[moopster]

Audeze recommends the DAVE and Chord has used the DAVE and the LCD-4 to showcase their products and yet consumers feel they don’t match...I do have a Liquid Gold and besides the added Cavalli tuning, at all volume levels with any headphone I’ve used, I honestly don’t hear any technical improvement from more power "on tap".

Finally some sense (as opposed to nonsense) on this thread. Thanks for speaking truth to power.

 

[mlxx]

Finally some sense (as opposed to nonsense) on this thread. Thanks for speaking truth to power.

I remember that Chord used the LCD4 when it was first released. That would attract people to their booth to hear the new headphone and at the same time the Dave. With what Chord had to offer, the LCD4 still probably sounds as good as any other headphone driven from the Dave anyway, so no reason not to use it. The Liquid Gold will go into class AB mode after a few watts, so there will be a technical improvement from more power on tap if you stay in Class A, in the Liquid Gold's case.

 

[commtrd]

I think the discussion about power relative to impedance and with regards to sensitivity has been fairly salient and level-headed.
So where's the "nonsense"? Always good to garner more understanding about what makes the audio gear we cherish so much work.

 

[koven]

I was somewhat skeptical about driving the 4 w/ DAVE so I went w/ the 4Z. I am really enjoying the pairing, maybe even a bit more than Utopia.

 

[mlxx]

A few months back, I was experiencing variation in sound from day to day. I tracked it down to a hdd I was connecting to my PC. Trying to better isolate the PC (even though I was using optical) I got an Eitr, Isotek filter, and better cables. These all improved the sound quality and decreased the variation. In trying to fix some dropouts with the Eitr from switching noise, I tried some clip on ferrites. There was an instant improvement as soon as I clipped one on. Now I have about 20-30 of them on usb cable, spdif cable, and power cables all over the place. They didn't fix the dropouts but they removed RF which I didn't even know I had an issue with. You can't hear RF directly but it messes with the DAC. I mentioned previously that I didn't like Hotel California on the LCD4, small sound stage, flat and congested, bad vocals, I have had it on constant repeat now just because I can't believe my ears. No need for Reveal dsp too. A few steps closer to the HE1. So you can't always blame things on the headphone. These ferrites have super powers and are very cheap, worth trying them out.

 

[commtrd]

A few months back, I was experiencing variation in sound from day to day. I tracked it down to a hdd I was connecting to my PC. Trying to better isolate the PC (even though I was using optical) I got an Eitr, Isotek filter, and better cables. These all improved the sound quality and decreased the variation. In trying to fix some dropouts with the Eitr from switching noise, I tried some clip on ferrites. There was an instant improvement as soon as I clipped one on. Now I have about 20-30 of them on usb cable, spdif cable, and power cables all over the place. They didn't fix the dropouts but they removed RF which I didn't even know I had an issue with. You can't hear RF directly but it messes with the DAC. I mentioned previously that I didn't like Hotel California on the LCD4, small sound stage, flat and congested, bad vocals, I have had it on constant repeat now just because I can't believe my ears. No need for Reveal dsp too. A few steps closer to the HE1. So you can't always blame things on the headphone. These ferrites have super powers and are very cheap, worth trying them out.

Interesting. Where did you source the ferrites? Seen them in power supplies for online gas chromatography instrumentation and other instrumentation especially power supplies so obviously there is validity.

 

[mlxx]

Interesting. Where did you source the ferrites? Seen them in power supplies for online gas chromatography instrumentation and other instrumentation especially power supplies so obviously there is validity.

Ebay. I got 5mm, 7mm, 9mm sizes to fit different size cables. There is lots of discussion about them in the Chord threads (Blu2, Dave, HMS). The larger sizes are more powerful so you don't need as many. Adding too many will kill the dynamics, need just enough, it is trial and error. Initially it may sound too warm (even if you just put 1 on) but give your ears time to adjust. I have 6 7mm on the spdif cable (they work best on this cable), 6 7mm on usb cable, 2-3 9mm on lots of various power cables (even on tv, pc, clock radio, etc). None on the interconnects and none on the headphone cable but test these too. I also have about 10 5mm on the Eitr PSU that has reduced the dropouts somewhat. They do more for the DAC, not so much for the amp. It took me about 4 weeks to hit the best configuration. I think there was a certain frequency, in my case, that was affecting the DAC, when that was eliminated there was a big step up than compared to other configurations, like all distortion was gone (that I never knew I even had) and I suddenly had super hearing. Improved sound stage, more real vocals and especially cymbals, more powerful bass, less fatigue. Improved imaging too, when sounds pan from side to side, it is like they happen in slow motion, you can follow them so easily. A more grand, larger, more full bodied sound, more HE1 like. I can see someone "audiophiling" these and selling them for a fortune.

 

[kyle1010]

Anybody know what the original light blue SE Audeze LCD-4 cable is made out of? I need something that sounds just like it but balanced.

 

[mlxx]

Anybody know what the original light blue SE Audeze LCD-4 cable is made out of? I need something that sounds just like it but balanced.

