[paradoxper]

I completely disagree...lol

And in risk of furthering your argument, the TCs are $6000 in USD at the moment....

LMAO

TC rules.

 

[Korean audiophile]

This is not a review, not even close …
Some thoughts about my “new” LCD-4 in my setup and the other “main” headphones I have. This is a used 2017 model in very good shape with non-memory leather pads. Signal comes from Audiodata MSII server/streamer with Roon > Roon endpoint on Macbook Air > USB to a Denafrips Iris DDC > I2S to a Denafrips Pontus II > either a Kinki Studio THR-1 ss-amp or a Cayin HA-6a tube-amp. LCD-4 is indeed quite a thirsty fellow so I prefer to use the balanced inputs of both amps – listening volume loud/very loud is normally between 11:00 or 01:00 o’clock giving me comfortably enough headroom most of the time.

So, because I did get asked to share some impressions I finally did sit down to write a “first impressions, honeymoon-phase, this is not a review” review and it turned out quite lengthy and way to euphoric and it I will not post it here!

Why not? I noticed there are at least two problems!

Number one: before and after buying the LCD-4 I was and I am still reading through this thread (Thank you all so much for your input guys!). I have managed to do something like 450 pages now with roughly 100 more to go. But I’m 100% sure right now to conclude that I can add nothing new or original when it comes to how the LCD-4 sounds. So, me ranting on and on about how great this sounds, how mind blowing and how it does this and that … it has all been stated here before repeatedly!

But for the record – I’m pretty excited about the LCD-4, it is a ton of fun, seems to feel at home with every genre and yes that bass is really, really special (See, I told you …). This chunky boi really seems to deliver that special something that I was assuming and hoping to get from a TOTL-headphone.

And that point brings me swiftly to the second and certainly related problem. I just have not heard any of the other TOTL-club members. No LCD-5, no Susvara, no Abyss, no Utopia, no Stellia, no Rad-O, no Final Audio, no Meze, no whatever you think belongs up there, too.
That means that I cannot properly classify and assess the singular aspects/technical stuff of the LCD-4s performance. Example – to me, as a result of its detail retrieval, great imaging and black background the LCD-4 has sensational clarity. Owners of Susvara or Utopia will find that rather amusing.

One thing I can try to do is to describe how LCD-4 behaves vs. the ZMF VC in my setup.

Quick sidestep – my plan was always to get a great planar headphone to “complete” (I know, I know …) the collection. But first I felt I needed to lift the rest of the setup up a notch. And with the new source gear I think I have now reached a level that can better reveal what the amps and the headphones are capable of – and with that I leave it at that, no Dac debate here!

After like a week with the LCD-4 I did sit down with the VC because we needed to have a serious conversation. There are no two ways about it and we both needed to face it - the former middleweight champion of my world was getting his ass kicked and needed to step up his game.

Initially the one saving grace for the VC is represented by the second letter in its name. Fact is that because of the location of my setup in the living-room the majority of my listening can only be done with a closed back headphone. But without the “C” – I’m not so sure … so something needed to happen. So, I finally gave the DSP EQ-feature in Roon a more serious workout – and this did the job. Thanx to some community/reviewer profiles and some tweaking here and there I did get the VC to a level where I do not regret at all putting it on when I “have” to listen with a closed back. EQ and the HD-800? Well, just mentioning the term EQ to the HD-800 seems to be insult that is usually met with a great reluctance and stubbornness and I can hear the ghosts of generations of German engineers scream “blasphemy”.

In the end - with both headphones EQued - the VC cannot touch the bass of the LCD-4, the 4 is generally faster from the starting blocks, mids do sometimes sound a little busy and uneven on VC. The VC treble never gave me any trouble. Maybe after EQ the LCD-4 has a little more air here but I like how both perform here. Directly compared to the LCD-4 the ZMF VC is indeed a tad more hazy, grainy, veiled. On the other hand, it is still remarkable how well the VC does stage-width – depth, 3D not so much - even compared to the LCD-4.

Neither do I feel qualified nor do I have any desire to talk stuff like timbre and tonality. I like more than one flavor and what the LCD-4 and the VC offer sounds fine by me.

