[doc0075579]

I have the Hugo and I just received a moon 430 HAD, while there is a difference between the two the difference is not as big as you would think.  The bass definitely thumps harder on the 430, that's for sure.    Will probably end up selling the Hugo as I don't travel with it . 

 

[obsidyen]

  I dunno, all headphones sound better through a big hunking dedicated headphone amp to me...
'nothing like big iron.

 

 

[swjones3]

Anyone have a kingwood lcd-4?

 

[doc0075579]

I have the Hugo and I just received a moon 430 HAD, while there is a difference between the two the difference is not as big as you would think.  The bass definitely thumps harder on the 430, that's for sure.    Will probably end up selling the Hugo as I don't travel with it . 

Ok, after a few hours of listening, maybe the difference is greater than I originally believed. The LCD-4 now sounds they are on steroids compared to when the Hugo was driving them.

 

[draytonklammer]

With the HDVD800 I wasn't impressed by the LCD-3 even. With the HE-1000 and LCD-4 it did them even less justice. The HDVA600 from what I've heard is essentially the amp from it. I tried optical, and USB to perform these tests on both amps and DACs. Found myself preferring USB and low gain on both amps.

The bass I heard about wasn't really fully there for me. I actually preferred the 800/800S (probably because of the synergy and lack of power usage)

I preferred the LCD-X and it took me a long time to figure out that the LCD-3 wasn't performing at it's peak. Once I got my Moon Neo 430HAD I tried it again and found myself picking up the LCD-3 more often and never using my Sennheisers although they were still excellent. I just preferred the Audeze sound.

Since my amp and dac upgrade the LCD-4 has been the best I've heard with it with the HEK as a close second and Abyss I feel being replaced for what it is as a V headphone with my preference for the LCD-4 signature.

 

[Hifi59]

What he said!

 

[Svatopluk]

With the HDVD800 I wasn't impressed by the LCD-3 even. With the HE-1000 and LCD-4 it did them even less justice. The HDVA600 from what I've heard is essentially the amp from it. I tried optical, and USB to perform these tests on both amps and DACs. Found myself preferring USB and low gain on both amps.

The bass I heard about wasn't really there for me and it sounded like a mess. I actually preferred the 800/800S (probably because of the synergy and lack of power usage)

I preferred the LCD-X and it took me a long time to figure out that the LCD-3 wasn't performing at it's peak. Once I got my Moon Neo 430HAD I tried it again and found myself picking up the LCD-3 more often and never using my Sennheisers although they were still excellent. I just preferred the Audeze sound.

Since my amp and dac upgrade the LCD-4 has been the best I've heard with it with the HEK as a close second and Abyss I feel being replaced for what it is as a V headphone with my preference for the LCD-4 signature.

I have experience with the HDVA600 and HD800. I can't imagine the Sennheiser amp making the bass "sound like a mess" unless you pair it with a low impedance headphone, or there is some other problem somewhere in the chain.
Please tell me you were exaggerating just a little.

 

[draytonklammer]

I have experience with the HDVA600 and HD800. I can't imagine the Sennheiser amp making the bass "sound like a mess" unless you pair it with a low impedance headphone, or there is some other problem somewhere in the chain.
Please tell me you were exaggerating just a little.

Of course it's an exaggeration, but in general everything sounded thin to me.

Personal opinion as always you should try it out for yourself.

 

[Mardrommar]

I don't understand the concept of exaggerating minor differences in audio, but maybe that's just me. It doesn't help anyone who searches the threads for advice on headphones, amps, DACs, cables or any pairings, synergy, etc.
 
By making hyperbolic claims, you might cause people to think that it's not a good purchase. If they already own something (like the HDVA600, for example), they then begin to worry that they made a mistake and need to upgrade to something "better" and/or more expensive to unleash the full potential of the item of interest.
 
I own the Oppo HA-1 and a Schiit Ragnarok/Yggdrasil stack. I would say that, when using the LCD-X with the HA-1, the bass is very tight and punchy, the midrange is forward and the treble is a bit rolled off, but not overly to the point where it sounds dark and compressed. It seems to be a good pairing because I know that the HA-1's Sabre DAC can be considered bright and should balance out the LCD-X's warmer sound.
 
