[abqmarc]

Make sure the cables are seated nicely in headphone....try all of the obvious stuff first....then maybe contact the seller.

Thank you for that. Yeah my X works fine all else equal. Let's see what the factory says when it gets there.

 

[Lokust]

Neither had I b4 this. Honest about the exterior but no mention on no sound coming out. Guess the risk was always there. Too bad i could not get a new or warrantied set from where i am.

Darn, sorry to hear that. Wish you best of luck with the repair.

 

[thefitz]

It's common knowledge amongst audiophiles, and therefore generally known and accepted as the fact that it is.

There is no amount of pre and post echo that is worse than enduring the stock tuning of the LCD-4, or even worse, depriving yourself of the glory of experiencing a properly EQ'd LCD-4.

"OK, this thing kicks like a horse and as fast as a cheetah... but muh pre-echo!"

You've just converted a data file into an analog waveform using several electronic devices, several feet of cables, multiple contact points, and dare I say USB. Come on.

 

[dfiled]

There is no amount of pre and post echo that is worse than enduring the stock tuning of the LCD-4, or even worse, depriving yourself of the glory of experiencing a properly EQ'd LCD-4.

"OK, this thing kicks like a horse and as fast as a cheetah... but muh pre-echo!"

You've just converted a data file into an analog waveform using several electronic devices, several feet of cables, multiple contact points, and dare I say USB. Come on.

Agree 100%

 

[thefitz]

Agree 100%

I was going to start harping on up/oversampling during the DA process but my poor heart couldn't take it, especially after listening to a properly EQ'd LCD-4

 

[dfiled]

I was going to start harping on up/oversampling during the DA process but my poor heart couldn't take it, especially after listening to a properly EQ'd LCD-4

I was going to go on a rant about the anti-EQ crowd who will spent hundreds on a cable to "tame brightness." But I'm not going to go on that rant.

 

[TheAbyss2022]

I was going to go on a rant about the anti-EQ crowd who will spent hundreds on a cable to "tame brightness." But I'm not going to go on that rant.

The stock LCD 4 cable is amazing, I tried a few others and always went back to the stock cable.

 

[marcan]

It‘s kind of true.
Only that “echo” is the complete wrong word for it.
”Echo” describes distinct repeats, which does not happen.

In fact transients are smeared in the time domain, specially by the so called “Linear Phase Filters”.
The effect (no matter which filters type) is called pre- and post-ringing (imagine the sound of hitting a bell for an very extreme variant).


But- a frequency irregularity of e.g. a headphone, does the exactly same ringing like an equally shaped EQ.

There are unnumbered measurements out there where frequency response and a waterfall plot of a headphone shows exactly that:
At the frequency response positions with the biggest irregularities the waterfall plot shows significant post-ringing.

Thankfully all natural “EQs” are “Minimum Phase Filters” (no pre-ringing, as in nature no sound exists before the cause producing it), a correction by such an inverted electric (or digital) Minimum Phase EQ in fact improves on the transient response.

The strongest ringing is with high-Q filters, that most times make no sense as corrective EQ.

Yes right. But minimum phase still has post ringing and phase issues. Linear phase doesn't have phase issues but has pre and post ringing. Pre-ringing is particularly unnatural and more evident, post-ringing is more natural and is masked by the decay.
Anyway all have ringing and therefore smear transients. But the desired effect of the EQ is probably more audible than detrimental effect on the transients.
So your best bet is to have an headphone that don't require an EQ for your taste.

 

[Articnoise]

If you like EQ and cannot hear any down side to it - use it. I don't because to me it sounds less natural.

There are no free lunches. .

 

[Recursion]

There is no amount of pre and post echo that is worse than enduring the stock tuning of the LCD-4, or even worse, depriving yourself of the glory of experiencing a properly EQ'd LCD-4.

"OK, this thing kicks like a horse and as fast as a cheetah... but muh pre-echo!"

You've just converted a data file into an analog waveform using several electronic devices, several feet of cables, multiple contact points, and dare I say USB. Come on.

The LCD-4 doesn't even need EQing to begin with, at least not for me. It sounds perfect as it is. While it's a fact that EQing can induce pre- and post-ringing, I've never said or gave the suggestion that "depriving" oneself of EQing is better than living with said side effects.

I've merely mentioned that pre- and post-ringing exist and that it's common knowledge amongst audio enthusiasts. Calling pre- and post-ringing BS is the mistake being made here and that is what I've wanted to correct. Each to the their own with regards to EQ, but I prefer not to use it and depend mostly on system synergy for the final sound. We're all audio purists here after all.

@marcan perfectly explained in post #11003 why some of us, including myself would rather stay away from EQ. To me, those negative effects are simply not worth it.

 

[dfiled]

The LCD-4 doesn't even need EQing to begin with, at least not for me. It sounds perfect as it is.

I think it's fair to say this is not the majority view.

 

[KaiSc]

... While it's a fact that EQing can induce pre- and post-ringing, I've never said or gave the suggestion that "depriving" oneself of EQing is better than living with said side effects.

I've merely mentioned that pre- and post-ringing exist and that it's common knowledge amongst audio enthusiasts. Calling pre- and post-ringing BS is the mistake being made here and that is what I've wanted to correct. ...

Only that it’s not true per see, and repeating it doesn’t make it more true.
A well-tuned compensatory Minimal Phase EQ reduces post ringing and does not introduce pre-ringing.
This is simple technical fact used all over e.g. in measurement equipment.

And the “common knowledge” is a fool.
There where times when ”common knowledge“ was you have to burn certain people, now we know better -hopefully.

 

[dfiled]

If there's one area where there's no such thing as "common knowledge," it's EQ. I think the Israeli-Palestinian problem will get solved before this debate does.

 

[thefitz]

I think it's fair to say this is not the majority view.

You bet. a 4kHz chasm after a 1.5kHz bump before some 10kHz heat isn't my idea of fun. But the distortion is nonexistent anywhere in the frequency spectrum and the speed is there, so does it really matter at the end of the day? You can fix it!

If that stock tuning is for you, fantastic. I... honestly, I don't believe you, but who cares what I think?

What I find hilarious is that Audeze arguably fixed every complaint of the LCD-4 with the LCD-5, which seems to be even more hated than anything that's ever been released. These poor bastards can't win, lol.

I wish I had the patience, money, and equipment to make a headphone review channel. My angle would be I would EQ everything to basically the same EQ curve so we can discuss the actual differences between headphones.

If there's one area where there's no such thing as "common knowledge," it's EQ. I think the Israeli-Palestinian problem will get solved before this debate does.

Quite an apt comparison, as irreverent as it might be, haha.

Regarding EQ, I can possibly understand the "purity" argument... which falls apart them moment a single conversion takes place. Seriously - running a file through a DAC is closer to Bluetooth than it is to vinyl. Talking about audio purity involving DACs is some god-tier "Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln"? stuff there is.

 

[Arcamera]

The tonal balance works very well to my ears. It's one of the only headphones I've had where I don't feel the need to adjust (most others I do-- I'm not anti-EQ).