[Hifiearspeakers]

Fair enough.

But if I was offered a new Porsche at half price because someone drove it around the block and brought it back, I'd jump on it.


I get the comparison and it is valid. I suppose it comes down to one's tastes and preferences....which one sounds most like what real life sounds to them. For absolute sonic terms, I prefer most when the midrange is near perfect and linear and the bass and treble merely enhance that or at least do no harm to it. For a good time and sheer fun, it can be any headphone at any given time. I know we will never have a perfect headphone because it ain't be and will never be because we look for different kinds of perfection.

I haven’t heard the MX4 so maybe it’s not true for that model. Do you feel like there is anything missing in the mid and upper mid range? How’s the soundstage on it compared to like the LCD X and/or LCD 2 Fazor/classic?

 

[Beagle]

I find it more open but yet warm sounding. The bass is just there, a nice foundation underneath without excess bloom or bloat. You might miss a bit of the brassiness of cymbals but you also don't get the harshness that would be there if the balance in the upper mid was not smooth and was on the rough side, which always seems to be the case with most dynamics. I don't have the X and 2C to compare but I would say the sound stage is similar, but the MX4 has nice width and some depth due to the air on top.

The original appeal of the MX4 was that is was lighter than the other Audeze I have owned. I liked the sound but they were just too heavy to have on for very long. When a headphone is comfortable, it sometimes sounds better because you are not bothered by something that impinges on your enjoyment.

 

[Hifiearspeakers]

I find it more open but yet warm sounding. The bass is just there, a nice foundation underneath without excess bloom or bloat. You might miss a bit of the brassiness of cymbals but you also don't get the harshness that would be there if the balance in the upper mid was not smooth and was on the rough side, which always seems to be the case with most dynamics. I don't have the X and 2C to compare but I would say the sound stage is similar, but the MX4 has nice width and some depth due to the air on top.

The original appeal of the MX4 was that is was lighter than the other Audeze I have owned. I liked the sound but they were just too heavy to have on for very long. When a headphone is comfortable, it sometimes sounds better because you are not bothered by something that impinges on your enjoyment.

So it’s a keeper for you?

 

[Frankster010]

Seems Audeze are selling them again for $1.499 on their Holiday Special page: https://www.audeze.com/products/audeze-holiday-special-2018

 

[chimney189]

Can anyone please do a comparison between the MX4 and the Audeze LCD-2C?

 

[Frankster010]

I have got my LCD-MX4, and have been listening to it for a few hours now (only 6 hours or less), and so far, I am experiencing a sort of "good news"/"not so good news" kind of result.

Good news : I like the headphone a lot, aesthetically, build-wise, and most importantly of all, SQ-wise. Oh, and they are brand new, not B-stock, and that is great.

Not so good news : I have been comparing them with my LCD-X playing both on my nearfield rig, and they seem to sound too much alike to my ears, to the point where, I am already thinking of letting one of them go. From what I can tell, the MX4 seems to be edging the X slightly in the clarity of the mids, in imaging, and overall refinement. However, the bass of the X seems to hit slightly harder than the MX4, very slightly. The differences are subtle, and not pronounced enough (at this point) to create a big enough delta of preference between the two cans to my ears, and that is precisely the issue.

The rig is:

Metrum Acoustics Ambre/Roon ==>> Metrum Acoustics Onyx ==>> Cavalli/Monolith Liquid Platinum (with "Holy Grail" Reflektor tubes)...I am also using a Norne Audio Silvergarde S aftermarket cable with both cans, and playing them in balanced mode...

I am wondering whether the similarity has something to do with the MX4 being too new and not "broken" in or "burnt" in enough, or whether there is something in my chain of components, which is blurring or erasing the differences between these two cans... Strangely, it was relatively easier for me to tell the difference between the sound of my LCDi4, when it arrived, and the LCD-X... I am very fond of my LCD-X, for sonic, as well as sentimental reasons (it was my first Audeze headphone), but I knew within the first 5 minutes of using the LCDi4, that I would prefer many SQ aspects of the latter over those of the former (notably, soundstagive, instrument separation, air, and a sense of overall refinement), at least for some types of music...

Again I like how the MX4 sounds, and would easily consider it to be a keeper under normal circumstances. What I do not like is the redundancy of having two Audeze cans sounding so seemingly alike on my rigs. When I get the chance, I am going to try both of them on my Yggdrasil2 ==>> Violectric V281 rig too, and see whether those will produce more marked differences between the two cans. If not, then I might have to consider selling one of them (maybe the MX4) or trading it up for another pair of cans that would provide me with a more different flavor (A used LCD-4, or Susvara, or something from the ZMF range of new releases, which I have only read about so far, but never experienced)...

