Audeze LCD-4z - Impressions Thread

[Sound Eq]

I would keep an eye on the CanJam feedback thread over the next 3 days as there are several new contenders in the high end that it might be worth considering. I am certainly looking hard at the Ether 2.

i wish it totally opposite the sound signature of aeon flow closed

 

[Rowethren]

i wish it totally opposite the sound signature of aeon flow closed

Well from first impressions that have been posted the Ether 2 has very smooth even response and Audeze like slam in the bass. I haven't heard them yet but I certainly intend to.

 

[Imusicman]

LCD 4Z, Ether 2 & Diana Phi are all contenders for my next TOTL headphone. Cant wait to demo them

 

[Rowethren]

LCD 4Z, Ether 2 & Diana Phi are all contenders for my next TOTL headphone. Cant wait to demo them

Any and all impressions are welcome!

 

[guyben]

My review video is now up here -

My review video is now up here -

Again thank you for this review.
If I'm not mistaken you said on Youtube that you run these thru Roon with.
Are you using the Audeze presets? If so, I'm guessing you're using the one for LCD4 (Audeze notified me a preset for LCD4Z will be out soon).
I'm wondering how you find it. It certainly tilts the signature towards a brighter one with somewhat more expansive soundstage imho.

Thanks again
Guy

 

[Dinrog]

so i take it that you find lcd4z nearly perfect

buying this headphone blindly is a huge let down if after being bought will not meet these praising impressions, as i can not audition such a headphone

i hope there are no recessed or veiled mids, or 4khz peaks that are fatiguing

things i try to avoid:

--the coldness and analytical sound of aeon flow closed, i think it has has everything i dislike from thin mids to stabbing upper mids and highs, and lack of bass. i give it in my book the worst tuned hp i heard in the 800 usd range. to be honest i just wish to know why mrspeakers gets praised for making great closed backs. literally its torture to listen to aeon flow closed back
--the lcd2c weird dips in mids and sometimes ringing of upper mids and sometimes imaging is not great , thanks god we have reveal plugin to address some of those issue
--the zmf atticus veiled sound as a whole, to be honest its way way over hyped
--the bit of thinnes in mids of hifiman edition x v2, its great but wish more rich mids and more bass, but as i mentioned its really a great hp. i bought the hifiman he1000 v2 that i will receive in few days i know it will be better than he x v2 as i heard it extensively.
-- i had the lcd x which was good but man its heavy so sold it. but wished for better richness of sound in the mids area
--- i had lcd2 pre-fazor and fazor, they were decent but wanted better
--- had oppo pm1 nice but lacked soundstage felt more to be a closed headphone and expensive for what its offering , so sold it

for 4k usd i expect an almost perfect headphone

I agree, it sucks when you dont exactly know what youre getting and we all have individual preferences. That said, ours seem to align somewhat and i can confidently say the 4z is the best shot at the moment for this type of sound. The susvara goes in that direction as well but thats even more expensive and i wouldnt take it over the 4z.
Imagine your X with slightly tamed treble (BUT the 4z is very involving and resolving, i uped the treblenergy via EQ and it was too much for me so realized stocktuning is perfect), quite abit more resolving power, better soundstage and near perfect very 3d-like imaging (only the utopia is a tiny bit better there). More layers, rumble and detail in lowend but maybe a bit less kick to it (the lowend is very intense tho, hard to describe. Never heard anything like it) and just about the most lush awesome mids ive come across

Hope that helped if i would be able to improve it i would make sure it can go as wide as a HEK while maintaining that imaging and i would add abit more kick to lowend. Maybeee a tiny bit more energy somewhere uptop.
I think it would be damn close to perfection then. However, to blast the bubble, when i weighted both the 4z and the X they where both around 605-610 gramms and comfortwise i preffered the X as its pads had more surface touching my head and faded abit better into being unnoticed.

 

[commtrd]

I wonder if the low input impedance at 15 ohms tends to have these working somewhat more on current drive than voltage say compared to a dynamic driver at 300 ohms? I seem to remember reading somewhere that planar magnetic drivers are real current hungry?

At any rate these headphones are really amazing, and certainly crave (and deserve) TOTL amplification. Of course discerning, critically acclaimed dac goes without saying I think.

Darn it, these instruments have me thinking Yggy/GSX Mk2 someday. But for now it is quite impressive IMHO how well my little setup is working. Very happy listening for hours on end to 4z.

 

[guyben]

I just received mine yesterday and they are really amazing. Excellent out of the box but just running them for 24 hours now made a big difference with *very* deep bass and more extended highs. This is thru Hugo 2 with stock cable.
I am coming from AKG 712 so you could say I'm amazed simply because of the jump in headphone level and that may be true, but I am still amazed.
The most striking feature I notice (well beside the growling bass) is how clean this sounds. Really no, zero, nada distortion even at very high volume. Never experienced anything like this.
By the way, the Roon preset gives a very nice near-field speakers feeling and does not seem to affect the signature too much when applied gently (~30%).

