[bneiderman]

So I can't seem to match the sound I get with cipher cable to my Mojo out of my Macbook Air. Using Audirvana with Reveal the bass is absolutely anemic and when I try to EQ it distorts. With Cipher I am BLOWN away by the bass I get and when you EQ with the app there is no distortion at all. So is there some way to make these sound just as good with the Mojo from Macbook Air? Am I missing something?

 

[KMann]

So I can't seem to match the sound I get with cipher cable to my Mojo out of my Macbook Air. Using Audirvana with Reveal the bass is absolutely anemic and when I try to EQ it distorts. With Cipher I am BLOWN away by the bass I get and when you EQ with the app there is no distortion at all. So is there some way to make these sound just as good with the Mojo from Macbook Air? Am I missing something?

That does not sound right. The preset on Cipher and Reveal are the same. If anything I would expect it to sound better out of Mojo.

Four possibilities:

1. You have adjusted/boosted bass in the Audeze app
2. Reveal plugin is disabled or not working within Audirvana (easy to test, check if the gain control in Reveal has any effect)
3. You have not tuned the Wet/Dry control all the way to the right (100% wet)
4. You may have chose the wrong preset within Reveal

 

[bneiderman]

I have adjusted bass in Audeze app. I like A LOT of bass. Reveal is set to LCD-I4 and gain does change volume. I made Reveal 100% wet too. If I want to add bass as I do with Audez app the only way is with the EQ which seems to distort if I add too much. I am confused as hell.

 

[Gowry]

If it's anything like Roon, then you might find a place to reduce the overall gain somewhere. This may be in the eq itself.

When you boost the bass it might push the signal into the clipping range. This would cause the distortion (in the digital realm)

 

[KMann]

If it's anything like Roon, then you might find a place to reduce the overall gain somewhere. This may be in the eq itself. When you boost the bass it might push the signal into the clipping range. This would cause the distortion (in the digital realm)

This is correct.

I have adjusted bass in Audeze app. I like A LOT of bass. Reveal is set to LCD-I4 and gain does change volume. I made Reveal 100% wet too. If I want to add bass as I do with Audez app the only way is with the EQ which seems to distort if I add too much. I am confused as hell.

The Cipher cable has automatic gain control to prevent clipping when you boost any part of the spectrum. When you add a X dB boost in bass, you can use either Reveal or gain settings in Audirvana to reduce by the overall gain/pre-amp gain by the same amount, this will prevent digital clipping that you hear as distortion. You can then safely increase the volume on Mojo
The LCD-i4 drivers are linear and can take a whole lot of power without distorting.

 

[edwardsean]

What EQ are you using? Does it have some kind of spectrum analyzer or level meter? If so, you can set Audirvana AU plugins to "real time" control and see when it goes into red and by how much. The plugin should have a gain adjustment that you can take down until it no longer clips.

 

[commtrd]

Ah the bliss of just leaving it alone. Mine sounds awesome just the way it is. IMHO much bigger gains to SQ to be had from customizing the fit and the actual tactile interface i.e. the tips.

I initially wanted to sell my i4 but then I accidentally discovered the massive benefits of the [above items] and got to sonic nirvana. Now they sound like (effectively) the equivalent of the 4z which BTW also require zero fiddling with far as EQ goes. Of course this is all totally subjective I know. I guess I tend to be old school coming from vinyl and tape way back in the day. Then the music was just what it was, and the focus was always on improving the audio component chain rather than attempting to change the playback modality.

But if peeps feel the need to fight with it, that's cool too. Whatever.

 

[commtrd]

Well blown away again. Listened to Emancipator "Live in Athens" while trading and just shaking my head in utter amazement.

Anyone on the fence about picking up a pair, do not worry about SQ. You will be purely blown away promise.

 

[DarginMahkum]

The LCDi4 is an interesting and wonderful beast, but they will disappoint when compared to the kse if jazz is your chosen music selection. Outside sound stage and bass, I can’t think of anything short of a properly driven 009 or 007 that will keep up with the kse’s technical capabilities.

So... I received my LCDi4, but I am not disappointed at all. It has amazing amount of detail (w/ Hugo2). I find it is between a TOTL BA IEM and KSE but much closer to KSE than a BA IEM. I am very very satisfied with them. Oh, and I have max. 15 hours on them yet. Can't wait for what it will turn out to be after the 200 hours you mentioned. Simply revolutionary for its fit, portability and SQ...

 

[commtrd]

I have around 300 hours of listening time on my i4 due to always switching around primarily LCD4z and my previous flagship the LCD-X. Anyway the one biggest contributor to sonic efficiency on these headphones BY FAR was getting them aimed at the ear canal correctly.

