[senseitedj]

Have you been pushing them from portable devices? I am wondering if the driver failures are from hammering them with DC from clipping portable players vs comfortably driven from home amplifiers.

I haven't heard this personally, but what @Kozwoz has said is valid

 

[phonyx]

It’s actually easy to blow an Audeze driver at high SPL. It’s caused by the pressure change from taking them off and putting them back on - which pushes onto the diaphragm, which is already very very thin. This is why they integrated the felt spacer so the pressure dissipates.

You can usually hear the 4z at high volumes thump when you take them off your head. Ideally you want to lower the volume before you put them back on your head so there isn’t such a drastic change in pressure. This puts a lot less strain on the diaphragm.

That's really interesting actually. I am currently running HE-6SE's and have grille modded them which reduces the resistance behind the drivers. I am also running Audeze protein pads on them. They have a propensity to get 'stuck' to the outer magnets and you have to 'reverse CPR' them off via applying gentle oral suction to the pad side (yes this is still head-fi not headfi-hub...). How do the 4z's fail exactly? Do the drivers stick to the magnets or actually tear?

 

[senseitedj]

That's really interesting actually. I am currently running HE-6SE's and have grille modded them which reduces the resistance behind the drivers. I am also running Audeze protein pads on them. They have a propensity to get 'stuck' to the outer magnets and you have to 'reverse CPR' them off via applying gentle oral suction to the pad side (yes this is still head-fi not headfi-hub...). How do the 4z's fail exactly? Do the drivers stick to the magnets or actually tear?

Most common failure is something to do with tear

See 4th point on this FAQ on how to handle planars

https://www.audeze.com/pages/audeze-support

 

[phonyx]

Tearing ok. Thanks.

Just wondering. Are there people still running 2018 drivers without issues?

 

[senseitedj]

Tearing ok. Thanks.

Just wondering. Are there people still running 2018 drivers without issues?

Like I said, my audeze left the factory in june 2018 but was purchased in october 2020.

Have owned about 1.5 years no issues so far. On a separate note, my 8 year old lcd 2f has no issues as well

 

[prismstorm]

Does anyone know what are the changes to the 4Z in the (2021) edition? Was there a driver change or was it simply an ear pads upgrade? Does it still sound mid-forward, intimate and with thunderous bass after the recent iteration?

My local distributor ran out of all stock and to get a new 4Z it would need to be a deposited special order. How do I identify whether it is a latest version 4Z from the serial number?

 

[Kozwoz]

Does anyone know what are the changes to the 4Z in the (2021) edition? Was there a driver change or was it simply an ear pads upgrade? Does it still sound mid-forward, intimate and with thunderous bass after the recent iteration?

My local distributor ran out of all stock and to get a new 4Z it would need to be a deposited special order. How do I identify whether it is a latest version 4Z from the serial number?

What people call the 2021 pad change was actually late 2020, hence Nov. 2020. It's just most people got theirs after New Year.

The latest iteration of the 4Zs started on November 9th, 2020 with serials MG430710 and up. You can ask your distributor to verify the serial before purchase.

There have been no further updates to the drivers or the enclosure on the 4z. The gold grills were implemented a couple years ago because Audeze had to source new materials.

The pad changes would have certainly had some impact on the sound of the 4z - bringing the drivers closer to the ears thereby further reducing reflections. From anecdotal reports on the LCD4 thread the sound differences with the new pads were minimal but a welcome improvement albeit small.

 

[senseitedj]

What people call the 2021 pad change was actually late 2020, hence Nov. 2020. It's just most people got theirs after New Year.

The latest iteration of the 4Zs started on November 9th, 2020 with serials MG430710 and up. You can ask your distributor to verify the serial before purchase.

There have been no further updates to the drivers or the enclosure on the 4z. The gold grills were implemented a couple years ago because Audeze had to source new materials.

The pad changes would have certainly had some impact on the sound of the 4z - bringing the drivers closer to the ears thereby further reducing reflections. From anecdotal reports on the LCD4 thread the sound differences with the new pads were minimal but a welcome improvement albeit small.

Ref. to the grille change, it was a response to the yellow grille on the first iteration of the 4z which suffered oxidation issues. I experienced this problem firsthand sent my 4z to Audeze to get replaced with a copper one, along with the earpad swap.

Sound wise, the OG version with the original earpads had vocals a bit sucked out to my ears, and I required roon EQ to get a more balanced FR. New earpads bring out a more balanced FR and I no longer need EQ to enjoy the headphone.

 

[prismstorm]

What people call the 2021 pad change was actually late 2020, hence Nov. 2020. It's just most people got theirs after New Year.

The latest iteration of the 4Zs started on November 9th, 2020 with serials MG430710 and up. You can ask your distributor to verify the serial before purchase.

There have been no further updates to the drivers or the enclosure on the 4z. The gold grills were implemented a couple years ago because Audeze had to source new materials.

The pad changes would have certainly had some impact on the sound of the 4z - bringing the drivers closer to the ears thereby further reducing reflections. From anecdotal reports on the LCD4 thread the sound differences with the new pads were minimal but a welcome improvement albeit small.

Thanks, local dealer said that they have stopped ordering 4Z as it is now 'old', and only 5s will be coming. I would need to place deposit for a special order if I am to get a 4Z through them. I will check with them for the serial no. before going through with the order!

 

[deafenears]

Thanks, local dealer said that they have stopped ordering 4Z as it is now 'old', and only 5s will be coming. I would need to place deposit for a special order if I am to get a 4Z through them. I will check with them for the serial no. before going through with the order!

Get a 4 in the 4z chassis

 

[Kozwoz]

Thanks, local dealer said that they have stopped ordering 4Z as it is now 'old', and only 5s will be coming. I would need to place deposit for a special order if I am to get a 4Z through them. I will check with them for the serial no. before going through with the order!

Old? Shame they feel that way. Audeze are still producing the 4z and as far I’m aware there are no plans to phase it out.

 

[prismstorm]

Old? Shame they feel that way. Audeze are still producing the 4z and as far I’m aware there are no plans to phase it out.

Yes for some reason Audeze still sells even the LCD-1 in their lineup, under the 'Origins' category.

I am actually struggling between whether to get the 4Z or the 5, from my demo at the dealer, the 5 is a lot clearer and less dark, but the 4Z has thunderous bass and very lush and yummy mids, absolutely my kind of sound even though the 5 was undoubtedly technically superior.

 

[senseitedj]

Yes for some reason Audeze still sells even the LCD-1 in their lineup, under the 'Origins' category.

I am actually struggling between whether to get the 4Z or the 5, from my demo at the dealer, the 5 is a lot clearer and less dark, but the 4Z has thunderous bass and very lush and yummy mids, absolutely my kind of sound even though the 5 was undoubtedly technically superior.

Im guessing that 4z is the 2018 version that your dealer has on demo? Yellow grilles instead of copper?

 

[prismstorm]

Im guessing that 4z is the 2018 version that your dealer has on demo? Yellow grilles instead of copper?

should be, they had it way back years ago in their showroom, in your knowledge has the sound changed after the grilles went from yellow to copper?

 

[senseitedj]

should be, they had it way back years ago in their showroom, in your knowledge has the sound changed after the grilles went from yellow to copper?

Yup, because the ones with the copper grilles have the new earpads that balances out the FR abit better.

I had mine upgraded to 2021 version from 2018 version, and to my ears it did balance out the FR abit.