[Chuy24]

I run it stock, I’ve tried a few eq’s and I prefer stock. Though I’ve never liked eq’ing any headphones; to me it’s defeating the purpose of trying different headphones and having fun with the hobby.

 

[Lokust]

Anyone else listen to the lcd-4 stock, no eq applied? I know most people eq it, and say it is tonally completely wrong, but that just hasn't been my experience at all.


Context: After struggling to tune the zmf atrium's vocals this week (sharp and unbalanced, vocals sound simply wrong sometimes), I put on my lcd-4. I'm aware that the lcd-4 is supposed to have a worse tuning than the atrium, so I tried scouring song after song, trying to find one that would have unbalanced vocals, and I just couldn't find one. The lcd-4 gave me the most emotional, detailed, and nuanced vocals I've ever heard, no matter the song. At worst, I would say the vocals are a little quiet compared to the instruments around it, but out of balance? Absolutely not. I have no idea how this headphone does it, but I'm loving every second of it.


Going back to eq, I find that oratory's, while still good, does boost the upper parts of the fr unnecessarily much. I prefer metal571's small refinements, which again reflects how much I enjoy the stock fr. And I haven't even talked about the clarity, the bass, the rich timbre of the lcd-4...such a fantastic headphone.

I listen to mine stock as well, though I sometimes use the free Audeze Reveal plugin. It's an amazing headphone, have never listened to anything better from ZMF. But then again, I'm not their biggest fan. The LCD-4 is dynamic & amazingly fun, yet never fatiguing.

 

[KaiSc]

Anyone else listen to the lcd-4 stock, no eq applied? I know most people eq it, and say it is tonally completely wrong, but that just hasn't been my experience at all.


Context: After struggling to tune the zmf atrium's vocals this week (sharp and unbalanced, vocals sound simply wrong sometimes), I put on my lcd-4. I'm aware that the lcd-4 is supposed to have a worse tuning than the atrium, so I tried scouring song after song, trying to find one that would have unbalanced vocals, and I just couldn't find one. The lcd-4 gave me the most emotional, detailed, and nuanced vocals I've ever heard, no matter the song. At worst, I would say the vocals are a little quiet compared to the instruments around it, but out of balance? Absolutely not. I have no idea how this headphone does it, but I'm loving every second of it.


Going back to eq, I find that oratory's, while still good, does boost the upper parts of the fr unnecessarily much. I prefer metal571's small refinements, which again reflects how much I enjoy the stock fr. And I haven't even talked about the clarity, the bass, the rich timbre of the lcd-4...such a fantastic headphone.

EQ-ed or not largly depends on the recording for me.

As I‘m listening to a wide variety of styles, including Classical and Jazz, I found that the more “processed” the music’s mixes are, the less EQ I want.

With contemporary Pop and Rock etc. typically no EQ at all.
Never as extreme as Orarory1990, halfway it’s gain settings at most.

 

[Derek Dean]

Anyone else listen to the lcd-4 stock, no eq applied? I know most people eq it, and say it is tonally completely wrong, but that just hasn't been my experience at all.


Context: After struggling to tune the zmf atrium's vocals this week (sharp and unbalanced, vocals sound simply wrong sometimes), I put on my lcd-4. I'm aware that the lcd-4 is supposed to have a worse tuning than the atrium, so I tried scouring song after song, trying to find one that would have unbalanced vocals, and I just couldn't find one. The lcd-4 gave me the most emotional, detailed, and nuanced vocals I've ever heard, no matter the song. At worst, I would say the vocals are a little quiet compared to the instruments around it, but out of balance? Absolutely not. I have no idea how this headphone does it, but I'm loving every second of it.


Going back to eq, I find that oratory's, while still good, does boost the upper parts of the fr unnecessarily much. I prefer metal571's small refinements, which again reflects how much I enjoy the stock fr. And I haven't even talked about the clarity, the bass, the rich timbre of the lcd-4...such a fantastic headphone.

I've found that it simply depends on my mood. Yes, most of the time I prefer to EQ them, which they take extremely well, but sometimes, for instance when listening to something like Austin City Limits, I'll listen with no EQ, and they sound perfect. I'm not sure why that is, but for whatever reason, they always leave me satisfied.

 

[rgs9200m]

Anyone else listen to the lcd-4 stock, no eq applied? I know most people eq it, and say it is tonally completely wrong, but that just hasn't been my experience at all.


