what I was meant to believe. I kinda feel that for the price the soundstage would not be so in your face. The sound stage seems boxed in and not as open. It's kinda weird coming from listening to the LCD-3's. Even my wife felt that the music was in your face putting her hand in her face. Instead of the normal soundstage she is listening to. which the soundstage is further out there,as she described with her arms open wide My EL-8 Ti and EL-8O's actually don't sound so in your face like the 4's. What ever they have the earpads connected to the ear cup is bothersome and I feel music is improperly leaking through. I almost feel as though Audeze made the filter on the front and back thicker As well like how the prefazored driver has think filters glued to them. This kinda what this feels like.

I hope I made sense this time with this port it took me 39 minutes to write it. Lol don't ask why it took that long. I may end up editing the whole thing. Gotta love sleeping pills

I am coming from HD800 and I like the soundstage on LCD-4, actually I love it. Still not as big in all directions as hd800, but very natural, deep and holographic.

 

[johnzz4]

So after a couple of multiple genres of music. These LCD-4's, I have, are not up to par as to what I was meant to believe. I kinda feel that for the price the soundstage would not be so in your face. The sound stage seems boxed in and not as open. It's kinda weird coming from listening to the LCD-3's. Even my wife felt that the music was in your face putting her hand in her face. Instead of the normal soundstage she is listening to. which the soundstage is further out there,as she described with her arms open wide My EL-8 Ti and EL-8O's actually don't sound so in your face like the 4's. What ever they have the earpads connected to the ear cup is bothersome and I feel music is improperly leaking through. I almost feel as though Audeze made the filter on the front and back thicker As well like how the prefazored driver has think filters glued to them. This kinda what this feels like.

I hope I made sense this time with this port it took me 39 minutes to write it. Lol don't ask why it took that long. I may end up editing the whole thing. Gotta love sleeping pills

Let it burn in a bit.  I had the same criticism in the beginning, but now it's quite a bit larger than the LCD-X.

 

[Articnoise]

Not what I was told but I just received my LCD-4's today. First impression. Audio is good and flat using a good amp turned up to 93%. The look is beautiful but there are some scratches on the cups per inspection pulling them out of the case. I got white gloves that came with the headphones as well. I don't get the pads?? They are the same LCD pads however, a closer look how they are connected, It looks like Velcro was connecting them to the Driver. But if you look closer. It looks like they used cloth of some sort?? Not a fan of that. with these being $4k, You would think they would implement some new earned connection instead of the tape.

 

 

The dial of the volume is not saying it all, but to have to have it on 93 % seems like pushing it. Do you have it on high gain on your Bryston BHA-1? Audeze is recommending 1-4 W for the LCD 3. The LCD 4 will most likely need double as much.

 

Don’t get me wrong the SQ is not only about power on tap. It just that if it the basic power need is not obtained other qualities will not matter much.    

 

[DarKu]

OK, where do I start?
 
I was yesterday at my friend dan.gheorhe place and listened to LCD-4 in a quiet room for about 90-100 minutes.
Let me preface by saying that I have owned for several years LCD-2 rev2.2 and LCD-3C, and listened many times to LCD-3F and LCD-X  (LCD-XC was never my cup of tea, nor EL8), I also owned HD800 since 2009 and 2 weeks ago I reviewed HD800S which I liked a lot.
 
I was worried that LCD-4 will have the same soft sound, lacking fast transients as HE1000 does, I never heard them but my friends described me HEK as being too soft with no leading edges, so I jumped straight  to some fast pagan/folk metal and listened to 3 songs. Not a single hint of softness or slow transients, LCD-4 performed as fast and articulate as I wished for. Lighting fast and very punchy.
I felt that to this day this is the most neutral Audeze to date in a good way, it is slightly less warm than LCD-3 and LCD-X, but much more detailed, airy and effortless up top.
Actually I hear so much more information up top, never thought LCD-4 would be that detailed.
 
