[adrianm]

Thanks, seems there are pretty considerable differences.If i was able to test out the i4's or i3's (but can't because covid) and i wasn't already blown away by the way the Dave made my Z1r's sound i'd go straight for the i4.I imagine they would sound insane with Dave as well.But considering the limited use case vs closed headphones,might be less risky to just get the i3's and decide on i4's later.

 

[Swisshead]

The differences are not as crass as they might seem. Say the i3 is a good 90% of the i4. As mentioned, the i4 is an expensive, very good bottle of wine, which one drinks with great pleasure. The i3 is a wine, where you have a glass for dinner every day.

If I were you I would take the i3 and use it with cipher on the iPhone. If you like it very much, and you like the comfort of carrying it and everything, you can buy the i4 for home and have a perfect solution.

 

[adrianm]

Yes,that's my current reasoning as well.Plus the Dave is already such a huge expense,it's hard to justify the I4's without having tested them and their use case.Thanks a lot for the help

 

[NYanakiev]

The differences are not as crass as they might seem. Say the i3 is a good 90% of the i4. As mentioned, the i4 is an expensive, very good bottle of wine, which one drinks with great pleasure. The i3 is a wine, where you have a glass for dinner every day.

If I were you I would take the i3 and use it with cipher on the iPhone. If you like it very much, and you like the comfort of carrying it and everything, you can buy the i4 for home and have a perfect solution.

I used to own the LCD-i3s and upgraded to the i4. I wouldn't say that the former is 90% as good as the latter.
There is a rather marked difference, IMHO

 

[SUPERSAM76]

How are the soundstage and imaging on these? I'm sort of interested in how they word perform for gaming.

 

[NYanakiev]

How are the soundstage and imaging on these? I'm sort of interested in how they word perform for gaming.

Pretty fantastic. I bet they will work pretty well in a gaming context

 

[adrianm]

I was thinking the same thing,but is there such a dig delta between the I3's and I4's to justify it for gaming?

 

[NYanakiev]

I was thinking the same thing,but is there such a dig delta between the I3's and I4's to justify it for gaming?

In all fairness? Probably not!

 

[Clemmaster]

You're better off with a HD6xx or HD660S for gaming, honestly.

I actually started gaming in co-op with my buddy during quarantine and the LCD-i4 were the only headphone with I mic I owned at the time (Cipher cable). It was nice and all, but getting a HD660S was much more immersive for gaming. Even the best IEMs can't really compete with a full size headphone.

I will give it another shot with a headphone amp and Reveal plugin, as this might improve things.

 

[EagleWings]

While i4’s bass, transparency and imaging work in favor for gaming on the tactical front, it’s physical factors such as, the finicky fit and zero-isolation, distracts me from the game that, I prefer using the IE800S over the i4 for gaming.

 

[Devodonaldson]

How are the soundstage and imaging on these? I'm sort of interested in how they word perform for gaming.

I use these for gaming on my Switch with an eq'd external DAC/amp via bluetooth. I often think sounds are coming from outside my window. I LOVE gaming with these.

 

[mikejazz]

Ok--got the i3's and loved them so much that I traded for an i4 (with some dough). Very happy with the choice. I'm an imaging/layering guy, and I've never heard anything with a 3d soundstage like the i4.
Here's my problem. I've got the Cipher which works great with my phone. The i4 with the Cipher is better than my i3 through an Ibasso 220 8 ex with silver cables. But---the i4 on the Ibasso is absolutely astounding. But---you've got that big midrange dip that the Cipher eq's out. The great outweighs the bad in this case. I mostly stream and use either the Tidal player or Uapp. Got the parametric for the Uapp. Programmed the Audeze curve into it. The PEQ while fixing the eq hurt the sound. Less detail and openness. In bit-perfect mode with no eq--the soundstage and detail are noticeably better than in non-bit-perfect mode with the PEQ. Are there any other players like the Uapp that are better? Any eq apps that would be better than the one with Uapp?

 

[navysteve232]

On the gaming note, I have the Sen HD 650's, and I would say that the sound stage is wayyyyyy better on the Sens while the imaging is better on the I4's. Just my opinion, I have side by sided quiiiiiite a bit with them the past few days and I get more detail for sure out of the i4's but the Sens seem to just have great sound stage and openness comparatively. On the i4's I even sometimes get semi annoyed because it is trying to make the sound stage but sometimes seems to group instruments and the main singer in a clump by my eye on a side, like it cant quite make it to the middle, which honestly sometimes annoys me and makes one side of my i4's sound like its doing all of the work for the song. Maybe its the recordings or amp but everything I play is at least 16/44 and my amps are decent. Aside from that the I4's win on basically every front, but the Sens just seem like a less intense more enjoyable experience to me for longer listening. I also noticed that the i4 has just a tad more base punch and presence but less rumble. Depending on my mood I like rumble a little better for like rpg immersion but for fps less rumble is probably better. But the i4 is so good crisp and ferocious that I use it over the Sen 90% of the time. The biggest benefit of over ears for me is not having to worry about the fit or angle because honestly that part of the i4's reallllllllly gets on my nerves.

 

[mikejazz]

BTW---I think that the Ibasso 220 with the Amp 8 EX FE mods---Balanced mode--gives plenty of juice for the i4's in a portable package

 

[Devodonaldson]

I've

Ok--got the i3's and loved them so much that I traded for an i4 (with some dough). Very happy with the choice. I'm an imaging/layering guy, and I've never heard anything with a 3d soundstage like the i4.
Here's my problem. I've got the Cipher which works great with my phone. The i4 with the Cipher is better than my i3 through an Ibasso 220 8 ex with silver cables. But---the i4 on the Ibasso is absolutely astounding. But---you've got that big midrange dip that the Cipher eq's out. The great outweighs the bad in this case. I mostly stream and use either the Tidal player or Uapp. Got the parametric for the Uapp. Programmed the Audeze curve into it. The PEQ while fixing the eq hurt the sound. Less detail and openness. In bit-perfect mode with no eq--the soundstage and detail are noticeably better than in non-bit-perfect mode with the PEQ. Are there any other players like the Uapp that are better? Any eq apps that would be better than the one with Uapp?

I've made this post a few times over the past year. IMO, the BEST addition to the LCDi4 for portable use is a specific portable DAC/AMP. The Monolith portable. THX, which happens to be my profile picture, has a 3 band parametric eq, as well as a low and a high shelf. Good AK DAC chip, completely bout does the cipher in every way, and doesn't limit your bit depth and sampling rate. Yes $250-$300 isn't "cheap" but as the portable go to for a $2500 in ear, and costing less than replacing the stock cable, it's well worth it. Seriously, I use this DAC solely for my i4. I use MOJO for my other iems and headphones, but is was well worth it.