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/audezeblack-sliver-headphone-cable-1-4-stereo-plug-for-lcds

 

[Zurakx]

Ebay. I got 5mm, 7mm, 9mm sizes to fit different size cables. There is lots of discussion about them in the Chord threads (Blu2, Dave, HMS). The larger sizes are more powerful so you don't need as many. Adding too many will kill the dynamics, need just enough, it is trial and error. Initially it may sound too warm (even if you just put 1 on) but give your ears time to adjust. I have 6 7mm on the spdif cable (they work best on this cable), 6 7mm on usb cable, 2-3 9mm on lots of various power cables (even on tv, pc, clock radio, etc). None on the interconnects and none on the headphone cable but test these too. I also have about 10 5mm on the Eitr PSU that has reduced the dropouts somewhat. They do more for the DAC, not so much for the amp. It took me about 4 weeks to hit the best configuration. I think there was a certain frequency, in my case, that was affecting the DAC, when that was eliminated there was a big step up than compared to other configurations, like all distortion was gone (that I never knew I even had) and I suddenly had super hearing. Improved sound stage, more real vocals and especially cymbals, more powerful bass, less fatigue. Improved imaging too, when sounds pan from side to side, it is like they happen in slow motion, you can follow them so easily. A more grand, larger, more full bodied sound, more HE1 like. I can see someone "audiophiling" these and selling them for a fortune.

come on I just bought the LCD-4 and it gets here in two days, why you trying to make me buy more stuff already?

 

[mlxx]

come on I just bought the LCD-4 and it gets here in two days, why you trying to make me buy more stuff already?

The 5mm cost me $11 for 20, 7mm $10 for 10 and 9mm was $12 for 10, delivered.

 

[kyle1010]

https://www.scan.co.uk/products/audezeblack-sliver-headphone-cable-1-4-stereo-plug-for-lcds

Aha! Thank you. Had a feeling it was copper. Going to take a hard look at Dana Lazuli Reference now

 

[dstubked]

Anyone here heard the 4z out of the Woo WA8 yet? Any comments?

 

[Dobrescu George]

Very fun event

I had the chance to meet with some of Romania's most talented audio engineers. They are working with huge Romanian artists, like Delia, Andra, Grasu XXL, and many other heavy names here. The short verion was that they wanted to get to try some of the headphones I had, because they wanted to see whether better monitoring could help improve with mixing.

We went from headphone to headphone, until we reached Audeze LCD-MX4. We were using a Chord mojo, an iFi xDSD, and a NextDrive SpectraX to drive them. I just happened to take xDSD and NextDrive SpectraX with me because xDSD is fairly easy to carry and really good with being versatile, and SpectraX is something new I am listening to, so I can write about it.

We spent almost five hours testing headphones, and they were quite surprised by some of them, including Ultrasone Signature DXP.

Changing from one thing to another, they eventually got to LCD-MX4.

I'll try to narrate the story as it happened, because it was quite fun to watch.

First off, the build quality, all of them were amazed by the carbon fiber, the leather, and the metal in the frame. They said that even in their line of work, a build quality this good is rare.

Then, the sound. This has been the first time I saw someone blast so many musical styles, from jazz to rock, some of it extremely well mastered, then play with a headphone, turn it around, them move it on the head. They would close their eyes and just listen to the music. It was quite a shocking moment to see someone enjoy something so much, like hearing LCD-MX4 brought them joy, and not only joy, but immense joy. They also gave me some of their best masters to test, tracks recorded from live performances in 32 multi tracks, then mastered at home. The sound was incredible, so much soundstage, so many effects, with such a deep bass. LCD-MX4 brought everything together so beauitfully that it was a shock to hear the bells in jazz sound so crispy and alive.

We discussed a bit about LCD-MX4 and what they are good for. They said that this is, singlehandedly, the best headphone for mastering and music production they ever heard, and undoubtely they will be trying to sell even some of their speaker monitors for LCD-MX4. Some of them were so bold to say that even for live mastering, LCD-MX4 has such a perfect phase and tone that they simply couldn't ask for more from a headphone, and keeping in mind those are the heaviweight pros of the Romanian industry, this is quite a big statement.

It seems that Audeze delivers exactly where they should with LCD-MX4 and they provide some of the best sonic performance possible in terms of mastering and music production, those aren't my words since I only do light music production, but the heavy workers of the Romanian industry have been quite clear saying that they love this one headphone to bits, and if they only could own a single mastering headphne, this one has all the characteristics that would make their job incredibly easy and fun.

Being able to power them from almost any portable source, this has to be one of the best solutions ever produced, I'm really happy I had the chance to get this second opinion from pros who work in the music industry and who use mastering and mixing tools, which is how LCD-MX4 was created and designed

 

[Zurakx]

Finally got my LCD-4s in and have been having a blast listening to them. Been jumping between spotify and tidal.

I'm curious for those here who have flacs ect and also listen to streaming services. Do you find with these headphones that they higher bit rate recordings really bring anything extra to the table? I'm considering testing it out to see if I can tell a difference, but dont know where to go or which programs are the best to run them on. I have a benchmark dac 3, so it cant push up into some of the absurd bitrate recordings that exist out there.