Context: After struggling to tune the zmf atrium's vocals this week (sharp and unbalanced, vocals sound simply wrong sometimes), I put on my lcd-4. I'm aware that the lcd-4 is supposed to have a worse tuning than the atrium, so I tried scouring song after song, trying to find one that would have unbalanced vocals, and I just couldn't find one. The lcd-4 gave me the most emotional, detailed, and nuanced vocals I've ever heard, no matter the song. At worst, I would say the vocals are a little quiet compared to the instruments around it, but out of balance? Absolutely not. I have no idea how this headphone does it, but I'm loving every second of it.


Going back to eq, I find that oratory's, while still good, does boost the upper parts of the fr unnecessarily much. I prefer metal571's small refinements, which again reflects how much I enjoy the stock fr. And I haven't even talked about the clarity, the bass, the rich timbre of the lcd-4...such a fantastic headphone.

I've had the LCD-4 since it was first introduced and I have never needed to use EQ on it. I'm not sure where you got the impression that most people do.
It is not bright, boomy, or lacking in any frequency and had fine, natural organic vocals and is a champion of slam and drama.
One of my favorite tracks on the LCD-4 is Boy In The Bubble from Graceland.
The intro is probably my go-to track for testing slam and percussion. (Such a great song IMHO...)

 

[pippen99]

I never EQ’d my LCD-4 in the 5years I owned it. During a Roon free trial I tried the Audeze preset but soon went back as I felt it was not an improvement.

 

[makan]

I never EQ’d my LCD-4 in the 5years I owned it. During a Roon free trial I tried the Audeze preset but soon went back as I felt it was not an improvement.

Me too. The LCD-5 is a different story. A lot of people prefer it eq'ed

 

[pippen99]

I use the Audeze preset as a convolution filter plus a 3 band PEQ on my LCD-5.

 

[ansel1]

I pretty much always EQ it. Sometimes I forget the EQ is off, and I won't immediately notice anything, but over time it will start to bother me, like an itch, and then I'll realize I didn't have the EQ on. It's mainly around upper mids: it's sounds a little...tinny or something.

 

[planar shill]

I think mine is great stock, very chill tuning. Like a classy dark tuning.
However, I still use EQ to make it about half as dark sounding most of the time.

 

[Chuy24]

Is it safe to say we all have the “Open Cell” pads now? Did that change any of you guys’ EQ opinions?

 

[planar shill]

I have the "bad" pads. I have the second generation pads, not the best sounding original pads that break the drivers and not the safe newer post 2021 pads.

 

[LetTheKidsTechno]

I go back and forth on EQ. I've tried a number of different EQ profiles, and have come to the conclusion less is more with the LCD4 (especially with the new open cell pads). I find many EQ profiles to be too extreme, especially Oratory's. The open cell pads reduce the need for EQ as they help with the upper mids/treble but also slightly reduce the subbass rumble of the old pads. A boosted low shelf filter works wonders in that regard. EQ for me becomes dependent on what genre I'm listening to at the moment.

 

[marcan]

Anyone else listen to the lcd-4 stock, no eq applied? I know most people eq it, and say it is tonally completely wrong, but that just hasn't been my experience at all.


Context: After struggling to tune the zmf atrium's vocals this week (sharp and unbalanced, vocals sound simply wrong sometimes), I put on my lcd-4. I'm aware that the lcd-4 is supposed to have a worse tuning than the atrium, so I tried scouring song after song, trying to find one that would have unbalanced vocals, and I just couldn't find one. The lcd-4 gave me the most emotional, detailed, and nuanced vocals I've ever heard, no matter the song. At worst, I would say the vocals are a little quiet compared to the instruments around it, but out of balance? Absolutely not. I have no idea how this headphone does it, but I'm loving every second of it.


Going back to eq, I find that oratory's, while still good, does boost the upper parts of the fr unnecessarily much. I prefer metal571's small refinements, which again reflects how much I enjoy the stock fr. And I haven't even talked about the clarity, the bass, the rich timbre of the lcd-4...such a fantastic headphone.

If I had to EQ them I wouldn't have bought the LCD4 to begin with.

 

[crashtest33]

The long slippery slope which began (with headphones) in 2009 (thanks Jude) has finally hit the ground with a very expensive (yet worthwhile) thud!!
I waited 5 years for a mint, Trilogy Audio Systems 933 amplifier, and now, finally, I have managed to aquire a mint pair of Audeze LCD-4’s
My LCD-3’s have gone to a very happy new owner.
Proud to finally be able to post in Head-Fi’s ‘Summit-Fi’ forum