[KMann]

Just wanted to confirm - the Aural Map works much better with the LCD-2. Thank you for the help.

Good to know. If you turn the preset mix to 100% dry, it may work better with i3/i4/iSines, something to try.

 

[M3NTAL]

Good to know. If you turn the preset mix to 100% dry, it may work better with i3/i4/iSines, something to try.

If you are referring to the actual Reveal settings, then yes - I have tried that, but still did not like the effect with the i4.

 

[boxster233]

I wonder if there will be any black Friday sales on the i4?

it’s on sale as bstock today

 

[sorrick]

it’s on sale as bstock today

Deal of the year there. LCD-i4 for $995 is a steal.

 

[Grimlock248]

Deal of the year there. LCD-i4 for $995 is a steal.

Already sold out... They do go fast.

 

[DaddyWhale]

Already sold out... They do go fast.

Glad that I pulled the trigger and snagged one. Was thinking of the Shure kse1200. But the price on the LCDi4 was too good to ignore

 

[Ashah]

Last year I missed the LCD I4 Black friday Deal , So I got myself B-Stock ISine 20 to supplement my LCD -X this year I got lucky within the hour of seeing the email from Audeze I ordered mine now waiting for it to be delivered will be interesting to see how it compares to the Isine 20, which I like very much , One more interesting fact Audeze say on their website "returns only accepted within 10 days of "order date," I have no intentions of returning mine but they have not shipped yet ! So by the time I get mine it will be over 10 days ! clever !
A question for anyone who knows "is the silver plated OEM cable that comes with the unit the same as the one the Audeze sells for $ 399.00 "on their website or is that a different cable ? what is the best reasonably priced after market cables are been used by owners of I4 ? I do own a after market silver cable. Lavricable reference Silver cable from Europe which now broken in , sounds wonderful with my ISine 20
A-Shah
Rest of the HP Gear
1. Deckard amp./DAC
2. Schiit Gungnir DAC with IFI purifier & Reference JCAT USB cable
3. Chord Mojo
4. QuickSilver reference class Tube Headphone amplifier

 

[EagleWings]

Yes, that $399 SPC cable is what comes with the i4. I am currently using the Dita Oslo cable ($600). Its not a reasonably priced cable and I am not a big fan of its signature either. But I am using it because I like it for its ergonomics and the plug swapping system. Another cable, I like with the i4 is the EA Eros 2 8W ($600). Again, not reasonably priced, also may be a bit heavy for the i4. The problem with finding a reasonably priced cable for the i4 was, while those cables helped with improving the tone and body over the stock cable, they didn’t have the large soundstage and separation of the stock cable. For example, I loved the PW-Audio No.5 for the tone, but it had a smaller stage.

 

[Ashah]

thank you , will look at at the cables you have suggested , but with my HP I do like large sound stage , Do like the Lavricable which is a solid silver cable with ISINE 20 once broken in ( takes a long time) sounds smooth , accurate does not seem to add any of its own signature to the sound ! and very reasonably priced

 

[Infoseeker]

Damn, I missed out on the i4 black friday? Damn

 

[nycdoi]

i just bought the lcd-i4 from the bf sales. do i need to get a specific balanced cable or any 2pins balanced will work?

 

[Infoseeker]

If it can be driven off a usb cable (the cipher cable) , I imagine a balanced cable is unnecessary. Sticking to the 3.5mm cable should be enough as it seems easily driven.

 

[sahmen]

Actually, it depends on what you're using it on or for. Some DAPs and amps offer the option of both single-ended (3.5mm) and and balanced 2.5mm trrs or XLR outputs, for example. In such circumstances, the balanced circuitries are often specifically designed to provide superior performance in sq when compared with the SE ones. This is where being stuck with the stock SE cable of the LCDi4 can become a real disadvantage. I know this because most of my headphone amps and daps offer both balanced and SE output options (eg. A&K Kann, Cavalli Liquid Carbon, Liquid Platinum, Violectric V281 etc etc), and in all these cases the manufacturers go out of their way to recommend balanced over SE because the balanced outputs are designed to perform better than the SE ones Personally I have several aftermarket cables from Norne Audio with the appropriate balanced terminations for the LCDi4 and all my other headphones, when balanced cables are needed. i only use the stock or cypher cable on the LCDi4 for devices or applications that do not require any balanced cables.

Of course in such cases, and also, in applications where both balanced and single ended outputs are designed to offer equal performance in SQ, a cable with balanced terminations will not necessarily do one any good. There is always the question of the quality of the wire that is used for the cable, but it seems to me that the quality of the wire used in for the LCDi4 stock cable is pretty high, and poses no serious concerns.