What happened was I was trying to get some 6mm OD rubber tubing slid onto existing ear hooks. The enlarged ends were making that very difficult. So I cut those off, approximately a 1/2". Then I could get the rubber tubing to slide on quite a bit easier.

OK so I did that and re-installed the ear hooks. I also cut down the tubing to match the length of the ear hooks now. So I put the phones on and got the ear pieces set about the rotational axis so that they were comfortable.

Then turned the Hugo 2, GLMk2, and Wyrd. Proceeded to listen to some music. What happened next stunned me. The sound quality had improved easily by a factor of at least 4X!!! I mean it was substantial. I discovered that the aim of the ear pieces at the ear canals was critical to how these things sound. AND the tips have to fit just right also because that affects mainly from the mids down into bass region.

Just saying all this because guys will technically compare i4 to something else, and may not have the fit custom optimized to realize full potential of what they can do.

 

[lithiumnk]

I have around 300 hours of listening time on my i4 due to always switching around primarily LCD4z and my previous flagship the LCD-X. Anyway the one biggest contributor to sonic efficiency on these headphones BY FAR was getting them aimed at the ear canal correctly.

What happened was I was trying to get some 6mm OD rubber tubing slid onto existing ear hooks. The enlarged ends were making that very difficult. So I cut those off, approximately a 1/2". Then I could get the rubber tubing to slide on quite a bit easier.

OK so I did that and re-installed the ear hooks. I also cut down the tubing to match the length of the ear hooks now. So I put the phones on and got the ear pieces set about the rotational axis so that they were comfortable.

Then turned the Hugo 2, GLMk2, and Wyrd. Proceeded to listen to some music. What happened next stunned me. The sound quality had improved easily by a factor of at least 4X!!! I mean it was substantial. I discovered that the aim of the ear pieces at the ear canals was critical to how these things sound. AND the tips have to fit just right also because that affects mainly from the mids down into bass region.

Just saying all this because guys will technically compare i4 to something else, and may not have the fit custom optimized to realize full potential of what they can do.

You are absolutely right. The fit plays a very important role in sound perception .
I am done with earphones till the lcd i4 breaks down. I am having very difficult time deciding on which headphone to purchase. Lcd i4 is seriously vvv good.

 

[bizkit]

So... I received my LCDi4, but I am not disappointed at all. It has amazing amount of detail (w/ Hugo2). I find it is between a TOTL BA IEM and KSE but much closer to KSE than a BA IEM. I am very very satisfied with them. Oh, and I have max. 15 hours on them yet. Can't wait for what it will turn out to be after the 200 hours you mentioned. Simply revolutionary for its fit, portability and SQ...

The LCDi4’s have a nasty habit of making everything enjoyable to listen to (especially with the hugo2). It’s great that you are already enjoying them, but there are some substantial gains to be had as you progress with fitment and tips. I found it be a rather enjoyable journey to find my perfect iem. Just don’t make my mistake of startong the tip roll too early, I had to revisit some of my early selections because the sound kept changing as put hours my LCDi4’s.

 

[DarginMahkum]

Now starts the second stage of the LCDi4 ownership: Cable. But not an upgrade, just a balanced cable. Hopefully as soon as my business trip ends today about midnight, I will jump on the all new SP1000M train.

First question for the users is for SP1000 users: Other than the output power do you think balanced output of the SP1000 brings anything to the LCDi4 sound?

Second: I am mostly not a believer of the cable voodoo, but still want a good quality, long lasting, stable cable with balanced termination. Also something soft like the original cable. I saw the Lavri Cables. What would you say about it? I am living in EU, so EU based companies are preferred.

 

[EagleWings]

I will let someone else answer the question about the balanced connection on SP1000 and DAPs in general. As for cables; the included stock cable is actually quite decent in performance. So going for an entry level cable might be a compromise in performance. I would recommend getting the SP1000 for now, and spending some time with it, before springing for a cable.

When it comes to upgrade cables, each cable has its own sonic characteristics. Some sound bright, some sound warm, some have very good technical performance, while some don't. Basically, you could go in any direction, depending on your preference. After you get the SP1000, do let us know what aspect of the sound you are hoping to modify in your setup and we might be able to guide you in the right direction.

 

[speakerz2017]

Finally some new tech in the IEM game. Although the price is pretty ridiculous for the LCD i4, I think its somewhat more value than conventionally designed IEMs that charge a similar amount. The fit of the i4 though, it looks so clunky. Anyone has experience with going to the gym with these? I can imagine it looking kinda ridiculous for outdoor use.