[jarnauga]

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.

Perfect response! That is the information I need to hear. It seems your tastes match closely mine as I suspected and that was the reason to ask. Classical music, mainly orchestral but a healthy doses of chamber as well, almost no opera nowadays. There is a lot of information around and many models lately but all the reviews and assessments are about, let's say, different music if not completely different objectives (movies/computer games/etc). If something has to be said about 'classical' then they mention only Saint-Saëns with the organ symphony, maybe Dvořák New World, and maybe some other 'spectacular' festival music with cannons and the like. One or two mention Mahler but for the dynamic range. And that's it, sadly. For this reason it is very difficult to short-list what to hear, what to save money for, etc. Out of a Senn 800(S), only the big Stax (the nine, the seven seems to be 'warmerized' more and more in every new review) and maybe the HE6(se), seem to be really optimal for such enterprises, if I parsed all the words from users and reviews well. I can't figure out any skills from the rest of the models in the market, at all (by reading reviews and impressions). For mid-fi, I'm already covered. As you can see the amplifier requirements are huge in those cases and something with equal capabilities with the music I'm interested in but a lot more easy to drive is very good news. You mention Cello, fantastic! If strings, mass of strings and an instrument like a Cello is well portrayed I will be very happy. In my case with the violin the problem is in the highest register. The woody body part is showed with many headphones more or less well, but when you start to play up and up... If a headphones can render the very first three minutes of Sibelius VC so well as to let you breath only afterwards, job done. And I need a bit of live and sparkle with the string every time is plucked or touched, electric sparks, crystal quality, reverberation. If it can also portray the lower resister of a big piano (and I suppose it is very capable), that's all.

Again my sincere thanks to you.

 

[jarnauga]

Another question for users here with experience in this kind of very low impedance/planar headphones.

There is a healthy bunch of amplifiers around (only power or integrated) not for headphones, mind you, with lovely tubes (or First Watt amps) and a very low (in Watts) output: 1.5W, 2-3W, 4W, 5-6-7-8W. And taps to connect to 4Ohm, 8Ohm, 16Ohm full range speakers of high sensitivity (above 95db/w/m or even >100db/w/m). Thinking along the lines of a Yamamoto and others with 45, 2A3, etc.

Could any of those amps drive directly, using the right 16Ohm OPT tap, without any problem, this kind of planar? The low or very low impedance ones? Just wondering if someone already tried. I don't read reviews about HiFi shows and I don't know if somebody already tried successfully or not.

I know, as well, it is about matching sound presentation, so I don't know how it will work, but in the past, some years ago, someone reported an EAR HP4 with an LCD-X to be something to behold. She said in transparency, out of this world. Maybe the 4z is different enough to be a less optimal match sound-wise but if I have the money... Those Tim de Paravicini OPT are really expensive but I'm glad to know it exists.

 

[teknorob23]

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

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.

My experience prior to the LCD4z is mainly confined listening to my Hugo2 via in ear monitors, which despite being way more sensitive still to my ears benefit from the extra current you get from sticking a headphone Amp in front of it. As to which amp will best suit, thats highly subjective, but i absolutely love my Lehmann Linear and i find it great foil to the Hugo2, giving the music just a little more body, power and really enhancing organicity and naturalness of the H2.. perhaps an nth north of neutral warmth-wise. The extra power also lets you here a bit more detail too. My LCD4z have had about 60 hours burn in, so i've only spent a few hours this morning listening to them in this set up. I have switched between this and the H2 stand alone and i'd say it sounds great with both, but instantly notice the improvements with the Lehmann in the chain.. General comment is wow, these headphones are incredible and compared to whats achievable in 2 channel for this sort of budget, they represent equally incredible value for money. So far so very good.

 

[Eduardo C]

My experience prior to the LCD4z is mainly confined listening to my Hugo2 via in ear monitors, which despite being way more sensitive still to my ears benefit from the extra current you get from sticking a headphone Amp in front of it. As to which amp will best suit, thats highly subjective, but i absolutely love my Lehmann Linear and i find it great foil to the Hugo2, giving the music just a little more body, power and really enhancing organicity and naturalness of the H2.. perhaps an nth north of neutral warmth-wise. The extra power also lets you here a bit more detail too. My LCD4z have had about 60 hours burn in, so i've only spent a few hours this morning listening to them in this set up. I have switched between this and the H2 stand alone and i'd say it sounds great with both, but instantly notice the improvements with the Lehmann in the chain.. General comment is wow, these headphones are incredible and compared to whats achievable in 2 channel for this sort of budget, they represent equally incredible value for money. So far so very good.

I completely agree with you. I have the exact same experience with my system. Hugo2 -> PassLabs HPA-1 -> LCD4. The HPA-1 also adds body and richness to the sound.

 

[Loose-Leaf]

With new toy syndrome set aside I think Audeze hit a grand slam with the 4Z sonically along with overall comfort at least that’s my personal take on these headphones.
Using a Mjölnir Audio Bipolar amplifier to drive them I can tell immediately the marriage between the two is superb and I’m sure there may well be other amplifiers that also mate very well with the 4Z however you will know it when you hear it.

What stands out with this combination is “harmonics” , well recorded acoustic instruments are reproduced realistically with a presence about them that is distinct and unmistakable.

Good one Audeze .

 

[koven]

How much did you guys get your 4Z for? There's dealers selling these 'under the table' new for below 3K it seems.

 

[Mediahound]

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

I'm EQ'ing myself manually in Roon currently. Waiting for the new LCD-4z Roon preset to be released.

 

[KMann]

I'm EQ'ing myself manually in Roon currently. Waiting for the new LCD-4z Roon preset to be released.

Anytime now, both LCD-4Z and LCD-2 closed back should appear under Audeze Presets.