Now what is the situation after roughly a month of ownership? It’s quite amazing how fast the brain does get used to the LCD-4 sonic signature (unfortunately way too soon I feel). And with the sensation of “new” fading slightly things are starting to settle down and one is able to assess things with a cooler head and more common sense. Nethertheless the LCD-4 clearly sits on top of my food chain – for me it is the more exciting, revealing and rewarding headphone - but the other two did assert their position very confidently and found their respective niche. I like to listen to all of them and currently can’t see myself letting go of any of them. Why Do I not mention the HD-800 here more prominently in this company? The HD-800 does its own thing - it is not the one trick pony many reduce it to but at the same time it is not as versatile and universal like the other two either. This is how I perceive things right now, knowing me this not set in stone and might very well shift over time.

What are things that do bother me? Okay, the “in front of head” projection is not as pronounced as I would like to. It is pretty wide and well graded left and right – but the center stuff does happen more like inside my head. And yes, there are isolated moments where I could handle a tad bit more instrument separation.
There are some issues in Roon with applying EQ. When I do set the pre-amping values accordingly (like -6 or -7 db) I actually sometimes have to push my both amps a little harder than I would love to do. And when I do reduce the preamp settings I’m sometimes hit with clipping and distortion. Finding the right balance here is sometimes a bit tricky to accomplish.
Lately I’m experiencing problems when using the Audeze presets in Roon for the LCD-4 and turn the “Audeze linear filter” on – that seems to stress Roon or my MacBook Air to an extent where Roon just shows “too many errors” waves the white flag and shuts down.

And the weight? Really no issue the way I’m using the LCD-4 with my head mostly resting on a pretty thick leather cushion and listening time usually not exceeding 2 hours sessions.

Along the road it might be worth finding out what a “better” cable could do with the LCD-4 (I hate spending money on cables) but I think this headphone might just deserve something a bit more fancy.

Final thoughts. I’m always looking forward to listen with the LCD-4. I did commit to a headphone rotation routine that gives each headphone it’s slot. But as I mentioned given the circumstances of my setup the time with the LCD-4 is limited but very special. No doubt I do like what this big planar is doing. I have owned the Hifiman Arya V1 before – a refined sounding class act. But with this thing sounding so great in almost all areas I felt the lack of equally great bass and dynamics to be soooo frustrating.

So more planar-playtime on my head is indeed something I can see myself go for – if there is a closed planar out there with an overall signature more similar to the LCD-4?

As I said this was not intended to be anything even closely related to a review but I still managed to waste a lot of valuable lifetime – mostly my own I hope – with half-baked and more or less random opinions. Well done, congratulations to me!

Some tracks from my “headphone” playlist:

“Die großen Schlachten werden untenrum gewonnen“ (The big battles are won down below) artist: Jan Delay, album: “Earth, Wind and Feiern”, first track: “Intro”

The Specials – A message to you Rudy
Mac Miller – Blue world
Steely Dan – Do it again
Sonny Rollins – I’m old cowhand
Aphex Twin – Minipops 67 (Source Field Mix)
Röyksopp/Robyn – Monument (T.I.E Version)
Parliament – Give up the funk
Oscar Peterson Trio – You look good to me
Pixies – Monkey gone to heaven
Native Soul – The beginning
Ennio Morricone/Danish National Symphony Orchestra - For a few dollars more
Dillon Francis - Still not butter
Roisin Murphy – Primitive
Dexter Gordon – Tanya
Lou Reed – Walk on the wild side
Symbolico – Perceiving all
XTC – Senses working overtime
The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy – Famous and Dandy
Muriel Zoe – Bye bye blackbird
The Glove – Perfect Murder
Wolfgang Haffner, Nils Landgren – Shapes
Jimmy Cliff – Many rivers to cross
Rockwell – Aria
The Brothers Johnson – Strawberry letter 23
They Might Be Giants – Nightgown of the sullen moon
Dub Colossus – Dub in a time of Cholera
Solveig Slettahjell – Take it with me
Trentemöller – Rykketid
The Ramones – Blitzkrieg Bop
The Specials - **** all the perfect people

Same am on fence about a high end cable like a norne etc but Sonically the difference might be more cosmetic and minor sound differences for a $500-$1000 upgrade but a 7-10 feet cable would be nice I might just go with a heart cable and call it a day

 

[Rickruss]

I appreciate you stating that a lot has been written on the LCD-4, and there is little that can be added. Notwithstanding that, I very much appreciate your impressions. I would encourage you to explore different cables; I have found that upgraded cables can significantly change (upgrade) the sound signature of a headphone. The big issue becomes how much you value pulling out more of the potential of your headphone versus the expenditure involved.

