[Slim1970]

These headphones are so good. It's unbelievable how clean, effortless, and musical these are with everything I listen to except for maybe heavy metal. I still prefer my Beyerdynamic DT1990's for metal.

 

[mlxx]

Here endeth the game....

 

[RCBinTN]

Here endeth the game....

Congrats...it's always nice to find the end point.
Enjoy your music!
RCB

 

[jlbrach]

there is no end game...i wish there was .....but sadly as soon as you find something you think is the cat's meow something even better comes along lol

 

[mlxx]

It was clearly the best of the systems I tested.
I was going to add in brackets.. unless I decide to add a second mono block amp but I don't think I will.
Would rather get a LCDi4 or something like that instead.

Had it only a few days but here are some observations...
The power specs say it does 7.5V at 300 Ohms (180mw) but the actual test sheet of the unit that comes in the box shows it at about 12V at 300 Ohms.
It has easily enough power. The amp is very very transparent and neutral, a bit like the GSX mk2 but that one always seemed to have a treble edge to me.
If you don't like how it sounds then you don't like the DAC because that is what you are listening to. It will also let you hear all your cables and power.
A $200 power board filter I used I can easily hear now as well as USB and optical cables. Without the power filter it adds a haze that puts a border
on the sound stage and you can perceive an ending making it smaller, whereas with the filter the sound stage seems to fade off with no clear border.

I got the amp first wanting to pair it with a Hugo 2, but it didn't have the same magic. The magic in this setup comes from the DAC.
Explains why the CMA600i sounds so much different having a different DAC to the CMA800i.
It has a light airy, very large sound stage, smooth yet detailed, and very neutral and natural sound. Very enjoyable.
The Audeze Reveal plugin adds the cherry on top.

If you see a Gold stack at a show, give it a try with the LCD4, it is one of those systems you will know in 30 seconds if you love it (and you will).

 

[jrfmd]

Scheduled: Jan 12, 2018 at 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM

there is no end game...i wish there was .....but sadly as soon as you find something you think is the cat's meow something even better comes along lol

I think that the "seeking the holy grail syndrome" is due to the way our nervous systems work. Just as eating steak every day for a month makes it unappetizing to our palate until we rest it for a while (by eating something else for a while), we tire of the specific sound signature of our systems and need to listen to a different sound signature for a while to refresh our “sound palate”. I find that when I feel the lcd4 is no longer sounding great I change to my Focal Utopia and I am enthralled again (for a month or so anyway) and then it's back to the LCD-4s (or electrostatics or speakers for a while).

works for me (at least for now)

JRF

 

[CoLdAsSauLt]

Scheduled: Jan 12, 2018 at 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM

I think that the "seeking the holy grail syndrome" is due to the way our nervous systems work. Just as eating steak every day for a month makes it unappetizing to our palate until we rest it for a while (by eating something else for a while), we tire of the specific sound signature of our systems and need to listen to a different sound signature for a while to refresh our “sound palate”. I find that when I feel the lcd4 is no longer sounding great I change to my Focal Utopia and I am enthralled again (for a month or so anyway) and then it's back to the LCD-4s (or electrostatics or speakers for a while).

works for me (at least for now)

JRF

^ This

I do this with my LCD-4 and HD800S, but like more switching every (few) day(s). (Sometimes my HD650 makes for a good change after these two views for longer periods, to cleanse my palate). They're just so interesting in their different perspectives, that I find myself all too often just curious and switching to the other one while repeating the same song . I know worse places to be in

 

[Gofspar]

I really hope @Audeze sees this and responds to me accordingly, I've supported you guys for a very long time, had an awesome time hanging out at the booth at RMAF and I've had X's and now 4's come through my door with persistent issues related to QC issues, but this time regarding driver matching on LCD-4, I'm honestly really disappointed being that these are $4000 headphones.

I took them out of their box sat them on my head and immediately noticed that all the voices were skewed to the left, but continued to listen hoping it was just placebo or my ears.
next day showed no improvement so I plopped them on my measurement rig to find that theres a 3-4db deficit on the right and a consistant difference between the left and right in the 4.5k area. after remeasuring and moving the pad to different spots on my coupler probably 12-15 times remeasuring each side then continuing to flip out because the $4000 headphone has an issue like this.

