[jlbrach]

3 yrs for drivers

 

[astrostar59]

It is 3 I believe?

 

[RCBinTN]

Thanks for clarifying the Audez'e warranty period, folks. Valuable info.

I've been a bit neurotic if my cup placement is correct on my ears so I tried to find the sweet spot. It takes 4 clicks for my ear to touch from the top to touch the bottom of the ear cup. Sadly it's an even number so I opted for two clicks from the bottom.

I, too, had this issue with the larger over-the-ear headphones. It's important to get large HPs positioned correctly ... you can hear the difference.

Here's the advice I've received: for vertical position, centered on the ear. For horizontal, just touching the back of the ear then tilt the headband slightly forward.
I use this method for both my LCD-4 and HD800, and it seems to work well. YMMV.

FYI, friends.
RCB

 

[mixman]

I bought the list-price new LCD-4 from Audez'e to get the full warranty. Too many driver failures on planar magnetic headphones.
Just my modus operandi on the high-end gear

Just make sure If you buy them used they still have a warranty on them......the drivers are $1,200 for the pair. Now as far as buying new I think unless you really plan on sticking with them for a long time to ask the dealer for a discount. Pretty much all will give one. Like I said in my previous post the resale on these is approaching only 50%, considerable, because of the cost.

 

[marcan]

The LCD4 is an absolute sound killer, top to bottom.
I currently own the venerable LCD2rev2. I tried several others audeze (LCD3, LCD2F, ...) but none impressed me more than the LCD2rev2.
Till I tried the LCD4; Damn this one is really good. I had one borrowed to my Hi-Fi store. But I add a driver failure just after I move the LCD4 on my head.
So yes the LCD4 is great but still very fragile so you better have a full warranty.

 

[801evan]

Sharing here my impressions now that I got the 800s and he1k in the same setup.

Ranking:
LCD 4 straight- everything LCD 4 Bakoon is but catches more air and speed
LCD 4 Bakoon - fuller, more open than he1k Bakoon, more resolving
He1k Bakoon - needs Bakoon big time for a fuller sound but the overall sound sounds like a Hugo 1.
He1k straight - thin

I tried the 800s but after what was no more than 10 mins I had ear fatigue that came with a slightly dull ear pain that lasted for 50 mins. The Bakoon gave the 800s amazing ear thumping bass quantity but the 4 was better in every way.

Oddly, for over a year, I was always dreaming of trying the 800s and he1k coz I had good positive reactions with them in a store or a meet-up but I was still spending my funds on source and accessories. Today was a long time waiting of trying all the 4, 3, 800s and he1k together I am super surprised my memory and sentiments with the 800s and he1k didn't hold up to my current chain. It brings more respect on the scalability of the 4 coz it was initially meh but on my multi-stage power filtering chain, it soared to the top. Meanwhile, he1k and 800s seemed to hit it ceiling quickly.

I was expecting a scenario of complimentary headphones but the 4, IMHO, beats both of em in every segment. A possibility is the cable factor but the difference is too big that I'm estimating a cable upgrade is not enough for both units to catch up.

 

[RCBinTN]

The LCD4 is an absolute sound killer, top to bottom.
I currently own the venerable LCD2rev2. I tried several others audeze (LCD3, LCD2F, ...) but none impressed me more than the LCD2rev2.
Till I tried the LCD4; Damn this one is really good. I had one borrowed to my Hi-Fi store. But I add a driver failure just after I move the LCD4 on my head.
So yes the LCD4 is great but still very fragile so you better have a full warranty.

The original LCD-4 were 100-ohm drivers and subject to a high failure rate.
Audez'e recognized the problem and changed the drivers to 200-ohms sometime later (I don't know when). The result was much better reliability.

 

[marcan]

Yes but according to my vendor it was the last version and it was few month ago...

 

[RCBinTN]

Yes but according to my vendor it was the last version and it was few month ago...

Ugh ... not cool.

Sharing here my impressions now that I got the 800s and he1k in the same setup.

