[2thfixr]

I have the 4, 4Z, empyrean, utopia, Abyss Diana Phi and they’re each good for different things. I can’t say the Diana Phi is slam dunk better than audeze but I can say I enjoy listening to my empyrean the most. Dynamics and SQ is excellent without having to sit and concentrate on what you’re listening to. The 4Z is also excellent. The diana phi I find that I have to sit and concentrate to appreciate the SQ. With that said the SQ you get out of each of these cans is obviously dependent on your upstream equipment. Each headphone on my Chord TT2 with M Scaler sounds different on my Manhattan II. So synergy is key you can’t just make a blanket statement that the abyss phi is worlds better than the LCD4 or 4Z.

With that said I have had great customer service from Audeze and I’ve had my LCD2, LCDX for years with zero issues. The LCD4 and LCD4Z are much newer but still no issues. The membranes are sensitive but my understanding is they created special air gaps between the ear pads and drivers so you can’t put too much pressure on the membranes when putting the on and taking them off.

 

[Imusicman]

I’ve had no issues with the 4Z. On a quiet day when no one’s around it’s still my favourite headphone. The VC is my weapon of choice when other people are around though.
I’ve tried the Diana Phi but I just couldn’t get on with the fit so unfortunately for me they didn’t sound impressive at all.

 

[CreditingKarma]

I have the 4, 4Z, empyrean, utopia, Abyss Diana Phi and they’re each good for different things. I can’t say the Diana Phi is slam dunk better than audeze but I can say I enjoy listening to my empyrean the most. Dynamics and SQ is excellent without having to sit and concentrate on what you’re listening to. The 4Z is also excellent. The diana phi I find that I have to sit and concentrate to appreciate the SQ. With that said the SQ you get out of each of these cans is obviously dependent on your upstream equipment. Each headphone on my Chord TT2 with M Scaler sounds different on my Manhattan II. So synergy is key you can’t just make a blanket statement that the abyss phi is worlds better than the LCD4 or 4Z.

With that said I have had great customer service from Audeze and I’ve had my LCD2, LCDX for years with zero issues. The LCD4 and LCD4Z are much newer but still no issues. The membranes are sensitive but my understanding is they created special air gaps between the ear pads and drivers so you can’t put too much pressure on the membranes when putting the on and taking them off.

The Ab1266 TC is a significant step up from the diana. You are paying a premium though for that last 5-10%. You can find deals on the AB1266 if you shop around or have a good relationship with your local dealer.

 

[2thfixr]

Not sure that it’s a significant step. The Diana phi uses the same driver as 1266 phi. I have heard the TCs and it didn’t knock my socks off over the regular phis

 

[CreditingKarma]

Not sure that it’s a significant step. The Diana phi uses the same driver as 1266 phi. I have heard the TCs and it didn’t knock my socks off over the regular phis

I owned the diana phi for a bit. I took a bit of trial to get a good fit with the TC but once it was dialed in it is great. The TC has deeper bass better mids, more resolution. They are both great but I prefer the TC.

 

[2thfixr]

Agreed. That was the challenge for me when I tried the TCs. I still don’t know if I got the fit right.

 

[jmills8]

Audeze gets a bit sensitive when it comes to criticising their transducers or finding faults with them. Rattling noise with planar transducers are sort of normal, when you put the headphones on or take them off. I guess Audeze had too many unjustifiable complaints, so they try to blame it on the customer by default. Still, they did the driver change without much questioning which is cool.

Planars are riskier, innovative transducer even more so (isodynamic hybrid array). That's why Meze for expamle only gives 2 years non-transferable warranty on the Empyrean. They say it should work fine for 10 years at least, but they obviously haven't had the chance to test it.

Kennerton to me is still too heavy and I am not that fond of the Russian industrial look (shed-tuning design). They might sound quite good though, I don't know.

Audeze at least looks great. Even though they are heavy as fck.

