[Hifiearspeakers]

Would any of you say the 4z is shouty or peaky at any time?

Absolutely. It has reduced upper mids but then several treble peaks, especially at 10K. That’s par for the course for Audeze house sound.

 

[InstantSilence]

I would try and listen to them before you make a purchase. I find them bright in the treble for certain genres of electronic music but I think I'm in a minority.

I've purchased the Violetric HPA V200 AE which is supposed to be smooth and powerful. If that doesn't work I give up.

I also find it peaky In the treble, shouty at times. I guess some mild eq can help.
How is the vioelectric working out?

I wonder if a Hugo 2 makes it even more shouty...

 

[MacedonianHero]

Would any of you say the 4z is shouty or peaky at any time?

It depends on your upstream source/amp. They will pass that through. Straight out of either the Hugo2 or DAVE I don't have any issues whatsoever. But out of lesser setups, I have; knowing that they were brighter setups from the start.

 

[InstantSilence]

are most audeze cans this way?

 

[SteveM324]

System matching is the key to putting together a really great sounding headphone or speaker system. This is not unique to Audeze headphones.

 

[InstantSilence]

System matching is the key to putting together a really great sounding headphone or speaker system. This is not unique to Audeze headphones.

what is your system
i got 4z and love them but find a slight peak in the treble ,especially with bad recordings, which i have a lot of ,
what is the best dac,amp to tame down the top end and smooth it out.....i love me treble, just love a smooth treble.

 

[Kozwoz]

People should state the type of music they listen to as this is as important as system matching.

I don't find the 4z 'peaky' at all when listening to classical or orchestral nor when I listen to live recordings. I would generalise that people that listen to these styles do not find the 4z peaky. I've found few audiophiles on my journey willing to pay so much money for a pair of headphones and equivalent on amp and dac that exclusively listen to electronic dance music - I don't mean "EDM" but the music which falls into this sub genre such as house, drum and bass, trap, future garage... Give me someone that listens to this type of music on a neutral sounding setup that doesn't find the 4z peaky and I would be absolutely gobsmacked.

System matching is just as important for the type of music you listen to. I've realised this the hard way. It is not good enough to think you are buying the best and expect it to sound good with everything you listen to. I find more and more audiophiles at this price point that would rather talk to me about how realistic the violins sound and can I hear the breath of the singers voice and the sense of ambience and space that the 'recording process' imparts on the listener. These are people that clearly value certain sonic attributes and lean towards certain styles of music. I appreciate that these are simple observations but there is some truth in this. Make of it what you will.

 

[commtrd]

^^^ These are great points! Very much applicable since there may well not be a single headphone that will reproduce every sonic frequency input into the component group ahead of it, all while satisfying the extremely diverse range of preference of sonic signature any given person would be partial to.

Given the huge range of variables, it becomes necessary for all reviewers to state what they are listening to when they declare a headphone "peaky" or "shouty" or whatever buzz word is applied...

 

[TheMiddleSky]

People should state the type of music they listen to as this is as important as system matching.

I don't find the 4z 'peaky' at all when listening to classical or orchestral nor when I listen to live recordings. I would generalise that people that listen to these styles do not find the 4z peaky. I've found few audiophiles on my journey willing to pay so much money for a pair of headphones and equivalent on amp and dac that exclusively listen to electronic dance music - I don't mean "EDM" but the music which falls into this sub genre such as house, drum and bass, trap, future garage... Give me someone that listens to this type of music on a neutral sounding setup that doesn't find the 4z peaky and I would be absolutely gobsmacked.

System matching is just as important for the type of music you listen to. I've realised this the hard way. It is not good enough to think you are buying the best and expect it to sound good with everything you listen to. I find more and more audiophiles at this price point that would rather talk to me about how realistic the violins sound and can I hear the breath of the singers voice and the sense of ambience and space that the 'recording process' imparts on the listener. These are people that clearly value certain sonic attributes and lean towards certain styles of music. I appreciate that these are simple observations but there is some truth in this. Make of it what you will.

Definitely very true.

For example, the headphone builder made their speaker to match "organic" instrument like acoustic guitar and piano. Then someone throw electronic synthesiser, can't say they will match really well.

Like back when I talk to Final Audio designer (Piano Forte X), he gave me few demo songs that only consist of vocal and harp. Sounds really beautiful and lifelike. Wait till you listen to pop/rock mainstream with X, it sounds totally off.

 

[Focux]

is there then a compiled list as to what cans best express what genres best?

sure it would partially take away the joy of this hobby but from an economic perspective it would save alot of time & $$$

 

[koven]

People should state the type of music they listen to as this is as important as system matching.

I don't find the 4z 'peaky' at all when listening to classical or orchestral nor when I listen to live recordings. I would generalise that people that listen to these styles do not find the 4z peaky. I've found few audiophiles on my journey willing to pay so much money for a pair of headphones and equivalent on amp and dac that exclusively listen to electronic dance music - I don't mean "EDM" but the music which falls into this sub genre such as house, drum and bass, trap, future garage... Give me someone that listens to this type of music on a neutral sounding setup that doesn't find the 4z peaky and I would be absolutely gobsmacked.

System matching is just as important for the type of music you listen to. I've realised this the hard way. It is not good enough to think you are buying the best and expect it to sound good with everything you listen to. I find more and more audiophiles at this price point that would rather talk to me about how realistic the violins sound and can I hear the breath of the singers voice and the sense of ambience and space that the 'recording process' imparts on the listener. These are people that clearly value certain sonic attributes and lean towards certain styles of music. I appreciate that these are simple observations but there is some truth in this. Make of it what you will.

Are you implying there are audiophiles who don't have Hotel California and Diana Krall on repeat?

 

[InstantSilence]

I hear audeze made some sort of eq? Reveal or something? Idk how that works or what about it I don't understand

 

[protoss]

Strange I never found the 4Z peaky or shouty. Only the original 4.

It must be the gear that people are using I am assuming.

 

[sahmen]

Strange I never found the 4Z peaky or shouty. Only the original 4.

It must be the gear that people are using I am assuming.

Ironically, I have the original 4, and have never found it to be shouty or peaky either, although i have had to resell very quickly other cans that i have found rather aggressive or harsh at the top end playing on the same rigs as the 4 : the focal elex, and the beyerdynamic t1, for example.

Nowadays, my HeKSE gets as much time as my 4 on the same rigs, and, if anything, it's the HeKSE that often sounds a lot more exuberant, energetic, and some would say, even more splashy in the highs than the 4, but I won't even call the Hekse peaky or shouty, let alone the 4...

Bottomline? You're right about the role of the surrounding gear in defining peakiness or shouty-ness of the 4z, or of any phones for that matter (even the HD800, which some see as the king of peakiness and shouti-ness)... However, I wouldn't separate the particular pair of ears on the cans from the gear in the chain in identifying, at any time, what I see as important defining factors of the character or perceived sound... The ears might even be the last frontier, or the first, depending on how one looks at the issue, in shaping that definition,

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Are you implying there are audiophiles who don't have Hotel California and Diana Krall on repeat?

Don't like both, even for only tester song. However, rebecca pidgeon and norah jones are always be on my side