 

[hikaru12]

Hi guys - I’ve been struggling recently to find headphones that compliment my music genres well (hip hop, instrumentals, R and B). I like powerful bass, somewhat forward mids but mid clarity is pretty important and a darker treble. I’ve had the LCD 2F and 3PF and I liked them both. Now I’m trying to decide between the 4 and the 2C.

My two deciding factors on the 4 are detail and bass. For comparison I have the HD820 and the HEK V1s as my basis for detail. How does the 4 compare to them on that front?

For bass how does the bass on the 4 compare to the 2C in terms of quantity? I know the 4 has great bass detail but does it slam as hard as the 2C?

Thanks for the help!

 

[JLoud]

The 4's bass slams really hard. As far as detail in the bass, they are on par if not better than the HD820 or HEK. The bass on the 4 is fuller with perhaps a little slow decay vs the 820 and HEK. While I love my LCD-4, for the music you mentioned I would audition the Abyss 1266 TC. The TC was my favorite for EDM and such.

 

[hikaru12]

The 4's bass slams really hard. As far as detail in the bass, they are on par if not better than the HD820 or HEK. The bass on the 4 is fuller with perhaps a little slow decay vs the 820 and HEK. While I love my LCD-4, for the music you mentioned I would audition the Abyss 1266 TC. The TC was my favorite for EDM and such.

That’s awesome to hear that! I’ve heard Abyss stuff really slams hard on bass but their tonality is a little less inviting than Audezes stuff. I liked my Diana’s when I had them but they really lacked bass so I got rid of them.

From what I’ve read the 4s have more micro detail than my HEKs, better bass and pretty good soundstage and great instrument separation. I really want to get to audition a pair. I had the 2Fs before which had really satisfying slam so if there anywhere near those than I think I’m sold!

 

[JLoud]

I've owned the 2F(twice), 2 closed, 3F,MX4, and LCD4. The LCD4 is certainly the best of those. They are not as warm sounding as the 3 but that is because of the increased treble detail. If the Audeze house sound fits your preference then I would certainly recommend the LCD-4.

 

[hikaru12]

I've owned the 2F(twice), 2 closed, 3F,MX4, and LCD4. The LCD4 is certainly the best of those. They are not as warm sounding as the 3 but that is because of the increased treble detail. If the Audeze house sound fits your preference then I would certainly recommend the LCD-4.

Would you go as far as to say the LCD 4 is more neutral than all the Audezes you mentioned? How would you compare the bass of the 2Cs to the 4? I’m really curious on that aspect.

I really do enjoy Audezes house sound and their comfort isn’t an issue for me. Definitely think I’m gonna get them!

 

[JLoud]

Yes the LCD is more nuetral than the ones I mentioned. Except for the MX4, it is similiar to the LCDX. But the MX4 doesn't have that rich mid range of the rest of the line up. Bass between the 2 and 4 is similiar in quantity, but the 4 has more speed and detail.

 

[Tchoupitoulas]

Would any of you be able to tell me what kind of wood these cups are made from, please? (source of photos: The Music Room)

 

[Gene4797]

Would any of you be able to tell me what kind of wood these cups are made from, please? (source of photos: The Music Room)

Looks like mine but I forgot wood name

 

[pofofo]

That's the LCD-4 with wood cups, not the 5. I don't know what wood though..

 

[paradoxper]

Would any of you be able to tell me what kind of wood these cups are made from, please? (source of photos: The Music Room)

This looks like the Zebrawood.

 

[Korean audiophile]

Would any of you be able to tell me what kind of wood these cups are made from, please? (source of photos: The Music Room)

They use hand crafted 30-year old Macassar Ebony wood rings

 

[rulerofrecords]

Would any of you be able to tell me what kind of wood these cups are made from, please? (source of photos: The Music Room)

According to the invoice of my used LCD-4 mine is Macassar ebony. You can compare and maybe figure out ...