The measurements explain themselves, this isn't just a one off measurement. I've remeasured over and over hoping it was just a fluke

 

[Audeze]

I really hope @Audeze sees this and responds to me accordingly.
The measurements explain themselves, this isn't just a one off measurement. I've remeasured over and over hoping it was just a fluke

Just sent you a PM. We will check what is going on and make sure you are happy.

 

[sinkr]

I finally parted ways with Audeze (and ate $1200 on a pair of LCD-4s to do so) after having a driver die on my LCD-4s, exactly like what happened on my LCD-3s. Search this forum to find many people with many issues with their flagship models for them to be in serious contention for real TOTL with way too much focus now being on their iGimmick and other in-ear devices, IMO. Sure, they'll fix them (and they also may half-way accuse you of dropping them), but you'll have to send them back on your own dime and be without cans for however long it takes to have them repaired.

PM me if you want the full details.

I really hope @Audeze sees this and responds to me accordingly, I've supported you guys for a very long time, had an awesome time hanging out at the booth at RMAF and I've had X's and now 4's come through my door with persistent issues related to QC issues, but this time regarding driver matching on LCD-4, I'm honestly really disappointed being that these are $4000 headphones.

I took them out of their box sat them on my head and immediately noticed that all the voices were skewed to the left, but continued to listen hoping it was just placebo or my ears.
Day after showed no improvement so I plopped them on my measurement rig to find that theres a 3-4db deficit on the right and a consistant difference between the left and right in the 4.5k area (which could be down to inconsistencies in leather so I won't nit pick that.) after remeasuring and moving the pad to different spots on my coupler probably 12-15 times remeasuring each side then continue to flip out because the $4000 headphone has an issue like this.

 

[Dobrescu George]

I had a chance to hear LCD-4 the full headphone with a great AMP recently, and it surely is one of the best headphones I heard to date through and through.

 

[sinkr]

Sure, they sound really good, but can you keep them running? This is a product I'd say is almost better to buy 2nd hand AFTER someone has experienced driver failure and had them replaced by Audeze. My LCD-3s never exhibited any driver issues after being repaired. The problem seems to be the out-of-the-box quality (i.e. the first year).

 

[Dobrescu George]

Sure, they sound really good, but can you keep them running? This is a product I'd say is almost better to buy 2nd hand AFTER someone has experienced driver failure and had them replaced by Audeze. My LCD-3s never exhibited any driver issues after being repaired. The problem seems to be the out-of-the-box quality (i.e. the first year).

\

Woah

We have a few pairs here in Romania (mostly some of my friends), but they never experienced a driver failure or such

They tend to use their LCD-4 regularly actualy, so I do wonder if this is a rare thing that happened with a single batch, or something like that

 

[sinkr]

I dunno, maybe I'm just unlucky. I had this happen years ago on a pair of LCD-3s and then just recently with a pair of LCD-4s. Other people on this forum have had the same sort of thing happen, so it's not isolated, but how prevalent it is, I dunno. It happened to me 2x, years apart, on 2 completely different flagships, purchased directly from Audeze and that's just too much for my taste.

 

[jlbrach]

Sure, they sound really good, but can you keep them running? This is a product I'd say is almost better to buy 2nd hand AFTER someone has experienced driver failure and had them replaced by Audeze. My LCD-3s never exhibited any driver issues after being repaired. The problem seems to be the out-of-the-box quality (i.e. the first year).

My LCD-4 had a driver failure a few weeks ago and i just got them back repaired and all is well....I have owned the LCD-3 and 3 copies of the LCD-4 and this is my first driver failure...in truth I have heard the failure rate of the 4's has been very low....there are problems with all of the high end HP's....utopia's have had all kinds of issues and Focal doesnt take care of its product like Audeze does...I too resent having to pay to ship my HP's back insured which costs a pretty penny but in the end i love the sound of the 4's