Audeze LCD-4

[mulder01]

 
Yeah its the best all arounder that Audeze makes now but I actually preferred my LCD-3 over it. Felt like it sacrificed much of what made their headphones so great in the first place. Moves the Audeze more towards something like the HE1000 which I feel is a step in the wrong direction for them. But I'm just a purist and it's just my opinion, which I know isn't the popular thing to say but it's just how I saw it. I sold my LCD-4 and bought back my old LCD-3, just a more flavorful and fun headphone IMO.

 
I am surprised more people are not in the same boat as you.  Before the 4 came out, I much preferred the X to the 3 because it was a more fun sound whereas the 3 was probably more 'correct'.  The 4 felt more like an upgraded X to me than an upgraded 3 and I was surprised so many people were going from the 3 to the 4 because they were just so different.  I feel like if Audeze called it the LCD-Z (indicating an upgraded X) instead of the LCD-4 (indicating an upgraded 3), more people would have kept their 3's.

 

[qrtas]

The LCD4 is the ultimate all-rounder headphones. It never feels fatiguing and it always sounds right with all music genres. The bass oh.... the bass 

 

 
Yeah its the best all arounder that Audeze makes now but I actually preferred my LCD-3 over it. Felt like it sacrificed much of what made their headphones so great in the first place. Moves the Audeze more towards something like the HE1000 which I feel is a step in the wrong direction for them. But I'm just a purist and it's just my opinion, which I know isn't the popular thing to say but it's just how I saw it. I sold my LCD-4 and bought back my old LCD-3, just a more flavorful and fun headphone IMO.

That's totally valid. Thanks for sharing your opinion. What aspects of the lcd3 do you prefer over the lcd4?

 

[goldendarko]

That's totally valid. Thanks for sharing your opinion. What aspects of the lcd3 do you prefer over the lcd4?

 
bass baby bass! lol, the 4 does bass really well but the 3 is more of a small space, closed in sound which makes it work really well for modern pop and rock recordings. the 4 is airier sounding and technically better no doubt, but for the music I use the Audeze's for I don't want that, that's what I have the HE1000 for (or the Utopia was a better choice too). Daft Punk, Gorillaz, Black Keys and stuff like that just sounded better on the 3's to me, the 4's felt unnatural for the kind of music I like

 

[qrtas]

That's totally valid. Thanks for sharing your opinion. What aspects of the lcd3 do you prefer over the lcd4?

 
bass baby bass! lol, the 4 does bass really well but the 3 is more of a small space, closed in sound which makes it work really well for modern pop and rock recordings. the 4 is airier sounding and technically better no doubt, but for the music I use the Audeze's for I don't want that, that's what I have the HE1000 for (or the Utopia was a better choice too). Daft Punk, Gorillaz, Black Keys and stuff like that just sounded better on the 3's to me, the 4's felt unnatural for the kind of music I like

I just ordered an lcd4. I still have the lcd3 that I am planning to sell. I'll spend some time with both and see which one I prefer.

You should be happy that your preference for the lcd3 did something good for your wallet.

Let's see what happens in my case

 

[goldendarko]

I just ordered an lcd4. I still have the lcd3 that I am planning to sell. I'll spend some time with both and see which one I prefer.



You should be happy that your preference for the lcd3 did something good for your wallet.



Let's see what happens in my case

 


I think you should be very happy with the LCD-4, like I said, I do feel it's the better all around headphone. For me it just came down to preference as I didn't really need an all arounder but really something that excelled in playing a certain kind of music really well.

When I considered the pricing too, I picked up the 4 for $3000 used, and the 3 for $1000 used, and my HE1000 for $2000, basically they HE1000 & LCD-3 cost the same as the LCD-4. If I could only have kept one it would have been the 4, but I would rather have 2 different headphones that excel at different ends of the spectrum rather than one that delivers better performance across all types of music. So, like I said, just my preference but I don't believe anyone will be disappointed with the I still believe for a product this expensive you really need to decide if it's right for what you are looking for.

 

[mulder01]

The bass on the 3's better than the bass on the 4's?

You mad bro?

 

[goldendarko]

The bass on the 3's better than the bass on the 4's?



You mad bro?

 


Yes, in my opinion the bass on the LCD-3 sounds better than the LCD-4. I'm not saying it's a popular opinion or that I'm right, but I'm just calling it how I heard them. If cost were no issue I still would choose the LCD-3 although like I said the LCD-4 is a better all around headphone and the one to own if you only owned 1 headphone. I would rather have two that excel at different kinds of music personally though.

