[JLoud]

Bosiemoncrieff asked for a comparison of the 4 to the MX4. Just gave my opinion between the two. And I don't feel the MX4 is as good as the 4. But as I have owned every Audeze except the 4z, I would say the MX4 is one step under the 4's and a good step and a half above the rest of the lineup. In my opinion.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Bosiemoncrieff asked for a comparison of the 4 to the MX4. Just gave my opinion between the two. And I don't feel the MX4 is as good as the 4. But as I have owned every Audeze except the 4z, I would say the MX4 is one step under the 4's and a good step and a half above the rest of the lineup. In my opinion.

Interesting take

I do think that in terms of tuning, MX4 is different from other Audeze, I also own LCD-2C and have heard LCD-4, indeed, MX4 is tuned quite a bit different than the others.

 

[Dan Lee]

Could you describe the sonic differences between the 4 and the MX4? I wasn't seriously considering MX4, but I am interested in the 4-series generally.

I had the LCD-X for a long time and considered it one of the best scaling phones Ive had to date. Despite when I got them MX4's it was instantaneously noticeable that they were better then the X's. The MX4 is a hybrid of both the X and the 4 and to me that is exactly what it sounded like. It was like a cleaner and clearer sounding X. But there is a problem knowing the MX4 is noticeably better than the X and is also part of the 4. That problem is once you hear the it you can not avoid the inevitable purchasing of the 4 as your mind will know immediately that the 4 is better. I wouldn't mind owning both though, but the 4 is just all around better in every way.

 

[JLoud]

I totally agree. But I kept the MX4 for mobile use. And as great as the 4 is, sometimes I like the change of pace of the MX4.

 

[Dan Lee]

I am with you there my friend I would actually like to have both and may very well at some point. For now I am experimenting with electrostatics which is rather fun... sort of.

 

[JLoud]

I am very curious about electrostats. Never really had a chance to listen to any. And having to invest in a new amp has me a little hesitant. That and I really like deep bass with good slam.

 

[donato]

I am very curious about electrostats. Never really had a chance to listen to any. And having to invest in a new amp has me a little hesitant. That and I really like deep bass with good slam.

The Massdrop Koss ESP 95x is an inexpensive way if you are stat curious. I just bought one myself for that reason. It sounds quite nice to me and is not coldly analytical (would not expect many LCD-4 owners are into that), but don't expect sub bass out of them.

 

[Dan Lee]

The added investment in a good stat amp was a bit hard to swallow. No doubt about that. I just feel I wouldn't have been happy not knowing... because Im crazy and like to spend money haha. At least thats what I tell myself.

As far as the bass situation goes. There is no doubt the LCD series has much greater impact to go with its accuracy. But the 009 and L700 for that matter still have incredibly articulate and accurate bass just with less impact. It is also significantly faster. All that being said I am waiting for my Carbon to come in before I decide how I really feel about stats.

 

[mixman]

I posed this question on the 4Z thread but I see this thread is a bit more lively. I am looking for a possible upgrade for my X that my good friend Dan sold me. I must admit though I am not a big fan of the MX4. For what I like, it didn't seem like a big improvement over the X, so I am looking at either the 4 or 4Z. I would prefer the 4Z because it is easier to drive and lighter. On Josh Valour's live stream, we started discussing the LCD4 and 4Z. One reviewer. Metal571 mentioned he thought the 4Z traded off too much air and high end detail in exchange for being easier to drive. For anyone that has owned or heard both, does this sound accurate, or are the two on par with each other sonically?

 

[phthora]

The added investment in a good stat amp was a bit hard to swallow. No doubt about that. I just feel I wouldn't have been happy not knowing... because Im crazy and like to spend money haha. At least thats what I tell myself.

As far as the bass situation goes. There is no doubt the LCD series has much greater impact to go with its accuracy. But the 009 and L700 for that matter still have incredibly articulate and accurate bass just with less impact. It is also significantly faster. All that being said I am waiting for my Carbon to come in before I decide how I really feel about stats.

I got to hear the 009, 007, and Voce and A/B/C them on a Blue Hawaii amp at a couple of different meet-ups. I think you are entirely accurate in how you compare them to the LCDs (at least the ones I've heard). The funny thing is, electrostats just didn't do it for me. They sounded amazing with acoustic music, jazz, and classical, but left me feeling the need for more heft when it came to metal or electronic. The experience pretty much cemented my status as a 'planar guy,' which was a great relief to my bank account. Of course, listening at a meet-up is a great opportunity, but I find it's never quite the same as owning the gear and being able to listen normally over several days. I hope you'll let us know what you think when your Carbon roll in. Maybe a different amp would have changed my impressions of those headphones.

