[seamon]

Was leaning heavily towards the 600i for my 3's and was only swayed by a silver Oppo HA-1 becoming available after waiting the better part of the year to find a good one. The Bang/Buck aspect of the 600i might be one of the best out there. Where did you get yours from?

Music to my ear.
Maybe I'll get the full Questyle Block or pair the CAS192D+CMA800P with a headamp GSX-2 in a few years but for now I need transportability as I travel often with my rig.

 

[MacedonianHero]

the Dave is definitely outstanding with the LCD-4.....

Totally agreed!

 

[jlbrach]

The strange thing is over time I think the LCD-4 is starting to get more respect and more people speaking of its virtues.....personally I have always preferred it to the Utopia which I find the most overrated HP I have ever heard....way too forward for me,way to small a soundstage and fatiguing ....its efficiency is a major virtue.....the only HP I think competes with the LCD-4 is the Abyss Phi which is simply spectacular.....this is not meant as a knock on any HP as much as praise for the LCD-4 that i think is wonderful and I am glad it is receiving more and more appreciation

 

[up late]

i liked the lcd4's sound signature from the outset. with regard to the utopia, i personally think that it is worthy of high praise. i haven't heard the abyss phi iteration so i can't comment on how it compares.

 

[Clive101]

Finished my LCD-3 kit just yesterday as was going to start working on the lcd-4 setup. Thinking of going with the questyle cma800i/r mono block stack. Anyone gone that route that can give some insight? Be a shame to drop $10k on a stack that'll sound just as good as my 3 setup. Call me crazy but aesthetics are a big part of the whole experience and Chord just doesn't do it for me...:repares for the hate:: And the King looks great but the availability of it is a little discouraging.

Yes I have the Questyle Gold Stack against Dave into LCD 4.

The Gold stack you need interconnects ( added cost ) I used Chord Sarum T and with both rigs used Chord Music USB cable.

Both fed via laptop ( on battery ) did not do either them justice, so gave up and went with the Torus Power Supply and Melco N1Z.

I tried Dave with the preamp and two mono-blocks and then with the mono-blocks.

But in the end head to head the Questyle edged out, Dave very transparent, Questyle had something magical which I preferred when testing, close call either way.

In my testing found the synergy of the stack must be used together for the Questyle DAC to perform at its best.

If your interested I will post up more detail but I can only reiterate power supply and high end server ( not connected to a network as it injects noise into the server ) if you must connect to a router use it with a Torus or similar off your network.

I have tested HiFiMAN Shangri-La and Sennheiser HE 1, the Questyle or Dave rig I descried above with LCD4 are in the same ball park IMO.

 

[seamon]

Yes I have the Questyle Gold Stack against Dave into LCD 4.

The Gold stack you need interconnects ( added cost ) I used Chord Sarum T and with both rigs used Chord Music USB cable.

Both fed via laptop ( on battery ) did not do either them justice, so gave up and went with the Torus Power Supply and Melco N1Z.

I tried Dave with the preamp and two mono-blocks and then with the mono-blocks.

But in the end head to head the Questyle edged out, Dave very transparent, Questyle had something magical which I preferred when testing, close call either way.

In my testing found the synergy of the stack must be used together for the Questyle DAC to perform at its best.

If your interested I will post up more detail but I can only reiterate power supply and high end server ( not connected to a network as it injects noise into the server ) if you must connect to a router use it with a Torus or similar off your network.

I have tested HiFiMAN Shangri-La and Sennheiser HE 1, the Questyle or Dave rig I descried above with LCD4 are in the same ball park IMO.

I am interested in your opinion comparing the He-1 to the LCD 4!!

 

[Clive101]

I am interested in your opinion comparing the He-1 to the LCD 4!!

That's a good question, one that could lead me into a very long discussion on this thread, I have not trained ears and did not do a side by side test in the same room.
As soon as I tested the HE1 and arrived home I tested with the same music, in fact I guessed one track before I went to the audition.
The main thing I remember is the HE1 did not blow me away and when I arrived home I tried my Dave LCD-4 rig either one sounded good so like I say the same ball park.
I am sorry I am unable to go into fine detail, as I am sure there were fine differences, but for me neither one stood out better than the other.
I guess it would be more personal choice rather than quality which surprised me.

 

[Whazzzup]

I’m just guessing here but preference will dictate he1, susvara, lcd4, abyss on the house sound side. And hd800S and utopia duke out the analytic side of things. I would suspect one from each group would cover one off completely the question is which one given preferences and previous ownerships.

 

[Clive101]

Re the earlier question HE1 vs LCD4
I have to also add and reiterate that without the Melco and Torus ( other products available ) the LCD 4 would not have been close to the HE1, its more about the system rather than the headphone if that makes sense, in my particular case. Hope that clarifies the situation.

 

[ken6217]

Re the earlier question HE1 vs LCD4
I have to also add and reiterate that without the Melco and Torus ( other products available ) the LCD 4 would not have been close to the HE1, its more about the system rather than the headphone if that makes sense, in my particular case. Hope that clarifies the situation.

You can't say that. Try using that system with a bright sounding headphone and report back how the system sounds.

Actually speakers and headphones will make the most difference, but off course each component matters.

 

[seamon]

Re the earlier question HE1 vs LCD4
I have to also add and reiterate that without the Melco and Torus ( other products available ) the LCD 4 would not have been close to the HE1, its more about the system rather than the headphone if that makes sense, in my particular case. Hope that clarifies the situation.

Can you describe how the LCD 4 sounds with and without the Melco and Torus?

 

[seamon]

Just looked at the components
Melco N1Z is a $5000 Music Server.
Torus is a $5000 Power supply.

Yeah no mate, these things are not gonna affect sound quality more than 0.5-1%. I bet you can't do a A/B test with and without these components and reliably tell the difference.

 

[Clive101]

You can't say that. Try using that system with a bright sounding headphone and report back how the system sounds.

Actually speakers and headphones will make the most difference, but off course each component matters.

Yes I see what you mean, your correct. I did not want to say it was a direct comparison of headphones, of course a different headphone would sound different in my system.

 

[Clive101]

Just looked at the components
Melco N1Z is a $5000 Music Server.
Torus is a $5000 Power supply.

Yeah no mate, these things are not gonna affect sound quality more than 0.5-1%. I bet you can't do a A/B test with and without these components and reliably tell the difference.

Yes I can, I was astonished. Yes thought the same as you. Ask your local dealer for a demo. Oh forgot to say using a Music USB cable.
Are you in the U.K...? If so PM me.

Edit I take it your in the US or Canada...?

 

[seamon]

Yes I can, I was astonished. Yes thought the same as you. Ask your local dealer for a demo. Oh forgot to say using a Music USB cable.
Are you in the U.K...? If so PM me.

I am in the US so it's a no go for me.
I'll remain skeptical but still gonna ask how much difference do these 2 components make to your ears?