 

[Sound Eq]

I'm EQ'ing myself manually in Roon currently. Waiting for the new LCD-4z Roon preset to be released.

i am bit surprised that with this huge price for lcd4z you still feel need to eq it

can you shed some light why u feel u need to eq lcd4z

 

[commtrd]

i am bit surprised that with this huge price for lcd4z you still feel need to eq it

can you shed some light why u feel u need to eq lcd4z

I don't understand at all why some think these headphones need any alteration in output whatsoever. They sound ridiculously awesome just the way they are (to me).
Maybe some peeps just have a need to play with EQ just because they can? I got the 4z because they DIDN'T NEED ANY EQ TO SOUND AWESOME. They just sound crystal clear, pristine, the whole thing.
I would have to listen to some that have been EQ'd I guess so I can know the difference and understand what it is that I am missing because right now, ignorance is sheer bliss!

 

[MacedonianHero]

My experience prior to the LCD4z is mainly confined listening to my Hugo2 via in ear monitors, which despite being way more sensitive still to my ears benefit from the extra current you get from sticking a headphone Amp in front of it. As to which amp will best suit, thats highly subjective, but i absolutely love my Lehmann Linear and i find it great foil to the Hugo2, giving the music just a little more body, power and really enhancing organicity and naturalness of the H2.. perhaps an nth north of neutral warmth-wise. The extra power also lets you here a bit more detail too. My LCD4z have had about 60 hours burn in, so i've only spent a few hours this morning listening to them in this set up. I have switched between this and the H2 stand alone and i'd say it sounds great with both, but instantly notice the improvements with the Lehmann in the chain.. General comment is wow, these headphones are incredible and compared to whats achievable in 2 channel for this sort of budget, they represent equally incredible value for money. So far so very good.

Congrats on the LCD-4z...brilliant pair of headphones!

The Lehman Linear outputs 400mW and the Hugo 2 can output more power as a standalone. As well, you are introducing more distortion into your setup with an additional amp. A more purist approach would be just using the Hugo2 alone. I can confirm this is a brilliant pairing and wouldn't recommend using another amp with it and the LCD-4z as they are quite efficient.

 

[commtrd]

I have switched back and forth using my Hugo 2 standalone and then adding the Gilmore Lite Mark 2, and I cannot detect any distortion that the amp is adding into the output.
This amp (far as I can tell) is like a "wire with gain". But on the other hand, it is true that the Hugo 2 drives the 4z just fine as well. I prefer to use the amp, but it is nice to have these high-quality
headphones that can be used with just H2. And the 4z seems to love the extra power too. The GLMk2 can do 1.5 watts single ended IIRC.

 

[Mediahound]

Congrats on the LCD-4z...brilliant pair of headphones!

The Lehman Linear outputs 400mW and the Hugo 2 can output more power as a standalone. As well, you are introducing more distortion into your setup with an additional amp. A more purist approach would be just using the Hugo2 alone. I can confirm this is a brilliant pairing and wouldn't recommend using another amp with it and the LCD-4z as they are quite efficient.

I have switched back and forth using my Hugo 2 standalone and then adding the Gilmore Lite Mark 2, and I cannot detect any distortion that the amp is adding into the output.
This amp (far as I can tell) is like a "wire with gain". But on the other hand, it is true that the Hugo 2 drives the 4z just fine as well. I prefer to use the amp, but it is nice to have these high-quality
headphones that can be used with just H2. And the 4z seems to love the extra power too. The GLMk2 can do 1.5 watts single ended IIRC.

I own the Hugo 2 as well as a Violectric V281 amp and use the LCD-4z. I can confirm they sound great directly out of the Hugo 2 however, I prefer the bit more damping factor I get when using the amp. It just sounds a bit more involving and impactful. These headphones really seem to bloom with a bit of a higher damping factor. Also, Audeze recommends 1-4 watts for the 4z: https://www.audeze.com/products/lcd-collection/lcd-4z , I don't think the Hugo 2 outputs quite 1 watt. The v281 amp outputs about 1.5w to the 4z.

Adding an additional amp into the signal path will always take a way some bit of resolution by nature, however it's debatable how much this will be perceived. That said, be sure you love what an amp does for you in terms of it's sound signature, etc., otherwise it's not worth it.

 

[MacedonianHero]

I have switched back and forth using my Hugo 2 standalone and then adding the Gilmore Lite Mark 2, and I cannot detect any distortion that the amp is adding into the output.
This amp (far as I can tell) is like a "wire with gain". But on the other hand, it is true that the Hugo 2 drives the 4z just fine as well. I prefer to use the amp, but it is nice to have these high-quality
headphones that can be used with just H2. And the 4z seems to love the extra power too. The GLMk2 can do 1.5 watts single ended IIRC.

I've got that same setup here and have gone back and forth and both (Hugo 2 and GLite Mk2) output roughly the same amount of power and to my ears (especially with high res recordings), I prefer the H2 alone. Gilmore amps are a little different as they are very unflavoured in terms of their design criteria. Now if I were to use the LCD-4, I would need to hook up my 5.5W+ GS-X Mk2 for more "ideal" power settings, but the Hugo 2 is plenty enough amplification for the LCD-4z.

That said, if it sounds good to your ears...then it is. <-- my #1 rule of audio.

 

[KMann]

LCD-4Z was designed with transportability in mind, we used Hugo 2 when we developed and tested both LCD-4Z and LCD-i4. LCD-4Z pairs well with Hugo 2

LCD-4Z scales well with the better amplification stage of DAVE and also with better DAC when you add the M-Scalar.

If you are looking to add more power, I agree with MacedonianHero above. Go for significantly more power than Hugo 2 from a clean and fast amp.