[up late]

i find those price/performance ratio comparisons silly tbh, and there's no way i could envisage wearing the lcd-4 for an eight hour listening session - it's just too damn heavy. i am impressed by the sound tho and prefer it to the hd800s, and regard it as a significant improvement over the lcd-3 that i heard.

 

[rgs9200m]

Compared to other headphones, the LCD4 kind of takes over my full consciousness like no other phone. It's a big, big sound, but not overbearing or boomy. I just get lost in it. When I switch back to other phones, I need to make a mental adjustment since the world sounds a bit of miniaturized. (Although I still love my other favorite phones.)

 

[IPodPJ]

i find those price/performance ratio comparisons silly tbh, and there's no way i could envisage wearing the lcd-4 for an eight hour listening session - it's just too damn heavy. i am impressed by the sound tho and prefer it to the hd800s, and regard it as a significant improvement over the lcd-3 that i heard.

Really, because I never heard the kind of complaining about the insanely overpriced and ugly Abyss, and that while decent phones they aren't nearly as proficient as the 4.

 

[potkettleblack]

Really, because I never heard the kind of complaining about the insanely overpriced and ugly Abyss, and that while decent phones they aren't nearly as proficient as the 4.

All in all spent around 6 hours with the LCD 4. Though the price of the abyss is very high; the price to performance I heard between them, the 009/007 when next to the LCD 4, made the LCD 4 (to me) not very good from a financial stand point. I certainly don't think they play in the leagues of the electrostats and abyss as per the Audeze site claimed during their release, and agree with many opinions that although they are clearly technically improved over the rest of the range they are not summit-fi at all.

And wearing them for 8 hours? I'd struggle to do that with the most comfortable pair of headphones I've ever used, never mind ones that weigh 1.5lbs.

 

[DivergeUnify]

All in all spent around 6 hours with the LCD 4. Though the price of the abyss is very high; the price to performance I heard between them, the 009/007 when next to the LCD 4, made the LCD 4 (to me) not very good from a financial stand point. I certainly don't think they play in the leagues of the electrostats and abyss as per the Audeze site claimed during their release, and agree with many opinions that although they are clearly technically improved over the rest of the range they are not summit-fi at all.

And wearing them for 8 hours? I'd struggle to do that with the most comfortable pair of headphones I've ever used, never mind ones that weigh 1.5lbs.

detail wise, where do you find the lcd4 to sit? Before it seems the lcd3 was at the bottom of the pack for raw detail, but does the lcd4 resolve better than any of the summit-fi cans you can think of

 

[IPodPJ]

All in all spent around 6 hours with the LCD 4. Though the price of the abyss is very high; the price to performance I heard between them, the 009/007 when next to the LCD 4, made the LCD 4 (to me) not very good from a financial stand point. I certainly don't think they play in the leagues of the electrostats and abyss as per the Audeze site claimed during their release, and agree with many opinions that although they are clearly technically improved over the rest of the range they are not summit-fi at all.

And wearing them for 8 hours? I'd struggle to do that with the most comfortable pair of headphones I've ever used, never mind ones that weigh 1.5lbs.

detail wise, where do you find the lcd4 to sit? Before it seems the lcd3 was at the bottom of the pack for raw detail, but does the lcd4 resolve better than any of the summit-fi cans you can think of

I can answer both of your posts with one answer. I earlier left a review a page or two back, maybe more. I personally find the 007 and 009 lacking as I have felt about all electrostats except the original SR-Omega, hence the reason I don't own any, which I doubt many of you ever heard since it was a limited run. It had better imaging than any phone, ever. But a very loose headband and the phone constantly fell off your head unless you had a huge head.

As far as resolution, I had said I find the LCD-4 to sound like a blend of the best traits of LCD-3, the HD800, the SR009 and 007, and the HE90, and then a perceived doubling of the performance.

And potkettle, which version of the LCD-4 did you hear? Old diaphragm, or new diaphragm? The new diaphragm is a very much improved design, and sounds much better, though it does require a lot more power at only 97dB/mW @ 200 ohms vs. the previous diaphragm at 102dB/mW @ 110 ohms; about 2.3x more power for equivalent volume. Also, a spacer was added between the earcups and ear pads.

I can't find fault with any part of the FR of the LCD4s (at least on my super transparent system), and they are my total end game. I was never satisfied with the 009 even on a DIY T2. They are strident lacking in any form of decent bass response. The 007 (mk1 and mk2) are better as they more neutral sounding but are very wispy in the treble which is a trait of most stats I hate. The SR-Omega had perfect treble and an almost perfect midrange, though lacked in bass response as any stat does however they had better imaging than any headphone made to date (though I haven't heard the Orpheus 2 so I can't compare them). And as far as the Abyss, they were just weird sounding with good balance in some areas but frequency responses that bounced around a lot like some Sony's I remember from the late 90s through early 00s.

Also, the LCD-4 come with a fairly good stock cable better than many after markets I've heard, so that's a plus, too.

 

[potkettleblack]

The new 200hm version, on the Dave, o2 and Ifi idsd micro. Some great things happening but not enough punch for me in the low end (and overall),
and to my ears weren't particularly fun when compared to the 3f and in some ways even the 2f. I'd still choose the LCD X before them.
The imaging was very impressive, they were very natural sounding and liquid - but to me they sounded like a technically more impressive LCD 3 that had been given 2 days worth of diazepam.

 

[potkettleblack]

detail wise, where do you find the lcd4 to sit? Before it seems the lcd3 was at the bottom of the pack for raw detail, but does the lcd4 resolve better than any of the summit-fi cans you can think of

Outside of the Audeze range no. The L700 carried more midrange detail to me - and that's 3 down (in theory) within the Stax range.

