[Junmoe62]

With all the discussions on having the proper EQ setting, having cypher cable converted, etc. Why not change the source files?

Not sure if this has been suggested, but what I did was to get a copy of dbPoweramp, I believe it is going for around $88. DbPoweramp has batch conversion and support vst. You can load the Audeze Reveal plugin and apply the relevant setting to the converted files. Did it with iSine10 and 20, and now with LCDi4 with great result.

This way by changing the source, you can use whatever DAP you like, use whatever fancy cable you want. You can evaluate equipment better as well since you will take out the guess work of how EQ/PEQ is implemented by different manufacturers, and just concentrate on their technical merits.

dbPoweramp has a trial I believe, so you can give it a try. Btw, I am not affiliated with dbPoweramp.

Hi @regit,

thanks for your suggestion! It sounds like a nice alternative. I’m gonna give it a try on some tracks to see how it works. If I understand correctly, it bakes the EQ/DSP to the track, right? In which case it means I cannot listen to those songs with other headphone, am I correct?

 

[Junmoe62]

Hi guys!

just a little update from my previous post concerning my research for the holy Grail of DAPs to make the i4 sing their best (in the DAP world obviously...).
I actually think I found it!!! Well... I bought it at least...
Up until this afternoon, the best sounding DAP I tried with the i4 was the LPGT Ti, but now I need to correct this podium because the first place must go to the Luxury & Precision LP6 Gold edition, by a significant margin I must add! I couldn’t believe my ears (and what I was missing all this time) when I first tried this DAP with the i4s! I didn’t my tracks with me to test but in the player had Hotel California live loaded in, which I know very well, so I pressed Play and baaammm! The revelation!! The thump of the percussions at the beginning just knocked my socks off! Then the soundstage, details and sense of air was just mind blowing! I knew the i4 were power hungry and could scale a lot, but I was far from imagining it could scale so much from a DAP! I definitely confirm the i4 need a lot of power to give their best! It’s really surprising, because they don’t require much power to sing loud, but to sing well they absolutely do! Especially to get that tight and visceral thumping bass.
Anyways, that was just a quick first impression that I thought cou be useful to some of you. The beast is in burn-in right now. I’ll try to post pics and little more impressions when I have time. But I warn yo, I really stink at describing sound so don’t be too harsh on me please!
Also, as a side note since I was referring to EQ in my previous post, the LP6 doesn’t have PMEQ but has a 10 bands custom EQ that works pretty well. It does have 5 custom slots, which is great considering P6 and P6 Pro don’t have custom EQ for some reason...
As another side note, my unit has some play in the volume knob (which should be fixed by the factory) and the current leather case prevents me to use the USB-C port when fitted on the DAP... I don’t think that’s the kind of things that should happen on units at that price, especially when you’re brand is called Luxury & Precision ...

I wish you all a happy new year’s eve!

Cheers,

Julien

 

[normie610]

Hi guys!

just a little update from my previous post concerning my research for the holy Grail of DAPs to make the i4 sing their best (in the DAP world obviously...).
I actually think I found it!!! Well... I bought it at least...
Up until this afternoon, the best sounding DAP I tried with the i4 was the LPGT Ti, but now I need to correct this podium because the first place must go to the Luxury & Precision LP6 Gold edition, by a significant margin I must add! I couldn’t believe my ears (and what I was missing all this time) when I first tried this DAP with the i4s! I didn’t my tracks with me to test but in the player had Hotel California live loaded in, which I know very well, so I pressed Play and baaammm! The revelation!! The thump of the percussions at the beginning just knocked my socks off! Then the soundstage, details and sense of air was just mind blowing! I knew the i4 were power hungry and could scale a lot, but I was far from imagining it could scale so much from a DAP! I definitely confirm the i4 need a lot of power to give their best! It’s really surprising, because they don’t require much power to sing loud, but to sing well they absolutely do! Especially to get that tight and visceral thumping bass.
Anyways, that was just a quick first impression that I thought cou be useful to some of you. The beast is in burn-in right now. I’ll try to post pics and little more impressions when I have time. But I warn yo, I really stink at describing sound so don’t be too harsh on me please!
Also, as a side note since I was referring to EQ in my previous post, the LP6 doesn’t have PMEQ but has a 10 bands custom EQ that works pretty well. It does have 5 custom slots, which is great considering P6 and P6 Pro don’t have custom EQ for some reason...
As another side note, my unit has some play in the volume knob (which should be fixed by the factory) and the current leather case prevents me to use the USB-C port when fitted on the DAP... I don’t think that’s the kind of things that should happen on units at that price, especially when you’re brand is called Luxury & Precision ...

