[JLoud]

Thanks. I will look to add it to my collection.

 

[sahmen]

Homework album, this track...

Sold!

But this tune must go with some movement...

...not to mention graphics

 

[mlxx]

The music video is pretty funny actually (obviously need a flac album version though).

 

[rthomas]

Hi Guys,

I just purchased an LCD4 and emailed Audeze customer support to check if any driver revisions were done in 2019. The answer I received was bizarre especially considering the fact that this headphone is their flagship and costs $4000....

No offense meant to Jimmy at Audeze customer support as he is just repeating the company line but I think we need something a bit better than every batch we make will sound different.

I'm pasting the exact text from Audeze below:

Hi

Our philosophy has always been to make the best headphones we can, every time we make them. As with most any manufacturer striving for constant improvement, we make small incremental changes to nearly every batch of headphones we build. Sometimes those changes are based on what we learned making the last batch and sometimes they're based on new knowledge from other sources. Our hope is that every change leads to some improvement in either sonics, reliability or efficiency. Over time these changes can add up to larger differences that may be noticeable when comparing older and newer examples.

Hope this helps!

Jimmy

It would be helpful if someone at Headfi could use that state of the art measurement rig to check if 2 or 3 pairs of LCD4s sound different and by how much. That would be a service to the community who invests our hard earned money with smaller manufacturers like Audeze.

 

[tan29844]

Hifiman = Release new model every year, called it V2 or SE
Audeze = Different driver revision each year, same model

Different marketing I guess, not sure which method is better... I met an LCD-4 owner who said his favourite headphone of all time is still a Pre Fazor LCD-3 he bought in 2012

 

[mixman]

Hi Guys,

I just purchased an LCD4 and emailed Audeze customer support to check if any driver revisions were done in 2019. The answer I received was bizarre especially considering the fact that this headphone is their flagship and costs $4000....

No offense meant to Jimmy at Audeze customer support as he is just repeating the company line but I think we need something a bit better than every batch we make will sound different.

I'm pasting the exact text from Audeze below:

Hi

Our philosophy has always been to make the best headphones we can, every time we make them. As with most any manufacturer striving for constant improvement, we make small incremental changes to nearly every batch of headphones we build. Sometimes those changes are based on what we learned making the last batch and sometimes they're based on new knowledge from other sources. Our hope is that every change leads to some improvement in either sonics, reliability or efficiency. Over time these changes can add up to larger differences that may be noticeable when comparing older and newer examples.

Hope this helps!

Jimmy

It would be helpful if someone at Headfi could use that state of the art measurement rig to check if 2 or 3 pairs of LCD4s sound different and by how much. That would be a service to the community who invests our hard earned money with smaller manufacturers like Audeze.

Translation: " The unit you buy today will not sound like a unit bought last week".

Audeze is know to have a sometimes substantial unit to unit variation on the sound.

 

[rthomas]

Hifiman = Release new model every year, called it V2 or SE
Audeze = Different driver revision each year, same model

Different marketing I guess, not sure which method is better... I met an LCD-4 owner who said his favourite headphone of all time is still a Pre Fazor LCD-3 he bought in 2012

Apple releases new Iphones every year, I have no issues with that.

Hifiman's updates are too frequent sometimes (6 months for Edition X V1 to V2) but at least they are upfront about it. I'm no fan of theirs and as a policy don't buy their headphones due to frequent revisions and poor build quality.

What I don't like is selling a $4000 flagship product and then saying that every batch manufactured can sound different due to ''improvements''

That's not marketing. That's a politically correct way of saying we have driver inconsistencies but we're not willing to acknowledge them.

I request Headfi to measure a few LCD4 samples to see if they are consistent. Of course we can allow for small variations in frequency response due to pads, sealing etc.

I'm just concerned about large differences.

IMHO it would be much wiser to say that at this level of performance there will be small variations in the mids upwards but mild EQ or the Reveal plug in will bring the headphones to the target response but I guess they don't want to admit that.

 

[jlbrach]

actually I have no problem with the idea of a 2019 LCD-4 being slightly improved over say a 2017 model....in fact I think it is a good thing

 

[rthomas]

actually I have no problem with the idea of a 2019 LCD-4 being slightly improved over say a 2017 model....in fact I think it is a good thing

That's not what Audeze are saying.

They're saying the batch of November 2019 may be ''better" / different than the batch of October 2019... You are willing to play the lottery with a $4000 statement product? The reason I'm paying that much is for stringent quality control and adherence to their target frequency response/ sound.

 

[jlbrach]

the newest models are potentially the best models...I am fine with that

 

[szymonsays]

That's not what Audeze are saying.

They're saying the batch of November 2019 may be ''better" / different than the batch of October 2019... You are willing to play the lottery with a $4000 statement product? The reason I'm paying that much is for stringent quality control and adherence to their target frequency response/ sound.

Agreed. You're paying a premium for what should be tight quality control and an overall tuning that they originally intended. I love the Audeze house sound, but that sort of statement may make me think twice about purchasing any upcoming flagships from them.

 

[jlbrach]

actually I think it would be a selling point for audeze if they simply made a public statement that rather than releasing new flagships constantly they are making small improvements in new issued headphones when appropriate....

 

[Pastwa]

They could as well start with a lower price of 2000£ and keep increasing it as production and improvements are developed, reaching 4000£ at the very end. It would be fair to the client.

 

[mixman]

Agreed. You're paying a premium for what should be tight quality control and an overall tuning that they originally intended. I love the Audeze house sound, but that sort of statement may make me think twice about purchasing any upcoming flagships from them.

Well it's a known issue when buying Audeze........You might get a really good LCD.... or you might not. Not sure if/when that will cease to be an issue.

 

[kid vic]

actually I think it would be a selling point for audeze if they simply made a public statement that rather than releasing new flagships constantly they are making small improvements in new issued headphones when appropriate....

They could as well start with a lower price of 2000£ and keep increasing it as production and improvements are developed, reaching 4000£ at the very end. It would be fair to the client.

Both of these outlooks would greatly diminish the value of every Audeze headphone; say what you will about Hifiman but at least they devalue their products while simultaneously offering an upgrade path, would Audeze do that knowing that every couple months there will be a slight retune or variation? Also, knowing that the sonic revisions have some serious effect to the signature there could develop a cult following of one specific short lived variation that might hurt future sales (see pre 2016 LCD-3s and their status). Audeze could go the way of vintage AKGs and have 3ish variations of their headphones over the production run and just leave it to fans to sort out later but then they would have to pretend it never happened all the headphones are identical.