 

[IPodPJ]

Outside of the Audeze range no. The L700 carried more midrange detail to me - and that's 3 down (in theory) within the Stax range.

Have you heard the new version as of February? Or not? It is very different from the original release in October.

Opinions provided based on the old diaphragm should be taken with a grain of salt.

(And if you have, I must wonder what kind of system you listened to them on to feel the midrange was actually worse than the 009/007.)

 

[potkettleblack]

Have you heard the new version as of February? Or not? It is very different from the original release in October.

Opinions provided based on the old diaphragm should be taken with a grain of salt.

(And if you have, I must wonder what kind of system you listened to them on to feel the midrange was actually worse than the 009/007.)

All of the said systems before and they arrived when I was there. I had the pleasure of unboxing them. They are the latest version. The shops original pair died. They arrived late February without checking 29th of February I believe.

 

[IPodPJ]

The new 200hm version, on the Dave, o2 and Ifi idsd micro. Some great things happening but not enough punch for me in the low end (and overall),
and to my ears weren't particularly fun when compared to the 3f and in some ways even the 2f. I'd still choose the LCD X before them.
The imaging was very impressive, they were very natural sounding and liquid - but to me they sounded like a technically more impressive LCD 3 that had been given 2 days worth of diazepam.

Lol @ the Valium.

Apparently none of those DAC/amps have enough real power for these phones, as my pair have 95% as much bass as my LCD-3 which was slightly over the baseline. I'm hoping we aren't seeing another fluctuating driver issue, because then opinions are hard to give, period.

 

[Hifi59]

Day 2. 8-12 hour mark. He-1k (vs LCD-4)

1. I'm really liking the light ,palpable touch that these headphones lend to all music. Nice, fluffy and airy! A nice light touch to all genres but yet they still can kick it hard when called to do so.

2. Ears not hot at all after hours of listening.

3. A great alternative to the Audeze sound that easily performs at the same level.

4. Laid back and relaxed in a good way. So easy to listen to for hours on end.

I'm not going to go off topic on this thread with any continued HE-1k impressions, so I will post future impressions in that thread. I will continue to update my LCD-4 impressions in this thread as time goes by though.

I can say this for sure. All three of these headphones, the 3s,the4s and the HE-1k,
are all great headphones and will easily co-exist with each other in my collection.
They represent the best from these companies not necessarily because their pricing, but simply by how they each go about conveying music to one's ears with their own individual signatures.They are cream of the crop /end game /world class as far as I'm concerned and most importantly, they keep me smiling while listening for hours on end !

 

[Trogdor]

Have you heard the new version as of February? Or not? It is very different from the original release in October.

Opinions provided based on the old diaphragm should be taken with a grain of salt.

(And if you have, I must wonder what kind of system you listened to them on to feel the midrange was actually worse than the 009/007.)

I've concluded that some people are either deaf, aren't level matching or just not spending enough time with these cans.

I see it all the time. People switch from one can to the next at different volumes and then Equal Loudness Contours take over the review process.

I don't know how anyone could prefer the LCD-3 over the LCD-4. I mean there is just NO CONTEST between the two. None. The LCD-4 is superior to the LCD-3 in every measurable way (I'm talking about LCD-4 v2) and I have owned my LCD-3 pair for now many many moons.

The 007 is a very dark headphone and certainly not in the same league as the HE1K and LCD-4. Eee gad no.

The 009 is GREAT but I prefer the HE1K. I admit, that is personal preference - mainly because the HE1K has a much bigger headstage and are on par with respect to treble airyness. Both do bass wonderfully.

The Abyss would be a wonderful headphone if it wasn't for a) it's hefty price tag b) the treble which is way too bright and c) see a. Note, I was one of the first to spend time with the Abyss when it was premiered at the NYAS a few years back.

 

[potkettleblack]

I've concluded that some people are either deaf, aren't level matching or just not spending enough time with these cans.

I see it all the time. People switch from one can to the next at different volumes and then Equal Loudness Contours take over the review process.

I don't know how anyone could prefer the LCD-3 over the LCD-4. I mean there is just NO CONTEST between the two. None. The LCD-4 is superior to the LCD-3 in every measurable way (I'm talking about LCD-4 v2) and I have owned my LCD-3 pair for now many many moons.

The 007 is a very dark headphone and certainly not in the same league as the HE1K and LCD-4. Eee gad no.

The 009 is GREAT but I prefer the HE1K. I admit, that is personal preference - mainly because the HE1K has a much bigger headstage and are on par with respect to treble airyness. Both do bass wonderfully.

The Abyss would be a wonderful headphone if it wasn't for a) it's hefty price tag b) the treble which is way too bright and c) see a. Note, I was one of the first to spend time with the Abyss when it was premiered at the NYAS a few years back.

Yes. Everyone is deaf apart from you - that's why the LCD 4 has had 50/50 reviews by many experienced users on here since its release and continues to since their (first) revision.
I preferred the 3's and X. The other day my headphone dealers wife preferred the 3's and she has every headphone at her finger tips. Since release people have bought the 4's and preferred the X's. My housemate preferred the X's. Somebody just two days ago said they preferred the 3's. A week before that somebody said that they are dull and both him and his girlfriend preferred the 3's. I've never seen or read so many times of people preferring to lower set models than in this instance. Take it on the chin dude.

 

[up late]

Really, because I never heard the kind of complaining about the insanely overpriced and ugly Abyss, and that while decent phones they aren't nearly as proficient as the 4.

yes really. i couldn't envisage listening to the abyss for eight hours straight either for the same reason.