Bought these without auditioning as this wasn't possible here in Israel but Iam glad I took the (very risky) plunge.

Guy

 

[astrostar59]

Congrats Guy. I heard the LCD4s at Can-Jam last year, and even in show conditions I could tell they were right for me. I found they scale a well with a more powerful amp and running balanced.

 

[guyben]

https://i.imgur.com/FOe2mkX.png

Sorry for the continuous posting...
but the bass on this recording on the LCD4Z has to be heard to be believed.
I've heard this concerto numerous times, never noticed the bass line as so significant as it sounds now.
Excellent recording anyway.

 

[Loose-Leaf]

https://i.imgur.com/FOe2mkX.png

Sorry for the continuous posting...
but the bass on this recording on the LCD4Z has to be heard to be believed.
I've heard this concerto numerous times, never noticed the bass line as so significant as it sounds now.
Excellent recording anyway.

I’ve had my LCD4Z for a couple of days and while going through some of my music I listened to Mozart Ave Vernum performed by Choir of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament with pipe organ ,

The Audeze 4Z rendered those soul vibrating sub bass organ notes surprisingly well and for anyone that has ever experienced a large pipe organ and choir especially in a 7th century gothic church will know exactly what I’m talking about .
Though I’m not a bass head it’s great to have it if it’s in the recording, now for some Pink Floyd .

 

[Imusicman]

I just received my 4Z's today. I've only had a couple of hours on them so far but my 1st impressions are these sound great and will be keepers for sure. I will burn them in over the next week or so and post my findings on the thread.

 

[teknorob23]

just arrived and is it wrong to be so enamoured with an inanimate object. Sound good out the box, but now consigned to patiently watch them quietly burn in for the next 3 or 4 days. The stock cable looks pretty interesting but has anyone found anything fun you recommend as i'm going to need to buy a 2.5mm balanced cable to use with my AK SPcu. Any suggestions gratefully received as i need the distraction

 

[jarnauga]

https://i.imgur.com/FOe2mkX.png

Sorry for the continuous posting...
but the bass on this recording on the LCD4Z has to be heard to be believed.
I've heard this concerto numerous times, never noticed the bass line as so significant as it sounds now.
Excellent recording anyway.

If you don’t mind, as a fellow K712 user and violin concerto lover, I will be inmensely grateful to know how is the tone and timbre of this instrument in the LCD-4z. There are few opportunities for me to read feedback from an owner and my favourite music is not very often portrayed in most of reviews. Please, it will be a big favor if you can share subjective impressions about the impact of the full tone and voice of a violin and the presence of such performance and interpreters. I really need it. Thanks and sorry if I’m being pushy with my request.

 

[guyben]

is it wrong to be so enamoured with an inanimate object

Oh that's very much possible . I know exactly what you mean..

If you don’t mind, as a fellow K712 user and violin concerto lover, I will be inmensely grateful to know how is the tone and timbre of this instrument in the LCD-4z. There are few opportunities for me to read feedback from an owner and my favourite music is not very often portrayed in most of reviews. Please, it will be a big favor if you can share subjective impressions about the impact of the full tone and voice of a violin and the presence of such performance and interpreters. I really need it. Thanks and sorry if I’m being pushy with my request.

Well... I do not pretend to know exactly how to portray the exact qualities of violin reproduction with these phones as I have not heard enough violin as a solo instrument up close. That said, I do have some experience playing the Cello and I can tell you that on the Lcd4z it is he most life like I have heard it, ever. It is just so rich and full bodied with excellent extension to both deep bass and high notes. Really a huge leap forward compared to the akg k712. I listen 95% of the time to classical music, mostly orchestral and chamber and I can tell you that these cans are just magical. It is soooo musical,, transparent and coherent. Complex orchestral passages would some time sound like one big mess on the akg but with the Lcd4z separation is maintained on the most Complex parts and nothing sounds overwhelmed. Just amazing. The general tone of the phones is I would say neutral to slightly dark. There is no glare whatsoever except Maybe with really very badly recordings. It all just flows effortlessly and crystal clear with zero distortion and great imaging. And that bass... I'm no bass head but once you hear it you know that when you don't have it you in fact lose a whole lot of the music reproduction. Very true as well for classical music even through people seem to ignore bass qualities when listening to classical. Note also the reveal or roon plugins - these are very good and add alot of value. When activated they emulate what sounds like listening to near field speakers. You get more extended highs, wider sound stage (and I mean WIDE) and even better imaging. You do lose some intimacy so I find I like to use that preset (at half strength) on some recordings (orchestral mainly) and use the stock tuning for up close chamber music.
Bottom line - highly, highly recommended!
Also note this is my experience with the Hugo 2 as dac/amp. People say they sound even better with a separate high end amp.