 

[m17xr2b]

Having both the LCD-3 and LCD-4 right now I can sort of agree that the LCD-3 is more fun sometimes than the LCD-4 but in no way is the bass better. It may have a bit more presence based on driver variation as I have seen graphs with a couple db difference in the low end but it does not go as deep or punch as hard as the LCD-4.
This would be the generic answer you get around here. As you have different sources, amps, cables, preferences than me I can believe that you find the LCD-3 better. I just did a quick A-B with them and I much prefer the forward mids of the LCD-3 but when I switch back to the LCD-4 I find myself impressed with how clear everything sounds without loosing much of the magic. In my case owing both is the answer as I'm amazed each time I switch between them as is should be.

 

[goldendarko]

Having both the LCD-3 and LCD-4 right now I can sort of agree that the LCD-3 is more fun sometimes than the LCD-4 but in no way is the bass better. It may have a bit more presence based on driver variation as I have seen graphs with a couple db difference in the low end but it does not go as deep or punch as hard as the LCD-4.


This would be the generic answer you get around here. As you have different sources, amps, cables, preferences than me I can believe that you find the LCD-3 better. I just did a quick A-B with them and I much prefer the forward mids of the LCD-3 but when I switch back to the LCD-4 I find myself impressed with how clear everything sounds without loosing much of the magic. In my case owing both is the answer as I'm amazed each time I switch between them as is should be.

 


It may be that it seems like the bass hits harder on the 3 to me because the 4 is such a more expansive headphone. It's kind of like hearing a bass guitar in a club vs. in a concert hall. I don't know, either way I just preferred the 3 so that's what I went with. If I liked the 4 more I would have kept it. I just feel like the 4 loses some of that Audeze magic to be honest and I wasn't a huge fan. For me the LCD-3 and LCD-X are their two best and most fun headphones from all the one's ive owned (2,3,4 & X)

 

[Articnoise]

To me the LCD4 sounds like a technically better LCD3. They share the same sound sig, but as other have said the LCD3 has warmer and lusher mids. Bass, clarity, instrument separating, micro detail and soundstage are all better with LCD4, if propyl amped IMO.

 

[manpowre]

Its been a year now since lcd4 200ohm version came, when will we see LCD5 ? Will Audeze sort the 8-10k dip ?

 

[Cotnijoe]

Its been a year now since lcd4 200ohm version came, when will we see LCD5 ? Will Audeze sort the 8-10k dip ?

Well unlike a lot of different companies here, Audeze had a solid few years between the LCD4 and LCD3.

 

[Sonic Guild]

  Having both the LCD-3 and LCD-4 right now I can sort of agree that the LCD-3 is more fun sometimes than the LCD-4 but in no way is the bass better. It may have a bit more presence based on driver variation as I have seen graphs with a couple db difference in the low end but it does not go as deep or punch as hard as the LCD-4.
This would be the generic answer you get around here. As you have different sources, amps, cables, preferences than me I can believe that you find the LCD-3 better. I just did a quick A-B with them and I much prefer the forward mids of the LCD-3 but when I switch back to the LCD-4 I find myself impressed with how clear everything sounds without loosing much of the magic. In my case owing both is the answer as I'm amazed each time I switch between them as is should be.

I agree with you!
To my ears, the LCD4 has much better definition without losing the fun factor. When I say better definition, I mean 4K tv vs HD tv!
The LCD3 sounds muffled in comparison but not bad after all. The LCD4 has much bigger chamber feeling. 
 
LCD3 has a special spot in my heart BUT I can see myself happy with the LCD4 without owing the LCD3 but I can NOT imagine the opposite! 

 

[Sonic Guild]

Well unlike a lot of different companies here, Audeze had a solid few years between the LCD4 and LCD3.

Agree!
 
Please Audeze stay away from the non-sense that is happening with other manufactures.
 
Releasing a newer version every 2 years or less is NON sense. By doing this, you are delivering a negative subliminal message to your customers, you are simply telling them we did bad with the previous version and here is the better one! Remember that when you released the cans, you claimed that you have reached a reference point of sound quality. This reference point is supposed to be extremely hard to beat within 2-5 years. It takes really long time of research and development to build a new reference and if you are not doing so, you are hurting your reputation. 

 

[ufospls2]

Got this off reddit. OP said it was called the LCD-Pro, costs $1200, and is the equivalent of the LCD-X/LCD-3 combo, but with the LCD-4's. If the $1200 price is true, thats a helluva deal, considering the carbon headband is $200 on its own. If it sounds good then wow!