 

[Dan Lee]

I will definitely let you guys know what I find with the Carbon. I also agree with you in regard to electronic music. I just cant imagine a headphone that does electronic music the way the LCD 4 does it. I mean in all honesty the stats through the Carbon are going to have to do a pretty damn good job to cause me to like them as much or more then the 4's. I have had a lot of headphones over time and by far the 4 is my favorite.

 

[protoss]

I posed this question on the 4Z thread but I see this thread is a bit more lively. I am looking for a possible upgrade for my X that my good friend Dan sold me. I must admit though I am not a big fan of the MX4. For what I like, it didn't seem like a big improvement over the X, so I am looking at either the 4 or 4Z. I would prefer the 4Z because it is easier to drive and lighter. On Josh Valour's live stream, we started discussing the LCD4 and 4Z. One reviewer. Metal571 mentioned he thought the 4Z traded off too much air and high end detail in exchange for being easier to drive. For anyone that has owned or heard both, does this sound accurate, or are the two on par with each other sonically?

Watch this

 

[Dan Lee]

I posed this question on the 4Z thread but I see this thread is a bit more lively. I am looking for a possible upgrade for my X that my good friend Dan sold me. I must admit though I am not a big fan of the MX4. For what I like, it didn't seem like a big improvement over the X, so I am looking at either the 4 or 4Z. I would prefer the 4Z because it is easier to drive and lighter. On Josh Valour's live stream, we started discussing the LCD4 and 4Z. One reviewer. Metal571 mentioned he thought the 4Z traded off too much air and high end detail in exchange for being easier to drive. For anyone that has owned or heard both, does this sound accurate, or are the two on par with each other sonically?

Brother Mixman I am surprised the MX4 was not to your liking. That being said the 4 is hard for anyone not to like... unless they have crappy functioning ears or something haha. I've not heard the 4Z but I have heard other reviewers say the same thing that Metal571 did. However I know guys who prefer the sound of the 4Z over the 4. I know that was incredibly helpful haha.

 

[commtrd]

I do not own or had the pleasure of auditioning LCD4. To my ears the 4z present an incredible sonic signature which I find absolutely compelling to sample some compositions with. I may be listening to a selection with my i4, and just KNOW that it is imperative to don the 4z at that time. And definitely not minimizing the i4 at all, just the 4z will move more air and provide that extra bit of eargasmic intensity that just blows me away really. Resolving, fast, hyper-accurate (Hugo 2 does play into that somewhat) with a timbre and staging that -at times- will have me looking around the room to see who might be intruding only to find it was just a nuance I had not heard before.

Reminds me of the time I had first listened to Pink Floyd Animals on the LCD-X with Gungnir-Mjolnir. Naturally I had a rather robust volume going, and I will never forget hearing pigs and a very faint dog bark which sounded like it may have been 40 feet outside my trailer. That just blew me away. Now multiply that by about a factor of two and now you have 4z. THAT my friends is the magic of fine audio reproduction and the presentation afforded by all my Audeze headphones but particularly LCD4z is something I could never forego. Intensity of bass combined with timbre and air plus incredible fast rise and fall, tightly controlled but never clinical, that is 4z. The i4 is right there too, just not quite as totally enveloping is the aura of sound from those. A fine listen nevertheless.

Might I add that the Gilmore Lite Mark II has it's way with the 4z? All I can say is the way this sounds single-ended, I may just flash disappear into audio nirvana with fully balanced throughput... POOF. Gone. =)

Thanks for indulging me this feeble rant but darn it the 4z just blows me away every time I listen. That's really all that matters to me.

 

[astrostar59]

I got to hear the 009, 007, and Voce and A/B/C them on a Blue Hawaii amp at a couple of different meet-ups. I think you are entirely accurate in how you compare them to the LCDs (at least the ones I've heard). The funny thing is, electrostats just didn't do it for me. They sounded amazing with acoustic music, jazz, and classical, but left me feeling the need for more heft when it came to metal or electronic. The experience pretty much cemented my status as a 'planar guy,' which was a great relief to my bank account. Of course, listening at a meet-up is a great opportunity, but I find it's never quite the same as owning the gear and being able to listen normally over several days. I hope you'll let us know what you think when your Carbon roll in. Maybe a different amp would have changed my impressions of those headphones.

I owned a nice Carbon build and used it with both the 007s 2017 and 009 2017. IMO the LCD4 trounces both out of the V281 HP amp, and especially out of my Aries Cerat big bottle SET. I am done with Stax...