Audeze LCD-4
Dec 16, 2016 at 9:57 PM Post #5,146 of 11,957
Today I received my LCD-4 headphones. First impressions:
 
As expected:
 
Clean, powerful / effortless sound. Out of this world sound. They are so clean if you're not careful you'll turn them up too loud.
Elegant look and built like tanks. (And they weigh as such:) )
Easy to leave fingerprints on them.
 
 
Surprises:
 
My Chord Mojo can drive them much louder than I can listen to.
While wearing them you forget about the weight - at least they're not problematic for me.
They are bigger than I thought. With my big melon I look like an alien.
The wood (Macassar Ebony) is darker than I thought. Very elegant - I like it.
 
Dec 17, 2016 at 2:41 AM Post #5,147 of 11,957
  Today I received my LCD-4 headphones. First impressions:
 
As expected:
 
Clean, powerful / effortless sound. Out of this world sound. They are so clean if you're not careful you'll turn them up too loud.
Elegant look and built like tanks. (And they weigh as such:) )
Easy to leave fingerprints on them.
 
 
Surprises:
 
My Chord Mojo can drive them much louder than I can listen to.
While wearing them you forget about the weight - at least they're not problematic for me.
They are bigger than I thought. With my big melon I look like an alien.
The wood (Macassar Ebony) is darker than I thought. Very elegant - I like it.


Congrats, you got yourself a fine headphones that will make you smile 
biggrin.gif

 
Dec 17, 2016 at 2:35 PM Post #5,148 of 11,957
Fabulous HP's...the best I have ever owned....you owe it to yourself to listen to them through something more powerful than the Mojo which is a terrific portable tool but not suitable for the LCD-4 for anything other than an emergency
 
Dec 17, 2016 at 2:38 PM Post #5,149 of 11,957
Headphone emergency lol
 
Dec 17, 2016 at 3:39 PM Post #5,150 of 11,957
Fabulous HP's...the best I have ever owned....you owe it to yourself to listen to them through something more powerful than the Mojo which is a terrific portable tool but not suitable for the LCD-4 for anything other than an emergency


Yeah ... that's true Here using the Moon Neo 430 in balanced mode ... really fabulous It's not just a matter of reaching the right volume ..... it's something else I can assure you .....
 
Dec 17, 2016 at 4:59 PM Post #5,151 of 11,957
  Fabulous HP's...the best I have ever owned....you owe it to yourself to listen to them through something more powerful than the Mojo which is a terrific portable tool but not suitable for the LCD-4 for anything other than an emergency

 
And I was convinced it's all about the amp power vs headphone sensitivity... The Mojo is nowhere near clipping yet loud, the signal is very clean and Mojo is a dac/amp with stellar measurements. Is there a scientific reason (something that can be shown in measurements) to prove that a more powerful dac/amp helps? All a dac/amp has to do is not distort, get out of the way while playing the headphones at the loudness level you need.
 
Dec 17, 2016 at 5:45 PM Post #5,152 of 11,957
   
And I was convinced it's all about the amp power vs headphone sensitivity... The Mojo is nowhere near clipping yet loud, the signal is very clean and Mojo is a dac/amp with stellar measurements. Is there a scientific reason (something that can be shown in measurements) to prove that a more powerful dac/amp helps? All a dac/amp has to do is not distort, get out of the way while playing the headphones at the loudness level you need.

 
I suppose each different amp has it's own sound and some people may subjectively prefer one brand's voicing to another's, and mistake it for being objectively better rather than subjectively better.
 
I own a Violectric v281 and over on that thread, there are multiple ex-moon 430 owners who have sold it in favour of the v281.  I bought an ifi idsd micro portable amp and while it wasn't my cup of tea sound signature wise, I have no doubt that many would prefer that to the v281, possibly the moon 430 as well, especially if tested blind.  
 
Personally, I think if the headphone and amp have specs suitable for eachother, it comes down to personal preference / synergy / a complementary combo.
 
Dec 17, 2016 at 6:06 PM Post #5,153 of 11,957
   
I suppose each different amp has it's own sound and some people may subjectively prefer one brand's voicing to another's, and mistake it for being objectively better rather than subjectively better.
 
I own a Violectric v281 and over on that thread, there are multiple ex-moon 430 owners who have sold it in favour of the v281.  I bought an ifi idsd micro portable amp and while it wasn't my cup of tea sound signature wise, I have no doubt that many would prefer that to the v281, possibly the moon 430 as well, especially if tested blind.  
 
Personally, I think if the headphone and amp have specs suitable for eachother, it comes down to personal preference / synergy / a complementary combo.