When using the LCD-X with the Ragnarok with the Oppo HA-1 as the DAC, the LCD-X does seem to have a more weighty and authoritative bass and I can't tell much of a difference, if any, with the midrange and treble. However, I wouldn't say that it is a night and day difference and I wouldn't say that the HA-1 makes the headphone's bass seem weak. It's a noticeable difference, but not extreme enough to warrant a ridiculous claim.
 
Even though this is technically off topic, I'm just saying that it would be nice to see posts where the language is carefully worded so that the statement or claim appears to be grounded and accurate. 

 

[draytonklammer]

I've made a small edit to the exaggeration that you've continued to press on about.

The point is that there's a noticeable positive difference, but it's a world of diminishing returns. I could run this headphone with something like a Dragonfly and still understand the LCD-4 to an extent. I've never noticed insane differences with my amp and dac upgrades, but it makes a strong difference when you reach this tier.

With my LCD-X even I was noticing more comfortable compared to my HDVD800. I've tried the Oppo which I would stick under the HDVD800 as well. There are differences.

For me my exaggeration wasn't a lie, it was part of what I remembered myself thinking. I'm sure a percentage was placebo, but a majority was not.

 

[YugiRider2]

I don't understand the concept of exaggerating minor differences in audio, but maybe that's just me. It doesn't help anyone who searches the threads for advice on headphones, amps, DACs, cables or any pairings, synergy, etc.

By making hyperbolic claims, you might cause people to think that it's not a good purchase. If they already own something (like the HDVA600, for example), they then begin to worry that they made a mistake and need to upgrade to something "better" and/or more expensive to unleash the full potential of the item of interest.

I own the Oppo HA-1 and a Schiit Ragnarok/Yggdrasil stack. I would say that, when using the LCD-X with the HA-1, the bass is very tight and punchy, the midrange is forward and the treble is a bit rolled off, but not overly to the point where it sounds dark and compressed. It seems to be a good pairing because I know that the HA-1's Sabre DAC can be considered bright and should balance out the LCD-X's warmer sound.

When using the LCD-X with the Ragnarok with the Oppo HA-1 as the DAC, the LCD-X does seem to have a more weighty and authoritative bass and I can't tell much of a difference, if any, with the midrange and treble. However, I wouldn't say that it is a night and day difference and I wouldn't say that the HA-1 makes the headphone's bass seem weak. It's a noticeable difference, but not extreme enough to warrant a ridiculous claim.

Even though this is technically off topic, I'm just saying that it would be nice to see posts where the language is carefully worded so that the statement or claim appears to be grounded and accurate. 

I can't agree more with what you said. When people say one headphone is leagues better than another, I'm scared, but after demoing them, I realise that while one is better than the other, the difference is not night and day. I think people should stop exaggerating as a result of their buyer bias. Especially with high end gear, no headphone/amp/DAC is going to be miles better than another one.

 

[Articnoise]

The amp in the HDVD800 is pretty good. It is specially made for high Ohms headphones like the HD800, work well with LCD 3F (110 Ohm), maybe not the best pairing with LCD X (22 Ohm) IMO.

 

I don’t know how it pair with LCD 4, but I will try some day. 

 

[swjones3]

Late night listening. Haven't seen any pictures of the beautiful kingwood version
 

 

[dan.gheorghe]

I can't agree more with what you said. When people say one headphone is leagues better than another, I'm scared, but after demoing them, I realise that while one is better than the other, the difference is not night and day. I think people should stop exaggerating as a result of their buyer bias. Especially with high end gear, no headphone/amp/DAC is going to be miles better than another one.

People perceive the differences differently . What is for some a small upgrade might be interpreted big by others, especially when the upgrade is spot on his preferences in the sound.

 

[Eduardo C]

I hope my new LCD-4s (yup they are comming!) will sound pretty good with the HDVA600, since it is a powerful, modern amp, made by a prestigious manufacturer. I can't imagine it making a mess of the bass.

I have been in this hobby for many years, I am in my sixties now and music has always been a crucial part in my life. I know that matching components does make a difference. The Lcd-4s are a substantial investment to me, hopefully all goes well.