I wish you all a happy new year’s eve!

Cheers,

Julien

Good on you man! That’s exactly what I’m experiencing with my setup it seems like the Hiby R8 output from its USB-C is very powerful, my volume level setting is only between 6-8 for high res files and 3-5 for low res (whenever I’m using regular 4.4mm cable, I need to turn up the volume until above 40). So perhaps that powerful current/voltage (I don’t really know, just taking a wild guess here) really elevates i4’s sound. I guess the similar thing happens with your LP6 gold

 

[edwardsean]

As an alternative to a true DAP, I think it's worth exploring the Hugo2+2Go combo with the i4s. I spent several years upgrading DAPs including modding their boards with high end components. In the end, the H2Go combo leapfrogged the entire DAP pathway to my ears with the i4s.

I don't think its analog section can best the top offerings mentioned here, but that's for harder to drive full-size phones. The i4 is in the sweet spot of its driving capability. Of course the real power of the H2Go lies in its digital prowess. I don't believe that any off-the-shelf D/A chip or miniaturized R2R conversion strategy can compare with Chord's custom coded FPGA.

Adding the 2Go not only frees the H2 from having to be wired to a laptop, but also cuts out USB noise, and significantly elevates the SQ. So, if you can tolerate the larger form factor, it's worth a try.

 

[regit]

Hi @regit,

thanks for your suggestion! It sounds like a nice alternative. I’m gonna give it a try on some tracks to see how it works. If I understand correctly, it bakes the EQ/DSP to the track, right? In which case it means I cannot listen to those songs with other headphone, am I correct?

That is correct, unfortunately. I keep the converted tracks on different sdcards, and plug them in whenever I plug in the iSines/i4.

 

[Junmoe62]

Good on you man! That’s exactly what I’m experiencing with my setup it seems like the Hiby R8 output from its USB-C is very powerful, my volume level setting is only between 6-8 for high res files and 3-5 for low res (whenever I’m using regular 4.4mm cable, I need to turn up the volume until above 40). So perhaps that powerful current/voltage (I don’t really know, just taking a wild guess here) really elevates i4’s sound. I guess the similar thing happens with your LP6 gold

Hi Normie!
I agree! They do seem to like powerful input. But somehow I feel it must be more than only power in the case of LP6, because the DX220 Max is actually more powerful but doesn’t provide nearly the same bass impact and tightness. The other DAPs mentioned in my post are very powerful as well, yet they are far from matching LP6 on that aspect I find.
Oh, and to be clear, I’m using regular cable on 4.4mm output, not the Cipher through USB-C. I’d like to try, but my Cipher is broken from the lightning plug and I can’t find a replacement cable to buy...

Cheers and happy new year !

 

[normie610]

Hi Normie!
I agree! They do seem to like powerful input. But somehow I feel it must be more than only power in the case of LP6, because the DX220 Max is actually more powerful but doesn’t provide nearly the same bass impact and tightness. The other DAPs mentioned in my post are very powerful as well, yet they are far from matching LP6 on that aspect I find.
Oh, and to be clear, I’m using regular cable on 4.4mm output, not the Cipher through USB-C. I’d like to try, but my Cipher is broken from the lightning plug and I can’t find a replacement cable to buy...