The sad thing is I have the MX4 on my head now, listening to Nik Bartsch & his Ronin's Randori album, and I am absolutely digging the way the MX4 is resolving and presenting the entire sound-field. The way it is positioning each instrument in its own place, within that field, --and the coherence of the whole ...Quiet a thing of beauty... This is good! Maybe, it is my own head that needs some "burn-in" time with the MX4.... Maybe I just need a little more time to get used to these new cans in order to really discern and pick out its subtle SQ differences, before I can get to appreciate what really makes it different from the X? I do not really know.

If anyone has any insights into this rather odd situation, kindly share your thoughts.

Thanks for suggestion Nik Bärtsch's Ronin and Randori album...I like it very very much!

 

[EDN80]

Mine came brand new. Still burning in. Loving them so far. Dare I say, better than my Z1Rs... They're keepers for sure... esp. at that bargain price.

That said, being sold as mixing and monitoring headphones, they're extremely analytical at the expense of musicality at times, esp. for pop, rock, hip-hop, and EDM-- quite the opposite of the Z1Rs. Coming from the AKG's K702 and K812, I'm used to analytical sounding HPs... so, will get used to that. It's a plus though for instrumental, jazz, and classical. Better reproduction too of vocal timbre and quality. Very lifelike. Impressive for choral works and large-scale instrumental, i.e. Monteverdi Vespers or Mahler 8th.

Playing with Sonarworks Reference 4 EQ on JRiver to boost the bass by 1 or 2dB, though while of great quality and detail and present in copious amount, initially doesn't seem to dip as low as the Z1Rs, though the planars have naturally more bass impact, punch, slam and attack than the dynamic drivers..

 

[sahmen]

Thanks for suggestion Nik Bärtsch's Ronin and Randori album...I like it very very much!

 

[groovyd]

Been focused on heavy bass track listening lately and the MX4 delivers significantly clearer, more controlled and less distorted deep bass vs the X. Bass performance is actually extraordinary. Highs and mids need some EQ but the bass stands easily on it's own. Really think this is going to sound incredible once calibrated. Hard to not send them off right away but let them burn in longer first. Anyone with an MX4 that hasn't tried swapping out the stock leather pads for the older velour pads should give it a go.

 

[thebkt]

Thanks for suggestion Nik Bärtsch's Ronin and Randori album...I like it very very much!

@sahmen likewise! Checked out some of his other stuff too and really dig it!

 

[PCX]

To all who received the special priced MX4s, exactly how did it come to indicate new. I have
no reference. I received no bags for the cables and the leather earpads did not seem "new".
So after hearing about that this sale was actually "B-stock", I might just return them due to principle.

I really did wonder about whether these were in fact new. I wouldn't shell out 1500 on any B-stock anything.

It's the bait and switch which is really bugging me.

I got mine directly from Audeze and shipped by Amazon. Although the outside Amazon box took the beats, the inside Audeze brown box looked brand new, cables were in sealed, clear plastic bag; the leather earpads looked clean and new. Maybe you should doing an exchange if that bothers you.

I pair with my only Dac/Amp Roland mobile UA and listening around 25-28% volume level. My portable Ak Jr drives this thing easier than Sennheiser HD 650, though HD 650 feels a lot lighter on my head.

 

[Drumonron]

Can anyone please do a comparison between the MX4 and the Audeze LCD-2C?

+2 on this comparison - interested in a maybe less analytical headphone and more fun.

 

[rockytopwiz]

Gone again

 

[Drumonron]

Ok so I've been burning this headphone in since Saturday night - 24 hrs per day and, for the burn in, plugged into my Tascam CD-200 which played Rush Test For Echo on repeat, before that run, burned in for about 35 hrs for a total of about 150 hrs and I'm gonna tell you, burn in is real on these...listened after every 24 hrs went by and this morning is the first time I'm hearing a transparency that was not there 24 hrs ago and the annoying subtle ringing is indeed gone. Seemed to open up and just become a much more divine sound. Listening to Adele and then Tool Schism from Lateralus from the mac pro, using jriver to bitperfect, reveal plugin is on and set to wet and -0.3db on the gain transporting to my benchmark Dac2 HGC which is feeding to my Headamp GS-1(yes, an oldy but goody) for low impedance headphones such as this.

YMMV but mine ears have heard the Audeze burn in difference.

 

[thebkt]

Mine finally arrived today and first impressions are great! They certainly seem brand new. Cables, inspection card & USB stick all sealed, leather smells fresh. In fact the adhesive on the right earpad hadn't been pressed down too hard (or came slightly loose during transit), lined it up, pressed down and she's right as rain.

Props to @WooAudio for the clear and fast communication. The clincher for me was the order being eligible for one of their swanky headphone stands (pics soon).

Having my first listen now and am impressed. Very crisp and clear and after a couple rounds of going back and forth with the X, they're not light-years ahead, but at a glance, I am really liking the more... aggressive tuning. I guess that's the stronger magnets bringing through more guitar distortion.... interesting. Will need more time and more genres to be sure, but I'm liking them so far!