 
The Violectric v281 seems to be a very solid piece and well engineered - congrats! Now - I am one of those who thinks is hard to hear the difference between 2 amps or dacs with similar measurements. Even less so when it comes to cables. The biggest difference in an audio system is made by the headphone (or the speaker). I think is relatively cheaper to buy an dac/amp with less than 0.1% distortion for the entire 20Hz-20Khz than to get a headphone with 0.1% (Stax SR-09, LCD-4 and a very few maybe).
Spending for a 0.0003% THD dac/amp when your headphones have 4% THD at 20 HZ doesn't make sense.
Now - the top planar headphones, the top stats are different (a few of the best dynamic headphones)- that's where fancy amps like yours make sense.
 
Dec 18, 2016 at 1:35 PM Post #5,154 of 11,957
Schiit's Modi MB + Jotunheim is quite a nice match for the LCD-4 as a system-away-from home.

Beyond that, I picked up the iFi Micro iDSD Black Label (on a whim) this week and that seems to drive the LCD-4 with sufficient authority (certainly more so than the Mojo ... and, frankly, I like it better than the Hugo TT as well ... at least with the LCD-4).  So far, I prefer the Modi MB/Jotunheim combination, but the iFi is very good for a portable option.  Better than I expected.  


It's my base setup and it's only weakness is soundstage and a bit of width. It sounds amazing and the resolution and warmth are staggering.
 
Dec 18, 2016 at 4:19 PM Post #5,155 of 11,957
If you like tube amps, I use the Ampsandsound Mogwai for my LCD-4 and love the pairing. I recently acquired an Eddie Current 445, which has wonderful synergy with the LCD-3. After acquiring the 445, I learned the difference between volume and well driven. The volume was there on the 445 with the LCD-4, but it wasn't driving the headphones well. A powerful amp will make makes all the difference with these power hungry headphones. 
 
Dec 18, 2016 at 8:07 PM Post #5,156 of 11,957
   
The Violectric v281 seems to be a very solid piece and well engineered - congrats! Now - I am one of those who thinks is hard to hear the difference between 2 amps or dacs with similar measurements. Even less so when it comes to cables. The biggest difference in an audio system is made by the headphone (or the speaker). I think is relatively cheaper to buy an dac/amp with less than 0.1% distortion for the entire 20Hz-20Khz than to get a headphone with 0.1% (Stax SR-09, LCD-4 and a very few maybe).
Spending for a 0.0003% THD dac/amp when your headphones have 4% THD at 20 HZ doesn't make sense.
Now - the top planar headphones, the top stats are different (a few of the best dynamic headphones)- that's where fancy amps like yours make sense.

From my perspective if the source isnt first rate it doesnt matter how good the HP or loudspeaker.....IMHO given a choice between a Chord Dave and a good HP or a mediocre source with a Utopia or LCD-4 etc I choose the former every time....obviously I would rather have both aspects be top shelf
 
Dec 18, 2016 at 8:26 PM Post #5,157 of 11,957
  From my perspective if the source isnt first rate it doesnt matter how good the HP or loudspeaker.....IMHO given a choice between a Chord Dave and a good HP or a mediocre source with a Utopia or LCD-4 etc I choose the former every time....obviously I would rather have both aspects be top shelf


​A mediocre source will have less distortion than a good HP (except the very best). A lot of cheap dacs/amps measure beyond the limit of hearing (0.005% THD 100db+ SNR, good dynamics), etc.
For example cheap stuff from Schiit audio is very good - with distortion way below the limit of hearing (even for those with rich imagination). As long as you don't drive the amp/dac into clipping you can't hear the difference between 0.005% THD (many/most amps / dacs) and 0.00017 (Chord Mojo that I have). Personally I bought the Mojo for its price and the LCD-4 for their quality.
Sennheiser HD 800S has 5-6% distortion at 20 Hz at 90 db (higher distortion at 100db). That is audible. It comes under 1% THD around 100 Hz (for 100db).
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/SennheiserHD800S.pdf  (keep in mind the logarithmic scale)
I'll take a decent dac/amp and spend on HP the rest. And stock cables are just fine for me. Of course - if I can afford I'll have the best of all - and many of them :)
In the end - to each his own - this is a hobby and not a science class. It's not all physics/ science. I get that.
 
Dec 18, 2016 at 9:08 PM Post #5,158 of 11,957
From my perspective if the source isnt first rate it doesnt matter how good the HP or loudspeaker.....IMHO given a choice between a Chord Dave and a good HP or a mediocre source with a Utopia or LCD-4 etc I choose the former every time....obviously I would rather have both aspects be top shelf



If given the choice between a great vinyl recording and a mediocre hp vs a 320kb or higher source and a hi end hp, I would take the latter all day long (and I am a vinyl lover!)
 
Dec 19, 2016 at 12:09 AM Post #5,159 of 11,957
If given the choice between a great vinyl recording and a mediocre hp vs a 320kb or higher source and a hi end hp, I would take the latter all day long (and I am a vinyl lover!)

not me but to each his or her own....a great pair of HP's are wasted using a lossy source....no point owning a 4K pair of HP's and listening to MP3..
 

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