Bottomline: The LCDi4 is a fantastic performer when it is optimized for its specific applications. Given its price point, it seems only sound to give it what it needs in any given context or application, to perform its best, and that ought to include a cable with a balanced termination, in applications (eg. amps or DAPs), where the performance of the balanced circuitry is noticeably superior to that of the single-ended one.

 

[whitemouse]

i just bought the lcd-i4 from the bf sales. do i need to get a specific balanced cable or any 2pins balanced will work?

Like above post, I agree there is no inherent advantage of balanced cable, unfortunately, there is a trend to push balanced output by amplifier manufacturers. There is zero advantage in balanced headphone amplifier design. Cable length for are home headphones are measured in meters, not hundreds of meters, and only in extremely long runs of cables, think stadium setups, have balanced cables an advantage, it lowers noise, because balanced cable runs separate Ground to each signal cable.

Think Accuphase, Krell, Mark Levinson, Classe' Audio, Cello, think of every classic State of The Art, end game power amplifier - all single ended output.

Now headphone amplifier manufacturers are deliberately using better hardware for their Balanced output, usually it means separate opamp and DAC for each channel, well, that can be done to SE output just as easily.
There is no reason that prevents this exact design to be used for Single Ended 3.5mm output.

But balanced is the buzzword today, cable makes make money, amplifier makers make money. And, we, consumers buy 2 sets of cables. Nice, isn't it!


This exact game took place in nineties, when people were being led to believe bi wiring their home loudspeakers gave "huge advantage". Bi wiring is just running 2 sets of cables to each speaker terminal lol. Well, why not 6 runs, then, and call it tetra wiring. Or 20 runs of cable, it's got to sound better, right?

If a source does offer better hardware at 2.5mm balanced output, like 1 amp per each channel, 1 DAC per each channel, of course, balanced cable is needed. But I beg you, don't spend crazy money, cable conducts electricity, it is not object of magic

I use this 2.5mm, balanced, Silver plated, 6 core cable, in appearance and "sound" it is indistinguishable from Audeze $400 cable, it costs $10

https://penonaudio.com/kinera-seed-cable.html?search=Seed

 

[Ashah]

Like above post, I agree there is no inherent advantage of balanced cable, unfortunately, there is a trend to push balanced output by amplifier manufacturers. There is zero advantage in balanced headphone amplifier design. Cable length for are home headphones are measured in meters, not hundreds of meters, and only in extremely long runs of cables, think stadium setups, have balanced cables an advantage, it lowers noise, because balanced cable runs separate Ground to each signal cable.

Think Accuphase, Krell, Mark Levinson, Classe' Audio, Cello, think of every classic State of The Art, end game power amplifier - all single ended output.

Now headphone amplifier manufacturers are deliberately using better hardware for their Balanced output, usually it means separate opamp and DAC for each channel, well, that can be done to SE output just as easily.
There is no reason that prevents this exact design to be used for Single Ended 3.5mm output.

But balanced is the buzzword today, cable makes make money, amplifier makers make money. And, we, consumers buy 2 sets of cables. Nice, isn't it!


This exact game took place in nineties, when people were being led to believe bi wiring their home loudspeakers gave "huge advantage". Bi wiring is just running 2 sets of cables to each speaker terminal lol. Well, why not 6 runs, then, and call it tetra wiring. Or 20 runs of cable, it's got to sound better, right?

If a source does offer better hardware at 2.5mm balanced output, like 1 amp per each channel, 1 DAC per each channel, of course, balanced cable is needed. But I beg you, don't spend crazy money, cable conducts electricity, it is not object of magic

I use this 2.5mm, balanced, Silver plated, 6 core cable, in appearance and "sound" it is indistinguishable from Audeze $400 cable, it costs $10

https://penonaudio.com/kinera-seed-cable.html?search=Seed

Tend to agree really their is no advantage to Balanced XLR Sonically if you are using cabling between 3 to 6 feet sure if the option is available one might as well use the XLR but at least on my Don Sach pre-amp 2 which has high quality cinemag xlr transformers from my Ps audio Directstream DAC I find the RCA seem to perform better slightly louder and more detailed than the XLR even when using high end Furutech connectors , I like the $10.00 cable link you have sent me maybe I will purchase it and sell the LCD i4 silver cable which will will help defray the cost of the IEM substantially. I do own the LCD -X and a Isine 20 which I like purchased a Lavricable from Latvia last year certainly sounds better than the stock cables that came with the Isine 20. I use QuickSilver tube headphone amp which has an impedance of 2.2 ohm the SQ from the amp is reference class best among the other HP amps I own !