[Kozwoz]

So I posted I little while back that I felt my LCD-4 was a bit bright but actually after another 20+ hr of listening I don't think it is. I think what I'm perceiving as a bit un-natural is the 'air' in the high frequencies. This gives more organic genres of music and instruments particularly high hats and cymbals an incredible life like sense of realism and space. However for certain genres of electronic music this air is excessive. My ears are having a hard time adjusting even with the reveal plugin which does a great job at addressing other parts of the frequency spectrum. So I perceive the high frequencies as somewhat disconnected from the rest of the frequency spectrum if that makes sense, as if they live in a different space to everything else. I have a pair of Adam Audio monitors that use ribbon tweeters and I sort of get this effect when listening to them also. Again I should stress the airiness is great for jazz, orchestral or anything which sounds like a real instrument with fast attack and decay but the airiness is too much for some over produced genres of music in my opinion.

I'm having difficulty EQ'ing this air out as any attenuation in 10-16k+ area just makes things less bright and more muted but the air remains. I wonder if tubes might be the way to go.

 

[mitchb]

I like the 4’s just as they are. I would not purchase headphones if I found they required eq. I also have a pair of Utopia phones but they don’t get much use. I find the 4’s hit the spot as is.

 

[tommir]

I like the 4’s just as they are. I would not purchase headphones if I found they required eq. I also have a pair of Utopia phones but they don’t get much use. I find the 4’s hit the spot as is.

I couldn't agree more when we speak about full size headphones. But I found it necessarily with Audeze's iems. It wasn't possible to use isine wihout eq and Audeze app on the phone.

 

[JLoud]

I prefer the LCD4 with tubes. The WA33 is fantastic with the 4’s. Fast and detailed but seems to fix the highs for me at least. For electronic music I prefer the Abyss TC.

 

[JLoud]

Got a new custom Wood and glass case for my LCD4. Pictures tomorrow when I get home. Found it on Etsy for those interested. Will post impressions and pictures later. It came after I left for work.

 

[johnzz4]

So I posted I little while back that I felt my LCD-4 was a bit bright but actually after another 20+ hr of listening I don't think it is. I think what I'm perceiving as a bit un-natural is the 'air' in the high frequencies. This gives more organic genres of music and instruments particularly high hats and cymbals an incredible life like sense of realism and space. However for certain genres of electronic music this air is excessive. My ears are having a hard time adjusting even with the reveal plugin which does a great job at addressing other parts of the frequency spectrum. So I perceive the high frequencies as somewhat disconnected from the rest of the frequency spectrum if that makes sense, as if they live in a different space to everything else. I have a pair of Adam Audio monitors that use ribbon tweeters and I sort of get this effect when listening to them also. Again I should stress the airiness is great for jazz, orchestral or anything which sounds like a real instrument with fast attack and decay but the airiness is too much for some over produced genres of music in my opinion.

I'm having difficulty EQ'ing this air out as any attenuation in 10-16k+ area just makes things less bright and more muted but the air remains. I wonder if tubes might be the way to go.

I suspect the 4s are revealing something else in your chain. I used to have this issue with the 4s, and as I kept improving my chain, there is now zero harshness in the highest frequencies. While there is no shortage of amplitude above 10k, it’s not piercing, intrusive, or uneven sounding when fed the right signal. I also don’t go out of my way to roll off the treble - I use silver interconnects, oversampling, etc., and electronic is my preferred genre. This is coming from someone who is treble sensitive with many cans. Removing my PS Audio power regen, changing my DAC, and ditching the silver plated copper black and white Audeze cable made the biggest differences. Also, if your DAC has a slow filter that doesn’t roll off the highest frequencies at the sampling rates you listen to, that can help avoid ringing. The 4s may not have the frequency response to immediately sound analytical, but they’re incredibly resolving. I still don’t believe I’ve found their limit.

Edit: Forgot about power cables. I have some Pangea AC9s that cause some ridiculously piercing treble. What a difference moving to Shunyata or JPS, though I’m not a huge fan of the latest Shunyata PCs that have a silver core.

 

[pippen99]

My experience is nearly the same as yours. I detect no harshness with my LCD-4. I am curious about your statement about removing your power regenerator. I just added a PS Audio Stellar P3 regenerator and could immediately detect a noticeable difference. Mainly I noticed a lower noise floor and a blacker background(are they the same?). This might be because I do the vast majority of my listening via a tube amp(Woo WA33 EE). Sorry if off-topic.

 

[johnzz4]

My experience is nearly the same as yours. I detect no harshness with my LCD-4. I am curious about your statement about removing your power regenerator. I just added a PS Audio Stellar P3 regenerator and could immediately detect a noticeable difference. Mainly I noticed a lower noise floor and a blacker background(are they the same?). This might be because I do the vast majority of my listening via a tube amp(Woo WA33 EE). Sorry if off-topic.

I have the PS Audio P3 from a couple of years back, and the resulting sound is too dynamic (transients kick the crap out of my ears), a smaller soundstage, and I get some grain in my treble. It may be that one of my components don’t play well with it.

 

[JLoud]

I've been contemplating adding a PS Audio Stellar P3 to my system. I have a WA33 as well. I'm currently using the PS Audio Dectet. Any thoughts on how much of an upgrade the P3 is?

 

[pippen99]

You just missed the October power sale. The P3 was almost 1/3 off. This is my first experience with a power regenerator. Formerly all I had was a Tripp Lite Isolater. I have been skeptical of the benefits but at the price point offered at the sale and PS Audio's generous return policy I pulled the trigger. It was a pleasant surprise when I could hear a SQ positive. Now the P3 is the baby of the line. My DAC and streamer don't pull much power but I cannot run both amps at the same time. That is not a problem for me but you would have to calculate if a P3 would be adequate for what you intend to hook up to it.

 

[koven]

You may want to consider P12 if you're planning to use your BHSE and WA33 simultaneously. P3 can handle spikes up to 900W, but only for a couple seconds, it's rated 300W continuous. BHSE and WA33 draw about 200W each. Plus it's not optimal to run PS regenerators close to max capacity, the more headroom the better.

 

[pippen99]

The WA33 actually draws 150W with my DS DAC and Lumin U1 drawing 30E and 20W respectively. That gives me 33% headroom. If I turn on the Lau the P3 will immediately go into protection mode. I was surprised how little power consumption mu DAC and streamer consume so the P3 was perfect to give power regeneration a try. If I had needed a P12 I probably wouldn't have gone through with the purchase since the P12 is a whole lot more expensive.

 

[koven]

They publish 150W on their website but mine pulls ~200W, try measuring yours for fun with a Kill A Watt or something. I believe they target Stellar P3 towards front-end or class D systems. I'd guess your setup is closer to 250W total but ultimately if your indicator stays green then of course you don't technically need a P12. Their Oct sale was a pretty solid discount though.

 

[ThanatosVI]

Nice to read something about the Stellar p3, was contemplating to add that one to my System.

Did anyone who has it use a Audioquest Niagara before?

 

[JLoud]

Here are some pictures of my new case for the LCD4.