Cheers and happy new year !

Did you apply any EQ though? To me, i4 without EQ has one of the worst tonalities I’ve ever heard from an IEM.

 

[Infoseeker]

The Audeze representative keeps on returning to this thread to say it does not need power. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audeze-lcd-i4-totl-in-ear-monitor-discussion.850292/post-15940485

What you are describing is probably whether the source sounds nuetral or warm.

Either way, even if you are using a warm source, these iems are designed to need an EQ for compensation.

 

[normie610]

The Audeze representative keeps on returning to this thread to say it does not need power.

What you are describing is probably whether the source sounds nuetral or warm.

Either way, even if you are using a warm source, these iems are designed to need an EQ for compensation.

yep it sounds great out of my iphone 12 pro max with cipher. But the R8 does take it up a notch, with better imaging and soundstage. And I do think it’s not about warm or neutral.

 

[Junmoe62]

Did you apply any EQ though? To me, i4 without EQ has one of the worst tonalities I’ve ever heard from an IEM.

Yes! I sure did!
Even though the bass impact is already better than the others without EQ. But indeed, they really do sound off without EQ.
Also, it seems that Luxury & Precision is starting to implement DSPs for specific HPs and IEMs. For the moment there’s only one, but maybe if we ask them kindly enough they could make one for the i4!!!

Here is the EQ I applied :

 

[normie610]

Yes! I sure did!
Even though the bass impact is already better than the others without EQ. But indeed, they really do sound off without EQ.
Also, it seems that Luxury & Precision is starting to implement DSPs for specific HPs and IEMs. For the moment there’s only one, but maybe if we ask them kindly enough they could make one for the i4!!!

Here is the EQ I applied :

yes I also use this as the base for my i4 EQ, but I did tweak it further to my liking. This one sounds a bit flatter than I would have liked

 

[lithiumnk]

I agree cipher i4 sounds very good but a dedicated portable DAC/DAP/amp with pmeq sounds much better. After trying i4 on desktop rig one can easily notice its scalability.

 

[normie610]

I agree cipher i4 sounds very good but a dedicated portable DAC/DAP/amp with pmeq sounds much better. After trying i4 on desktop rig one can easily notice its scalability.

Yes I’m eager to try it when my beginner’s desktop rig has arrived

 

[Junmoe62]

The Audeze representative keeps on returning to this thread to say it does not need power. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audeze-lcd-i4-totl-in-ear-monitor-discussion.850292/post-15940485

What you are describing is probably whether the source sounds nuetral or warm.

Either way, even if you are using a warm source, these iems are designed to need an EQ for compensation.

Yes! They definitely don’t need much power to get loud. But to get the best out of it, it seems like power does have an impact, I’m not sure.

As for the source being neutral or warm, in the case of LP6 I don’t have the feeling it is especially warm sounding. At no time the bass feels overwhelming and over powering the other frequencies. It’s not necessary about the quantity of bass but about the percussion and rumble they produce. I mean, I can tweak the EQ on my other DAP and add a lot of bass but it doesn’t provide the same effect at all.

Since you told me few days ago that you were searching for more visceral bass, I greatly recommend you to try the LP6 if you can find a demo, it might be what you’re after.

 

[edwardsean]

The Audeze representative keeps on returning to this thread to say it does not need power. https://www.head-fi.org/threads/audeze-lcd-i4-totl-in-ear-monitor-discussion.850292/post-15940485

In the post you referenced, he is talking about the power needed to drive the i4s at appropriate levels. He is right. The i4s are not hard to drive to very loud levels.

When we talk about driving power for the i4s we should specify that we aren't talking about levels. The power we are after is not about "loud" but quality. More capable power delivery is able to provide greater dynamics, authority, detail, staging, ease, flow, etc. and less noise.