Audeze LCD-4

[jonchard]

It's like a speaker power amp. No volume. Volume must be controlled by whatever you plug into it (so either the regular or pre-amp outputs of another amp, or I guess output from a DAC with volume controls)

I dislike this. So many people will will try to drive this from a DAC with variable volume. All it will take is a power outage for that DAC to be back to full volume... you can paint a picture from here. It is reasonably priced though... And on the powerful side. Lets just hope its refined.

 

[TheAbyss2022]

I dislike this. So many people will will try to drive this from a DAC with variable volume. All it will take is a power outage for that DAC to be back to full volume... you can paint a picture from here. It is reasonably priced though... And on the powerful side. Lets just hope its refined.

Indeed, power doesn't equal quality.

Mass Kobo 465 isn't that powerful but its considered one of the best sounding amps ever made.

 

[ansel1]

All it will take is a power outage for that DAC to be back to full volume

Yeah, there's definitely some risk there.

Indeed, power doesn't equal quality.

It will be interesting to see the reviews...the claim is that this amp is super clean and neutral, so it doesn't add any of its own color or sound. We'll see.

 

[TheAbyss2022]

Yeah, there's definitely some risk there.

It will be interesting to see the reviews...the claim is that this amp is super clean and neutral, so it doesn't add any of its own color or sound. We'll see.

Well the Topping stuff measures very well but the A90D was lifeless to me.

 

[Dnguyen926]

Hello, my friend was replacing the ear pads on his LCD 4 and I noticed that the half moon spacers covered a part of the driver.

Does this heavily effect sound quality and should it be used?

 

[Lokust]

Supposedly there to help protect the drivers. Have your friend just remove the old ones and apply the new ones. He should have received 4 or so new half-moons with the new pads. I just followed the Youtube Video.

 

[JLoud]

They are designed to relieve pressure when putting them on and off. To protect the drivers. Definitely use them.

 

[btalcox0715]

How long is Audeze expected to service the LCD-4’s?

 

[Audeze]

How long is Audeze expected to service the LCD-4’s?

We can make the drivers, and all other parts are replaceable, outside of the wood rings which we no loger have. If anything happens to your rings, we'd most likely have to use the next tier down, which is the LCD-3 Zebrano wood. If you have any issues with an LCD-4, email support@audeze.com.

 

[btalcox0715]

Just got a pair of LCD-4s and I feel like I'm going insane--they are borderline unlistenable. I can't come to any definitive conclusion other than that they sound very off and unnatural. I'm beginning to think there is a channel imbalance(s) somewhere in the frequency range. The left side feels more dynamic than the right side, and its totally throwing me off. The soundstage is more enveloping (to me) rather than out in front, so its hard to pinpoint exact center when going through a tone generator at varying frequencies to help diagnose.

For some additional context, I currently own the LCD-3 (absolutely love them) and Empyrean II (and previously, the HD800S), so I definitely have had some exposure to higher end technical headphones (though maybe not quite as technical as the LCD-4). I haven't experienced this with any other headphone above, so I'm reluctant to say its my hearing. I have a hard time believing solely the technical qualities of the LCD-4 are making me dislike it, but I also don't have a baseline or reference point other than the aforementioned headphones I own.

Am I (going) insane?

 

[jonchard]

I they are excellent. I have owned Susvara, Immanis and Abyss 1266 for prolonged periods. BUT, my chain is Holo May L2, Soul 170HA Valve amp. They are hugely bassy, massively loud and un breakable for the most part. When i compare them to my other summit-fi headphones, they lack in the midrange sweetness and they will never layer like the Immanis, but they are a fantastic headphone. The May will remove the harshness of many recordings and the valve amp will keep the treble real rather than overstated. I love the balance to the point i sold the Abyss 1266 Phi Tc. My current kit is Immanis and LCD4 and i think they are a great combo.

 

[ansel1]

For me, they sound great, but I do EQ them, and find that makes a big difference to the naturalness. Though I don't hear any imbalance in mine. Might be there is some legit issue with of the drivers.

 

[btalcox0715]

I did forget to mention—I EQ to the Harman curve (oratory1990) for both the LCD-3 and 4. I have a ticket open with Audeze so I am likely going to send them in to at least give me some sense of closure/reassurance.

 

[TheAbyss2022]

I did forget to mention—I EQ to the Harman curve (oratory1990) for both the LCD-3 and 4. I have a ticket open with Audeze so I am likely going to send them in to at least give me some sense of closure/reassurance.

There must be something wrong with the drivers. You may have to pay around £1,200 for new drivers if not in warranty.

 

[btalcox0715]

There must be something wrong with the drivers. You may have to pay around £1,200 for new drivers if not in warranty.

Oh yes they mentioned the $1200 but yeah I basically just want to confirm if it’s in spec and I just don’t like the headphone whatsoever OR there is something legitimately wrong with the drivers. And in that case, I will fix them. But given how much I enjoy the LCD-2 and LCD-3, I just can’t imagine the former is the case