[mixman]

Greetings, all - has anyone ever experimented with pad rolling on the LCD-4? Unlike all the other Audeze cans, the earpads on the LCD-4 are dead-simple to remove. They're just attached to a foam ring, so you can remove them and reapply them relatively easily. In fact, I somewhat accidentally took one earpad off investigating how firmly they're attached. Currently listening to them with sheepskin pads, and they still sound great - perhaps a little warmer.

EDIT: 9 minutes later and I've already switched them back - the sheepskin pads did indeed reinforce the bass and attenuate the treble just a bit, but they also made the headphones sound quite honky/cuppy. Just wondering if anybody tried pad rolling.

Audeze has mentioned that you can forfeit your warranty by changing the pads yourself. They say by changing the pads you run the risk of blowing a driver, which cost $1,200 for the pair to replace.

 

[whirlwind]

Audeze has mentioned that you can forfeit your warranty by changing the pads yourself. They say by changing the pads you run the risk of blowing a driver, which cost $1,200 for the pair to replace.

My pads are like new and in fantastic condition...I am just curios though...wonder how much Audeze charges to change the pads.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I think a stock pad set is 100 bucks. They're stuck on with tape, right? You can do it yourself.

 

[thefitz]

I bought my pair second hand and am sure the warranty ended long, long ago.

I do find the concern funny as they're actually the easiest LCD to replace the earpads on, by a factor of about 200

 

[kid vic]

I bought my pair second hand and am sure the warranty ended long, long ago.

I do find the concern funny as they're actually the easiest LCD to replace the earpads on, by a factor of about 200

Why do you say it's easier? It should be functionally the same as changing pads on any other LCD headphone.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

Why do you say it's easier? It should be functionally the same as changing pads on any other LCD headphone.

I was wondering that also but then I realized it must be because the 4 is heavier and doesn't move around as much while you're pressing the pads on

 

[thefitz]

Why do you say it's easier? It should be functionally the same as changing pads on any other LCD headphone.

For other LCD headphones, the pad is is attached directly to the earcup by some very intense adhesive. It's very, very difficult to remove earpads off an LCD like that without ripping the earpads, especially for older sets.

For the LCD-4, earpads are attached to a "spacer" which is in turn attached to the earcup by some very intense adhesive. But the "spacer" is just a moderately thick ring of squishy foam, so the pad is gently attached to the foam and comes off quite easily, leaving the pads 100% intact.

 

[thefitz]

I had a pair of Dekoni Choice Suede earpads lying around from previous experiments, and tossed 'em on the LCD-4 on a lark. They're so trivially easy to swap, why not? At least for the novelty of easily switching earpads on a set Audeze for some reason swears against?

The interesting thing about Choice Suede pads is that they really damp down the 9kHz range and don't do a whole lot elsewhere (which, in the case of my LCD-XC, meant the treble was properly cooled off, but that midrange honk was still blinding me). I was a little worried about what they'd do to the LCD-4s, especially considering the regular sheepskin pads were really cuppy sounding.

Granted, I slapped em on 15 minutes ago, so I'll add impressions over time if anyone cares (who am I kidding? I'll post it anyway), but holy smokes! Ooey gooey pre-Fazor goodness. Tyll's observation of a 4kHz suckout and a tizzy >10kHz are is something that stuck out to me sometimes - I don't believe these pads did a whole lot to the 4kHz section, but to my ears the rest of treble is brought down to that level, and I'm left with a wonderful, warm, enveloping, fatigueless sound.

Frequency sweeps sounded great, with the familiar bass, some strong (possibly intense?) mids, and believe it or not, not a whole lot in the way of wonkiness from 3kHz to 14kHz (and then I go deaf). Nothing particularly spiky, but not present pretty much everywhere. Perhaps a little quieter than the rest of the spectrum, but consistent nonetheless.

This is likely much warmer than most people want, but I can't believe my ears. I was expecting this to be a mess, but I think I'm going to leave these suckers on until I can get Hybrids from Drop. Tomorrow, I'll run through my "reference playlist" to see what nastiness I can detect.

 

[smodtactical]

Audeze has mentioned that you can forfeit your warranty by changing the pads yourself. They say by changing the pads you run the risk of blowing a driver, which cost $1,200 for the pair to replace.

That is a pretty stupid design. Here I gotta give props to abyss and other companies that make driver replacement so easy.

 

[smodtactical]

I wonder with such a poor design why would anyone buy lcd4 over abyss tc?

 

[kali77]

I wonder with such a poor design why would anyone buy lcd4 over abyss tc?

Well... For one there is a cost difference, two folks have different preferences, three power required, just to name a few..... Anyway I have the LCD-4 and the Diana V2 (not the TC I know) and truly enjoy both of them.

 

[thefitz]

What's so complex about Audeze's driver replacement v. other companies?

Driver replacement isn't good. We want no driver replacement.

 

[JLoud]

I have the LCD4 and TC. They are complimentary headphones. The Audeze has a wonderful midrange while the bass and treble is fantastic on the TC. To my ears anyway.

 

[jlbrach]

That is a pretty stupid design. Here I gotta give props to abyss and other companies that make driver replacement so easy.

I have owned several lcd-4's over the past few years...I replaced the pads myself on my last pair and it was no big deal...in fact I called audeze to ask advice on doing it and they walked me through it...nothing to worry about

 

[smodtactical]

Sorry I meant pad replacement.