I am impressed by the sound of HEKV2, but beyond that amazing spaciousness I need a more focused sound, something more tangible. A punchier more visceral bass. Not to mention that flimsy build quality.
I think noone does bass better than Audeze, but their headphones are bloody heavy and the mids/treble sound a bit flat and smothery compared to other TOTL planars like the Empyrean or HEKV2 or Susvara.
I have never had a chance to try DIY looking competitors like Kennerton or Phobos.

This planar pounds as hard as my th900s. 8000 pro.

 

[Dinrog]

Guess i am lucky, had 4 different Audezes over the last 3 years and none had any issues.. i even dropped my X, 4z and isine to the ground by accident..
Recently sold my Empyrean, sound wasnt up to par to the 4 /4z.
Would love to demo a 1266 tc tho.. but no store has them here

 

[sfviahouston]

Just recognized a imbalance between the left and right channel of my 4Z. Left is definitely louder than the right, I tried different cables with the same result.

I’ve contacted Audeze and I’m sure they are going to have me send them in for service. Anyone ever have the same experience and have an idea of the cause?

 

[drummerdimitri]

Just recognized a imbalance between the left and right channel of my 4Z. Left is definitely louder than the right, I tried different cables with the same result.

I’ve contacted Audeze and I’m sure they are going to have me send them in for service. Anyone ever have the same experience and have an idea of the cause?

Could you measure the resistance of the drivers using a Multimeter? The right earphone must have a much higher impedance than the left one which is supposed to be around 15 Ohms.

 

[sfviahouston]

Could you measure the resistance of the drivers using a Multimeter? The right earphone must have a much higher impedance than the left one which is supposed to be around 15 Ohms.

I don’t have a multimeter but waiting to hear from Audeze and will send to them for remedy. Thanks

 

[moriez]

and on the second time, I was not really happy with Audeze customer service. There was obvious channel imbalance that anyone trying them could hear, yet Audeze, probably in an effort to try to shirk responsibility for shoddy QA told me that they couldn't find any issues with the headphones, but would replace the drivers for me anyway...

I can picture perfectly the disbelief the moment they said a clear imbalance is undetectable. From one perspective I'm not sure you could ask for more. I mean ''not finding an issue'' and yet replacing drivers is above and beyond IMO.

Only for Audeze. They suck at making reliable "driver" headphones! They are the absolute worst!

Hifiman has terrible build construction of their products that breaks apart but good drivers.
Audeze has disgusting drivers thats dies in 1 day or month or year. They for the love of Zeus can not make a bullet proof driver like the mighty Sennhesier.

I accept Audeze PR team to defend soon...

Sensing lots of anger here Admitted I'm quite the biased Audeze friend for the simple reason I've liked their LCD series for years and their second to none customer support. Also never encountered driver failure myself.
Haven't gone back in the thread but kind of curious how come your experience with their drivers is that bad? Assuming it is personal experience.

Just recognized a imbalance between the left and right channel of my 4Z. Left is definitely louder than the right, I tried different cables with the same result.

I’ve contacted Audeze and I’m sure they are going to have me send them in for service. Anyone ever have the same experience and have an idea of the cause?

One page back:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audeze-lcd-4z-impressions-thread.876943/page-92#post-15368183

 

[commtrd]

Yep those crappy drivers... I conservatively estimate in excess of 30k listening hours on LCD-X, on my 4z owned for around 3 years now prolly 2000 hours at least, no failures or quirks at all.

Guess I just got lucky and got some good ones. Also owned LCD2c, and LCD3 pre-fazor. Which I wish I would have kept BTW. Traded those on the X. Listened to that one so much the earpads started falling apart. Just haven't got around to replacing pads yet, but drivers are still fine. Net cost per hour of listen time is almost nothing on X. Not near as much listen time on 4z, no problems so far. The Dekoni pads are really plush and comfy.

 

[Akull]

Just wanted to share graph of mine LCD-4z i use them with ADI-2 dac and so far i'm satisfied

 

[drummerdimitri]

How would you compare the LCD-4's detail retrieval vs the LCD-4z? Someone just told me it's much better than the latter but I find it hard to believe.