Ranking:
LCD 4 straight- everything LCD 4 Bakoon is but catches more air and speed
LCD 4 Bakoon - fuller, more open than he1k Bakoon, more resolving
He1k Bakoon - needs Bakoon big time for a fuller sound but the overall sound sounds like a Hugo 1.
He1k straight - thin

I tried the 800s but after what was no more than 10 mins I had ear fatigue that came with a slightly dull ear pain that lasted for 50 mins. The Bakoon gave the 800s amazing ear thumping bass quantity but the 4 was better in every way.

Oddly, for over a year, I was always dreaming of trying the 800s and he1k coz I had good positive reactions with them in a store or a meet-up but I was still spending my funds on source and accessories. Today was a long time waiting of trying all the 4, 3, 800s and he1k together I am super surprised my memory and sentiments with the 800s and he1k didn't hold up to my current chain. It brings more respect on the scalability of the 4 coz it was initially meh but on my multi-stage power filtering chain, it soared to the top. Meanwhile, he1k and 800s seemed to hit it ceiling quickly.

I was expecting a scenario of complimentary headphones but the 4, IMHO, beats both of em in every segment. A possibility is the cable factor but the difference is too big that I'm estimating a cable upgrade is not enough for both units to catch up.

What, if I may ask, is a Bakoon

 

[801evan]

Ugh ... not cool.


What, if I may ask, is a Bakoon

Ahh sorry, I've been mentioning it here and just kept it shorthand.

It's the Bakoon HP-01 and it has a current mode amplification that's designed for the Audeze LCD in mind and works best for planars. Though the 800s sounds pretty good on it too.

 

[Tekunda]

It's easy to look up Audeze's warranty on headphones.
It's three years on drivers and one year for the rest of the parts:
Here's a recap of our headphone warranty agreement:
We cover 3 years for the drivers and 1 year for the rest of the parts, and this begins from the original date of purchase. Warranty on Mobius is one year for all parts. This is for factory defect only, not wear and tear or cosmetic damage from use. Please note that we consider eartips, earlocks and earhooks to be "consumable items" and offer no warranty on those.

 

[Tekunda]

I am going to audition a LCD 4 at a headphone store, so if anyone is able to give a short synopsis of the difference in sound between the LCD 4 and the LCD 4z, that would be really nice.
Also, since it has been mentioned here several times, I am also quite worried about driver failure when buying used, since new drivers are quite expensive, so should I ever consider buying an Audeze, I would rather consider buying a new set than a second hand Audeze.
(If I were a cynical person, I would say that this is a clever method (unreliable drivers and the fear to pay big bucks for new ones) to make people buy new instead of second hand).

 

[PointyFox]

The original LCD-4 were 100-ohm drivers and subject to a high failure rate.
Audez'e recognized the problem and changed the drivers to 200-ohms sometime later (I don't know when). The result was much better reliability.

I had a driver fail on the 200 Ohm version for what it's worth. I think they were manufactured in 2017.

 

[astrostar59]

I wonder if failures can be caused by dropping (accidentally) the drivers onto the ears, so a compression kind of situation? I was thinking the felt like material behind the cups in the 200 ohm version was to negate that effect.

Totally guessing.

I remember the Stax fast thing and also on Stax 007 or 009s you could here the panels crinkle if you compressed the panels to your ears.

If we have a typical cone on a speaker, it is not so hot pushing the cones in hard for example. I wonder if that is an issue on all HPs.

Thoughts?

 

[Tekunda]

I wonder if failures can be caused by dropping (accidentally) the drivers onto the ears, so a compression kind of situation? I was thinking the felt like material behind the cups in the 200 ohm version was to negate that effect.

Totally guessing.

I remember the Stax fast thing and also on Stax 007 or 009s you could here the panels crinkle if you compressed the panels to your ears.

If we have a typical cone on a speaker, it is not so hot pushing the cones in hard for example. I wonder if that is an issue on all HPs.

Thoughts?

Maybe the "compression effect" creates enough air pressure so that the nano-milimeter thin driver foil rips in two?
Audeze should tell what damage exactly has occurred if they claim driver failure.