One thing that struck me literally immediately is how DEEP the stereo image is, I actually was walking inside the recording itself. The stage was not as wide as on HD800 but it was very deep. Also the pin point imaging is the best I've heard to date.
Next I moved to Bethoven - Sonata no.14 in C minor - Presto agitato
As a music lover, I got goose bumps many times with LCD-3 but I never cried to any music or interpretation, with LCD-4 and the end of the song I actually wiped my eyes. It was unbelievable real, I never heard Yundi Li so real, not even on good speakers and on top equipment.
I was also very often empty swallowing (don't know how to say it in English sorry) and holding my breath - this was not my intention, but I observed than at the end of the song, I was literally in a deep state of trance.
 
O moved to some rock (Foo Fighters - All my Life) and started headbanging with a smile reaching my ears, toe taping all along.
Again, I will sound as some BS or cliche, but it was like listening to this song for the first time. So pin point accurate, so fast, so engaging and so fu****g Real !
 
Actually if I'd choose a single word to describe LCD-4 performance that would be: REAL
 
Sometime ago a friend tried describing how he feels a 25K DAC he heard, compares to his 10K DAC and told that words as details, soundstage, lows, mids, stereo image, etc do not matter anymore, it was just pure Music and nothing more. I would describe LCD-4 the same, words do not matter anymore, music becomes so real that you just fail at describing it.
 
LCD-4 is very honest and true to the recording, and it is actually pretty hard to drive (the last version) I was on some songs at 85 volume from 100 from a 9W amplifier - Audio-GD Master 9.  LCD-4 needs a top DAC and a top Amp, otherwise you will listen to the weakest chain in your audio setup and not LCD-4 to it's full potential.
Those 90 minutes passed as 5 minutes, and I was on my way home already thinking where to get that sum of cash. Some day, some year I will have an LCD-4.
 
Thanks Dan for the opportunity and Sankar for letting that happen!

 

[Articnoise]

 

 

Great with some good impressions and on a top notch system!

 

Volume at 85 on an Audio Master 9, holy ****!! 

 

[citraian]

 



Great with some good impressions and on a top notch system!



 



Volume at 85 on an Audio Master 9, holy ****!! 

Those are my thoughts as well - 85 on high gain...
But my friend DarKu is known to sometimes push the volume to ear bleeding levels

 

[DarKu]

Those are my thoughts as well - 85 on high gain...
But my friend DarKu is known to sometimes push the volume to ear bleeding levels

What do you expect from a headbanger

 
 
First of all MSB Analog DAC has 2.5V on XLR outs, compared to 4V XLR out on most of the DACs - so M9 will need to amplify a weaker signal.
Secondly the song I was listening was recorded at -14dB, so again the volume needed to be raised to have the same SPL as others songs.
On normal tracks with Analog DAC, I was at around 75 volume.

 

[dan.gheorghe]

 
What do you expect from a headbanger

 
 
First of all MSB Analog DAC has 2.5V on XLR outs, compared to 4V XLR out on most of the DACs - so M9 will need to amplify a weaker signal.
Secondly the song I was listening was recorded at -14dB, so again the volume needed to be raised to have the same SPL as others songs.
On normal tracks with Analog DAC, I was at around 75 volume.

Exactly. You would get louder volumes on dacs with 4v on its outputs. 
 
But nevertheless. Don't get scared by this:

 
At 85 volume, M9 seems to be at 33% from full power.
 
I usually listen to them between 70-80, so between 10-20% of what it is capable of

 

[Thiry]

Thanks!

 

[potkettleblack]

I've never seen such extreme opinions about a headphone.

On one side of the room there are people saying they sound closed in, they feel heavy, they aren't a noticeable step up over the 3's - and on the other side of the room, there are people saying that they are the best headphones in the world and every time they hear a violin, they turn into a giant man-baby and start blubbering over their desk.

 

[iBrian]

I've never seen such extreme opinions about a headphone.

On one side of the room there are people saying they sound closed in, they feel heavy, they aren't a noticeable step up over the 3's - and on the other side of the room, there are people saying that they are the best headphones in the world and every time they hear a violin, they turn into a giant man-baby and start blubbering over their desk.

I guess I the one that sounds like the old man in this scenario

 

[iBrian]

So let me me ask you all that have the LCD-4's How does your pads look like they are connected? Like my picture above?