[sfviahouston]

I have had the Hifimans for a few months and thought they were my end game. I owned the LCD-X's and didn't particularly care for them thus built an unfair biased against Audeze.

Today I got the LCD-4's on demo and these things are magical. The Hifimans win in terms of comfort but the verdict is still out on sound/musicality between the 2.

I know this this topic has been raised before but thought I would revisit for anyone who has been in the same position..

Thoughts, which did you choose in the end?

 

[oneguy]

I have the HE1000 and have demoed to LCD-4 back-to-back with my HE1000. I felt that the LCD-4 was more of a lateral move from the HE-1000 rather than a definate ugprade. In the end I decide not to add the LCD-4 to my list of "must have headphones" because of the unclear advantage coupled with the increased price and the history of LCD driver failures. Though, from what I understand, the LCD-4 driver failure issue has been fixed with the 200 ohm driver update. I don't know if the version I listened to was the 100 or 200 ohm version.

 

[ufospls2]

LCD-4. Without a doubt in my mind. The HE1000 sounds pretty good, but the build quality vs. the LCD-4 is laughable. 

 

[isquirrel]

I had both and sold my HE-1000 the LCD-4 sounds just as transparent but has a much fuller mid range. The HE-1000 sounded a little thin through the same area. I agree build quality is much better on the LCD-4 it feels special every time I use it.

 

[draytonklammer]

The LCD-4 sounds better to be, but the HE-1000 is infinitely more comfortable.

 

[froger]

LCD-4. Without a doubt in my mind. The HE1000 sounds pretty good, but the build quality vs. the LCD-4 is laughable. 

I wonder if build quality includes reliability? My cheap looking HE-6 lasted more than 3 years without a glitch before I sold it, but my build-like-a-tank LCD-3 failed just after 6 months. It sucked more knowing I actually paid double for lcd-3. To me, build quality is meaningless without reliability.

 

[Sandy]

I had to decide between the Abyss, HE1000, and LCD 4 just a couple of weeks ago.
 
I felt that the HE1000 was on the warm bright side of nuetral, whilst the LCD 4 was on the rich & dull side.
 
Funnily enough, I found the Abyss to be darker and brighter than both.
 
For me, it would depend on which went best with my equipment.

 

[sfviahouston]

Man, this is getting tough... These LCD4's are pretty damn magical

 

[session76]

Ive had them all but preferred the HIFIMAN edition x driven by mojo the best.  YMMV

 

[sheldaze]

Might have been something wrong with the LCD-4 I heard at a recent meet - most people there preferred the LCD-X over the LCD-4.
 
That being said, I was listening to the LCD-4 for some time, and enjoying them. I asked to hear my HE-1000 for a short while on the same setup, so I could quickly A/B. There was no question in my mind, something was missing from the LCD-4. HE-1000 still stays for me - definitely! The guy who was listening to my HE-1000 (I temporarily swapped with him for LCD-4) was also happy to have my HE-1000 returned for his listening to resume. He too seemed unhappy with the LCD-4, relative to the HE-1000.

 

[AlanYWM]

When you reach this level in headphones, I feel it all boils down to personal taste. It is rather subjective to say that one is better than the other - at least sound wise. So I would go with what appeals to my ears. Of course factors such as built quality, comfort and appearance also play a part in your decision.

 

[Kyle 491]

Whats missing is upper-mids and lower-treble, the usual Audeze flaw. The HE-1000 also has a upper-mid dip but not as severe, so is a more complete sounding headphone.

 

[mikey1964]

Bah, at this level, it really boils down to personal preference, if you really can't decide and like 'em both, you've got two options:
1. Keep 'em both......obviously!

2. Toss a coin to choose between 'em!

 

[guguplex]

I have both
I'd say that choosing one of them depends on the rest of the equipment. Using a really state of the art playing source and amplification I'd keep the HF 1000 but whith a more "real life" standard equipment perhaps the lCD-4 gives a better presentation. But both are .... Incredible cans!!!!

 

[neueziel]

LCD-4.  I've always felt that Hifiman's lacked in the mid range.