IMHO, the Utopias hard more resolution and clarity than the LCD-4s, but not by much. The soundstage of the LCD-4 is bigger, and although the soundstage of the Utopias isn't as big, it had a nice accuracy to them, you could tell where everything was coming from, it placed instruments well. This is where it gets tricky, as someone mentioned above, it all depends about the synergy with what you are listening to them with. I have the Burson CV2+, which to me has a brighter sounding DAC, so it has a nice synergy with the LCD-4, which is a bit darker than other headphones and has a slightly recessed treble. The Utopias to me sounded bright in comparison, with some harsh highs. There were songs I enjoyed very much with the Utopias until certain parts I had to pull them off my ears or lower the volume. The same songs at the same volume, I never had to do that with the LCD-4s. Could this simply be bad synergy with the Burson, its very possible, I don't have any other frame of reference. I've read others call the Utopias bright, but not many, so who knows. The bass is very good with the Utopia, but I preferred the bass of the LCD-4. Guitar and Piano sounded incredible with the Utopia, and where as I mentioned above, while the difference is small between them and the 4s, the difference is there. Are they as incredible and gush worthy as everyone is making them out to be, in my opinion, no. Not enough to give me buyers remorse on the 4s, I still prefer the 4s to them. I had both side by side going back and forth, it was as if I was trying to force myself to like the Utopias over the 4s, but I found myself enjoying the sound signature of the 4s more. It's hard for someone to tell you one is better than the other, we all have our own personal tastes. More importantly, the synergy with the source and amps really makes a huge difference on how both sound, so try them out for yourself before investing, with your own equipment, rather than rely on others impressions.